Using the System Preferences Application

This section describes the scope of Preference Settings, how to open System Preferences, display a pane whose settings you want to see or change, configure the System Preferences toolbar, and deal with locked settings in System Preferences.

Opening System Preferences

You can either click the System Preferences icon in the Dock or you can choose System Preferences from the Apple menu. When the System Preferences application opens, it displays a window that shows buttons for the different panes of settings. Figure 13-1 shows the contents of the System Preferences application.

Figure 13-1: When the System Preferences application opens, the window displays buttons for all available preference panes.

Each button in the System Preferences application corresponds to a pane of preference settings. To see a pane, click its button or choose the pane by name from the View menu. The System Preferences application changes to show the settings for the pane that was clicked, and the title of the window changes to the name of the corresponding pane. If you want to return to the display of buttons for all panes, click the Show All button in the upper-left corner of the window or choose View Show All.

Configuring the System Preferences toolbar

The System Preferences application contains a customizable toolbar at the top of its window that is continuously accessible no matter which preference pane the System Preferences application is currently displaying. The toolbar is intended to contain buttons for frequently used System Preferences panes. The toolbar can be customized to contain System Preferences shortcuts that you use most often. You can also hide the toolbar or set it to display buttons as named icons, icons without names, or names alone. You configure the System Preferences toolbar as follows:

• Hide or show toolbar: Hide the toolbar or show it if it is hidden, by clicking the lozenge-shaped toolbar button in the upper-right corner of the window. Alternatively, choose View Hide Toolbar or View Show Toolbar.

• Change toolbar mode: Show items as icons with names, icons only, or names only, as well as large or small versions, by z-clicking the lozenge-shaped toolbar button one to five times.

  • Start with the default view, with icons and names.

  • One z-click shrinks the icons and names to a smaller size.

  • A second z-click restores the icons to the original (large) size, but removes the names.

  • A third z-click shrinks the icon-only view to the smaller icon size.

  • A fourth z-click returns the names at their original (large) size, but deletes the icons.

  • A fifth z-click shrinks the name-only view.

  • A sixth z-click returns to the original (large) size icons and names view. Figure 13-2 shows the three primary (icons and names, icons only, names only) toolbar modes.

    
    Figure 13-2: Change the toolbar mode in System Preferences by Command-clicking the toolbar button.

• To add buttons: Drag buttons to the toolbar from the main part of the window. You don’t have to add buttons only at the right end of the toolbar. If you drag a button between two buttons in the toolbar, they move apart to make room for the button you’re dragging. If the toolbar is full of buttons and you drag another button to the toolbar, buttons that don’t fit on the toolbar appear in a pop-up menu. To see this menu, click the arrow that appears at the right end of the toolbar.

• To rearrange buttons: Drag buttons to different places on the toolbar.

• To remove buttons: Drag buttons away from the toolbar. Removing a button from the toolbar does not remove it from the System Preferences window. You can’t remove the Show All button from its special place at the left end of the System Preferences toolbar.

Unlocking preference settings

The settings in some System Preference panes can be locked. You can tell whether settings are locked in two ways.

• The locked settings are dim (displayed in gray text rather than black text).

• The security button padlock icon near the bottom-left corner of the window appears locked.

Table 13-2 lists the system settings that can be locked.

Table 13-2: Preference Settings That Can Be Locked

System Preferences Pane	Settings That Can Be Locked
Accounts	All settings except Picture and Startup Items
Date & Time	All settings except the menu bar clock settings
Energy Saver	All settings
Network	All settings except choosing a different location
Print & Fax	All settings except Set Up Printers, Selected printer in print Dialogue, and Default paper size in Page Setup
Security	All settings except Set Master Password & Turn On FileVault. These two items require independent authentication and authorization.
Sharing	All settings
Startup Disk	All settings

To change locked settings, you have access to the name and password of an administrator account. In Chapter 1, we note that an admin account is created via the Setup Assistant during the installation of Mac OS X. You can find more information about the administrator account in Chapter 14. To unlock preference settings, follow these steps:

1. Click the locked security button denoted by the icon of the padlock in the lower-left corner of the preference pane.

2. In the dialog that appears, enter the name and password of an administrator account. By default the current logged-in user’s account name is pre-entered in this dialog, so if the account you are logged into is that of an administrator, simply enter the corresponding password. If you are logged in to an ordinary account, you have to enter the password and also change the name. Figure 13-3 shows the dialog in which you enter the name and password to unlock preference settings.

   
   Figure 13-3: Unlock protected preference settings by entering the name and password of an administrator account.

3. Click OK.