What is file locking in Finder?

Hi
I am trying to find out what file locking in Finder is and how it is different from file permissions.
I cannot find any special attribute in xattr nor ls -l for locked files.
The only piece of documentation I have found is the above link. I would appreciate a link to some developer.apple description or a good explanation of this feature.

From the SetFile manual page:
SETFILE(1) BSD General Commands Manual SETFILE(1)
NAME
/usr/bin/SetFile -- set attributes of files and directories
SYNOPSIS
/usr/bin/SetFile [-P] [-a attributes] [-c creator] [-d date] [-m date]
[-t type] file ...
DESCRIPTION
/usr/bin/SetFile is a tool to set the file attributes on files in an HFS+
directory. It attempts to be similar to the setfile command in MPW. It
can apply rules to more than one file with the options applying to all
files listed.
Flags:
-P Acts on a symlink file instead on the file the symlink resolves to.
-a attributes Sets the file attributes bits where attributes is a string
of case sensitive letters. Each letter corresponds to a
file attribute: an uppercase letter indicates that the
attribute bit is set (1), a lowercase letter indicates
that it is not (0). Note: attributes not specified remain
unchanged.
A | a Alias file
B | b Has bundle
C | c Custom icon (allowed on folders)
D | d Located on the desktop (allowed on folders)
E | e Extension is hidden (allowed on folders)
I | i Inited - Finder is aware of this file and has
given it a location in a window. (allowed on
folders)
L | l Locked
M | m Shared (can run multiple times)
N | n File has no INIT resource
S | s System file (name locked)
T | t "Stationery Pad" file
V | v Invisible (allowed on folders)
Z | z Busy (allowed on folders)

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Photoshop files locking up Finder (preview not loading) and empty photoshop files... 18mb!

Hi all,
We've been having some problems with all of our Photoshop files recently. It seems to be a problem that's been duplicated throughout during the design progression.
When using finder to navigate through our design folders, it often locks up for 5 - 10 seconds per file while finder tries to load the preview thumbnails (and fails, showing just the psd icon). I checked compatibility was checked on save as. I also checked the colour profile was being embedded. On some files it wasn't so I checked this, but still having the same slowdown.
As a test I then deleted all the layers in the doc, saved it again - and even though the file only had one blank layer - it was 18mb in size!
I then made a new document of the same resolution, saved it - and boom. 120kb or so and preview works fine.
I then opened one of the problem PSD's with all the layers - dragged them over to a new document of the same size, saved it - and the file and preview in finder works fine.
Obviously there's something of around 18mb in weight in all of our old files that is causing a real issue with finder and previews. Other than layers (as there are none) - what could it be? We're using a mix of cs6 / cc and cc 2014.
Any help on this would be appreciated!

OK, that means that the Finder is having problems with that folder. That could be due to corrupt disk data structures, or you could be hitting some of the known (and not yet fixed) bugs in MacOS's Finder related to thumbnails and metadata parsing.
As for file size - other metadata (especially image history, and sometimes color profiles) can really add to the file size.

I have files that may have been created in various versions of Illustrator. We need to be able to open them, but all we have is CS6 suite. I have called and been told that "technicians at adobe" could perform a paid service to find out what the files were

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You don't.
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While trying to use airdrop, the files located in finder are not visable. What to do?

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Hi paulo23,
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It could not be ruled out it may help.
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#* Also see
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Unfortunately, this sort of trouble has gotten more complicated to deal with ever since Microsoft pulled the Windows Installer CleanUp utility from their Download Center on 25 June 2010. First we have to find a copy of the utility.
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File locked message when saving a file with Photoshop

We've been seeing a problem with several users that is hard to reproduce. Every once in a while when they try to save a file in Photoshop on the server they get a dialogue saying 'the file is locked, use Finder info to unlock the file'.
This file is located on the server and the problem only happens when doing a 'Save', not with a 'Save as'. The server is running 10.5.5 and the clients are 10.4.11. This is happening with Photoshop versions CS1, 2 and 3. It also happend with Illustrator CS3 once.
We've been experimenting with different scenario's using different ACL's and POSIX settings. Also, when the client reboots their machine the exact same 'Save' actions works again.

