TITLE
    At Ease 3.0: Frequently Asked Questions
Article ID:
Author:
Created:
Modified:
18909

11/9/95
7/8/99

TOPIC

    This article contains frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the At Ease 3.0 software.

    Questions answered in this FAQ:

    1. I use At Ease 3.0's Restricted Finder. My computer freezes when I drag a file to a Desktop Printer icon. How can I resolve this?

    2. I am getting an error message when I try to edit an existing Setup, it states: "The setup <name of setup> is being modified by another administrator. Please try again later." The message occurs AFTER At Ease Setup is open, not before. How do I resolve this?

    3. I have created a setup that does not have access to the control panels, yet my users can still increase and decrease the sound volume and the screen brightness using the buttons on the front of the Macintosh/ Performa 5300, 5200, 580, 575, 550, and 520 computers. How can I keep the users from changing these settings?

    4. My At Ease workstations do not shut down after clicking on the Shut Down button in the login pane. Instead, the login pane disappears and all I can see is the background pattern with the beach ball cursor spinning counter-clockwise. How can I resolve this?

    5. I am using At Ease 3.0's Restricted Finder and it will not mount the MS-DOS floppy disks; instead, it asks to format them. It will mount Macintosh disks. If I switch to the normal Finder it will recognize MS-DOS floppy disks.

    6. How do I rebuild the desktop with At Ease running?

    7. Students are holding down the space bar at startup to open the Extensions Manager. Then they disable (deselect. At Ease Startup. The next time the computer restarts, it goes straight to the Finder. How can I prevent my students from getting access to the Finder, yet still run System 7.5 and At Ease?

    8. How do I add existing documents or new applications to a particular user and not to all users of a setup?

    9. A user changed his password, but it only works on the computer he changed it on. Why don't the other computers recognize it?




    Note: The At Ease 3.0.3 Updater is available for download. Please see Software Updates Document Number 10173, or use the following URL to access the article directly:

    http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n10173

    The Read Me document for At Ease 3.0.3 Updater is contained in the following Tech Info Library article:

    Article 20661: " At Ease 3.0.3 Updater: Read Me "


DISCUSSION

    Question 1: I use At Ease 3.0's Restricted Finder. My computer freezes when I drag a file to a Desktop Printer icon. How can I resolve this?

    Answer: You need to upgrade the Desktop Printing Software to at least version 1.0.3. To find the most recent version of this software, please consult the Apple Software Updates Library available at http://asu.info.apple.com/ .


    Question 2: I am getting an error message when I try to edit an existing Setup, it states: "The setup <name of setup> is being modified by another administrator. Please try again later." The message occurs AFTER At Ease Setup is open, not before. How do I resolve this?

    Answer: Quit At Ease Setup. Hold down the Command (Apple. key and run At Ease Setup again. Continue holding the Command key (except when entering the Admin name/password. until you get the message "Are you sure you want to validate the Users and Setups databases now?" Click on the OK button.


    Question 3: I have created a setup that does not have access to the control panels, yet my users can still increase and decrease the sound volume and the screen brightness using the buttons on the front of the Macintosh Performa/LC 580, 575, 550, 520, 5200, 5300, and 5260 computers. How can I keep the users from changing these settings?

    Answer: System 7.5 includes a control panel called Button Disabler that can be installed by doing a custom system software install. This control panel has a single check box that, when checked, deactivates the sound and brightness controls on the front of Macintosh computers with built-in controls.

    Use the custom install feature of your Macintosh CD to install the Button Disabler control panel, restart your computer, and click to place an X in the box to the left of "Disable Buttons".


    Question 4: My At Ease workstations do not shut down after clicking on the Shut Down button in the login pane. Instead, the login pane disappears and all I see is the background pattern with the beach ball cursor spinning counter-clockwise. How can I resolve this?

    Answer: You have AppleShare Workstation version 3.6 installed on the workstations. AppleShare Workstation 3.6 comes with AppleShare 4.1 and 4.2. At Ease 3.0 and At Ease for Workgroups 3.0 do not support AppleShare Workstation 3.6.

    You have two options:
    • Select Shut Down from someplace else. For example, you can log into any Setup/User and choose Shut Down from the Apple menu or the Special menu.
    • Revert to a previous version of AppleShare Workstation. To do this, you can custom install the networking software that came with your system software. If you choose this method you will not be taking full advantage of the speed capabilities of the AppleShare 4.1 software.

