OSX 10.8 - How to keep a custom dock for all users that login
I have an iMac with OSX 10.8, joined to a work domain. I want to get create a custom dock and save it so all users will see my custom dock when they log in. I've done some Google searches and everything seems to point to these steps:
- Create dock how you want it
- Copy ~/library/preferences/com.apple.dock.plist to /system/library/user\ template/english.lproj/library/preferences
I've done this and then logged in as a new user, but am seeing a different dock than I created. I've also tried copying com.apple.dock.db to English.lproj/library/preferences as well, but to no avail.
The new users that will be logging in are network accounts.
Am I missing something?
Solution 1:
Dug up my notes from when I first modified the user template in our base images. Ran back through the process, changing the default Dock to have about 15 items, on a fresh Mac and these steps worked. I did a lot of this from the command line, so as to not fuss with changing/reverting permissions using Finder.
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Arrange your Dock however you would like for it to appear on new user accounts, changing the orientation and adding/removing applications.
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Browse to ~/Library/Preferences and copy the com.apple.Dock.plist file to your desktop.
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Open Terminal and start a root session by typing:
sudo -s -
Enter your current account's password when prompted
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Copy the copy of your modified dock preference file from your desktop to the User Template in your Mac's System folder.:
cp ~/Desktop/com.apple.Dock.plist System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj/Library/Preferences/
That should do the trick. I tested this on a fresh Mac by logging into both a Guest account and a new (created after the above steps) standard user account, both accounts showed the proper Dock with 15~ items.
It shouldn't be necessary with these steps but if you run into trouble you should verify that the /System/Library/User Template folder has permissions set to: System - Read/Write & Everyone - No access.