Set up a customized new user template

Oct 10, '01 03:38:51AM

Contributed by: Anonymous

Here's how I set my system up for multiple users to try and guarantee that things will work for my users just like they work for me.

In the folder /System/Library/UserTemplate/English.lproj/ there is a default set of home directory files and preferences used by the system for each new user created by an admin in the Users preference panel. We will now create a new set of default preferences to replace the Apple supplied prefs.

Read the rest of this article if you'd like to change the default setup for new users on your system.

[Editor's note: This is a very useful hint if you have a number of users on your machine and you want them all to have identical customized setups!]

I created a new (non-admin) user called "UserTemplate" and logged in as that user. I proceeded to customize the user interface the way I like it....I set up XDarwin, Windowmaker edited the .cshrc file in my the home directory to add several terminal shortcuts, installed Tinkertool and put the dock on the bottom right with the scale effect, added a few apps and folders to the dock, customized the toolbar with icons/apps/folders to my liking. I set Classic and OmniWeb 4.1 sneeky peek as login items (you need to have more than just Classic starting up at login for new users or they will sit and wait for Classic to launch before they try anything...Apple should really hide this).

I then marched through all the preferences giving optimal settings to each but NOT inputting any user information anywhere as this is to be a set of generic settings. I also customized the OmniWeb toolbar and added a basic set of bookmarks/prefs. I set the finder to open with four columns, etc. etc.

After customizing the interface to my satisfaction I logged out, logged in as my admin account and used the finder to create a backup copy of the /System/Library/UserTemplate directory within my home directory (just in case!). I then opened the terminal and typed the following commands:

cd /System/Library/UserTemplate/English.lproj
sudo cp -R ~UserTemplate/* .
sudo cp -R ~UserTemplate/.* .
[Editor's note: Remember that "UserTemplate" is the name of the new user created just for this purpose - if you use a different user name, remember to put it here as well].

I got two errors on the terminal copy that were inconsequential so I ignored them. I then created a new user via the Users preference pane, logged in as that user, and lo and behold...all my customizations were there!

This makes creating new accounts a breeze...now if only it were so easy to update some existing accounts without destroying existing user prefs.

Enjoy!

Comments (8)


Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20011010033851924