Apple Training Series Mac OS X Server Essentials, Second Edition

Configuring Computer Group Preferences

Configure the Application preferences for the XSE Course computer group to allow users

to open the Chess application.

1 In Workgroup Manager on your Mac OS X computer, choose the /LDAPv3/127.0.0.1

domain from the Directory pop-up menu.

2 Select XSE Course from the Computer Group list and click the Preferences button in

the toolbar.

3 Click the Applications icon in the Preferences pane, select Always from the Manage

options, and allow users to only open the Chess (located in the Applications folder)

and Workgroup Manager (located in the Server folder inside the Applications

folder) applications.

4 Click Apply Now and then click Done.

Clicking the Done button is another way to get back to the main Preferences pane

of Workgroup Manager. It is not a requirement that you use this button—it’s an

optional step.

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5 Click the Dock icon in the Preferences pane and then click the Dock Items tab. Select

Always from the Manage options, and click the Add button to add Chess to the list of

applications in the Dock.

6 Click Apply Now and then click Done.

7 Click the Finder icon in the Preferences pane and then click the Preferences tab

located in the Finder Preferences pane. Select Always from the Manage options and

select the following:

씰 “Always open folders in a new window”

씰 “Always open windows in column view”

씰 “Show warning before emptying the Trash”

씰 “Always show file extensions”

490 Managing Accounts

8 Click Apply Now and then click Done.

9 Click the Login icon in the Preferences pane, and then click the Options tab. Select

Always from the Manage options and select the “Log out users after x minutes of

inactivity” checkbox (where x is 5 minutes).

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10 Click Apply Now, and then click Done.

11 Use Fast User Switching to log back in as Mike Smith and observe how computer

group preferences interact with group and user preferences.

Notice that Mike’s Finder preferences, which specify that the desktop icons be set to

large, take precedence over the Group preferences, which are set to small. Also notice

that Mike can open only the Chess application, which now shows up in his Dock, and

the Workgroup Manager application (although Mike cannot actually use Workgroup

Manager, he can launch it). Along with Chess, the three applications we specified for

the Engineering group account preferences, Image Capture, Kerberos, and Console,

also show up in the Dock and can be launched because the Applications preferences

for the Engineering group also allow launching these applications.

12 Log out as Mike and log in as Warren Peece (another member of the Engineering

group).

Notice how Warren’s Finder preferences, which specify that the desktop icons never be

managed, has the icon size for the desktop set to small by his group association. Also

notice that Warren can open only the Chess application, which now shows up in his

Dock, and the Workgroup Manager application (although Warren cannot actually use

Workgroup Manager, he can launch it), as well as the three applications we specified for

the Engineering Group account preferences, Image Capture, Kerberos, and Console.

The restriction to launch Chess and Workgroup Manager is a computer group account

preference combined with the Engineering workgroup preference.

13 Log out as Warren and log in as Pamela Clark (another member of the Engineering

group).

Notice how Pamela’s Finder preferences, which specify that the desktop icons never be

managed, has the icon size for the desktop set to small by her group association. Also,

notice that not only can Pamela launch Chess and Workgroup Manager, she can also

launch System Preferences, which was specified by her user account application pref-

erences. However, she cannot access the Accounts and Energy Saver preference panes,

as specified by her System Preferences preference management.

14 Log out as Pamela and log back in as the local administrator.

492 Managing Accounts

Customizing the Preference Choices

You can use preference manifests to add additional preference management choices

to Workgroup Manager. For example, if you wanted all of the users of your company to

have their Safari homepages set to http://www.pretendco.com/, you would follow

these steps:

1 In Workgroup Manager on your Mac OS X computer, choose the /LDAPv3/127.0.0.1

domain from the Directory pop-up menu.

2 Select XSE Course from the Computer Group list and click the Preferences button in

the toolbar.

3 Click the Details tab.

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