Short name in System Prefs - Accounts

gizgiz
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
What is the short name for in the Accounts pane of the System Prefs, and why can't I edit it even as the administrator?

Is this name visible online or over a network?

I am running OSX 10.9.3 on an alluminium 1.3GHz Powerbook

Any help would be very much appreciated,

giz

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by giz

    What is the short name for in the Accounts pane of the System Prefs, and why can't I edit it even as the administrator?

    Is this name visible online or over a network?

    I am running OSX 10.9.3 on an alluminium 1.3GHz Powerbook

    Any help would be very much appreciated,

    giz



    The short name is the unix account name - people don't generally change it ever because it is so fundimental to your password registrations, permission lists and directory structure. To change it you create a new account with whatever name you like, move the files, and delete the old account.



    I thought that 10.4.4 was the latest? 10.9.3 sounds like a software release from the future.
  • Reply 2 of 3
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    The first rule of the short name is don't mess with the short name. If you do, the computer is like the HAL 9000 in 201 Minutes of A Space Idiocy - it will lose its mind.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    gizgiz Posts: 2member
    10.9.3- oops! a slip of the mind not a slip in time.

    Thanks for the response - basically I get it, best not to touch. The only thing is, why is it teasingly greyed out?
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