Note: Any reference to "Mac OS X Server" in this article pertains to Mac OS X Server versions 1.2.x, which were released prior to May 2001.
About Macintosh Manager 1.2
Macintosh Manager 1.2 is intended to be used with client computers that have Mac OS 8.1 or later (including Mac OS 9) installed. Macintosh Manager 1.2 does not include the server process necessary to run Macintosh Manager. You should use the Macintosh Management Server 1.2 software that came with Macintosh Manager 1.1 for Mac OS X Server 1.2, or the Macintosh Management Server 1.2 software for an AppleShare IP 6.3 server, available on the Apple Software Updates web site (
http://www.apple.com/swupdates).
IMPORTANT If you are using Macintosh Manager 1.1 (which is preinstalled on Mac OS 9 systems), it is recommended (though not necessary) that you update your client computers to version 1.2 to take advantage of bug fixes included in this version.
What's New in Macintosh Manager 1.2
- Support for Mac OS 8.1 or later systems, including new options in the administration program.
- Fixes for some known problems. For a list of corrected problems, see "Major Problems Fixed in Version 1.2," at the end of this document.
If you are using Mac OS 9, you will also notice these changes.
- User preferences: Mac OS 9 now manages user preferences and stores them on the workgroup data volume, which, by default, is the Macintosh Manager server volume. Unlike previous versions of Macintosh Manager, Mac OS 9 can use the preferences for a user stored on the server without having to copy them to the client computer. Because preferences do not have to be copied between the server and the client workstation, users should be able to log in faster.
- Desktop items: Mac OS 9 saves the folder for desktop items only on the local volume and not on the server volume. Therefore, if users place items on the desktop, they must log in to the same computer to access those items. On netboot systems, instruct users not to place items on the desktop because all client image changes are erased any time the netboot server restarts.
- Keychains: Macintosh Manager creates a keychain for users when they log in the first time. When users log in using their Macintosh Manager password, the keychain unlocks. If a user or the administrator changes the user's password, Macintosh Manager does not update the keychain to the new password and the user's keychain may not unlock when logging in. To unlock the keychain and use its services, use the Keychain Access control panel.
- Application preferences: Because Mac OS 9 manages preferences, you can no longer add or remove specific preferences for applications. If an application does not save its preferences in the Preferences folder (in the System Folder), you may not be able to save individual preferences for each user. Contact the application developer to determine if an update is available.
- User documents: Macintosh Manager now saves user documents in a folder with the user's name in the Users folder on the workgroup data volume sharepoint.
- Login dialog: For security reasons, if you choose "Users choose their name from a list" in the Macintosh Manager administration program and "Users type their names" in the Multiple Users control panel, users must type their user name to log in.
- Multiple Users control panel: Macintosh Manager does not support some features in the Multiple Users control panel in Mac OS 9, including alternate passwords, user pictures, automatically detecting recently installed applications, and allowing users to let other users view their documents folders.
Installing Macintosh Manager 1.2
IMPORTANT You should use the Macintosh Manager administration program to set up your users and workgroups before installing the client software.
The Macintosh Manager software has three components:
- a server process, either Mac OS X or AppleShare IP 6.3
- an administration application installed on the administrator's workstation
- client software installed on each computer you want to manage with Macintosh Manager
The Macintosh Management Server process is
not included in this update. The Macintosh Management Server 1.2 server process for use with a Mac OS X server is available with the Mac OS X Server 1.2 product. The Macintosh Management Server 1.2 server process for use with an AppleShare IP 6.3 server is available on the Apple Software Updates Web site:
http://www.apple.com/swupdates.
In addition to the Macintosh Manager components, when you install the client software on pre-Mac OS 9 clients, a new shared library called NavSecurityLib is also installed. The library is only active on computers with Mac OS 8.5 to 8.6.
There are several ways of updating your client computers to use this new version of Macintosh Manager:
- Use the Installer to update each individual workstation.
- Use Network Assistant to copy the appropriate files to client workstations.
- If you already have Macintosh Manager 1.1 on client workstations, use the new auto-update feature that is now part of the client software. For instructions on using the auto-update feature, see "Using the Update Package," later in this document.
If you are updating a specific client workstation from Macintosh Manager 1.0 or 1.1 to version 1.2, you should run the Installer application on the client computer to update your software.
If you run the Installer on a Mac OS 9 system, you will also be given the option of installing the administration application on your workstation.
Turning On Macintosh Manager 1.2
On Mac OS 9 client computers, follow these steps to turn on Macintosh Manager 1.2:
1. Open the Multiple Users control panel.
2. Click On for the Multiple User Accounts option.
3. Click the Options button to open the Options window.
4. Click the Other tab.
5. Select the "Macintosh Manager account (on network)" radio button.
6. Click Save and then close the Multiple User control panel to save changes.
7. Restart or log out (Command-Q) from the Finder to enter the Macintosh Manager login screen.
Using Network Assistant to Turn On Macintosh Manager
If you have Network Assistant client software set up on your client computer, you can use the Network Assistant administration program to update a group of workstations quickly. To do so, follow these steps:
1. On one client computer, follow the steps described above to set up the client to select its accounts from Macintosh Manager. IMPORTANT Do not restart or log out yet.