I've been receiving complaints about a similar issue over the past few weeks, except using Quark and Excel. I wonder if it's related to the 10.5.5 update. Are you sure you didn't get the version numbers reversed in your post? We're having the issue with 10.4.11 SERVER and 10.5.5. CLIENTS.
It's a file locking issue, so you probably won't fix it by changing the ACLs or POSIX permissions. The server thinks a different process still has the file open, so it's preventing you from changing the file. "Save As" works because it creates a new file.
You can probably eject & reconnect the volume from the client instead of fully rebooting.
The question is what's keeping the file open. You can run:
sudo lsof | grep <filename>
... in Terminal to see whether a given Mac has the file open. If the server comes back with a response to that command (don't worry what it says - you just want to see if anything comes back), then you know that the file is locked.
Next, go to each client that could have the file open and run the same command. If none of them have it open, you're probably looking at the same glitch that I've been. The server thinks a file is open but none of the clients do.

File Locks and SMB shares with ML

I've been doing a lot of research on SMB and the way it locks files during access. I've made a lot of ground work in my research but could use a little further assistance from this support community.
The symptom is simple to explain: Users are occasionally being prompt for a username and password when attempting to rename or move files and folders.
After doing some research on this topic, I have discovered that there is a direct relationship to files being open on the server at the time the user is attempting to rename or move the folder. The following thread, albiet old, appears to have nailed the problem on the head http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=24558131. In particular, there appears to be file locking happening when preview is turned on through the finder. I've had all users remove preview from their Macs and this appears to have helped reduce the occurances of the password prompt, but has not completly solved the problem. This is also a work around, not a fix.
I've been using a series of command to help me trace the problem including openfile.exe on the Windows 2012 Storage Server (sharing the files via smb only) to discover who has what files open on the server, and the lsof command on the client workstations to discover what process has the file open. So far, the finder is consistently the only thing with the file open... even with the finder preview turned off. I've also found that the "open file" is simply the fact that the offending users Mac has a finder window with just the folder open (none of the files within the folder or previews open).
Is the real solution to simply close all finder windows when you're done working in a folder, or is there more that anyone can think of to help me find out exactly what is holding the file lock? Is this a known bug in the SMB implementation of ML? Can we expect to see a fix with Mavericks which will now be using SMB2.0?
Any help or information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. I have a bunch of documentation on this issue and would be happy to share. Please let me know if anyone needs any additional details.

Hello all - many apologies for my delay in posting here; and Squiggle, thanks for the second-hand nudge. As Stephen said we have been testing a solution concerning a setting in Finder's view options for the last few months, and these seem to have solved the issue in hand.
Essentially, we found that Finder was holding files open whenever the 'Show Icon Preview' option was set, on any of the four folder views, on any client machine accessing the share. Below is a piece of documentation I wrote up for our Service desk explaining how to diagnose and manually fix this issue on the client:
        - In Finder, open any folder
        - Click on the cog icon and select 'show view options.' Check that, in the dialogue box which appears, the 'Show icon preview' box is not checked. Click the other three Finder views and check it's turned off here too.
        - Click 'Use as Defaults'
In order to make this change remotely on multiple machines, you will need to change the clients' com.apple.plist files, and set every instance of the <showIconPreview> key to <False>. This is nested within several key / dictionary pairs in com.apple.finder.plist, once under <standardViewOptions> and thrice within <standardViewSettings>. As Stephen has already mentioned, the fact that this key is nestled deep within compound dictionaries seems to render them untouchable by defaults, though I would be very happy to be corrected on this.
How you push this change out will depend on your management system. We had been using Casper to
to create a managed preference pertaining to <standardViewOptions> and <standardViewSettings> within com.apple.finder.plist. These contained as values the entire dictionary associated with these keys, with the value for each <showIconPreview> set to false. This was then applied at a User Enforced Level (running every logon after Finder has set up the system defaults).
As a side note, I have found that certain machines (Such as the 10.8.3 machine I'm working on now) contain a key named <FK_StandardViewSettings>, which I have been unable to ascertain the purpose or origination of. These don't seem to affect the fix, so we've left them alone.
Irritatingly, Casper has dropped support for custom Managed Preferences in their latest release, so this problem has now resurfaced. I will keep this page updated with any fixes or workarounds I find.
Hope that helps,
Josh Smith

