Creating User Accounts

In this lesson for macOS Mojave, I look at how to create new users for the Mac as well as the different options there are for users.

Accessing User & Groups
To access User & Groups, you need to open System Preferences. One way of doing this is selecting System Preferences under the Apple Menu. Once System Preferences is open, click on the User & Groups Preference Pane.

Unlocking Users & Groups
The first thing you’ll need to do is unlock the preference pane. To do that, click on the lock at the bottom of the window and then enter your computer password. Once you do this, you’ll be able to see all the options and make changes if needed.

User List
On the right is the user list. These are all the users on your computer. In most cases, this will only have one entry in it. To create a new user, click on the ‘+’ at the bottom of the list and enter the information. If you want them to be an administrator, make sure the dropdown at the top says, Administrator. When you create a new user, you are creating a new user folder, and that person can then log in to your Mac. Their Home Folder will be what you type in Account Name.

User Options
Once you create a new user and close the sheet that drops down, you can change the picture by clicking the image and change the password.

User Login Items
To set applications to open when the user logs in, click on Login Items at the top. From there you can drag the application into the list, or click on the ‘+’ at the bottom and select the applications you want to open when the person logs in. If you want them to open but hide automatically when they open, check the Hide checkbox next to the application.

Login Options
Login Options under the list of users and groups is where you set what happens when your computer starts up. You can have it login to a specific user or show a list of users. If you do not want to see a list of users, you can also select Name and Password. This is usually used when there are a large number of users such as in a school. There are also other options including how you want the User Switching to show in the Menu Bar.

See this Lesson Action
To see this lesson in action, take a look at the video above.

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