please help with defining accounts

[Guest]

I have created a second 'work' account on my computer to limit the amount of
procrastination I can do while working, and there are a few things I haven't
been able to figure out in terms of setting up this account, which I have set
up as an administrator account:

-i want to access the My Documents from my other, main account (currently
the new account has a new My Documents with no files in it). Also, if
possible, I want to be able to save changes to a file in one account and have
the change be reflected in the same file in the other account)
-i want to delete or disable certain programs IN THIS ACCOUNT only, such as
iTunes, Office Outlook, Messenger, and Picture Project. If this is not
possible, I want to at least be able to delete the desktop icons (currently
when I try to delete the icon only it tells me it can't delete them)

Any help with setting this up would be much appreciated. I set up the second
account today and even with these limitations, it's amazing how much more
work I can get done without all the available distractions!

 

[Steven L Umbach]

As an administrator you can take ownership and access any folder/non
encrypted files on the computer so what you need to do is to check the My
Documents folder in the other user profile [under documents and
settings/username/] and add your account or administrators with full control
access. The links below show you how to take ownership and change
permissions to folders/files. The owner of a folder/file can always change
permissions to it even if he has no permissions to it.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

There is no easy way to have a change in one folder to be automatically
reflected in the other folder. A better solution may be to create a common
folder for that each user can access. Be sure to keep current backups of
your important files just in case a problem ever arises.

You can manage access to applications also using NTFS permissions. In your
case you could give explicit deny permissions to the user that you do not
want to access the folder or the executable file used by that application as
shown in the properties of the shortcut. You can also delete desktop icons
though they are in two places. A user sees the combination of the desktop
shortcuts in the documents and settings\all users desktop folder and what is
in the user's profile under documents and settings\username]desktop folder.
If you do not want a particular shortcut to show and it is in the all users
folder then delete it from that folder and add it to the desktop folder of
the user/users that you do want to see it. A local administrator can manage
the shortcuts in the all users profile. --- Steve

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the help! I've been fooling around with this and essentially I
don't think that what I want can be done to my satisfaction, which is
understandable since on the one hand I want the two accounts to behave like
completely separate entities (ie, delete a program in one account and not
affect the other) while on the other hand I want to be able to share files
and folders between both accounts. So contradictory desires, I guess. But
thanks for the help below as it was very useful.

As an administrator you can take ownership and access any folder/non
encrypted files on the computer so what you need to do is to check the My
Documents folder in the other user profile [under documents and
settings/username/] and add your account or administrators with full control
access. The links below show you how to take ownership and change
permissions to folders/files. The owner of a folder/file can always change
permissions to it even if he has no permissions to it.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

There is no easy way to have a change in one folder to be automatically
reflected in the other folder. A better solution may be to create a common
folder for that each user can access. Be sure to keep current backups of
your important files just in case a problem ever arises.

You can manage access to applications also using NTFS permissions. In your
case you could give explicit deny permissions to the user that you do not
want to access the folder or the executable file used by that application as
shown in the properties of the shortcut. You can also delete desktop icons
though they are in two places. A user sees the combination of the desktop
shortcuts in the documents and settings\all users desktop folder and what is
in the user's profile under documents and settings\username]desktop folder.
If you do not want a particular shortcut to show and it is in the all users
folder then delete it from that folder and add it to the desktop folder of
the user/users that you do want to see it. A local administrator can manage
the shortcuts in the all users profile. --- Steve

I have created a second 'work' account on my computer to limit the amount
of
procrastination I can do while working, and there are a few things I
haven't
been able to figure out in terms of setting up this account, which I have
set
up as an administrator account:

-i want to access the My Documents from my other, main account (currently
the new account has a new My Documents with no files in it). Also, if
possible, I want to be able to save changes to a file in one account and
have
the change be reflected in the same file in the other account)
-i want to delete or disable certain programs IN THIS ACCOUNT only, such
as
iTunes, Office Outlook, Messenger, and Picture Project. If this is not
possible, I want to at least be able to delete the desktop icons
(currently
when I try to delete the icon only it tells me it can't delete them)

Any help with setting this up would be much appreciated. I set up the
second
account today and even with these limitations, it's amazing how much more
work I can get done without all the available distractions!

 

[Steven L Umbach]

OK. Like I said if you use a common folder that is outside of the user
profile which is located under documents and settings you might be able to
do some of what you want to do. You would just need to make sure each user
has needed permissions to the folder. --- Steve

Thanks for the help! I've been fooling around with this and essentially I
don't think that what I want can be done to my satisfaction, which is
understandable since on the one hand I want the two accounts to behave
like
completely separate entities (ie, delete a program in one account and not
affect the other) while on the other hand I want to be able to share files
and folders between both accounts. So contradictory desires, I guess. But
thanks for the help below as it was very useful.

As an administrator you can take ownership and access any folder/non
encrypted files on the computer so what you need to do is to check the My
Documents folder in the other user profile [under documents and
settings/username/] and add your account or administrators with full
control
access. The links below show you how to take ownership and change
permissions to folders/files. The owner of a folder/file can always
change
permissions to it even if he has no permissions to it.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

There is no easy way to have a change in one folder to be automatically
reflected in the other folder. A better solution may be to create a
common
folder for that each user can access. Be sure to keep current backups of
your important files just in case a problem ever arises.

You can manage access to applications also using NTFS permissions. In
your
case you could give explicit deny permissions to the user that you do not
want to access the folder or the executable file used by that application
as
shown in the properties of the shortcut. You can also delete desktop
icons
though they are in two places. A user sees the combination of the desktop
shortcuts in the documents and settings\all users desktop folder and what
is
in the user's profile under documents and settings\username]desktop
folder.
If you do not want a particular shortcut to show and it is in the all
users
folder then delete it from that folder and add it to the desktop folder
of
the user/users that you do want to see it. A local administrator can
manage
the shortcuts in the all users profile. --- Steve

I have created a second 'work' account on my computer to limit the
amount
of
procrastination I can do while working, and there are a few things I
haven't
been able to figure out in terms of setting up this account, which I
have
set
up as an administrator account:

-i want to access the My Documents from my other, main account
(currently
the new account has a new My Documents with no files in it). Also, if
possible, I want to be able to save changes to a file in one account
and
have
the change be reflected in the same file in the other account)
-i want to delete or disable certain programs IN THIS ACCOUNT only,
such
as
iTunes, Office Outlook, Messenger, and Picture Project. If this is not
possible, I want to at least be able to delete the desktop icons
(currently
when I try to delete the icon only it tells me it can't delete them)

Any help with setting this up would be much appreciated. I set up the
second
account today and even with these limitations, it's amazing how much
more
work I can get done without all the available distractions!