How to Activate Fast User Switching in Mac OS Panther

Enabling "Fast User Switching" on your Mac allows more than one user to be logged in simultaneously. This way, if you're working on a word processing document and your family member or co-worker needs to check for email messages, you can switch to the other user's account with a simple click. And when the other person is finished checking his email, you will find your word-processing document precisely where you left it after switching back, again with another touch of a button.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Activate Fast User Switching in Mac OS Panther

1. Select the "Accounts" icon from the fourth tier of icons in "System Preferences." It is the very first icon in the row, at the far left.

2. Check to see if options are dimmed, and if they are, click the "Lock" icon and enter an administrator name and password.

3. Select the "Admin" user's account from the left pane of the resulting window. Regardless of which of the four right-hand tabs is highlighted ("Password," "Picture," "Security" or "Startup Items"), clicking "Login Options" at the bottom of the left pane will bring up the appropriate settings window.

4. Ignore the other three settings parameters (which you will use at different times), and check the box for the fourth (bottom-most) option, "Enable Fast User Switching."

5. Make sure that "Fast User Switching" is turned on by looking for the name of the current user in the upper-right corner of the menu bar.

6. Click the user name in this location to select a different user. The computer switches automatically to the new user's home folder unless the user's security settings bring up a dialog box requesting a password.

7. Switch back to the original user, or to another listed user, in the same manner as Step 6.

Tips & Warnings

• Home computers that have multiple, busy users should have "Fast User Switching" enabled at all times. It will stay on, of course, until you turn it off with a second visit to the "Accounts" area of "System Preferences."
• If you do not have the password to a password-protected user account, you will not be able to switch to it with these procedures.
• If you are using various third-party applications that put icons and/or text into the Mac menu bar, and have the clock displaying there along with system volume, you may run out of menu bar "real estate" you will have to consider using a shorter time format or eliminating some of the menu bar items.