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How to Setup a Template User Folder from Jim Riggs

To set up a template user folder that has all Apple Menu Items, Preferences, Startup and Shut Down Items, Initial documents (Microsoft User Data for Outlook Express is what I put here), etc. do the following (note that it is not very efficient if you are creating users in bulk, but is very useful if you are creating only a few users at a time):

- Create a new user account. I don't recommend using an existing user or any account that may be in use including your own.

- Login to the MM server as that user to create necessary folders and to copy initial/forced prefs.

- Run any programs for which you want to set up default preferences for users, including settings in the Internet control panel (or Internet Config) if desired.

- Logout.

- Go to the MM server on which users' documents are stored. You can login to that server via AppleShare, but be very careful which account you use or else folders will have the wrong permissions, especially if you have multiple document storage sharepoints. I recommend physically sitting at the server or using Network Assistant to control it.

- Find that user's folder and rename it TEMPLATE (or whatever you choose).

- Inside that folder, add any startup/shut down/apple menu items, internet search sites, etc. you would like. Also add any initial documents to the Documents folder.

PREFERENCES: VERY IMPORTANT!! There are a few preference files that must be removed for this to work.

General Controls Prefs:

(IMPORTANT!!) This file MUST be deleted. Although it looks innocent, it is not. It does not contain the General Controls Prefs as you would expect. After hours of searching, I discovered that this is where MM stores an alias resource to the user's documents folder (for the alias that is created on the desk top when the user logs-in). If you have users receiving a message "The alias <username> could not be opened because the original item could not be found.", delete this preference file.

Internet Preferences:

If you do not want to use default internet preferences that you set up when logged in as described above andwould rather use the internet preferences set up by MM, delete this file. Otherwise leave it.

Keychains:

Since you probably don't want new users to have your temporary user's keychain file (even though it's probably empty), you will want to delete this folder.

User Prefs:

(IMPORTANT!!) This file contains paths to other user-specific items such as their keychain. Delete this file.

That's it! As you add users (again, it's not very time-efficient, so I wouldn't do this unless you are only adding a few users at a time -- you can always blast files out later) all you need to do is duplicate this folder and change the duplicate's name to the user name. I have been doing this here for several weeks without a hitch, but let me know if you have any problems.

Jim

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Jim Riggs Webmaster
MacMgr.com

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