Sharing directories and files with multiple users

I have 4 users (family members) on my machine. Up until recently, I only had one account, mine. Now my wife and kids each have an account. The kids do not have admin access. I have several firewire drives, and lately I've been moving most of my documents and other files (photoshop, etc) to a directory on my firewire drive. Then, I've added symbolic links to them from their home directories. Of course, I've had to open up permissions (rwxrwxrwx) on the files and directories. Of course, when one of them creates a file, it will use their umask to create the new files, and then the others won't have access to the new file until I reset the permissions again.
Is there a way to say, in this folder and below, always use this permission mask? Or, is there a way for me to set their umaks. For my account I can do that, since I have a .bashrc file, but for the other accounts I don't see a .bashrc or .bash_properties or anything where I can but the umask.
Is this even the best way to go? Any suggestions would be appreciated. How do others do this type of thing?
Thanks,
Alfredo

Alfredo, I think Kurt's example, '1 2 3 4 *", was just to show the place holders. I think you can set up a root crontab by entering sudo crontab -e (if you know how to use vi), or you can do sudo tcsh (or sudo bash) and then do the echo statement as in Kurt's reply.
And yes you can have multiple commands on the same line like you suggested.
Here's an example I used in the past:
00 8,12,16,20 * * * (date && /usr/local/bin/myscript) >> /usr/local/logs/myscript.log 2>&1
This directs the output and the error output to a log file so I can check on the results periodically. The "&&" between the two commands keeps the second command from running if the first one fails.
Boyd

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Sharing music and apps with multiple users in my family, can this be done?

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See These Support Articles for Home Sharing
Understanding
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3819
How to
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2688
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http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972

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My wife and I share the Intel iMac and we want to share both the iTunes and iPhoto libraries...
Can I just place them in the Users/Shared folder, do an Option (first time) launch from each account to identify it's location and can we both access them from there, or is there more to it...
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Shawn:
Here are some suggested methods to share:
iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
http://ad.hominem.org/log/2005/07/acl.php
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2151309&#2151309 (see Lori's post and links)
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=579542&tstart=0
http://www.captnswing.net/2004/03/20/shareiphotolibrary.html
And if you'd like to have each user have a total independent library while sharing the same source files see Tutorial #3.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Sharing files with multiple users on single iMac

THIS IS a REPOST from another location - more appropriate "thread"
After switching to Mac from a PC about a month ago (& not being technologically over-adept), I have finally succeeded in creating separate "User" accounts on my iMac (1 admin, 1 standard, 1 managed) to allow the 3 users in my household to create their own workspace. However, now I would like to allow them to access all files from some applications - iTunes, iPhoto, Address Book, etc. - and some of the files within Numbers, Pages, & Keynote (that were theirs to start with...but they were working on in "my" admin space before establishing separate Users.) As an additional challenge, I'd still like to have access to their files...for monitoring purposes...as we go forward. I've "searched" the Apple support files and found reference to some of this but (1) I can't seem to figure out how to move the files into the Public Folder (I did one, then logged in as another User & it wasn't there...) and (2) If they access files from the Public Folder, will they need to specifically save them back there when done? -- my other users will NEVER remember to put something back where they got it...

You can give each user read and write permissions to just that folder, or to everything in it. But that will not stick to any new files that are added to the folder hierarchy after that point. When new files are created they are read and write for the creator, and read only for all others. If you want to change that it must be done manually for each new file that you add.
There is a way to get around this, and make every file/folder added to a folder hierarchy automatically get full read and write permission for the users you specify. It requires setting up ACLs. Do it this way:
1. Make a new subfolder in /Users/Shared. Call it something like /Users/Shared/sharefolder. Move all the files you want to share into this folder.
2. Go to System Preferences and unlock the Accounts pref pane. Click the + button. Make a new group (select "group" from the drop down menu). Call it something like "sharegroup". Add the users you want to that group.
3. Log in to an admin account. Launch Terminal. Paste in all three of these lines at the same time and then press Return:
sudo chmod -R +a "sharegroup allow delete,chown,list,search,add_file,\
addsubdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directoryinherit" \
/Users/Shared/sharefolder
Enter your admin password when prompted and press return again. You are done. The users in the sharegroup can all now read and write everything in the sharefolder. They will also be able to read and write any file that is newly created or copied into the sharefolder from that point on.
NOTE: After setting this up, and you want to add more files to the sharefolder, be aware that files that already exist outside the sharefolder WON'T inherit the new permissions if they are simply moved in (i.e. drag with Finder). They must be copied in. Hold down the option key when dragging files into the sharefolder. That will ensure that a new copy will be made, and the permissions will inherit properly. You can then delete the old copy of the file from its previous location.
I hope this helps.

