How does NFS Gateway for NetWare 6.5 handle Unix hidden files?

How does NFS Gateway for NetWare 6.5 handle Unix hidden files?

In Unix, any file or directory whose name begins with a dot (.) is considered 'hidden' and, in Unix, will not be displayed by an'ls' command. Instead, 'ls -a' must be used to see all files (including hidden files). NFS Gateway for NetWare 6.5 initially treated these files like any other non-hidden files, as did the previous version of the product, NFS Gateway for NetWare 6.0.

However, beginning in Support Pack 1 for NFS Gateway for NetWare 6.5, a new setting is being introduced to optionally handle hidden files another way. A new pair of parameters are available on the GYMOUNT command: '-showDotFiles' (the default, same as past behavior) and '-hideDotFiles'

Here is a description of how '-hideDotFiles' will work. Overall, this functionality is designed to automatically set the DOS'hidden' attribute when presenting files created from Unix with names beginning with dots. "DOS hidden attribute" refers to the hidden attribute used by DOS, Windows, OS2, etc. Several points need to be discussed:

1. Note that when changing to using -hideDotFiles (or when changing back from -hideDotFiles to -showDotFiles), NFS Gateway does not automatically recalculate what should be hidden vs not hidden. All files whose information already exists in the shadow files will remain hidden or not hidden as they already were. New files will be effected by the new setting. This is because NFS Gateway cannot accurately determine whether user intervention has altered which files are expected to be hidden or not.

If it is desired that an NFS Gateway volume start with a "clean slate" and totally reevaluate which files should be hidden, then it is necessary to delete that volume's shadow files. Note that doing this will wipe out the NetWare file system trustee rights assigned to that volume. Those rights will have to be reestablished. The procedure is as follows:

Execute GYSTOP.NCF
Delete sys:\gateway\\*.*
Edit GYSTART.NCF and include -hideDotFiles on the appropriate GYMOUNT line.
Execute GYSTART.NCF
Reassign any NetWare trustee assignments needed on that Gateway volume.

2. When NFS Gateway creates new shadow information for files on the Unix system, if it encounters a name beginning with a dot (.) , it will set the DOS hidden attribute.

3.NetWare users with sufficient NetWare rights can set or remove the hidden attribute as desired. Setting or removing the hidden attribute will not effect the Unix side in any way.

4. All Windows features will react to the hidden attribute as they normally would.

5. If a NetWare client creates a file or folder that begins with a dot (.) , NFS Gateway will not automatically add the DOS hidden attribute, as the name did not originate from Unix. A Windows user would not expect a newly created file to be automatically hidden.

6. If a NetWare client renames a file to add or remove a leading dot (.), NFS Gateway will not set or clear the hidden attribute, since a Windows user would not expect that. NOTE that the Windows GUI won't allow assignment of a name beginning with a dot (on any drive or volume), but a DOS window will allow it.

7. If a Unix client renames (mv) a file to add or remove a leading dot, NFS Gateway will automatically add or remove the DOS hidden attribute, respectively.

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Formerly known as TID# 10094733