Unlock a folder full of files

[opusthe2nd]

I manually imported files from an old TM backup. They are all locked, I want to unlock them so I can randomly delete them. How do I correct this issue?? Folders and sub-folders in one fell swoop.

 

[mrapplegate]

I manually imported files from an old TM backup. They are all locked, I want to unlock them so I can randomly delete them. How do I correct this issue?? Folders and sub-folders in one fell swoop.

You can google it

In terminal type

chflags -R nouchg /PATH/TO/DIRECTORY/WITH/LOCKED/FILES/

 

[opusthe2nd]

You can google it

In terminal type

chflags -R nouchg /PATH/TO/DIRECTORY/WITH/LOCKED/FILES/

I did Google it and got the same thing you said. I proceeded to do it and it said no go. I since tried to delete them and it DOES work, regardless of the error it spit out at me.

 

[mrapplegate]

I did Google it and got the same thing you said. I proceeded to do it and it said no go. I since tried to delete them and it DOES work, regardless of the error it spit out at me.

I'm not sure of the error you got but that is the unix command to unlock files recursively.

 

[opusthe2nd]

I'm not sure of the error you got but that is the unix command to unlock files recursively.

As I thought too.

 

[mrapplegate]

As I thought too.

Scratch that, I just tested it in 10.8.2

I can lock a set of files in a fodder using
chflags -R uchg /Users/thor/Desktop/Test

but can't unlock using
chflags -R nouchg /Users/thor/Desktop/Test

Strange.

 

[opusthe2nd]

Scratch that, I just tested it in 10.8.2

I can lock a set of files in a fodder using
chflags -R uchg /Users/thor/Desktop/Test

but can't unlock using
chflags -R nouchg /Users/thor/Desktop/Test

Strange.

Thats what I thought, I did it and I can now delete. Who knows!

 

[mrapplegate]

Thats what I thought, I did it and I can now delete. Who knows!

Glad it's working.

 

[opusthe2nd]

Glad it's working.

Sorry yours isnt.

 

[mrapplegate]

Sorry yours isnt.

Mine was just a test after you said the command did not work. I did not expect it not to work, lol after all it's unix. The command is valid. Maybe it will just work later. Thankfully I don't need it to work haha

 

[opusthe2nd]

FreeBSD user for years, thats why I was puzzled.

 

[mrapplegate]

FreeBSD user for years, thats why I was puzzled.

Yes, it's a mystery. I usually don't deal with locked files, but have in the past. I can't explain it.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Unlock All Files in Folder OSX 10.8 - Solution

I was digging around and the command in terminal you need to use is


chflags -R nouchg *

Thus in "mrapplegate" issue ... the solution is
chflags -R nouchg * /Users/thor/Desktop/Test

(the asterisks was missing).
Solution Find on: http://www.mehtanirav.com/2009/04/16/recursively-unlock-files-on-mac-os-x/

Recursively unlock files on Mac OS X
with 7 comments

I copied some songs from a CD and ended up with a folder full of locked files. iTunes can’t save changes to song info (ID3 tags) until I unlocked them. How can you unlock files recursively on Mac OS X?

If you have a folder full of locked files on Mac OS X, you can quickly unlock all of them recursively with the following command. Open a Terminal, go to the folder containing locked files, and type:

chflags -R nouchg *

An excellent introduction to chflags on Mac OS X Hints. Here’s an excerpt:

In addition to the standard UNIX permissions (read, write, execute for owner, group, other), OS X has a few flags that can be set on files and folders to make them locked.

These flags supersede the standard UNIX permissions. If a file is locked, that overrides the write permissions so that applications treat the file as read-only. If a folder is locked, no files can be added or removed from that folder, no matter what the write permissions on the folder are. These restrictions apply to all users, independent of the permissions that are set on the files or folders. They even apply to the root user (or to admin users using sudo).

Read more about chflags at Mac OS X Server FAQ.

 

[austenl]

worked like charm