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We're having problems moving to a thin client.
I have a customer running a stub projector that loads the
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Set them to be read-only.
Andrew

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My parents recently switch to an iMac from a PC where they were using AOL. They had the PC set up with two users accounts and they did all their mail/internet using AOL.
With the new iMac, I wanted to set it up in the same way as the PC so I set them up with two user accounts and showed them how they can use Fast User Switching to switch back and forth. This works well for them because my father has mostly business stuff on the computer and my mom has mostly projects and they like to keep them separate.
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Accessing the AOL Mail System using IMAP - An Unofficial Guide

Home sharing to Apple TV with multiple users on same computer

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Hi:
I just started out using Lightroom 4 for managing family photos. What I want to do is to share the LR catalog so that my kids and wife can access the database from their own accounts. I tried sharing the directory with the catalog and all the photos. But when I open lightroom from my kids's account, I keep getting an "unexpected error openning the catalog".
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Sharing an iTunes library with multiple user accounts

I have a large music library (>200GB) and I want to have the library accesssable to myself and my 2 sons. We each have our own Windows account and I set there iTunes instances up to not copy files to their iTunes music folder. Music is working ok, but podcasts are a problem. When I log into iTunes, there are exclamation marks next to all moyt podcasts now.
Is there a way to do this that will allow us to share all the music, and have our own podcasts? If not, how can I at least have a common podcast directory for all 3 of us.
TIA

how to share music between different accounts on a single computer

Working with multiple users and computers, but shared data

Sorry if this is posted in a poor place, I'm not sure where the best place is. This is sort of a general questions.
For a long time, my wife and I have had either one computer, or two machines but one has definitely been just a terminal. We've basically set up all of our data to be one one primary machine, and if we want to view/edit that data we have to use that machine.
We just got a new MacBook Pro and I would like to be able to use two machines as equals. Sadly, this idea of multiple computers, with two users and some shared data is really giving me difficulty. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to best manage things like:
Synchronizing portions of our contact list (We share about 50% of the combined library -- we don't have to share all though).
How to manage iPhoto so that we can each have access to the photos. As an added difficulty (or maybe this is easier?) my Wife just wants to have access to the pictures for viewing and sharing on Facebook/Picassa/etc. I am the only one who wants to edit, correct and cull our library. That said, I always edit when I first put the data on the machine, and almost never again; so it would be fine to have one (or both accounts) set up as view only for the iPhoto data.
How to manage iTunes so that we can each have access to the music. As a super awesome bonus, it would be great if we could have three libraries: His, Hers and Shared. Maybe as much as 30% of our music library is similar, the rest just gets in the way.
What is the best solution people have found for calendars? (I'm thinking two separate calendars, and we each subscribe to each others iCal feed)
Mail.app and bookmark synching is not really a problem for us.
Two extra points:
* One machine is portable, and the other isn't. Ideally, when the laptop is out of the house, both machines should still have reasonable access to the shared data. That is: Just dumping things in the shared folder won't work because when the laptop is out of the house we will be disconnected from the source data.
* We just got a second iPhone. This means that both of us will be taking photos/video separately and trying to synch back to the master data store.
* Basically, I'm trying to minimize data duplication as much as possible, and just synchronize the systems to each other.
Thanks a ton in advance. If anyone has any suggestions at all, I would love to hear them. Including "This is in the wrong forum, go ask here instead..."

So you have a desktop Mac and a laptop Mac, right? Two user accounts (and a third admin account) on each computer, right?
I profess that I haven't tried this, but here is how I would approach your problem:
Sharing Music and Photos between multiple user accounts on the same computer:
See if http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=194992 and http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=510993 provide any useful information to assist you in this endeavor.
Sharing across multiple computers:
Turn on file sharing on the Desktop (System Preferences > Sharing). Now you can mount the Desktop as an external drive on the laptop's Desktop. Copy the music and photo folders across. Will take awhile to do the first time. Then, for future use, get a copy of the donationware CarbonCopyCloner or equivalent. You can use CCC to selectively sync specific folders from one computer to the other. There may be a hassle with digital copyright issues on music and movies, though.
Calendars:
As you have suggested yourself, publishing yours and subscribing to hers is probably the best way to do it, on the same computer. Across computers, syncing with CCC or equivalent would probably be the way to go.

Is it possible to link and update external files in a Indesign document when sharing the Indesign file in Creative Cloud with multiple users?

