Running the same program for multiple users

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Perkins
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Bob Perkins

I have a program that my kids enjoy,However they all have
separate accounts.The only one that can get it is the
one that actually downloaded it and myself as the
administrator.My question is how can I get that program
on all of thier accounts?
 
Bob Perkins said:
I have a program that my kids enjoy,However they all have
separate accounts.The only one that can get it is the
one that actually downloaded it and myself as the
administrator.My question is how can I get that program
on all of thier accounts?
Click to expand...

If the application does not require special rights or if each of your
children is a power user or above, simply manually copy the ICON to their
desktop/start menu.
 
Most applications weren't designed for this type of multi-user environment.
Such applications need to be installed in each specific user's account to
whom you wish to grant access.

First, be sure the account to which you wish to grant access is set to
administrator and not limited. Install the applications to the same folder
in which it was originally installed. This will look the same as one
install on your hard drive but create the pointers necessary for this user
to have access to the application.

Once the installation is complete, you can return the account to its limited
status if that is what you want and the user should still have access.
 
Greetings --

This is quite common if the software was designed for Win9x/Me, or
if it was intended for WinNT/2K/XP, but was improperly designed. Quite
simply, the installation routine for this application doesn't "know"
how to handle individual user profiles, or the application tries to
make changes to "off-limits" sections of the registry. Quite often,
you can make this software available to other users by _copying_ the
Start Menu folder and Desktop folder shortcuts from the user profile
from which the software was installed in the corresponding folders in
the user profile(s) in which you'd like the software to be accessible.
If the application is something that can/should be made available to
all current and future users, copying the shortcuts into the
corresponding locations of the All Users profile will do the trick.

NOTE: This may not work if the software requires access to parts
of the hard drive and/or registry that are not normally accessible to
regular users. (This won't occur if the application was properly
written.) If this does prove to be the case, however, you're left
with two options: Either grant the necessary users appropriate higher
access privileges (either as Power Users or local administrators), or
replace the application with one that was properly designed
specifically for WinNT/2K/XP.

Some Programs Do Not Work If You Log On from Limited Account
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q307091

Additionally, here are a couple of tips suggested, in a reply to a
different post, by MS-MVP Kent W. England:

"If your game or application works with admin accounts, but not with
limited accounts, you can fix it to allow limited users to access the
program files folder with "change" capability rather than "read" which
is the default.

C:\>cacls "Program Files\appfolder" /e /t /p users:c

where "appfolder" is the folder where the application is installed.

If you wish to undo these changes, then run

C:\>cacls "Program Files\appfolder" /e /t /p users:r

If you still have a problem with running the program or saving
settings on limited accounts, you may need to change permissions on
the registry keys. Run regedit.exe and go to HKLM\Software\vendor\app,
where "vendor\app" is the key that the software vendor used for your
specific program. Change the permissions on this key to allow Users
full control."


Bruce Chambers

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