Modifying the default User Template and Creating Multiple Users by Michael Coyle

Todd Lyall asks, "Is it possible in OS 10.2 to configure a user account, and then duplicate that account (rename it), and then restrict access to applications? It seems that it could save a lot of time configuring machines by being able to duplicate accounts. Do you have to be a unix guru to do this?"

You don't have to be a Guru, but there are a few command line utilities you'll need to learn.

Everytime you create a new user in the Accounts Preference Panel, a User folder is created from a template and ownership of that new folder is assigned to the new user.

The image below shows the location of the User Template.

Now here's a trick: After you create the first new user, log in as that user and set all your preferences. You can set the Dock position, default Finder views, and desktop picture... just about anything.

You can now use this Home folder as the template for all other users created on the machine.

Open a terminal and we will backup the original User Template. (You will be prompted to enter the root password after a sudo command. )

sudo cp -Rf "/System/Library/User Template" "/System/Library/User Template.orig"

In this example, lets say the new user you created was named "dummy". So next we will move the dummy directory and rename it as the new User Template.

sudo cp -Rf "/Users/dummy" "/System/Library/User Template"

Now, every new user you create from this point forward will have these new preferences.

Let's do it another way. In this example, you have already created the "dummy" user and configured all the dummy settings. Now you want to add three new users to the machine: Mom, Sister, and Brother.

Open the Accounts Preference Panel and create the three new accounts. This will also create three new folders in the Users directory. We need to delete those folders and copy our template in place of them. Open a terminal and type:

sudo rm -Rf /Users/Mom
sudo rm -Rf /Users/Sister
sudo rm -Rf /Users/Brother

Next, copy the dummy template and rename it for each user:

sudo cp -R /Users/dummy /Users/Mom
sudo cp -R /Users/dummy /Users/Sister
sudo cp -R /Users/dummy /Users/Brother

You're almost done, but dummy is still the 'owner ' of all these directories. We need to reassign them to the correct user:

sudo chown -R Mom /Users/Mom
sudo chown -R Sister /Users/Sister
sudo chown -R Brother /Users/Brother

You should test each account by logging in as the various users and view your handy work.

In an academic or business setting, you could even burn your "dummy" directory to a CD and carry it from machine to machine.