How do I find a photo file in the Finder + future migration question

Being a recent Mac convert, I am just getting used to the 'complete control' approach to photo management that iPhoto has. I'm used to knowing where my photos physically reside on my computer - this is useful for doing things like uploading photos to a website for example. How do I actually find a particular photo in the Finder (or even give photo files recognisable names, as opposed to whatever automated naming system iPhoto uses)?
A followup question to this is, what happens if I ever want to migrate my photos out of iPhoto one day to another application or even back to a PC (God forbid - just my paranoia about being forced to use a particular system forever kicking in here!) - is there a way to do this, and keep photo modifications etc? Or once I start using iPhoto, have I made my decision for life??
My apologies if this has been asked before, I couldn't find anything in the forum when searching.

poddster
I hope you've a notebook and pen, but you've asked a lot of questions:
I'm used to knowing where my photos physically reside on my computer
You photos are stored in the iPhoto Library at your Pictures Folder. This is a Unix style Package Folder that very easy to see inside: right click on it and choose show package contents. A finder window opens with the library exposed.
Here's how the library is laid out:
In this folder there are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three folders
Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner.
(ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
iPhoto always preserves the original file, all operations are carried out on a copy.
(iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
And here's a warning: It is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss.
this is useful for doing things like uploading photos to a website for example
No it's not. Don't surf the iPhoto Library. The idea with iPhoto is that you do everything via the iPhoto Window or media browsers:
So, to access pics use one (or more) of the following:
There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
To upload to MySpace or any site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser. Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
iPhot doesn't name the files, those names are given by your camera. You can add titles in iPhoto and if you use the File -> Export command there's a facility there to name the resulting file (it'll be a copy - remember what I said about all operation being done on a copy...) with the title.
Do not rename files in iPhoto, That comes under the heading of making changes in the iPhoto Library Folder and alters the path to the files. If you do, iPhoto will lose track of the file. But the truth is there's simply no need to. However, you can rename the files before importing them if you like.
Migrating is really easy. You've seen the layout of the Library above. The originals are all there, in the originals folder, the Modified versions in their folder. If you want to have only the most recent versions of pics, then export them from iPhoto to a folder on the desktop.
By all means post back if you need more.
Regards
TD

How can I display file size in Finder

Hi folks,
I am trying to figure out where 40GB of data is hiding. I would like to see file sizes in the Finder window associated with my folders in Mountain Lion 10.8.2.. I'm having, what seems to me, a strange problem. When I 'Get Info' on my Hard Drive, the disc space left is only 40GB out of 120GB (ie used being 80GB). My confusion is that when I painstakingly go through the files, I can only account for 48 GB with 'Get Info' on each folder. This is a rather combersome process and I am hoping there is a work around for viewing the file sizes within Finder and not having to open 'Get Info' on each and every folder like I have been.
I have a MacAir 13 inch 2011
Thanks!

Thanks for your time and suggestions, dominic23.
I looked through both links and sadly, none of these suggestions have worked. I have tried many on my own since posting trying to figure out why the volume is being doubled on my hard drive. I've deleted log files, and done a sweep with Onyx to no avail. Strangely, the option of seeing the volumes under 'About this Mac' and 'System' does not have a listing for storage. Weird. I am the only user/administrator on this computer and I don't have shared files.
I'm just stumped.