2. Open the Network Assistant administration program and select the computers you want to update.
3. Open the Manage menu and choose Copy Items.
4. Type "Multi-User Prefs" in the text box and click Find. Select the file in the list and click Copy. The file is in the Preferences folder (in the System Folder) and contains the information that indicates where the client should find its accounts.
5. Open the Manage menu and choose Restart to restart the client computers.
On Mac OS 8.x client computers, you only need to restart your computers once the software has been installed. The Macintosh Manager 1.2 software will automatically scan for the Macintosh Manager server.
Using the Update Package
If you are using Macintosh Manager 1.1 on your client computers, you can use the auto-update package, instead of the Installer, to upgrade your clients to this version of Macintosh Manager. To do this, your client computers must be properly configured and running Macintosh Manager 1.1.
To use the auto-update package, do the following:
1. Open the Macintosh Manager 1.2 Installer disk image and locate the "MM Update Package" file, which should be inside the Update Package folder.
2. Copy the "MM Client Package" file to the top level of your Multi-User Items folder on the server. This folder should be located inside the Macintosh Manager share point on the server.
Client workstations periodically monitor the folder for the update package; if the folder is found, the client will update the software automatically when the client workstation is in the Login screen. After all your clients have updated, it is recommended that you remove the update package file to prevent your clients from unnecessarily accessing the server. Also, if you connect your client to a server unintentionally, and the server you connect to has an update package, your client software may change from the version that you are using. Thus, you should only connect to servers that you have direct responsibility for to ensure that your client software is not changed by an update package file set up by someone else.
System Requirements
Server
Mac OS X Server software or AppleShare IP 6.3 server software installed and configured
Macintosh Management Server 1.2 software installed
Administration Workstation
Mac OS 9
Networking (IP or AppleTalk) set up
800 x 600
minimum display resolution
Client Computer
Mac OS 8.1 or later (Earlier versions of the Mac OS are not supported.)
Networking (IP or AppleTalk) set up
Changes to Preference Handling on Mac OS 8.x Client Computers
Unlike Mac OS 9 client computers (which do not need to copy preference files from the server), Mac OS 8.x clients have the option of copying user preferences from the server. This option must be enabled in the administration program; this allows the administrator to prevent preferences from being copied if the time required to do so becomes excessive and causes delays in user login and logout times. The instructions for turning on preference handling are described in the next section.
User Documents Folder Privileges
In previous versions of Macintosh Manager, if you disabled a user's access to his or her user documents location (via the Privileges panel of the Workgroups panel), and the user's documents were stored on a different volume from the Macintosh Manager volume, the user could not access the documents volume. In Macintosh Manager 1.2, since preference information is now stored in that location, the user will always have some access to the documents volume, though the user's actual documents folder may still be protected via the privileges set up in
the administration program.
Appearance Preservation
Appearance-related preferences (desktop pattern, etc.) will only be preserved for client computers running Mac OS 8.5 or later.
Turning on Preference Handling for Mac OS 8.x Client Computers
To enable the option to preserve user preference files, follow these steps:
1. Open the Macintosh Manager administration program.
2. Click the Workgroups tab, then click the Options panel.
3. Enable preference handling for each workgroup for which you want Macintosh Manager to preserve Mac OS 8.x users' preference files.
4. Click the Global tab, then click the Security panel.
5. Select which files are copied when users log in to a workgroup. You can choose to copy the entire Preferences folder, or just a preset list of Internet-related preferences.
Note that, unlike with Macintosh Manager 1.0, you can no longer copy specific items anymore, and some system preferences will never be copied when users log in or out. Also, only items that are normally stored in the Preferences folder will be moved.
Mac OS 8.x clients will copy preferences to and from the same location on the server that Mac Os 9 clients use to store preferences. Users will have the same preferences whether they log on from a Mac OS 9 client or from a Mac OS 8.x client.
IP Access to Workgroup Volumes
In order to better allow access to volumes using IP, instead of AppleTalk, a few minor changes have been made to the Macintosh Manager administration program's workgroup options.
Workgroups Tab; Options Panel
The pop-up menu that allows the administrator to select a group documents volume contains an option for "Other." Selecting this option opens a window that lists the currently mounted volumes on your desktop. If you want to use an IP-only volume, you should click the Chooser button and use the Chooser's Server IP Address option to mount the volume using IP. Then, return to the administration program, which will now show the newly mounted volume in the list. Select the volume in the list and click OK. The volume should show up in the pop-up menu along with its IP information.
Workgroups Tab; Volumes Panel
The list of available volumes has been changed to show volumes mounted on your desktop. To have your workgroup members automatically mount certain volumes using IP, you should click the Chooser button and mount the volume with the Chooser's Server IP Address option. After you return to this window, you can select and add the volume to your workgroup's list. The accompanying IP information should be displayed in the list to indicate that an IP connection will be attempted.
