Which statement about directory order is true?

• A. Directory order affects only logins.
• B. Directory order affects permissions regardless of membership.
• C. Directory order has no impact on login or permissions.
• D. Directory order affects logins and permissions.

Answer: (D)

Directory order determines which user directory is checked first when someone tries to log in, and it also decides which directory’s group memberships govern permissions when a user exists in more than one directory. In practice, authentication uses the highest-priority directory that contains the user, so changing the order can change who actually authenticates the user. For permissions, access rights come from groups defined in directories; if a user appears in multiple directories, the groups from the highest-priority directory typically influence the user’s effective permissions. Because of this priority mechanism, the statement that directory order affects logins and permissions is the correct one. The other options fail because they imply no impact, impact only logins, or impact permissions regardless of where the user actually resides.