I can't set umask using a shell script.

begin sample script

#!/usr/local/bin/tcsh -f
umask 002
xterm &

end

enter "umask" in the child proces, xterm in this case, and it returns '22'. I've tried it with bash and got the same results. Also tried starting xterm with 'exec xterm', '/usr/bin/env xterm' and 'exec /usr/bin/env xterm'. Also tried it with KDE's 'konsole' but got no luck there.

I can set it in my ~/.cshrc file but that is not a solution. This needs to work for everyone on the network and I don't control everyones ~/.cshrc file.

All documentation I've read said that child process inherit umask. That doesn't seem to be the case. What am I doing wrong?

One of the shell startup files is resetting umask to 022. Check the various /etc/defaults or /etc/cshrc, etc. files.

FYI: You cannot control the ability for a user to reset his/her umask once a shell is created. All you can do is setup defaults.

I'm testing this with xterm. The script will eventually start an application that is used on a project shared by several users. It's OK if they manually change the umask but for the most part data will be shared amongst 'groups'.

I found the offending source file. It a central cshrc.user file that is sourced in everyone's ~/.cshrc. I'll modify it based on a variable so it will not set umask on the projects.

Thanks for your help.