Mac OS X: About the Classic "Use Preferences From Home Folder" Feature

The Classic environment of Mac OS X 10.2 or later offers a customized experience, similar to Multiple Users in Mac OS 9. This means, for example, that each user in Classic could have their own Favorites in a Classic application.
In the Advanced tab of the Classic preference pane, you can select the "Use preferences from home folder" option. When selected, several types of Classic-related preferences and items are stored in each Classic user's home directory. A major advantage of this is that each Mac OS X user can have customized Classic settings, such as:

The first time Classic starts after this option is selected, you are asked:

This is asking if you want to copy Preferences (and other folders) from the Mac OS 9 System Folder to your home directory. The process of copying may require a few minutes, and there is no indication of progress. Classic will continue to start when this is finished.

For a more detailed explanation of this feature, including how it relates to Mac OS X Server, see technical document 107184, "Mac OS X 10.2: About Multiple Users Features in Classic".
Published Date: Oct 7, 2016