Macintosh Manager: How to Set up Netscape Communicator Preferences

By default, Netscape Communicator creates and stores user profiles in the Preferences folder on the local hard disk. The name and location of each profile is recorded in a file named Netscape Registry within the Preferences folder. If Netscape Communicator does not find this file when it opens, it wants to create a new profile. Macintosh Manager handles preferences differently, storing user preferences in individual Preferences folders on the server instead of using the Preferences folder on the workstation. Because of this difference, you must either create a new profile for every account or use Managed Preferences to supply a default profile the first time each user logs in. Managed Preferences is also needed to preserve changes to Netscape settings when you are using Mac OS 8.6 or earlier on your Macintosh Manager clients.

Follow the instructions below to create a default Netscape User profile, configure Managed Preferences to provide the default profile to all users, and select the correct profile location for each user. This will allow users to access and update their Netscape settings regardless of the version of Mac OS installed on the Macintosh Manager workstations. If you are not familiar with the Managed Preference Model, you should read technical document 106297, "Macintosh Manager: The Managed Preference Model" before continuing with this document.

Setting up Macintosh Manager and Netscape

Follow the steps below to set up Netscape Communicator for Macintosh Manager.

1. If there are any Macintosh Manager clients using Mac OS 8.6, select Copy only Internet preferences or administrator-defined preferences from the Global: Security tab in the Macintosh Manager Admin application (see Figure 1).

This enables the Preserved Preferences feature for Mac OS 8.6 clients. Mac OS 9 clients do not use Preserved Preferences.

Figure 1 Preference Management window

2. Create the Managed Preferences folders.

Create a User and Workgroup, and log in once. This creates the Managed Preferences folders in the sharepoint selected for group document storage for this Workgroup (also called the Workgroup Data Volume), by default Macintosh Manager folder on the server's hard disk.

3. Open Netscape Communicator on any client (in System Access).

When Netscape Communicator opens the first time, it asks you to create a user profile. This will be the default profile for all Macintosh Manager users. You can name it anything you like. Once the profile has been created, you may add bookmarks and set application preferences such as home page location.

4. Place files into the Managed Preferences folders.

Netscape Communicator records the location of user profiles in the Netscape Registry file. The Netscape Users folder and the Netscape Registry file are located in the Preferences folder on the workstation hard disk. Place a copy of each in the Initial Preferences folder on the Macintosh Management Server.

If you are using any OS 8.6 workstations, or if you are using OS 9 workstations with Macintosh Manager 2.1.1 and the MMLocalPrefs extension, place another copy of the Netscape Registry file in the Preserved Preferences folder.


Important: Do not place a copy of the Netscape Users folder into the Preserved Preferences folder. Doing so causes Macintosh Manager to replace the users' profiles on the server with whatever profiles it finds on the workstation.

Figure 2 Initial Preferences folder

5. For each user, log in to Macintosh Manager from any workstation that does not have previously created Netscape preferences and open Netscape.

If you use the workstation where you created the default profile, you must remove the Netscape Users folder from the local Preferences folder.

When Netscape opens, you are prompted to choose the Netscape Profile since the pre-configured user profile you created cannot be found in the Preferences folder on the workstation hard drive (See figure 3). Click Choose and then navigate to the Macintosh Manager user's Preferences folder on the Server (figure 4). A copy of the Netscape Users folder is already present. Open the folder and select the folder with the name of the default profile (figure 5).

If Netscape opens without asking you to select a profile, the Macintosh Manager workstation you are using has Netscape preferences already configured. Remove them and try again.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

6. Quit Netscape and log out of Macintosh Manager.

The Netscape Registry has been updated with the location of that user's copy of the default profile. Netscape will now look to the user's Preferences folder on the Macintosh Manager server for its settings, no matter which version of Mac OS is installed on the client. As long as the Netscape Users folder is not copied into the Preserved Preferences folder, the Netscape preferences will be updated directly on the server, even from workstations running Mac OS 8.6 or earlier (or from OS 9 workstations using Macintosh Manager 2.1.1 and MMLocalPrefs).