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Ask TUAW: Permissions problems, html email, Quick Look and Illustrator, RDC, SugarSync and more

mat lu
Updated ·7 min read

In this round of Ask TUAW we'll be looking at questions about permissions problems after an upgrade to Leopard, html email in Mail.app. using Quick Look with Adobe Illustrator files, Remote Desktop Connection for controlling PCs from OS X, syncing files across platforms, and much more.

As always your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of OS X, as certain answers will vary between different Macs and Tiger vs. Leopard, etc. (we'll assume you're running Leopard if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Josh asks

Is there a way to add search engines and turn on the suggestions feature the way it is in Firefox?

You should check out Inquisitor 3 which will do more or less exactly what you want with an abundance of style. It has occasioned some controversy (see this as well), but it still works reasonably well when all is said and done.


Jason asks

I want to be able to send a CSS-layout email, with embedded images and links, etc., preferably through Mail.app. The only way I've accomplished this, so far, is to create a web page and and use Safari->File to "Mail Contents of This Page." Is there a more elegant solution? Can I simply embed the code straight into the email message?

Being a plain-text zealot I shudder at doing what you suggest, but as you probably know Mail.app in Leopard supports "stationery." I suspect way to accomplish something like what you want would be to create your own custom stationery. There's a pretty good tutorial over at iUseApple.com that will get you started.


ywamer asks

Ever since I upgraded both my hard drive and moved from Tiger to Leopard, it seems that about half of my backed up files, documents, and old applications are locked or have their permissions set so I can't easily work with them. This means that I simply cannot access or edit them without Leopard asking for my user account password first. And some applications won't launch with it. This is driving me insane! So my question is: IS this some screwy new Microsoft-Vista-style security trick? Or have my file permission just been wrecked? And how do I resolve the locked file/permissions issue once and or all?

Yes, a number of people were hit by permissions related problems with the upgrade. If we're only talking about backed-up documents, etc. (and not system files) I would suggest doing two things. First, obviously, is repair permissions with Disk Utility. Second, you can change permissions in the Finder with the Get Info command. Choose (or create) a folder that contains all of the backed-up files then go to the Sharing & Permissions section of the Get Info window. Change the permissions to that you own the files and then be sure to hit the gear button and select "Apply to enclosed items."



Tommy asks

Is there any way to get quick look, finder, etc to be able to view .ai (Adobe Illustrator) files like it can view .PSDs?

There is a third-party plugin for this called SneakPeek Pro ($19.95). If the Illustrator files in question were saved with PDF compatibility there's a free way as well, but if they were not you're probably going to need SneakPeek Pro.


imatt asks.

Is there a way to bookmark the page (or perhaps subscribe to an RSS feed) for the Home>Movies>Theatrical Trailers page on iTunes? I like to keep up-to-date on new trailers to download (vs. getting them from apple.com or via Front Row.) Navigating through 3 layers of pages within iTunes, while not daunting, is not ideal when you check daily.

Apple does have a RSS feed for the new trailers they post at apple.com/trailers. That URL is: http://images.apple.com/trailers/home/rss/newtrailers.rss.


Timothy asks

Is there a way to do the reverse the screen sharing question? I have OSX 10.5.2 and I need to share the screen of a networked Windows XP machine. Is that possible?

Of course you can use VNC in either direction, but Microsoft itself supplies a tool for controlling Windows computers from a Mac called Remote Desktop Connection.


SupKev asks

I have a aluminum g4 powerbook (1.33 Ghz w/ 512 ram) running 10.4.11. Using the dvi port, the only displays that the computer will recognize are analog through the dvi->vga adaptor. I'm trying to hook it up to our tv with a dvi->hdmi cable. I've tried another digital display through a dvi cable and it also won't recognize it. A different powerbook I have with similar specs works fine with the setup, but I can't seem to get the first one to extend or mirror on a digital display. Is there a software fix for this (reinstalling operating system, for instance)? Or is this a hardware problem (busted dvi port or graphics card?) Any help would be appreciated!

This is almost certainly a hardware problem. You might try resetting the PRAM and seeing if that works. Otherwise I suspect you're in for a trip to the closest Apple Store.


ItsInTheCave asks

As I would imagine many people do, and especially students like myself, I use two computers for my day to day work; my desktop for at home, and my laptop at school. My question is, can I somehow 'sync' these two together, so that the newest files automatically get uploaded each way. It would make keeping track of documents a breeze and greatly simplify the process. And secondly, can I somehow do this between a Mac and a PC?

Actually keeping all of your files synced and up to date is quite a pain. If you were talking about two Macs my standard suggestion is ChronoSync. If you're doing it Mac to PC, however, you'll probably want to look at one of the online file syncing options. While I haven't used it myself, the SugarSync service has gotten some good buzz.


Samuel asks

I have a Flatpannel G4 PPC and a newer Intel MacBook, unfortunately some of my games are PPC only (Castle Wolfenstein/Worms3D).. I would like to play them on my Laptop, which is far more convenient, but its Intel. Is there a way to run the software on my PPC and stream it to my Laptop over my wireless network (802.11b) like remote control or maybe a very long USB cable (pref wireless)? Either that or I'll have to get the PC version and run it on Codeweavers CrossOver Games software, which I'd rather not.

No, this is simply not feasible for 3D graphics. In any case, your MacBook's anemic graphics notwithstanding it should still run circles around the G4 running Intel native games.


Lieven asks

I'm going to NYC next week and since the Dollar is so low I'm gonna buy a MBA. Is there a way I can export my user account to an external hard drive so I can put it on my MBA. It's kind of important cause al my CS stuff is on there and I will have to be able to fully use the account, like I exported it via Migration Assistant. (exept now I'm doing it from an external HDD)

Well you can just copy your entire Home folder to the external USB hard drive and then copy everything back over to your new Mac. However what you may want to do is clone the drive you have now with SuperDuper! ($27.95) or Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable clone then when get the new MacBook you can run the Migration Assistant and it should see the OS X install on the external drive and offer to migrate it.