Members Only will scan your network for other Macintoshes, and build a list of their users’ names. You can select users from this list and add them to your Users & Groups.
RESTRICTIONS
Members Only requires System 7.
Members Only cannot run while File Sharing is active. If you launch it while you’re sharing, it will offer to stop sharing for you.
ZONE LIST
The Members Only window shows a list of your network’s zones on the left. You can select multiple zones from this list using the shift and command keys. You can also select zones by typing their names or by using the arrow keys. Use command-A to select all zones. Members Only scans all selected zones for users simultaneously in the background.
OPTIONS
“Group users by zone” causes Members Only to create a group for each added user’s zone and to enroll the users in their respective groups. This option is disabled if your network doesn’t have zones.
“Keep a log file” causes Members Only to create a text file called “Membership List” in your Preferences folder. Members Only will record the name, zone, and password of each user you add to this file. If the log already exists, Members Only appends info for new users to the end of it. •• WARNING •• If you keep a log, be sure that your Preferences folder is NOT shared. (You probably shouldn’t be sharing your System Folder anyway!) Since the log contains user passwords, it shouldn’t be publicly available.
PRIVILEGES
These checkboxes allow you to set the privileges en masse for all users added.
PASSWORD
“None” sets each user’s password to nothing.
“Always” sets each user’s password to the text you type in. Colons (“:”) and slashes (“/”) are omitted, and the text is truncated to eight characters.
“Last Name” uses the user’s last name as the password, all lowercase with blanks removed and diacriticals stripped, truncated to eight characters.
“Random” generates a random eight-character password composed of lowercase consonants.
The last two password choices can generate unpredictable passwords. If you use these settings, you should keep a log file so you’ll know what the passwords are.
USER LIST
This list shows the users that Members Only has found on your network. Select users from this list and click the Add button to add them to your Users & Groups. Any users that are already in your Users & Groups are not shown in the list. Also, after you add users, they are removed from the list. You can use the keyboard to navigate, just like the zone list. Use the tab key to cycle between the zone list, the user list, and the “always” password. Use the return or enter key to add users.
DONE
When you’re finished, click the Done button. Command-Q, command-., and esc are the same as clicking Done.
RESTART FINDER
To make your new users available, you must restart the Finder--you don’t have to shut down all your applications or restart the Macintosh. Members Only will offer to restart the Finder for you if you have added any users. If you choose to just quit, your new users will not be available until you restart the Macintosh. When Members Only restarts the Finder, file sharing will be reinstated if it was on before.
NOTES
Members Only does its dirty work on a COPY of your Users & Groups Data File. It makes this copy in the special invisible “Temporary Items” folder. When you finish adding users, it swaps the new file with the original, and deletes the original. If (heaven forbid!) Members Only crashes, you may notice a “Rescued items from [your hard disk]” folder in the Trash the next time you start up the Macintosh. This folder will contain the copy of the Users & Groups Data File that Members Only was working on. This may also happen if you elect to not have Members Only restart the Finder, since in that case I can’t delete the original file (the Finder’s still using it!).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to…
Kevin Hardman, for helping me with the Users & Groups manipulation.
Pace Bonner, for the details on how Nok Nok determines user names.
Donald Major, for designing the icon.
Mike Engber, for sharing his “kick the Finder in the head” code from Save a BNDL.
TO DO
Add AppleTalk Remote Access privileges when I figure out how.
Find out why the original U & G file is sometimes busy after I restart the Finder.
YOURS TRULY
I hope you enjoy using Members Only. If you have any comments, suggestions, or bug reports, e-mail them to me at Michael_Hecht@mac.sas.com.
