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General discussion

Youve answered this before-Why can't I rename my files

Oct 29, 2005 9:36PM PDT

im sure youve seen this question 100's of times, but how come I can rename some files(.jpg, .gif, .mpg...), but not all. It says I have permission to read & write, yet nothing seems to work.
If there is a page that this has already been covered on, I'll look there. Or if anyone can help,it is much appreciated
G3 B&W, OS X 10.3.9

Discussion is locked

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Just my thought.
Oct 29, 2005 9:56PM PDT

The file permission is one thing. Now think about the DIRECTORY permissions as well. The name is in that directory so you need permission to alter directory contents.

Cheers,

Bob

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What files specifically
Oct 29, 2005 10:58PM PDT

are you having problems with


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RE: What files specifically
Nov 7, 2005 6:22PM PST

Sorry for not getting back sooner.
I find this problem with my photos in my IPhoto folder. Most of them I got from a CD I burned on my girlfriends laptop (Win XP). This is the frst I've heard of directory permissions. I'm logged in as the admin and the only user of my computer.
Also, is there a way to get around having to authenticate every time I want to move pix from folder to folder and/or move to trash? I appreciate your help.

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There is
Nov 7, 2005 10:13PM PST

The files you moved from the XP machine to the Mac probably have permission set incorrectly.
Find the folder of pics that you moved from the CD. "Get info" (Apple key + I) and take a look at the Owner tab. Using the drop down, set the owner to yourself. This should give you read and write permissions.
Worst case scenario, you have to do them all individually.
Permissions are not just a Mac thing, XP has them too. The owner of the folder with the pictures in is probably, according to XP, your girlfriend.
Give it a try and let us know

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Moving files
Nov 11, 2005 12:27AM PST

As others pointed out, all files on the mac os have permissions and ownership. Once you have done the get info suggestion you might want to run repair permissions using Apple's Disk Utility. Files coming over from a Wintel machine will be identified by their extension (mac files are also identified by their type/creator for legacy purposes). While in the Get Info window check the "open with:" drop down to make sure it corresponds to the application you expect to open these files. The authentication means you don't have permission to access the file or folder. If you have multiple users the OS automatically only allows access to files for that user (i.e. Users==>youruserid-==> your folders/files). If you click on another userid and try to access those folders you will see a red stop sign symbol with a line through it on the folders. This means you don't have permission to access. Note: to save time you can do a get info on multiple files instead of doing them one at a time. Just work on one file type (like JPG) and select them all in the finder and do the get info. Then change the permissions. Good luck.

Brian

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Mission accomplished
Nov 13, 2005 1:26PM PST

It looks like I might have to do every file itself, but once it's done, it's done.
As before, thanx mr.mac and also thanx Brian. I'ved tried a few other forums, but think this will be the one I use.

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Glad it worked
Nov 13, 2005 8:59PM PST

try selecting a number of files at once and seeing if you can change the ownership for all with just one click

Ephinany! Put the files you want to change in a folder. Open the folder. Get Info. Change the settings. Click the "Apply to enclosed items...." button and see if this helps


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