Subject: Re: Local desktop aliases point to wrong server documents/folders

From: "Bryn Hughes" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 12:52:16 -0800

I've had exactly the same problems.  Aliases TO folders the server get very screwy.  Some software, such as Assimilator which uses aliases to track it's source folder get very upset with this.  Strangely enough, I haven't had much of a problem with aliases to Applications, only to folders.

Bryn

>>> "Kevin M. Myer" <[email-masked]> 03/27/01 11:30AM >>>
Hi,

We are running netatalk-1.5pre3 under Linux 2.2.17 on x86 hardware.
Recently, it was brought to my attention that some users are experiencing
problems with local desktop aliases having the original source being
changed, apparently at random.  For example, each user has a folder in
their home directory called MyDocuments.  One user logged on, made an
alias on his desktop of MyDocuments and began to work.  At one point,
before his very eyes, the alias changed from a folder to a trash can and
when I did a Get Info, the alias now pointed to Network Trash.  Strange.
This was on a ruby iMac running MacOS 9.1; another ruby iMac user has
reported similar problems and she is running either 9.0.4 or 9.1.  I have
not been able to duplicate on my machine this problem.

I see that the symptoms are also available from another OS at
http://www.macwindows.com/servtips.html, namely the portion about "jumping
alias" problem (not to be confused with the jumping icons).  That was
with Windows NT 4 and apparently there isn't a known fix.

Throw into the mix that I've pretty much confirmed that Apple Menu Items
does strange things with any server aliased in Recent Server Items and I'm
not sure whether to blame MacOS, netatalk, Apple Menu Items, or just
gremlins.  I could see this being a problem resulting from non-persistent
DIDs with netatalk, except that the aliases on the desktop change _during_
a single login, not across multiple afpd instances (i.e. right smack dab
in the middle of doing work, the alias will change to a different original
source).  I could definitely see this being an Apple Menu CDEV problem,
since the original problem I discovered with that was that when you
accessed a server using Recent Server Items, aliases on the server pointed
to the wrong place.  Accessed via Chooser or via an alias on the desktop,
the aliases worked.  I'm going to try disabling that control panel and see
if the problem goes away on the two problem machines.

I'm curious what anyone else makes of this and if they have experienced
simliar symptoms.  If so, drop me a line.

-- 
Kevin M. Myer
Systems Administrator
Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
(717)-560-6140

---

From: Pike <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 23:48:24 +0200

Hi

I found a package for netatalk on Solaris 8. 
People say it might work on 7. I hesitate to
just go and run the thing blindly, but I don't fancy configuring
and compiling netatalk (or building a package) myself
either.

Does anyone know of a package for Solaris 7 (sparc,32) ?  

thanks,
*-pike

*----------pike-------------*

" The only reason I see for ever changing the default is the desire to be rebelious "