OS X User accounts and collaboration

Question

Level 1

10 points

OS X User accounts and collaboration

Would setting up some sort of networking protocol solve the following problem?

My husband and I have separate user accounts on the same machine. We am being driven crazy by our inability to both work on the same files from our separate accounts. (Obviously we would not be working on them at the same time) The files are typically folder after folder of family photos that need editing.

As far as I can tell there is no way to grant universal access to both users to all files in the "shared" folder regardless of authorship. Irk!

Is there some sort of networking protocol I can setup that would provide the necessary security/integrity structure that would convince OS X that it is OK for both users to both work on all the files in "Shared" or in some other special location? Not that we need the network.......

I recently gave up and put our shared addresses and contacts on Google as there was no other way for both of us to access and make changes to them from our login accounts. Drop box could be a solution but that's crazy; this is a huge photo collection going back to 1905.And why do we have to put things on the cloud when the hard drive is at our knee? (We are currently using Photoshop CS5)

We are on a Mac Pro hanging out with 10.6.8 and will upgrade OS as soon as I learn of a good reason to do so.

I am so grateful for your perspectives..

Mary

Belfast Maine

Posted on Dec 25, 2013 6:36 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Dec 26, 2013 10:27 AM in response to mbb04915

Try putting the files in the Users/Shared folder, the do a Get Info (command - I) on the folder, unlock the Get Info, and then change everyone to read/write. Then go to the cog and select 'Apply to enclosed items'.

Reply

Answer 2

mbb04915 Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 27, 2013 3:13 AM in response to Eric Root

Eric

Thank you . That is a helpful lead. The steps you outline do work if you do the procedure for each folder (and subfolder) and for each user. Or that is what I found when I tested the procedure just now. Otherwise would not let me save a file. Fortunately only two users in this case.

Pretty cumbersome but might work if we are careful to remember that creating a folder requires a fancy logout/login-set-up-permission-two-step to get it to work. Could get pretty hairy. There are alot of photos, hundreds, since about 1905.

Is my experience of the procedure in my little test about what you would expect?

Mary

Reply

Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Dec 27, 2013 8:33 AM in response to mbb04915

You are welcome.

If I remember correctly, I had to do it for the 2 files I share between my 2 partitions, so I'm not surprised. What I didn't have to do, that evidently you did, was do it for the user on both partitions. You are working in a slightly different situation.

Reply