TITLE
    Mac OS: Sound Preference Settings and Macintosh Manager Interaction
Article ID:
Created:
Modified:
60838
4/11/01
4/18/01

TOPIC

    This article describes the steps necessary to define and retain sound preferences settings for Macintosh Manager clients using Mac OS 9.1 and earlier.


DISCUSSION

    Symptom

    Sound Preferences cannot be forced or set up as initial preferences on Mac OS 9.1 and earlier.

    Products affected

    • Macintosh Manager 1.4.1 and earlier
    • Mac OS 7.6.1 through Mac OS 9.1

    Solution

    The following steps describe how to define a set of Sound control panel settings (to mimic forcing sound preferences) for Macintosh Manager clients using Mac OS 9.1 and earlier:
      1. Grant access to control panels to a workgroup containing at least one user. This option is located in the Macintosh Manager admin utility under Workgroups Tab:Privileges Tab:Apple Menu box.
      2. On the Macintosh Manager admin computer, log in to the user's account with access to the control panels.
      3. Make desired changes to the sound settings.
      4. Log out of that user's account.
      5. On the Macintosh Manager server, locate the user's Preferences folder. Inside this folder you will find the Sound Preferences file.
      6. Click to select the file.
      7. Choose Get Info from the File menu.
      8. Click Locked to lock the file.
      9. Copy this user's Sound Preferences file to all other user's Preferences folders who require these settings.
      10. (Optional) In the Macintosh Manager Admin utility, under the Privileges tab, disable Control Panel Access. The Control Strip will also need to be disabled on each Macintosh Manager client. This would be used to further prevent user access to Sound control panel settings during the Macintosh Manager login process.

    These settings remain intact when a user logs out and subsequently logs in with Mac OS 9.x clients:
    • Alert Sound: Transfers OK across multiple logins as long as the selected alert sound is present in the client's System file.
    • Alert Volume: Transfers OK across multiple logins and hardware.
    • Main Volume: Transfers OK.
    • Input Source: Transfers OK, provided hardware configuration exists. Because there is no built-in microphone on the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) computer, for example, this setting will default to "No Selection" on this computer if "Built-in" was selected in an iMac computer's Sound control panel.
    • Output Device: Transfers OK, provided the hardware configuration exists.
    • Speakers: Transfers OK, provided the hardware configuration exists. This selection will be available if external speakers are detected. The right and left sound levels are not transferred properly over multiple logins.
    Mac OS 9.1 preinstalled alert sounds include: ChuToy, Glass, Indigo, Laugh, Logjam, Pong2003, Purr, SimpleBeep, Single Click, Sosumi, Submarine, Temple, Uh oh, Voltage, and Whit.

    Mac OS 8.6 and Earlier Macintosh Manager Client Sound Preference Behavior

    The following steps describe how to define a desired set of Sound control panel settings (to mimic forcing sound preferences) for Macintosh Manager clients using Mac OS 8.6 and earlier versions of Mac OS.

    The System Access settings will always remain intact unless the users are given access to the Sound control panel, Control Strip or any other utility capable of altering sound-related settings. Changes will be made to the client computer's sound settings and not the user's. The next user who logs in on that computer will see the previous user's settings if any changes were made.

    If you wish to assign Monitors & Sounds settings en masse to Mac OS 8.6 users, a template of the desired Sound Preferences and Monitors & Sounds folder must be set up on a client and copied manually or via Network Assistant to the Preferences folder of each computer. (See Note 1). All settings transfer to the Mac OS 8.6 client computers except the Alert Sound selection.

    If the you wish to retain sound settings on these Macintosh Manager clients, you must prevent access to the Monitors & Sound control panel, Control Strip and any other utility capable of altering sound settings.

    Mac OS 8.6 preinstalled alert sounds include: Droplet, Indigo, Quack, Simple Beep, Sosumi, and Wild Eep.

    Notes
      1. Network Assistant 3.6.x client software is for use with Mac OS 8.1 through 8.6. Do not install Network Assistant 4.0.x client software with computers using Mac OS 8.1 through 8.6.


Document Information
Product Area: Mac OS System Software
Category: General OS
Sub Category: General Topics

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