Getting Information About a File or Folder

You can use the Inspector to get information about a file or folder--its size, owner, and group, as well as its permissions and the last time it was changed, as shown in Figure 7-1 on page 7-2.

1. Choose Tools from the Workspace menu.

2. Choose Inspector from the Tools menu.

3. Select a file or folder in the File Viewer.

4. Choose Attributes from the pop-up list at the top of the Inspector panel.

Figure 7-1

The size of a file is displayed automatically each time you inspect it. But you have to compute the size of a folder if you have changed any of its files since the last time you inspected it.

When a File Is Not a File

In the File Viewer, you may see things that look like files or folders but really are not. These are either links or file packages.

Links A link looks and acts like an ordinary file or folder but is actually a pointer to a file or folder somewhere else in the system. When you inspect a link, the Inspector panel shows both the path name for the link and the path name for the file or folder to which it is linked. See "What Is a Link?" on page 6-14.

File packages A file package is a folder that looks and acts like a file. It contains information that should not be separated, such as the text and graphics files that make up a document or the files that make up an application. When you inspect a file package, it looks like a folder--you need to press the Compute button to compute its size. See "File Packages--Files That Are Really Folders" on page 3-27.

You can also get this information in the File Viewer. See "Listing Files and Folders" on page 3-15.

Previewing the Contents of a File

You can get a quick look at the contents of a file without taking the time to open the file and start up its application--to make sure it is the one you want, for example.

You use the File Inspector panel, which changes when you open different types of files. For example, the Inspector panels in Figure 7-2 on page 7-4 show the contents of an RTF file and a TIFF file.

1. Choose Tools from the Workspace menu.

2. Choose Inspector from the Tools menu.

3. Select a file in the File Viewer.

4. Choose Contents from the pop-up list at the top of the Inspector panel.

Figure 7-2

The Workspace Manager provides Inspector panels for inspecting several types of files, including RTF (.rtf and .rtfd), EPS, TIFF, and sound (.snd) files. If the application you are using produces a different kind of file, it may provide its own Inspector panel. If not, you cannot preview its files.

Sorting Files and Folders

The files and folders in the File Viewer and other folder windows are normally listed alphabetically by name. You can change the order in any folder to list its contents by kind, date, size, or owner, as shown in Figure 7-3 on page 7-5.

1. Choose Tools from the Workspace menu.

2. Choose Inspector from the Tools menu.

3. Open the folder you want to sort in the File Viewer.

4. Choose Contents from the pop-up list at the top of the Inspector panel.

5. Click on one of the sorting options and click on OK.

Figure 7-3

Any change you make in the Folder Inspector panel applies only to the folder that is currently open in the File Viewer.

In the icon view, you can also use the Clean Up Icons command and the Sort Icons command in the View menu to organize your files and folders. See "Workspace Manager Commands" on page A-10.

Changing the Application That Opens a File

When you open a file in the Workspace Manager, an application automatically starts at the same time. That application depends on the type of file--that is, on its file extension. For example, when you open an RTF file, Edit normally starts.

You can use the Inspector to see which applications can open a file, to change the application that starts whenever you open specific types of files, or to open a file temporarily in another application, as shown in Figure 7-4 on page 7-7.

1. Choose Tools from the Workspace menu.

2. Choose Inspector from the Tools menu.

3. Select a file in the File Viewer.

4. Choose Tools from the pop-up list at the top of the Inspector panel.

5. Click on the application you want to open the file.

6. Click on Set Default.

Figure 7-4

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Note - You can also open a file temporarily in an application by holding down the Command key and dragging the file icon from the icon path to the application icon in the dock.

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For more information about what makes a file and application compatible, see "Which Application Opens a File" on page 3-10.

Assigning a File or Folder to a New Group

The Workspace Manager helps groups of people work more efficiently by sharing access to a set of files and folders. Every file and folder you create is assigned to a group. If you belong to more than one group, you can reassign files and folders from one group to another, as shown in Figure 7-5.

1. Choose Tools from the Workspace menu.

2. Choose Inspector from the Tools menu.

3. Select a file or folder in the File Viewer.

4. Choose Attributes from the pop-up list at the top of the Inspector panel.

5. Choose the new group from the Group pop-up list and click on OK.

Figure 7-5

You can reassign only files and folders that you created.

For information about setting up groups to share files and folders, see your system administrator.

Changing Permissions for a File or Folder

You can control access to individual files and folders that you create--and protect them from accidental changes--by setting permissions for them, as shown in Figure 7-6 on page 7-10.

1. Choose Tools from the Workspace menu.

2. Choose Inspector from the Tools menu.

3. Select a file or folder in the File Viewer.

4. Choose Access Control from the pop-up list on the Inspector panel.

5. Check the permissions you want in the grid and click on OK.

Figure 7-6

Permission is granted when a check mark appears in the appropriate square. An X indicates that permission is denied. You can change permissions only if you are the owner of the file or folder.

You can also set read and write permissions in the Attributes Inspector panel. These permissions apply only to the current file or folder--not the files and folders it contains.

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Caution - Do not change execute permissions unless you are an expert user. If you uncheck execute permissions for an application, you may not be able to open any of the files that use the application. If you uncheck execute permissions for a folder, you or others may not be able to open any of the files in the folder.

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Permissions affect many file operations. For an overview, see "Permissions Granted" on page 6-2.

You can preset permissions for any file or folder you create with the Preferences application.