Mac OS X 10.2 includes preference management features for users on a standalone computer, one that is not managed via Workgroup Manager (a client management feature of Mac OS X Server 10.2 or later). Though Workgroup Manager is related, a server is not required to take advantage of these features on your standalone computer.
The Classic preference pane now includes a checkbox for "Use preferences from home folder". Click the Advanced tab to see it. The checkbox turns on a new feature in Classic that facilitates Workgroup Manager by redirecting the location of certain Classic preference folders. These folders are normally in the Classic System Folder and thus shared by anyone using the system; but when the "Use preferences from home folder" checkbox is selected, the folders are stored in the Home directory of the user that is currently logged in. This is the path: ~/Library/Classic/
This feature is automatically selected and cannot be deselected when the computer is part of a managed workgroup. When your computer is not being managed by a server, you may select or deselect the feature as you wish.
When used on a standalone computer, this would allow each Classic user to have her own desktop picture, bookmarks file, and Launcher items, for example. The complete list of redirected items is found below. This allows you to approximate the Mac OS 9 Multiple Users experience in Mac OS X. When working towards this goal, remember that file system access (and thus user privacy) is controlled by Mac OS X privileges and not by Classic. This means that how private or individual the Multiple Users experience is in Classic depends on how you have your computer set up. If you have only one volume (which is the default), enable the "Use preferences from home folder" setting immediately after initial setup, and have applications that respect the Home directory model (forcing users to save in their individual Home directories), then the experience may be very individual. Conversely, if you have multiple volumes, with the Classic System Folder on a separate volume, users may be able to access each others Classic preferences or other files. This would depend on how permissions are set for the additional volume(s).
Redirected preferences
When starting Classic with this checkbox selected, any redirected folders that exist in the System Folder, but not in the user's Home directory, will be created automatically. If any of the folders being created contained files, a dialog box will appear asking if Classic should populate the newly created folders in the user's Home directory with the contents from the redirected folders. If you click No, that user will not have the Chooser in the Classic Apple menu. For this reason, you should Click Yes, unless you have a specific reason not populate the information.
The following folders are subject to redirection:
- Apple Menu Items
- Desktop Pictures
- Favorites
- Internet Search Sites
- Keychains
- Launcher Items
- Locations
- Preferences
- Shutdown Items
- Shutdown Items (Disabled)
- Startup Items
- Startup Items (Disabled)
- Volume Settings
For related information see technical document 107180, "
Mac OS X 10.2: How to Manage User Access to Applications, System Preferences, and Disc Burning via 'Capabilities'".