roger Symons

Q: GetInfo comments

Why is it impossible to add comments to the GetInfo window for all Intel Applications (e.g. Safari) and some(?) Universal Applications (e.g. iCal) ?

Posted on May 22, 2014 5:35 AM

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Q: GetInfo comments

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  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody May 22, 2014 7:55 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 9 (66,876 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    May 22, 2014 7:55 AM in response to roger Symons

    Most likely because those are Apple's built-in applications, which if changed, may change the functionality of the entire system.

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody May 22, 2014 7:57 AM in response to a brody
    Level 9 (66,876 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    May 22, 2014 7:57 AM in response to a brody

    Additionally, if you use iCloud, those applications are in essence locked while you are syncing with the cloud, so they don't get lost.  That's assuming you are using 10.7.2 or later.  But you posted to 10.6 forum, so this may not apply to you.  If you had Mobileme/.Mac, iCloud has taken them over, so you probably need to disable the preferences for it.

  • by roger Symons,

    roger Symons roger Symons May 26, 2014 4:21 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 2 (184 points)
    Desktops
    May 26, 2014 4:21 AM in response to roger Symons

    Updating my original enquiry:

     

    I have discovered that I can in fact add comments to the GetInfo window for Intel applications etc.

    The trick is to change the permissions so as to make "Me" the owner.  This workaround has to be repeated for every Intel application and some Universal applications.  This is a tedious business.

    But now the catch:  the next time that you do a Permissions Repair, Disk Utility will undo every one of your workarounds and revert to "square one"!

     

    I submit that this situation is a major blunder by those Apple programmers responsible for the Snow Leopard operating system.  The same goes for the iCal fiasco that I reported recently.

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root May 26, 2014 8:02 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 9 (72,305 points)
    iTunes
    May 26, 2014 8:02 AM in response to roger Symons

    Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem solved sooner.


    Feedback

  • by Drew Reece,Helpful

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jun 2, 2014 3:02 PM in response to roger Symons
    Level 5 (7,659 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 2, 2014 3:02 PM in response to roger Symons

    Setting yourself as the owner is also a sure way to damage the operation of the system. The reason repair permissions fixes your changes is because it is considered by Apple (you know the people who made this thing) to be a security feature that helps stability. Installer packages specifically maintain a list of permissions for Applications to allow Disk Utility to fix changes.

     

    How well do your tweaked apps run when logged in as another user, have you considered that the other user may now be able to 'escalate permissions' and do things as your user, like delete your files? It's probably harmless but you are basically running your own custom OS if you tweak system apps in this way.

     

    The 'blunder' is actually a part of what protects the OS from users who tweak & break things. It also helps to stop malware & any other viruses etc – part of the OS design.

     

    If you really must add comments to apps be sure to repair permissions afterwards otherwise it simply makes it more difficult to diagnose errors because your OS will have many custom permissions created on files that are edited by processes that each app runs.

     

    Another option is to create an Applications folder in your own home folder & copy applications to that folder (or try using aliases to the apps and add comments to the alias instead).

  • by roger Symons,

    roger Symons roger Symons Jun 4, 2014 3:47 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 2 (184 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 4, 2014 3:47 AM in response to Drew Reece

    Thanks Drew for that very helpful reply.

     

    I find GetInfo comments very handy.  In the case of Apps., I can list the date of version updates and any bugs that they fixed.

     

    Apple has seemingly changed the hierarchy of Application permissions in Snow Leopard (in Tiger you can replace "System" as Owner with  "Me" as Owner and the change is not undone if you repair Permissions)

     

    I think I shall adopt your suggestion of adding Comments, then immediately running Permissions Repair to protect the Application file until "next time"

    .

  • by roger Symons,

    roger Symons roger Symons Jun 7, 2014 3:58 AM in response to a brody
    Level 2 (184 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2014 3:58 AM in response to a brody

    I cannot see how adding personal notes about an application in the "Spotlight Comments" window provided for that very purpose, can upset the operating system.  And I do not have MobileMe or iCloud to complicate the issue.

    I say (again) that this looks like a programming blunder by Apple, of the same magnitude as the iCal fiasco that I recently posted (see "missing calendars in iCal").

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jun 7, 2014 8:02 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 5 (7,659 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 7, 2014 8:02 AM in response to roger Symons

    roger Symons wrote:

     

    I say (again) that this looks like a programming blunder by Apple, of the same magnitude as the iCal fiasco that I recently posted (see "missing calendars in iCal").

    You keep calling it a blunder, Apple call it a 'security feature'. Who do you think is right, hundreds of people that built the OS or you?

     

     

    There are things in the OS that should not be changed without a good understanding of system & a good reason for making changes (and knowing the repercussions).

     

    Your understanding of why this is bad is not evident in any of what you have said here, I can only assume you haven't grasped the full extent of why it is a bad idea.

     

    Your reason for adding these comments seems badly thought through – file systems are for managing files. This 'version info & revisions notes' is better off in a text file(s), a database or third party app (even Notational Velocity could be suffice).  It doesn't belong in the comments field of the application is question, especially for system apps.

