OS X Mountain Lion: Add a sharing-only user

Add a sharing-only user

If you want to let other people share your files or your screen with a user name and password, but don’t want to let them log in to your computer, add sharing-only users for them. You can also associate an Apple ID with a sharing-only user.

  1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Users & Groups.
  2. Click the lock icon to unlock it, and then enter an administrator name and password.
  3. Click Add (+) below the list of users.
  4. Choose Sharing Only from the New Account pop-up menu.
  5. Enter a full name for the user.

    An account name is generated automatically. If you want to use a different account name, enter it now. After adding a user, you can’t change the account name.

  6. Enter the password in the Password and Verify fields, and then enter a hint to help remember the password.
  7. Click Create User.
  8. To let the user access your shared files and screen using an Apple ID instead of the name and password you just set, click Set and enter the user’s Apple ID.

    The Apple ID you enter here must be the same as an Apple ID entered for the user in Users & Groups preferences on the user’s computer.

  9. To specify which folders a sharing-only user can access, and what level of access the user has, see this help topic:

    Share your files

  10. To control which users can share your screen, see this help topic:

    Share your screen

To give the new user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change settings in the File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management panes of Sharing preferences.

You can also add sharing-only users in Sharing preferences when you use it to share your files or share your screen.

Instead of setting up sharing-only users, you can let guest users access your shared folders without entering a name and password. For instructions, see this help topic:

Set up guest users