Newbie Question about padlocks

[snerkler]

I've noticed that some files and folders have a little picture of a padlock at the bottom of them. I would assume this means that they are locked, but I can open them as normal. So what do these padlocks mean?
Cheers

 

[simsaladimbamba]

It probably means, they are write protected.
Have you checked Finder > select folder >> GET INFO >>> Sharing & Permissions yet?

 

[snerkler]

It probably means, they are write protected.
Have you checked Finder > select folder >> GET INFO >>> Sharing & Permissions yet?

Image​

Just have done now you've told me about it. In permissions it says against my user account "read and write" but then there's 2 more accounts; Staff and Everyone where it says "read only". Who/what are these 'accounts' that say staff and everyone?
Does this explain why I have padlocks?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Just have done now you've told me about it. In permissions it says against my user account "read and write" but then there's 2 more accounts; Staff and Everyone where it says "read only". Who/what are these 'accounts' that say staff and everyone?

Owner, Group, Others
...

• Owner - The owner is most often the user who created the file. Almost all files and folders in your home directory will have your username listed as the owner.
• Group - Admin users are members of the groups called "staff" and "admin". The super user "root" is a member of these and several other groups. Non-admin users are members of "staff" only. Typically, all files and folders are assigned to either "staff," "admin," or "wheel".
• Others - Others refers to all other users that are not the owner or part of the group for a file or folder.

from Troubleshooting permissions issues in Mac OS X
this is how it looks on my Mac, but the "staff" rights vary from "Read Only" to "Read & Write"

Does this explain why I have padlocks?

Probably.
Can you make a screenshot and attach it to your next post?

 

[snerkler]

from Troubleshooting permissions issues in Mac OS X
this is how it looks on my Mac, but the "staff" rights vary from "Read Only" to "Read & Write"

Image​

Probably.
Can you make a screenshot and attach it to your next post?

It looks the same as that, but where yours says staff - read and write, mine says Staff - read only. I'd rather not post a snapshot on here for identity reasons.

This padlock thing is no biggie, but was just curious as to why the symbol is there.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

It looks the same as that, but where yours says staff - read and write, mine says Staff - read only. I'd rather not post a snapshot on here for identity reasons.

This padlock thing is no biggie, but was just curious as to why the symbol is there.

You can use Preview to mask information, if you want.
Here is a short 14 MB video tutorial (1680 x 1050 pixel) to show you what I mean.

 

[snerkler]

You can use Preview to mask information, if you want.
Here is a short 14 MB video tutorial (1680 x 1050 pixel) to show you what I mean.

Thanks

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Thanks

Just out of curiosity, was that video helpful, or was some key information missing? I just ask for future screen recordings.

 

[snerkler]

Just out of curiosity, was that video helpful, or was some key information missing? I just ask for future screen recordings.

Not had chance to view it yet, but am going to try to view it tonight. Will report back later.

 

[snerkler]

Just out of curiosity, was that video helpful, or was some key information missing? I just ask for future screen recordings.

It looks pretty useful thanks, except that I don't know how to take snapshots in the first place to then be able to black out info

 

[simsaladimbamba]

It looks pretty useful thanks, except that I don't know how to take snapshots in the first place to then be able to black out info

Taking screenshots