Apple Mac OS X Server (Administrator’s Guide) - Manual (Page 467)

Client Management: Mac OS 9 and OS 8 467
After a user’s first login, Macintosh Manager checks the user’s Preferences folder and
compares it to the contents of the Initial Preferences folder. If a user already has a preference
in the folder, Macintosh Manager doesn’t replace that preference. If a user’s folder doesn’t
contain one or more initial preferences, Macintosh Manager copies the missing files to the
user’s folder.
This process is repeated each time a user logs in, so you can place additional preference files
in the Initial Preferences folder later. For example, if you install new software and place the
software preferences file in the Initial Preferences folder, Macintosh Manager copies the new
file to a user’s Preferences folder when the user opens the new software for the first time.
To use the Initial Preferences folder:
1 Set up a workgroup data volume (Group Documents) in the Options pane of the
Workgroups pane.
2 From a client computer, access the group documents volume.
3 Create any preferences you want to place in the Initial Preferences folder.
4 Copy the preferences you created to the Initial Preferences folder on the group documents
volume.
5 Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each group documents volume.
Exceptions to Initial Preferences
A few preferences are created automatically the first time a user logs in, regardless of
whether you’re using an Initial Preferences folder. You don’t need these items in the Initial
Preferences folder because they won’t be copied to the user’s folder:
m Apple Menu Options Preferences
m AppSwitcher Preferences
m Internet Preferences
m Keyboard Preferences
m Keychains
m Location Manager Preferences
m Mac OS Preferences
m TSM Preferences
m User Preferences
Using Forced Preferences
Using the Forced Preferences folder lets you ensure that users start out with a specified set of
preferences every time they log in. If a user changes his or her preferences, those
preferences are replaced with the preferences in the Forced Preferences folder the next time
the user logs in.