How-To Install & Use the umask Script: by Len Laughridge February 2003 Release 1.0 The download for this script is a 'tarball'. That is, it is a folder/files which have been archived in the .tar format. 1. Untar the archive. You may be able to do this with the latest version (7.x) of StuffIt expander, but I don't recommend this. Earlier versions of StuffIt Expander could extract tar'd files incorrectly. In a Terminal window, navigate to the directory where the file was downloaded and do the following: tar -xvf finder-umask-mod.tar This will create a folder containing the global-umask script, and a copy of these instructions. 2. Install the script. Unix-savvy users can view the install script to see what goes on - it's self-explanatory. Users reasonably comfortable in the terminal can do the following once they are in the finder-umask-mod directory (assuming you haven't moved or modified any of the files...): ./install ...You will be prompted for your administrative password, since the install script uses 'sudo' to make the correct installation. 3. Set your umask preferences. This is done in a Terminal window. Assuming everything went well with the install, you can now set your umask. We STRONGLY suggest that you read the manual page for 'umask' and 'chmod' to learn about file permissions (type 'man umask' in the terminal). Choose your security level according to your needs. The Unix-savvy will know what to do. For everyone else, here's a cheat-sheet: (a) You want all files and folders created to be read-write for the owner, read-only for the group, and read-only for everyone else (this is the OS X default, if you didn't want to change it we wouldn't be here right now, but for reference purposes...): sudo /usr/local/sbin/global-umask 022 (b) You want all files and folders created to be read-write for the owner, read-write for the group, and read-only for everyone else: sudo /usr/local/sbin/global-umask 002 (c) You want all files and folders created read-write for owner, group and everyone else (recommended for maximum flexibility): sudo /usr/local/sbin/global-umask 000 THIS DOES NOT CHANGE EXISTING FILE/FOLDER PERMISSIONS! It only applies for newly-created items. For brief instructions on how to use the script, run it without any arguments: sudo /usr/local/sbin/global-umask 4. Reboot when so prompted by the script. -------- TROUBLESHOOTING: Q: "The install script won't run." A: Make sure it's executable by running: chmod 755 install ...from within the directory containing the install file. --- Q: "I ran the global-umask script, but it didn't work." A1: Run: sudo /usr/local/sbin/global-umask If it gave you some instructions on how to use it, go to A3, below. A2: Is global-umask installed and permissioned properly? In the Terminal, run: ls -l /usr/local/sbin/global-umask and you should see output similar to below... -rwx------ 1 root wheel 3526 Feb 5 14:24 /usr/local/sbin/global-umask If the permissions (-rwx------) or ownership (root wheel) are different, something's wrong. Manually correct them, or try the install again. A3: Did you specify legitimate parameters (e.g. 000, 002, or 022)? A4: Did you reboot after setting the umask, as requested? --- Q: "How do I know what my current umask setting is?" A: Open a new Terminal window, and just use the command: umask It will return a number indicating what your current setting is. --- Q: "Why is this script necessary?" A: Apple did not make a simple, global setting available in System Preferences to be able to set this conveniently. Many current Mac OS X users do not understand how permissions are suppossed to work - having them set server-side (like they were under the old AppleShareIP) is wrong. People are correct in asking that Apple address this issue, but many of them are asking for the incorrect thing (server-side permissions, instead of a umask setting). Please attach copies of the global-umask script (NOT the install script!) to your correspondence to Apple regarding this issue, and request that they implement this as a feature in the next point release of Jaguar. ---