I am new to Creative Cloud, but have been using Adobe software for many years.
Now we are considering sharing an Indesign file with my project group using CC.
The Indesign file contains links to external files (one Illustrator and multiple .txt files); and we export the approved version to an Hi-Res PDF.
These .txt files are currently hosted on our internal server but have not been linked directly: we first copy them over to local desktop and update the links in Indesign before creating a new PDF.
Since these file can be update by different people we would like to keep them outside the Indesign and Illustrator files.
Is it still possible with CC to link directly to the files on our server in Indesign and see if there have been updated?
Or can they also be stored in the CC cloud? Or is there another method?
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions
Ronald

This will work if you all use the file syncing of the Creative Cloud desktop application and then you use the Collaborate option for the folder containing all the files. Then it will work on each of your desktops.
Links to files will not work in the browser when viewing the InDesign document from https://creative.adobe.com/files.

File sharing with multiple users on one Mac

I have two Macs, both of which ca seen each other across the network. My question regards file sharing with multiple users on the same computer. When file sharing, are the files from all users available across the network, or just those of the user presently logged in? The issue is that I am trying to access files from a user who isn't currently logged in, but another user on that computer is. I need to get into that person's documents, but I don't see a way to navigate to their documents folder.

Right, I got that. But the computer is in constant use by User A, while I need access to User B's files. I could need access at anytime, and it would be a pain to make User A log off and log in as User B everytime. I was just wondering if there is anyway to access User B's files in this situation, without logging User B in.

HT2688 Working on a single computer with multiple users, I have set things up to allow each user to view and listen to the others' music libraries under the "Shared Library" function. Can you then connect an iPod touch and copy music from a shared librar

Working on a single computer with multiple users, I have set things up to allow each user to view and listen to the others' music libraries under the "Shared Library" function. Can you then connect an iPod touch and copy music from a shared library?

Was your wife logged into the libray at the time you tried to log in? I have had a similar problem and it was because another user was logged into the library when I attempted to. I got the permission denied banner.

IPhoto is currently a shared file with another user on my Mac and I am the Admin and no longer want to share it. How do i undo this completely?

Iphoto is currently a shared file on my Mac and I no longer want to share it. How do I completely remove access to it if i am the Admin to the computer? Thanks in advance...

I found the answer on the Quicken Support site. Unbelievable!!!!
Article ID: GEN82981 Updated: 8/11/2011 |
Unable to Share a Data File Between Multiple Users on the Same System
Cause The Quicken Essentials data is a data package that contains multiple files. Each item in the package has permission set based on the current users profile. When the Package is moved to a shared folder, the permission in the data package are not changed, therefore cannot be accessed by another user.
You can change the permissions for each individual file within the data package to be accessed by other users. However, the first user who opens the file after the permissions have been changed, will take ownership of the data package, and it will no longer be accessible by the other party again.
SolutionThis issue is currently a product limitation and is expected to be resolved in a future version of Quicken Essentials for Mac.

Sharing iTunes on a single computer with multiple users

Greetings,
I have been troubleshooting a problem sharing iTunes on a single computer with multiple users that cropped up a few weeks ago and have not had very good luck.
Several months ago I successfully set up my wife’s G4 Laptop (PowerPC processor) so that we could share iTunes on that computer. I had just gotten her an “My Book” external hard drive (Western Digital). The iTunes Library will go on this new unit because the internal drive was running out of room. I successfully set the privileges, moved the entire library onto a “Share” directory and everything worked fine.
In this way, when I got a new CD I could add it to iTunes (under my login, administrator privileges) and she could access it (under her login) to listen to while working on the computer or using her iPod. This arrangement went well for quite awhile.
About a month and a half ago, when I tried to launch iTunes from my login I received this message:
“The iTunes Library file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file.”
I think the permissions must have changed when there was an update because my wife is pretty careful about what she does on her computer. Updates were the only thing I could think of that had changed since I had set her computer up. I also noticed that some of the iTunes defaults were different from the last time I had used it to add a CD.
So, I did some reading and went back through the motions of trying to set it up again. I re-formatted the My Book hard drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) added the files back to the external, reset permissions on the external hard drive. (Owners: System, Access: read and write - Group: wheel, Access: read and write – Others: read and write).
When I now launch iTunes under my login I get this message:
“The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items.”
What gives? I am the original owner and have always had top-level privileges.
Can someone point me to any articles or clues as to how I need to set-up iTunes on a single computer to be shared by more than one user? Also, I am considering upgrading to the newer system in a few weeks, so if a solution for OS X 10.5 is available, that would work too.
Tim

Was your wife logged into the libray at the time you tried to log in? I have had a similar problem and it was because another user was logged into the library when I attempted to. I got the permission denied banner.

Sharing directories and files with multiple users

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