Grasping a full understanding of setting default Users, Groups and Masks has alluded me over the years, but now I find myself in a situation where manually "setting" the file/directory attributes is becoming a pain. I understand the fundamentals of the file attributes, though from time to time I have to review the "sticky bit"; what I do not understand is where/how the attributes are set when a user creates or modifies a file/directory. Here is my situation: My /var/www/html files have been manually set by me to apache/apache 774. This allows my PHP applications to access the files, and I assume this is a "good" setting. Now, my server is connected via Samba to my desktop. If I create a file, it is todd/todd 744, so Apache cannot access them. If PHP (Apache) creates or modifies a file, it is apache/apache 755, so I cannot access them (Write/Delete). Is there a way to resolve this? When I FTP to a friend's rent-a-server, I can read/write/delete all of the files I have placed there *and* the same for files touched by PHP (Apache). My Linux Admin books as well as my Linux books do not appear to cover this and/or my experience is lacking. Todd -- Ariste Software Petaluma, CA 94952 http://www.aristesoftware.com