How do I get permission to save on a Mac?

A computer's file permission settings determine who is able to access its files and who can make changes to them. The owner or administrator of a Mac computer can specify the permissions for any file, folder or disk and change permissions for specific users or groups.

Mac File Permissions

Mac computers have four types of file permissions, as determined by Apple in most of its operating systems, including macOS Big Sur. These permissions can be set and changed by an administrator on the computer who already has ownership of them:

• Read & Write: The user can open the item and make changes.
• Read only: The user can open the item but not make changes to it.
• Write only (Drop Box): This option turns a folder into a drop box. Users can copy files and folders into the drop box, but they cannot access the contents.
• No Access: The user cannot see, open or edit the item.

These permission settings apply to any file, folder or drive, with the exception of Write only (Drop Box), which applies only to folders. A drop box is much like a black hole – users can add anything to it but cannot retrieve anything from it or even see the contents.

Changing File Permissions

To change the file permissions for files, folders or drives, first select the item in Finder and then open the Get Info window. To do this, press "Cmd-I" on the keyboard or select "Get Info" from the "File" menu.

In the Get Info window, the Sharing & Permissions section is at the bottom. Click the arrow to expand the section if necessary. If the lock at the bottom is closed, click it to enable changes and enter your admin password when prompted. If you have a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you can also use Touch ID to unlock it.

Select a user or a group in the Name column and then click the Privilege beside it to change the permission setting. If the permission is set to "Read Only," for example, and you want an employee to be able to edit the file, you can change the permission to "Read and Write" for that user or a group of users without affecting the permissions for anyone else.

If you have a drive or a folder with multiple items in it that you want to change permissions for, select it and apply permissions as described above. After you set the permissions, click the "..." action icon at the bottom of the Get Info window. When the pop-up menu opens, click "Apply to enclosed items." Once the change is made, click the "lock icon" to lock it again and close the Get Info window.

Changing Ownership of a File or Folder

If you're the owner of a file, folder or drive, you can give ownership to another user whenever needed. Select the item in Finder and open the Get Info window. Unlock access to make changes if needed.

Select the user you want to be the new owner. If the user isn't listed, click the "+" icon to add her and then select her name in the Sharing & Permissions section. Click the "..." action menu at the bottom and select "Make [user] the owner."

If you change your mind or make a mistake, click the "..." action menu at the bottom and select "Revert changes." Remember to click the open lock icon to lock it again before closing the Get Info window.

Ignoring Read-Only Issues on External Drives

Occasionally, an external drive connected to your Mac may be set to "Read Only" and changing the permission doesn't seem to work. According to EaseUS, this can be due to an incompatible file system on the drive, a formatting error or faulty permission settings.

If you're unable to change the permission settings, you may need to reformat the drive, which deletes all the data on it. However, before you do that, try ignoring permissions. In Finder, open Get Info, expand Sharing & Permissions, unlock the lock, and then click the "Ignore ownership on this volume" check box.

In most cases, the Mac folder permissions are set automatically to create PDFs in Cascade. Occasionally, there is a need to set the permissions manually, so here is a guide.

First, follow the standard procedure explained at How can I save a report to a PDF?

Creating PDFs on a Mac requires Cascade to work with the computer’s operating system to save the file. As Apple continue to enhance the security of their platform, it becomes more difficult for programs like Cascade to automatically create PDF files. Special permission is required from the operating system to save a file to a folder. The default folder located in the depths of the computer where the Cascade files are saved. This article shows you how to manually set up the permissions for the folder.

Set the Folder Path for saving the PDFs

1. Open the Cascade Menu and select the Settings tab.
2. Click on Insert Path to set the destination path for the PDF files.
3. Click on Test Path to see if Cascade can write to the folder.
   If the Test Path is not successful, follow the steps below.

Locate the folder to save the PDFs

Identify the folder for the saving the PDF files. The default folder is shown in the Settings section of the Cascade Menu, in the Folder Path area.

1. Open the Cascade Menu and select the Settings tab.
2. Highlight and Copy the Folder Path to the clipboard. Click on the path and use Command + C or Right-Click then Copy.
3. In Finder, click on Go in the menu at the very top of the screen, then select Go to Folder..
4. At the prompt for the folder, Paste in the path you copied from the Cascade Folder Path. Use Command + V or Right-Click then Paste, followed by Enter.
   You will see the Cascade folder in Finder but due to the permissions you may not be able to open it.

Grant Permission to the Folder

Set the permissions for the folder to allow Excel (Cascade) to create files.

1. In Finder, Right Click on the Cascade folder and select Get Info.
2. At the bottom of the new window are the Sharing & Permissions settings. Next to your username, click on the word Custom.
3. In the small box, select Read & Write.
4. In the Settings page for Cascade, click on Test Path and it should return the Success message.

Create PDFs of the Reports

You are now ready to create PDFs.

1. For the desired report, click on the PDF button.
2. You may see a message to Grant File Access, see the section below for instructions.
3. The PDF report will appear in the Cascade folder.
4. Use Finder to locate and view the PDF file.

Grant File Access for Excel

You may see a message asking for Excel to have access to the folder.

Click on Select then Grant Access for Microsoft Excel.

You should only need to do this part once.

Use the same folder when creating PDFs

After creating all your PDFs you can move the files to your customer folder leaving the /cascade/ folder empty.

Troubleshooting

Occasionally you may experience an error message if Cascade cannot create the PDF file on your computer. See the list of error messages to help you find a solution.

Microsoft Office version

According to Microsoft, Mac Mojave needs Office version 16.16.2 or above to function properly. This is Office 2019.

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