PI Toolbox¶
The PI Toolbox allows PIs and their proxies to make changes to files owned by project members on the Community File System. You can
- Change the group for files and directories
- Change the owner of files and directories
- Change the group-level unix permissions on files and directories
- Make an entire project directory group readable in one action
Choosing Files and Directories¶
To make changes, start by selecting a project directory for which you are the PI or PI proxy from the Jump to menu at the top. This sets the tool to make changes in that particular directory tree. If you are not a PI or PI proxy, you will see no project directories listed, and you will not be able to use the tool.
One you've selected a project directory, you should see the files and directories it contains in the file list area below. You can navigate further through the project directory tree by clicking directories in the file list or by typing a path in the Path box. The file list is pulled from the live file system, and you can update the list to reflect any changes since you last loaded the list by clicking Refresh file list.
Actions¶
Making an Entire Project Directory Group Readable¶
After selecting a project directory, you can click Make entire project dir group readable, which will make two changes. It will change the group of all files and directories within the project directory to the project directory's assigned group, and it will make them all group readable. If you click the button, a dialog box will let you know which group it will use and will ask you to confirm.
To make changes to specific files and directories, click the checkboxes to toggle them on for the ones you want to change. You can use the Select All checkbox to select or deselect every item in the current directory. When you navigate to a different directory level, your selections will be deselected, to prevent accidental changes. Once you've toggled your selections on, you can click one of the actions below. The actions also allow you to make changes recursively. It's generally best to use the recursive option rather than to select each item in a directory separately, as the toolbox issues fewer commands and completes sooner that way.
Changing the Group of Specific Files and Directories¶
Click Change Group to set the group of selected files and directories to any group of which you are a member. You'll be presented with a dialog box to select the group and to choose whether you want the change to be recursive.
Changing the Owner of Specific Files and Directories¶
Click Change Owner to set the owner of selected files and directories to any user in any of the projects you manage. This option also allows you to set the unix group for the selected files and directories. You'll be presented with a dialog box to select the username and group name and to choose whether you want the change to be recursive.
Changing Permissions on Specific Files and Directories¶
Click Change Permissions to set new group-level unix permissions on selected files and directories. The permissions you select will replace existing permissions for the group, so for example, if you select only Read for a file that currently has group read and write permissions, the result will be a file with only group read permissions. You'll be presented with a dialog box to select the permissions you want to enable and to choose whether you want the change to be recursive.
Pending and Completed Requests¶
When you submit a request with the toolbox, your changes will be queued for completion by a process that initiates requested changes every five minutes. Depending on how extensive the requested changes are, the process may complete right away or it may take up to several hours. Most requests complete right away.
You can review the state of your requests by checking the Pending Requests list and the Requests Completed in the Last Month. Click the title of one of these areas to reveal or hide the list. These lists show the specific commands the system initiated (or will initiate) on your behalf. They also show the time the request was submitted and the status. For completed requests, you can click the status text to see the output generated by running the command. You can use the Refresh button in either list to update it, showing how your requests have progressed since you last opened the list or refreshed it.