How to create unix executable file..??

[chown33]

I do recall stating in the very first post this:



I have full read and write permission for this file in my account so why can I not change it?

So I did not say the command did nothing.. I mentioned that Terminal came back with a message that I 'do not have permission' to change the files attribute with that particular command. I did not know I was missing half the command.

This is the command you first posted:

chmod +x

If that was the entire command, which I assumed it was, then that doesn't give an error message about not having permission. It gives a usage message that summarizes the correct syntax.

Or to be completely accurate, it gives a usage message on every version of OS X I've ever used it on, which is everything from 10.0 to 10.8.4, but not 10.7. You can try this command exactly as I've shown to see what happens.

If you had given the command the name of a file that doesn't exist, that would also not produce a message about permissions.

Since you own everything in your home folder and in your Desktop folder, I don't know what you actually entered to get an error message about permissions. I could guess, and my first guess would be an accidental "..", which you don't own (it's the /Users dir, which is owned by root). If you happen to know exactly what you entered, you can post it.

 

[Chi Tang]

I think I was missing the file name and location..

I only pasted "chmod a+x" into terminal and got the permission error message.

You gave me:

chmod a+x ~/Desktop/XCOM*

Which was the full and correct command because it located the file on te desktop and achieved the objective I was looking for.

I did not know how to point terminal to the file on my desktop. I read somewhere that I could paste 'chmod a+x' in terminal and then drag and drop my file into terminal and it would complete the request. I'll try it now an show you the result.

Here complete with permission denied message:

Last login: Sun Jun 1 21:39:22 on ttys000
Scraps-MacBook-Pro:~ scrap$ chmod a+x
usage: chmod [-fhv] [-R [-H | -L | -P]] [-a | +a | =a [# [ n]]] mode|entry file ...
chmod [-fhv] [-R [-H | -L | -P]] [-E | -C | -N | -i | -I] file ...
Scraps-MacBook-Pro:~ scrap$ /Users/scrap/Desktop/XCOM\ Enemy\ Unknown\ -\ Elite\ Edition
-bash: /Users/scrap/Desktop/XCOM Enemy Unknown - Elite Edition: Permission denied
Scraps-MacBook-Pro:~ scrap$

 

[chown33]

I think I was missing the file name and location..

I only pasted "chmod a+x" into terminal and got the permission error message.

You gave me:

chmod a+x ~/Desktop/XCOM*

Which was the full and correct command because it located the file on te desktop and achieved the objective I was looking for.

I did not know how to point terminal to the file on my desktop. I read somewhere that I could paste 'chmod a+x' in terminal and then drag and drop my file into terminal and it would complete the request. I'll try it now an show you the result.

Here complete with permission denied message:

Last login: Sun Jun 1 21:39:22 on ttys000
Scraps-MacBook-Pro:~ scrap$ chmod a+x
usage: chmod [-fhv] [-R [-H | -L | -P]] [-a | +a | =a [# [ n]]] mode|entry file ...
chmod [-fhv] [-R [-H | -L | -P]] [-E | -C | -N | -i | -I] file ...
Scraps-MacBook-Pro:~ scrap$ /Users/scrap/Desktop/XCOM\ Enemy\ Unknown\ -\ Elite\ Edition
-bash: /Users/scrap/Desktop/XCOM Enemy Unknown - Elite Edition: Permission denied
Scraps-MacBook-Pro:~ scrap$

The 'chmod a+x doesn't say anything about permission denied. That message is the usage message. It starts with "usage:", and summarizes the correct usage of the command.

The permission denied message comes from the command you entered AFTER the chmod a+x. That's a command you entered, and the shell is denying permission because the file isn't executable.

If you'd posted everything you entered, and the complete output, someone could have given the correct command a lot sooner. Accuracy, completeness, details.


To use drag-and-drop in Terminal, you have to enter (or paste) the 'chmod a+x', follow it with a space, then NOT PRESS RETURN. When you press RETURN, it tells the shell to run the command.

So you can try drag-and-drop again, but don't press RETURN until AFTER you've dropped the file onto the Terminal window.

If you'd said in your first post that you were using drag-and-drop, I would have posted the above instructions first. Again: accuracy, completeness, details.

 

[Chi Tang]

Aha I see, yes I confess I pressed RETURN because of faulty intructions from another source. Too many 'RETURNS'

Makes more sense now. I learnt a lot here today. Good stuff.