TITLE
    Mac OS X Server: The Inspector
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		60030
12/9/98
6/2/00
TOPIC

    This article provides information on what the Inspector is, and how it is used in Mac OS X Server.

DISCUSSION

    A very useful tool in the Workspace Manager is the Inspector. It is similar to the Get Info feature of the traditional Mac OS. It provides information about an item's attributes, contents, tools that it can be used with, and access privileges.

    There are several ways to open the Inspector. It can be opened by choosing the Inspector from the Tools menu, by clicking the Inspector button of the Tool Bar, or by keyboard shortcuts.

    The Attributes Pane (Command+1)

    The Attributes pane provides essential information. It shows if an item is a link and what it is linked to. This is the only way to determine this information.

    It also displays the user and the group that the item belongs to. If the item is a directory, the size can be calculated by clicking on the button that has a folder on it. The modification date is displayed in the lower right-hand corner of the window.

    The bottom of this pane lists the read and write access permissions for the selected item.

    The Content Pane (Command+2)

    The Content pane looks different depending on what the selected item is.

    If the item selected is a directory or application wrapper then the Contents pane displays a "Sort by:" option. This sorting method is applied inside the wrapper or directory. Wrappers are special kinds of directories that contain executable files and their resources.

    If the item is an application, the pane displays the hardware platform (kind of computer) the application was compiled for. For Mac OS X Server the application must be compiled for the PowerPC platform. (Some developers may include other platform versions) It also displays the button titled Open Application Wrapper . This allows you to see the files inside the wrapper.

    Also displayed are the extensions that the application can open. In Mac OS X Server, applications recognize which documents they can open based on a file's extension. This method is familiar to DOS and Windows users, but quite foreign to traditional Mac OS users.

    The extension usually comprises three characters that come after the period in a filename. For example "picture.tif" has tif as the extension. The Contents pane displays all the extensions that an application can open.

    The Tools Pane (Command+3)

    The Tools pane is used for setting the default application used to open the item. As discussed above, Mac OS X Server uses extensions to open a file. It is quiet possible that several applications are able to open the same type of file. From the Tools pane you can choose the default application to open the items with a particular extension by clicking the appropriate application's icon.

    For directories or applications, the Tools pane has no options.

    The Access Pane (Command+4)

    The Access pane allows the owner of the selected item to set its access permissions. Permissions are divided into read, write, and execute. The ability to read, write, or execute is based on being the owner, a member of a group, or other.

    If read, write, and execute are checked only for the owner, then only the owner is able to perform those actions on the item.

    If other has execute, read, and write permissions then all users will be able to do all three to the file. This could be a security hole.

    Also in this pane is a checkbox that applies the permissions for a directory to all items located inside that directory. This is useful for quickly ensuring that access permissions are set correctly through out an entire directory.

Document Information
Product Area: Mac OS System Software
Category: Mac OS X Server
Sub Category: General Topics

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