One of my siblings (who will remain unnamed) used to come home every Christmas and “borrow” my mom’s computer. Without fail, he left behind a jumble of changed preferences, randomly installed apps, and disconnected cords that took hours to fix before my mom could use her computer again. Today, this source of family strife could have been easily avoided. The answer? User accounts ①.
① Use different types of user accounts to solve different problems.
Know Your Accounts
User accounts allow multiple people to have a custom experience on the same Mac—without altering each other’s settings or mixing up files. OS X lets you choose from a number of user account types.
Separate accounts can keep people out of your stuff, make troubleshooting easier, and (through the use of Parental Controls) help kids and novices navigate the computer.
Welcome Visitors to the Guest Account
When you first install and boot your Mac into El Capitan, the operating system automatically configures a guest account. Guests don’t need a password to log in, but the account has strict limits on what it allows.
For example, guests cannot change user settings or computer settings. They also can’t log in remotely, even when remote login is turned on in the Sharing System Preferences pane. El Capitan stores guest files in a temporary folder and then deletes those files when the person logs out.
Because of this, the guest account is the place to steer visiting friends and relatives. It makes it easy for them to check their webmail or finish a quick paper in Google Docs—and leave no trace behind.
If you don’t see a guest account on your login screen, open System Preferences and go to the Users & Groups pane ②. Click the lock icon and enter your administrator’s name and password.
② You’ll see the Guest User account in the Users & Groups preference pane.
Click Guest User in the accounts list. Select the Allow Guests to Log In to This Computer box and, if you choose, the Enable Parental Controls box ③. (We’ll talk about that next.)
③ Click the Guest User in the accounts list, enter an administrator’s name and password, and then make sure these options are checked.
Create Managed Accounts for Kids and Novices
A managed account can make using the computer easier. It can also keep users out of trouble by limiting what changes they can make to the system or which parts of the Web they visit:
Open System Preferences > Parental Controls, and click the lock icon at the lower left. Enter your administrator’s name and password, and click Unlock.
Click the plus button. Type in the user’s name as well as a name for the account. (The latter becomes the name of the person’s user folder.)
Choose the user’s age in the Age pop-up menu. This sets age restrictions, including those for the iTunes, iBooks, and App Stores ④. (You can tailor these later.)
④ Choose the user’s age while setting up Parental Controls and OS X automatically sets up a number of age restrictions.
What’s limited is determined by age. This setting doesn’t restrict music with explicit content for children 12 and older, or books with explicit sexual content for users 17 and older. The setting disables the iTunes Store, iTunes University, and iBooks Store for children under 12.
If this person already has an Apple ID and you want to use for login credentials, choose Use iCloud Password. Enter the Apple ID and click Create User. The Apple ID password becomes the user’s login password.
If that password is too complicated, select Use Separate Password. The user will still be able to use iCloud services: The first time the account is accessed, the Mac will offer options for signing in to various services, including iCloud.
Click Create User. The new account appears in the accounts list at the left.
Customizing the Managed Account
Set up a managed account in the Parental Controls preference pane. In the pane, click the lock icon at the lower left, enter your administrator’s name and password, and click Unlock. Select the account to customize at the left. As of El Capitan, options include: Apps, Web, Stores, Time, Privacy, and Other.
Most tools in the Parental Controls pane are self-explanatory. But here are a few you don’t want to overlook:
The Finder, simplified: Click the Other button to see the Use Simple Finder checkbox ⑤. This mode substantially reduces what the user can do in the Finder. Access to Spotlight disappears, and basic Finder actions are disabled.
⑤ Clicking Other reveals additional Parental Control settings, including the Simple Finder at the bottom of the list.
The Dock changes. It contains only Finder, the Trash, and three folders—My Applications, Documents, and Shared ⑥. Simple Finder is so limited that it’s probably only a good choice for young children.
⑥ The Simple Finder winnows down the Dock to only a handful of items.
Application limits: To winnow down the apps that a user can explore, click the Apps button and then select Limit Applications on this Mac. Specify the apps you want available in the Allowed Apps list.
For instance, you might limit your 4th grader to Safari, Minecraft (have a heart), TextEdit, Calendar, Chess, Dictionary, iBooks, Preview, Reminders, and FaceTime (to talk with Grandma). To use something that’s not on the list, your child will need to ask for an administrator’s help.
Screen-time tools: The Time section is a gem if you want a no-hassle way to limit screen time ⑦. Here you can set total time limits for the weekdays and weekends. You can also enforce bedtime by preventing access to the Mac between certain hours.
⑦ You don’t have to be the bad guy. Make the Mac enforce your child’s screen-time limits.
Create a Troubleshooting Account
When your Mac misbehaves, it can be hard to tell if the problem is specific to your user account or whether it affects the computer as a whole. Creating a clean troubleshooting account is a great way to isolate problems.
Leave this account set to OS X defaults. The goal here is to see if the issue is related to a specific user’s settings or files (learn more at this Apple page).
Adding the Account
Open System Preferences > Users & Groups. Click the lock icon and enter your administrator’s password.
Click the plus button. In the dialog that appears, choose Administrator in the New Account pop-up menu. Type in an account name, like Troubleshooting Account.
If you’d like this account to use iCloud—and don’t mind logging in to the account using your Apple ID password—choose the Use iCloud Option. Enter the Apple ID you’d like associated with the account, and then click Create User.
Alternatively, select Use Separate Password to provide a different login password. The first time the account is accessed, you’ll have an opportunity to enter an Apple ID, but to keep the account as clean as possible, you should forgo that option unless you need it.
Click Create User.
The new account appears in the accounts list at the left ⑧. When you’re done, quit System Preferences.
⑧ Set up a troubleshooting account to help you isolate problems when they occur.
Logging in with Your Troubleshooting Account
Log in with this account if:
You keep encountering a problem after you log in and your Desktop appears.
You aren’t sure whether a problem is limited to your user account or if it affects your whole Mac.
Once you’ve logged in, see whether you can reproduce the problem or not:
If the problem disappears in your troubleshooting account, then the issue is likely a bad preference file or login item in your main user account, so you can focus your troubleshooting there.
If the problem appears even in the troubleshooting account, move on with your troubleshooting, since you now know for sure that the problem is not limited to just your account—it’s a system-wide software or hardware problem.
icon and enter your administrator’s name and password.
button. Type in the user’s name as well as a name for the account. (The latter becomes the name of the person’s user folder.)
