Chapter 1: The Power of Permissions: Understanding Users and Unix Organization

Overview

(Or: What the heck are user accounts and privileges, and how do I use them to my advantage?)

It may seem odd to start a book about becoming a power user of Mac OS X with such boring topics as user accounts, file organization, and privileges. After all, you're in this to learn cool tips and tricks, not to learn about the boring guts of the operating system, right? Yet when it comes down to it, if you don't understand these topics, you'll never become the master of your Mac. In addition, in my experience working with users of OS X (especially those users who have come to OS X from previous versions of the Mac OS), one of the most frustrating—and common—issues they have is dealing with permissions (such as error messages telling them they can't do what they want to do because they "don't have permission"). This means that some of the most useful tips and tricks relate to permissions and user accounts.

In addition to gaining a better understanding of these issues, in this chapter you'll learn how to create and customize user accounts and groups, how to work with permissions, and how to use NetInfo Manager. You'll also learn about root access and the root account.