    Question 5 : I am using At Ease 3.0's Restricted Finder and it will not mount the MS-DOS floppy disks; instead, it asks to format them. It will mount Macintosh disks. If I switch to the normal Finder it will recognize MS-DOS floppy disks.

    Answer: Add the PC Exchange control panel to At Ease by using the Find Items option in At Ease Setup, OR give the Restricted Finder setup access to the Control Panels.


    Question 6 : How do I rebuild the desktop with At Ease running?

    Answer: To rebuild the desktop, the Command and Option keys must be pressed while the Finder is loading. Here are two methods to do this with At Ease running on your computer:

    Method A: Rebuilding the Desktop at Startup

    Step 1

    Start your computer holding down the shift key. Continue pressing the Shift key until you see the message, "Welcome to Macintosh, Extensions off". Release the Shift key and press and hold the Command and Option keys simultaneously.

    Step 2

    If you have not used a password to protect the Finder you will go directly to Step 3.

    If you have used a password to protect the Finder, you will get a message asking you to enter it in the next screen. Release the Command and Option keys and click OK. Enter your password in the next dialog box and hold down the Command and Option keys while you click OK. Go to Step 3.

    Step 3

    At the dialog box asking you if you are sure you want to rebuild the desktop, click OK.


    Method B: Rebuilding the Desktop While in At Ease

    You can rebuild the desktop from within the At Ease panels if you have access to the Go To Finder option under the Special menu.

    Step 1

    Press and hold the Command and Option keys while choosing Go To Finder from the Special menu.

    Step 2

    If you have not used a password to protect the Finder you will go directly to Step 3.

    If you have used a password to protect the Finder, you will get a message asking you to enter it in the next screen. Release the Command and Option keys and click OK. Enter your password in the next dialog box and hold down the Command and Option keys while you click OK. Go to Step 3.

    Step 3

    At the dialog box asking you if you are sure you want to rebuild the desktop, click OK.

    Note: If you go to the Finder, then go back to At Ease through the Application menu instead of the File menu, and then try to rebuild the desktop using Method B, it does not work because the Finder is still running when you switch back to it.


    Question 7: Students are holding down the space bar at startup to open the Extensions Manager. Then they disable (deselect. At Ease Startup. The next time the computer restarts, it goes straight to the Finder. How can I prevent my students from getting access to the Finder, yet still run System 7.5 and At Ease?

    Answer: This issue was fixed in At Ease 3.0. If you are using an earlier version of At Ease, here are two workarounds:

    Remove Extensions Manager From the Control Panels folder

    Move the Extensions Manager control panel out of the Control Panels folder of your System Folder. This will prevent the Space bar from activating the Extensions Manager at startup.

    Users with access to the Finder can still open the Extensions Manager and use it without it actually residing in the Control Panels folder. In other words, moving it out of the Control Panels folder will not disable it entirely, it will only disables using the Space bar to access it at startup.

    Remove Extensions Manager From the Extensions folder

    You can also remove the EM Extension from the Extensions folder of your System Folder, which also prevents the Space bar from opening the Extensions Manager at startup. If you remove the EM Extension, the Extensions Manager will no longer be functional to any user, even if the user has access to the Finder.

    At Ease will NOT let users without Finder access open the Extensions Manager control panel even if they have access to other control panels.


    Question 8: How do I add existing documents or new applications to a particular user and not to all users of a setup?

    Answer: In the Finder, place the items in that particular user's Documents folder. Here's how:

    Step 1

    Form the Finder, Open the Documents folder on the At Ease disk.

    Step 2

    Inside the Documents folder is an individual Documents folder for each user who has logged on to this At Ease disk. Find the user's own folder.

    Step 3

    Move the documents, aliases, or applications you wish to add to this user's documents panel.

    Anything you add to the user's documents folder, including applications, will appear in the user's document panel not the At Ease Items panel.


    Question 9: A user changed his password, but it only works on the computer he changed it on. Why don't the other computers recognize it?

    Answer: If your workgroup is not on a server, you will have to update each Macintosh in the group separately so they "know" about the new password.


    Question 10: The administrator changed the configuration of one of the Setups, then tried to update the other computers. Why didn't the changes show up?

    Answer: When you update over the network, each computer will receive the new information. However, At Ease will not reflect the changes on a computer until you Quit and re-launch At Ease on that computer.

EXTENDED Information section - Apple Internal Use - Service Providers and Support Professional


APPLE EYES ONLY Information section - Apple Need-To-Know Confidential


Article Change History:



Copyright © 2000 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.