Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition

chapter 12: accounts and security 339

Luckily, Apple took a cue from Microsoft and added Fast User Switching to Mac

OS X. Now Person B can log in and use the Mac for a little while, while all of your

stuff, Person A, simply slides into the background (Figure 12-13).

When Person B is finished working, you can bring your whole work environment back

to the screen without having to reopen anything. All your windows and programs are

still open, just as you left them.

To turn on this feature, open the Accounts panel of System Preferences (and click the

padlock, if necessary, to unlock the pane). Click Login Options, and turn on “Enable

fast user switching.”

The only change you notice immediately is the appearance of your own account name

in the upper-right corner of the screen (Figure 12-13, top). (You can change what this

menu looks like by using the “View as” pop-up menu, also shown in Figure 12-13.)

That’s all there is to it. Next time you need a fellow account holder to relinquish

control so that you can duck in for a little work, just choose your name from the

Accounts menu. Type your password, if one is required, and feel guiltless about the

interruption.

The Root Account

An administrator’s account isn’t exactly a skeleton key that gives unfettered access to

every corner of the Mac. Even an administrator isn’t allowed to remove files from the

System folder, or other files whose removal ...