Managed Client: How to disable Exposé and Spaces

Summary

Learn how to prevent access to Exposé and Spaces for managed users in Mac OS X v10.6.2 and later.

A "locally-managed client" referenced below is a client managed via Parental Controls settings in the Accounts preference pane; a "network-managed client" is one managed via Workgroup Manager.

Products Affected

Mac OS X Server 10.6

Locally-managed clients

To disable Exposé and Spaces for locally managed users, execute the following Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.dock mcx-expose-disabled -bool true

Network-managed clients

To disable Exposé and Spaces for network-managed clients, use the following steps:

  1. Open Workgroup Manager and select a user, group, or computer group.
  2. Click Preferences, then click the Details tab.
  3. If you haven't already imported ManagedClient.app, click the Add button and add the following application:
    /System/Library/CoreServices/ManagedClient.app
    This will import a number of system-related preference manifests.
     
  4. Edit the Dock (com.apple.dock) entry that was added to the list.
  5. Click the disclosure triangle next to the desired preference domain (Once, Often, or Always) to reveal its contents
  6. Click the New Key button.
  7. Select the "New Item" entry that was added to the list.
  8. Choose Edit from the pop-up menu.
  9. Once in edit mode, enter the following information:
    mcx-expose-disabled   boolean   true
  10. Click Apply Now to save the change.
  11. Click Done to dismiss the preference editor.


Note: This entry will have an orange circle icon with a triangle in it, which indicates this item does not match the preference manifest. This is expected behavior.

The record you selected in step 1 will not be able to use Exposé or Spaces.

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