OS X Mountain Lion Portable Genius

Setting Up Simple Finder

Simple Finder is a Finder without the frills but with basic functionality for a managed user. Simple Finder only allows the user to access three folders in the Dock: My Applications, Documents, and Shared. Simple Finder doesn’t allow access to the remainder of the Mac hard drive or System Preferences. This basic Finder is perfect for children or users who may be a bit uncomfortable with technology.

To use Simple Finder, follow these steps:

1. Open the Parental Controls preferences by choosing Apple menu→System Preferences and then clicking the Parental Controls icon in the System section.

2. Choose the account you want to modify in the accounts list. You may need to click Enable Parental Controls to access the Parental Controls features.

3. Select the Use Simple Finder check box in the System tab. The next time you log in to the account, it will use Simple Finder.

Figure 4.7 shows a typical Simple Finder desktop. The three folders in the Dock give the user access to the applications she has permission to use, as well as the Documents and Shared folders. To use the account with a full Finder, deselect the Use Simple Finder check box in the Parental Controls preferences.

Changing Finder Preferences in Simple Finder

Simple Finder doesn’t allow a user to change many settings. Therefore, if you do need to change settings, you have to use an administrator account. In previous versions of OS X, you have to log out of the account using the Simple Finder, ...