Changing owner or group in a Get Info window (Mac OS X)

If your computer is bound to a network directory system with many user or group records, changing a file or folder's owner or group in a Get Info window may take some time.

Symptom

• Owner and Group information appears blank in a Get Info window, and a progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear) appears.
• Scrolling through the users or groups pop-up menu takes longer than expected.

This happens when the client is bound to a network directory system that has many user or group records.


Solution

When you authenticate to change the Owner or Group setting, the pop-up menu is populated with every user or group in the local and networked directory system.

Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 or later only workaround - enable free text entry

By default, Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 or later display users and groups in the local directory only.

Note: This advanced procedure requires manual editing of a value using the Terminal application. This information is provided for information purposes only. Apple does not provide any further technical support for this method. You should use this method only if you don't need to browse user or group listings.

Note: If multiple users have the same real name, this method selects the first one that it encounters in the network directory system.

1. Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities).
2. Type, followed by Return:
   defaults write com.apple.finder FXDisableFullUserGroupListing true
    
3. Log out, then back in.

When you log in, the Owner and Group pop-up menus will be replaced with text-entry fields. You can now type in a known account or group short name or a real name.

Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 or later only - selecting a user or group that is not displayed

By default, Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 or later display users and groups in the local directory only. To select a user or group from the network directory:

1. In the Get Info window, click the Owner or Group pop-up menu depending on what you want to do.
2. Choose Other at the bottom of the menu.
3. In the User Listing window, select the user and group from the network directory list.

Note: The time required for the User Listing to appear depends on the number of user and group records in the network directory system.

This document will be updated when more information is available.