Control What a User Can Do

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In Mac OS X, the main way of controlling what a user can do is by assigning the user the appropriate type of account. As explained earlier in this chapter, Administrator users can take any action on a Mac, and Standard users essentially have freedom within their own user accounts.

Tip

To add an application that’s not listed, click Locate and use the resulting dialog box to select the application.

For a user who might be irresponsible, you may need to implement more restrictions. You can do so by setting up a Managed account. For a user who finds the standard Mac OS X interface too complex, you can set up a Simplified account that uses a stripped-down version of the Finder.

Set Limits for a Managed Account

To create a Managed user account and set limits:

  1. Open and click System Preferences. The System Preferences window will be displayed.

  2. Click Accounts. The Accounts sheet will be displayed.

  3. In the list box on the left, click the account you want to manage.

  4. Click the Limitations tab, and then click the Some Limits sub-tab (see Figure 8-4).

    click to expand
    Figure 8-4: Set limits for a Managed user on the Some Limits sub-tab of the Limitations tab on the Accounts sheet.

  5. In the This User Can area, select or clear the Open All System Preferences check box, the Modify The Dock check box, the Change Password check box (available only when the Open All System Preferences check box is selected), and the Burn CDs And DVDs check box.

  6. To restrict the user to only some applications, select the This User Can Only Use These Applications check box, then select the Allow check box for each permitted application in the list box.

  7. Click System Preferences | Quit System Preferences to close System Preferences.

Set Up a Simplified Account

A Simplified account uses the Simple Finder and lets the user run only applications you’ve specified. To set up a Simplified account:

  1. Open and click System Preferences. The System Preferences window will be displayed.

  2. Click Accounts. The Accounts sheet will be displayed.

  3. In the list box on the left, click the account you want to manage.

  4. Click the Limitations tab, and then click the Simple Finder sub-tab.

  5. Select the Allow check box for each application you want the user to be able to run.

  6. Click System Preferences | Quit System Preferences to close System Preferences.

Figure 8-5 shows the Simple Finder. These are the main differences from the regular Finder:

click to expand
Figure 8-5: The Simple Finder provides the user with a reduced set of windows and applications.

  • The Dock contains a minimal set of icons: a Finder icon, a My Applications icon for displaying a window of applications, a My Documents for displaying the user’s documents, a Shared icon for displaying the contents of the /Users/Shared/ folder, and a Trash icon. Icons for applications the user opens also appear.

  • The user can open only one Finder window at a time and cannot resize that window.

  • The menu contains only the Force Quit, Sleep, and Log Out commands.



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Mac OS X Panther QuickSteps
Mac OS X Panther QuickSteps
ISBN: 0072255056
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 68

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