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What does the "shared folder" check box in get info

Hello:


I am looking at all the output from the File->Get Info menu item on the Finder.


If I have selected a folder when I "get info" there are two checkboxes that appear in the "General" section.

One says "Shared folder" and the other one says "Locked". I understand the checking the "Locked" will prevent inadvertent deletion or overwriting of the file.


However, "Shared folder" appears as unchecked even for /Users/Shared, which I thought was as a shared folder by definition. I see that the permissions in the Shared folder allow everyone to read and write. However, the "Public" folder in my home folder does have the "Shared folder" check box set, and the permissions allow everyone to read but not to write.


Does the "Shared folder" checkbox just change the permissions (at the unix level) or does it enable/disable some other protection feature on the files?


I am running Mac OS X 10.10.5 on an iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)


Mik Bickis

Posted on Feb 23, 2017 4:13 PM

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Posted on Feb 24, 2017 9:38 AM

It makes the folder a File Sharing "Shared" item

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Feb 24, 2017 9:42 AM in response to BobHarris

Thanks for this. I just could not find this documented anywhere. I was wondering why the "Shared" folder is not a "Shared folder".


Do you (or anyone else) know how this is actually implemented at the low level. Does clicking the box just change the unix permissions on the directory, or does something else also happen?


Mik

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Feb 24, 2017 3:48 PM in response to Mikelis Bickis

I do not think it changes any permissions. But if you click on a junk folder (one you can throw away afterwards), you can then look at the Sharing & Permissions at the bottom of the Get Info to see if they changed. Or you can use an Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal session and the command

/bin/ls -dleO@ /path/to/junk/folder

to see the Unix permissions, and check if they changed after you clicked on "Shared"


But I think all it is doing is telling the file sharing software to export this folder so other Macs can mount it remotely. And by other Macs, I mean other Macs on your Local Area Network, which for most Mac users is their home network.


Of course this assumes you have enabled System Preferences -> Sharing -> File Sharing

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What does the "shared folder" check box in get info

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