File locking with OSX Server & Microsoft Word

We have a small office LAN based on a Airport Extreme bases station. Periodically Microsoft Word reports a break in connection to the shared folder where we store documents to get disconnected. When that happens and the user reconnects to the share, the user gets the file read-only message for the Word document that was open at the time.
I have found that in order to clear the read-only flag, I have to restart the server and open the Word file on the server with the ID of the user who was editing the file on the remote computer. Only that seems to clear the file locking that causes the file to be read-only.
I cannot figure out a less drastic way to release the lock file. I don't see any hidden temp files in the same folder as the document that is locked for editing found by ls -a or in the root direction of the shared folder in the .TemporaryItems/folders.<UID> that seems to be holding the lock.
I have run chflags nouchg <Word file> from Terminal, but that seems to have no effect either. I also used xattr to see if there were any locks held that way, but I don't see anything that way either.
File sharing to Macs only, which are configured just to use AFP through OSX Server.
Does anyone understand how the file locks of Word documents can be released directly with out restarting the server?
I should add that the underlying problems seems to be WiFi related. The behavior is that the WiFi connection seems to break long enough that the shared volumes disconnects. Outlook also causes a break. This behavior seems to have started with 10.9 and the purchase of new Retina Display MacBook Pros. I turned off AppNap on the Office applications but that is not clearly helpful. I also have been told the problem seems more likely to occur when Word is open in the background and another program like Outlook is in the foreground.
Any suggestions appreciated.

Apple write an operating system and also produce file sharing software as part of that to be used as a file server. Apple provide documentation for third-party software developers on how they should write software to work with Apple's software and also give those developers early access to new versions so those third-party developers can test and if needed make adjustments and issue updates to cope with any Apple changes.
Some third-party developers are good at dealing with this, some are bad, and some totally ignore what Apple does and give the impression they don't care if their product works properly or not. I think we can all judge where Microsoft sits.
It appears Microsoft have never paid any attention in particular to how Apple expect file-locking to be handled when accessing files on a Mac server. There have been problems for years and years and years with Office. Two other problems I have seen which seem different to yours but probably related are -
With Office documents it is supposed to be possible for more than one person to edit the same file at the same time, consider it a miracle if this actually works
With Office in particular Word, there is an auto-save function, unfortunately the way this seems to be implemented it seems that Word creates a new temporary file each time it auto-saves the document and keeps all the previous temporary files open still, this eventually means potentially over a hundred temporary files are open - just for one Word document and you can then hit a limit on the total number of files you are allowed to have open at the same time. At this point further auto-saves fail, and you also encounter great difficulty doing a real full save of the document.
I do not hold Apple completely blameless over this issue, it is likely their file-locking implementations change too often, and have inadequate documentation, however even considering this a company the size of Microsoft with the amount of sales (and profit) they derive from Office for the Mac has no excuses at all for failing to put the effort in to resolve any such clearly critical problems.
We could go on and on about other areas where Microsoft don't play by the (software) rules. Even in Windows Office does not obey the standard print dialog rules Microsoft specified themselves!
Unfortunately not only is Office for Mac upgraded infrequently, but even when new paid for upgrades are released Microsoft have a history of still not fixing bugs. It goes without saying that a mere free update is even less likely to actually fix a bug, typically such free updates only address security issues. The next version of Office is going to be Office for Mac 2014 see http://www.macworld.com/article/2106643/microsoft-will-release-a-new-version-of- office-for-mac-this-year.html
One area I confidently predict Microsoft not to resolve in Office for Mac 2014 is that fact that Word for Mac still does not support right-to-left languages like Hebrew and Arabic. This is despite the fact that OS X itself has supported this for years and years, and despite the fact other Mac programs support this including the free TextEdit and Pages - both of which can read Word files. Some people may remember that at one point the Israeli Government temporarily banned all Microsoft software over this issue. See http://apple-beta.slashdot.org/story/03/10/15/2215249/israeli-government-suspend s-microsoft-contracts This issue goes back over TEN years!!
I note that Microsoft has now taken their OfficeForMac blog offline, probably due to the weight of criticisms. I would not say it is due to out-right anti-Microsoft hate, that war ended long ago. We just want products that work. I myself do use Microsoft products, even at home - where they are the best solution, so I use Microsoft Media Center for example. Sadly this is now being neglected by Microsoft.

What is file locking in Finder?

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