LaserwriterLockout 1.2 is a freeware system extension that lets you control which LaserWriters (and other chooser devices, too) are accessible in the Chooser desk accessory. This program will be particularly useful to network environments where access to a particular LaserWriter (or other chooser device) should be available to only certain nodes on that network.
This program complements my program, ChooserUser 1.2.1, which allows system administrators to control the user name in the Chooser desk accessory both at startup and in the Chooser.
The previous version, LaserwriterLockout 1.1, is not compatible with Chooser version 7.2 and later. LaserwriterLockout 1.2 fixes this problem by changing the way LaserwriterLockout works. In previous versions, LaserwriterLockout worked by simply excluding to be hidden devices from the Chooser’s list of devices. In this version, all devices are allowed to appear. Devices that are to be “hidden” are instead password protected. An advantage of this technique is that with the correct password, a user may access any device. However, a disadvantage is that users might discover the existence of devices they shouldn’t be aware of. Unfortunately, this change was necessary because of the strange way the current Chooser operates. Note that eventually this will become a moot point when Quickdraw GX becomes mainstream, and LaserwriterLockout will not be able to protect devices for which Finder icons have already been created.
In an effort to discourage users from accessing itself, LaserwriterLockout 1.1 had a feature wherein it could hide the System Folder from the Finder. In System 7, hiding of the System Folder causes the Apple Menu items to go away, making it difficult to access LaserwriterLockout 1.1 to turn the feature off (Users could get around this by either using a second copy of LaserwriterLockout 1.1 outside the Control Panels folder or by unsetting the invisible attribute of the System Folder with ResEdit.) To simplify matters, this feature has been removed in LaserwriterLockout 1.2.
To install LaserwriterLockout 1.2, simply place the file in your System Folder’s Extensions folder and reboot. (LaserwriterLockout affects only the Macintosh it is installed on.)
Select LaserwriterLockout 1.2 in the Control Panel. The first time it is chosen, it displays a dialog asking you to register it. You can just click OK without making any entries if you want, but the dialog will be redisplayed every time the control panel is opened. In the System Administrator field, type in your name. In the second edit field, labeled Computer Site Name, type in the name of the computing site or the name of the organization you are affiliated with. This information is still not displayed anywhere.
In order for LaserwriterLockout 1.2 to work, it is neccessary to assign a device password. This is the password a user must type in order to switch from one device to a password-protected device in the Chooser. To enter a new password for the first time, click on the “Device Password…” button in the control panel. A dialog appears with two edit fields. In the upper one, type a new password of up to 10 letters. Because what you type is displayed as bullet characters for security, you can’t be certain that you haven’t made a mistake. For this reason, there is a second edit field below where you need to retype the password for confirmation. Both edit fields support delete, arrow keys, and selection, but not cut or paste commands. When you click OK, if the text in the two edit fields does not match, a beep will occur and the dialog will not be dismissed. If you click Cancel, no password will be registered. If the password is accepted, the “Device Password…” button will become checked, indicating that password protection is on. If you turn off device password by unchecking the button, the current password will be forgotten, and if you click on the button again, you will be prompted for a new password.
If you want, you can restrict access to the control panel itself with password protection. To enter a new password for the first time, click on the “CP Password…” button. The password dialog scheme described above applies here. When the CP Password button is checked, the password will be required on subsequent access of LaserwriterLockout 1.2. If you type an incorrect password upon opening the control panel, a beep will occur; the text will be selected, and the dialog will not be dismissed. If you choose “Cancel”, the control panel will be closed. If you wish to turn off password protection, uncheck the button. The current password will be forgotten, and if you check on the button again, you will be prompted for a new password.
The second panel in the control panel (the first panel is just the name LaserwriterLockout along with my name) contains a popup menu where you select a network device for LaserwriterLockout 1.2 to search out. The menu contains items for Appleshare volumes, Appletalk Imagewriters, and Laserwriters. If the machine you are using has other Chooser device files in the System Folder (or Extensions folder under System 7), their device names will also appear in the menu, but below the separator line. When you choose a device from the menu, LaserwriterLockout 1.2 will begin searching for that device on the currently selected zone.
When LaserwriterLockout 1.2 is opened, it begins searching the AppleTalk network for zones. (If you don’t have any zones, then it begins searching for the currently selected device.) The zone names appear in the upper list. Once the list of zones is complete, it selects the first zone in the list and searches it for the currently selected device. The names of these devices present on the first zone are added to the lower list after they are found. If an error occurs during the search, it is aborted.
Unlike the Chooser which updates its list of Appletalk devices, LaserwriterLockout 1.2 builds the list once. As a result, the list may not be complete because one or more of the devices was busy at the time it was queried. If this happens, try opening the program when those printers are not busy or if there is more than one zone, switch to another zone (or device) and back to the one with missing devices.
You can choose another zone by selecting its name in the upper list. When another zone is selected, LaserwriterLockout 1.2 removes the items in the lower list and fills it with the names of the currently selected device in that zone.
You can then select which devices you want to be password-protected by either selecting or deselecting their names in the lower list.
By default, devices appear in the list selected unless you specifically have unselected them. However, whether the selected devices or the unselected ones are password-protected depends on the the state of the “Protect New Devices” button. It is normally unchecked meaning that only devices that are unselected will be the ones password-protected.
When the “Protect New Devices” button is unchecked, devices that you deselect will be password-protected in the Chooser. Devices that are physically added to the network after you have configured the control panel will be accessible without a password in the Chooser.
When the “Protect New Devices” button is checked, devices that you deselect will be available in the Chooser without a password. All other devices, including those physically added to the network after you have configured the control panel, will require a password.
Before you reboot your Macintosh for the changes to take effect, you should make sure that the currently selected Laserwriter isn’t one of those you have to set to be protected. If it is, then the user may still be able to use that Laserwriter. However, if the user uses the Chooser and doesn’t select another Laserwriter, then the currently selected device may become unspecified in which case an error will occur the next time the user tries to print. Other devices may be affected in the same way.
LaserwriterLockout 1.2 does not distinguish devices with the same name. For example, if the name of a protected Laserwriter is the same as one in another zone or another device, then both will be password-protected.
LaserwriterLockout 1.2 runs emulated on Power Macintoshes.
Thanks to all those people who have sent me letters regarding LaserwriterLockout and the beta testers.
Distribution of LaserwriterLockout 1.2 must be accompanied with this documentation.
LaserwriterLockout comes from
Maurice Volaski and is distributed by Flux Software
America Online: fluxsftwre
EWorld: fluxsoftware
Internet: fluxsftwre@aol.com or fluxsoftware@eworld.com
