This paper is concerned with the algebraic structure of groupoids and crossed modules of groupoids. We describe the group
structure of the automorphism group of a finite connected groupoid
C as a quotient of a semidirect product. We pay particular attention to the conjugation automorphisms of
C, and use these to define a new notion of groupoid action. We then show that the automorphism group of a crossed module of
groupoids
C\mathcal{C}, in the case when the range groupoid is connected and the source group totally disconnected, may be determined from that
of the crossed module of groups
Cu\mathcal{C}_u formed by restricting to a single object
u. Finally, we show that the group of homotopies of
C\mathcal{C} may be determined once the group of regular derivations of
Cu\mathcal{C}_u is known.
Keywords Groupoid action - Crossed module - Automorphism - Section - Homotopy
Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000) 18D35 - 20L05 - 55U99