Mount a dmg in one user account mounts it for all users

JeffCMKRNL wrote:

There must be a way to mount a volume directly to a single process and all of its sub processes at the user level, vs. a global system mount?

I know Unix and linux have these capabilities, as well as OpenVMS. Mac should too, even if it is a command line operation.

You seem to be asking to mount the .dmg in a non-standard Mac location, where Mac standard is /Volumes, and things mounted in /Volumes are displayed by everyone's Finder.

You could try the hdiutil command from an Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal session

hdiutil mount -nobrowse -mountpoint /path/to/where/you/want/to/mount/the/dmg /path/to/the/image.dmg

The -nobrowse is what keeps it from displaying by the Finder in all accounts. In your account the Folder (mountpoint) you specify will change its name to the name of the .dmg, so that is what you are going to be looking for.

I would like to point out that while OpenVMS, Unix and Linux can mount on any directory, the mount is still global to all processes, it is just a matter of being able to find and access the mount point, and that is where ownership and permissions come into play. So just because you can mount your .dmg outside of /Volumes, and you can tell the Finder not to display the mount point, does not mean other users cannot access the .dmg. Only ownership and permissions will stop that. Speaking as a file system developer that worked for Digital, and is still working on file systems for Unix/Linux systems.

That is the way a simulated disk work. When it is mounted, just like a real disk, it is available across the system. File and folder ownership and permissions is how you protect data from other users.

Not ideal, but unmount the dmg before logging out.

You are welcome.