Login Performance
When a workstation user logs in, there are a number of places that can cause slowdowns for the login process. This section will help you better understand where these places are, and in some instances, how to avoid them.
"Finding User Documents"
If your workgroup does not store its documents on the Macintosh Management Server, login will need to locate the volume. If you think you are experiencing overall slowdown on the network, you may want the workgroup's Group Documents server to remain on the "Designated Macintosh Management Server." If you are using DHCP, you may want to try using static IP numbers to see if performance increases.
"Updating items: Locating items on disk"
Changing a workgroup's items (approved applications) can affect login performance the next time the user logs in. Any changes to the list, regardless of whether or not you are adding or removing items, will cause the workstation to re-find the items the next time the user logs in. Usually, only the first user of the changed workgroup to log into that workstation will notice this particular slowdown. Also, you may wish to reduce the number of approved items to increase login performance.
"Setting up Apple Menu Items aliases"
When a user logs in on a Mac OS 9 workstation, aliases to their Apple Menu Items are created in the user's own directory in order to save disk space. The time it takes to create these items can be long, so you should not make unnecessary changes to a workgroup's Apple Menu privileges, especially the "(Show Other Items)" option.
If a user logs into different workstations, it is possible that these aliases will be created every time the user moves to a different machine. To minimize login time, users should attempt to use the same workstation at every login.
Finally, if you continue to have problems with this area, you can bypass this function by putting a copy of the Calculator file inside the user's Apple Menu Items folder. This must not be an alias; it must be a real Calculator file. When login sees this file, it triggers itself to not create aliases to the other Apple Menu Items files and can speed up login during this phase. You can also manually put other menu items in here, but you should be aware that any aliases to a local workstation object may not resolve properly. And, aliases to the Chooser, control panels and other system folders will always be created during login.
Other Changes
- When using the Panels environment, after opening some older control panels, you will no longer be allowed to open additional control panels until you close the current control panel.
- On Mac OS 9 clients, the individual desktop picture aliases stored in the user's own Desktop Pictures folder are replaced by a single alias to the system Desktop Pictures folder.
- Locked items in the Apple Menu Items folder will not be deleted when the user logs into a different computer from the one he or she was previously using.
- Global and workgroup administrators will no longer be forced to enter an administrator password when ejecting volumes or printing.
- On Mac OS 8.x client computers, file sharing is not allowed in any environment, including System Access. If an attempt is made to start file sharing, it will be ignored and in some cases an error message will be displayed.
- When a user opens or saves a file, Macintosh Manager 1.2 will no longer show its own view of the disk hierarchy. Instead, the location shown in the window will be the actual location on the disk, because security on a folder is now enforced strictly by the file system. Depending on the version that you were previously running, this might mean that you will no longer see a Places button, or that when users move up the folder hierarchy from their own documents folder, the users will move to the top-level Documents folder instead of the desktop or places location.
- If a user belongs to more than one workgroup, only the workgroups that have the same Group Documents volume will show up in the menu that allows the user to switch workgroups without logging out.
Major Problems Fixed in Version 1.2
The following problems have been corrected in this version of Macintosh Manager:
- If a user belonged to only one workgroup, sometimes an alert message appeared requiring the user to shut down.
- Desktop printers were not remembered properly.
- Users could sometimes unmount volumes without an administrator password (if this option was activated) in restricted environments.
- In some cases, an inserted CD did not appear even though the user had access to it.
- Users could not directly copy files to a shared folder even when read and write access was allowed.
- Panels users were sometimes unable to log in if their Documents folder access was disabled.
- Even if the option to show a volume as a tab was disabled, sometimes volumes appeared.
- The workgroup menu always said "System Access" when a user logged into a workgroup that was accessed using the option to "always use selected workgroup" in the workgroup selection screen.
- Users could change their passwords when offline access was invoked; they can no longer do so.
- If you changed the administrator password in the login screen, the change did not take effect with other clients until you ran the administration program.
- Some problems with using control panels in the Panels environment have been corrected.
- A user could use the mini-debugger to quit the login process; this should no longer be possible.
- Disk quotas did not work properly for some users.
- An error message sometimes appeared when renaming removable media in the Panels environment.
- On some sleep-enabled computers, the Sleep button did not appear when you pressed the Power key at login time.
- If you did not have any desktop printers set up for a Finder workgroup, but used the "Remember last used printer" option, the printer wouldn't be remembered.
- If a user logged out during an idle lock or logoff session and the application that the user had open required the user to save changes to their document, if the user clicked Cancel, the Save dialog box did not reappear for 10 seconds. Now, for better security, users who click Cancel should immediately be presented with the same Save dialog box. This helps prevent other users from damaging the account of the user who is logging out.
Known Issue in Version 1.2
You can use the "Shut down the computer" command in Macintosh Manager to shut down workstations that provide a shutdown option in their Energy Saver settings. Workstations that provide a sleep option (rather than shutdown) in their Energy Saver settings will be put to sleep instead of shut down when you use the Macintosh Manager shutdown command.