     

    You can keep assuming Apple made a mistake because you can't do something the way you have decided, or you can take a step back and consider that you may be going about it wrong.

     

    Here are yet more reasons why I think you should reconsider this…

    • Spotlight comments are limited in length
    • Spotlight comments don't always transfer to other disks depending on how you copy files & how the disk is formatted.
    • Application updates can undo your notes
    • How well do the notes work when you revert an app?
    • There is no simple way to backup all these notes or restore them - you would have to restore every file & folder (not great for system apps that will go out of sync with the applied updates).
    • Application permissions are critical security features of the OS
    • Finding, organizing and sorting based on these notes is basically impossible
    • Changes in system apps are already listed http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
    • In many years of Mac use & support to others no one else has needed the revisions within the comments in Finder
    • Developers don't track versions like this
    • Running custom permissions on Applications can cause unexpected behaviour. When (not if) a weird issue appears that you can't fix an Apple store would erase this OS to undo the custom application tweaks.

     

     

    In short, stuff outside of your home folder is not yours to mess with.

  • by andyBall_uk,

    andyBall_uk andyBall_uk Jun 7, 2014 9:51 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 7 (20,495 points)
    Jun 7, 2014 9:51 AM in response to roger Symons

    >>I think I shall adopt your suggestion of adding Comments, then immediately running Permissions Repair to protect the Application file until "next time"

    .

    I don't see anything wrong with what you're doing now. From Mountain Lion (at least, I haven't checked 10.7) comments are available for any user, even Guest.

     

    Even if you are the owner of certain apps, that doesn't allow other users to access your files.

  • by Mark Jalbert,

    Mark Jalbert Mark Jalbert Jun 7, 2014 10:04 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 5 (4,649 points)
    Jun 7, 2014 10:04 AM in response to roger Symons

    I cannot see how adding personal notes about an application in the "Spotlight Comments" window provided for that very purpose, can upset the operating system.

    It will not upset the operating system. Drew is right on with his explanation of posix permissions. If you do not own the file, folder, or bundle then you cannot make changes to it. BTW, "Spotlight Comments" are actually "Finder comments" stored in a.DS_Store file in the directory in which the file..etc resides. You are fighting the OS design.

  • by roger Symons,

    roger Symons roger Symons Jun 12, 2014 5:57 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 2 (184 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 12, 2014 5:57 AM in response to Drew Reece

    Well, if "stuff outside of your home folder is not yours to mess with", why is there a Spotlight Comments window inviting me to do just that?

    And I am not doing something "the way I have decided".  I am doing something the way that has always been allowed under previous operating systems.

    And it is a blunder by Apple.  Please look at the reply from Andy Ball "…comments are available for any user, even Guest…"

  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Jun 12, 2014 7:07 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 6 (13,112 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 12, 2014 7:07 AM in response to roger Symons

    Maybe I don't have a clear understanding of what you want to do, but if you want to see version, date modified and more  for applications, all that can be set in Show View Options.

     

    Screen Shot 2014-06-12 at 10.04.23 AM.png

     

    Screen Shot 2014-06-12 at 10.01.14 AM.png

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jun 12, 2014 7:27 AM in response to roger Symons
    Level 5 (7,659 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 12, 2014 7:27 AM in response to roger Symons

    roger Symons wrote:

     

    Well, if "stuff outside of your home folder is not yours to mess with", why is there a Spotlight Comments window inviting me to do just that?

    There is also a delete key on your keyboard - does that invite you to delete anything & everything?

    What about the 'Force Quit…' menu item, does that invite you to force quit every app or do you show some restraint because you know better than that?

     

    For what it is worth it my user is a 'standard account' on 10.9.3, and it can edit Spotlight comments on Applications, what I take issue with is your willingness to alter permissions on system applications to achieve your aim.

     

    You have not mentioned my big list of 'why I think this is bad' and focused on the last sentence. That is fine, however misses the point of asking for help.

    You can here for help, I'm trying to explain that what you are doing is irregular, fragile and may cause you to lose data with application updates.

     

    Clearly you know best so I'm going to stop tryng to convince you why this is bad, just explain this system you have created when you next need help - your changes to permissions can have wider effects beyond what you expect.

     

    I really have no problem with you continuing this system, I do have a problem when users do things that may cause them to lose data that they are spending time carefully creating.

  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Jun 12, 2014 9:51 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 6 (13,112 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 12, 2014 9:51 AM in response to Drew Reece

    While we're at it, I've never paid attention to this before, but Get Info, either in 10.6 or 10.8, does not show Spotlight comments, or a comments field for any file or folder.

     

    Not seeing anything in Spotlight or Finder preferences to make this happen. How do I enable this, that is, if it's something to be enabled first?

     

    EDIT: it's right there at the top of the Get Info wiindow. File that one in the Mr. Magoo/blind-as-a-bat department.

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