Existing users, 
 ChangeShortName - 1.3easily change the short username in OS X |
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Product Description:
One of the most common questions users of Mac OS X ask is "How do I change my short username?" Although OS X provides a simple interface -- the Accounts pane of System Preferences -- for changing a user's long name, there's been no easy way to change the short name of an account once it is created. Until now, that is.
ChangeShortName is an easy-to-use utility that does the dirty work involved in changing the short name of a user's account in Mac OS X (versions 10.4.x and 10.3.x). It can also repair some problems that occur when a user has attempted to change their short username manually and done so incorrectly. For safety, it backs up the NetInfo database beforehand.
Changing your short username is a serious procedure, but ChangeShortName makes doing so easier and safer.
ChangeShortName is "donationware" by James Bucanek and Dan Frakes. Be sure to read the included documentation before using it.
What's new in this version:
- Complete rewrite of the ChangeShortName Helper application, which has been renamed ChangeShortName (i.e., without the "Helper"). The new version is a Cocoa application with a new interface that's easier to use and provides more - and more useful - information and feedback. The downside of this rewrite is that the ChangeShortName application is no longer compatible with Mac OS X 10.2.x; users of Jaguar will need to use the standalone changeshortname.command script.
- ChangeShortName's underlying shell script - which does all the dirty work - has been renamed changeshortname.command to differentiate it from the main ChangeShortName application and is now embedded within the application package. (The raw script is still provided separately, but you no longer need to keep it with the application for the application to work properly.)
- The application no longer launches Terminal to run the underlying script, which should make ChangeShortName less intimidating for non-Terminal-savvy users; shell output is now displayed directly in the application window.
- Added a Restart option to both the ChangeShortName script (-r) and the graphical interface (via a checkbox); this option is recommended if you're changing the short username of a user that's currently logged in.
- Changed the underlying script to work with an existing short username that contains a hyphen (-). Because Apple warns against including a hyphen in a short username, previous versions of ChangeShortName would not attempt to change such a name, but we had enough requests for this capability that we added it.
- Edited the NetInfo-recovery process in this ReadMe to work around a >console bug in Mac OS X.
Operating System Requirements:
This product is designed to run on the following operating systems:
- Mac OS X 10.4 Intel
- Mac OS X 10.4 PPC
- Mac OS X 10.3.9
- Mac OS X 10.3
Additional Requirements:
- Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
Screenshots:
Download Links:
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Feedback Summary:
| This Version: | |||||
| Overall Rating: |  (4.7) |
Features: | (4.7) |
Support: | (5.0) |
| Ease of Use: | (5.0) |
Quality / Stability: | (5.0) |
Price: | (5.0) |
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Featured Reviews
Does what it says! - Version: 1.3, 10/27/2008 12:32PM PST
(2 of 2 users found this comment useful)
Tolga
Kudos to Dan Frakes and co. for a handy little resource! He's been an asset to the Mac community for as long as I can recall (going way back to the classic InformInit)!
NOTE: If you are on 10.5 aka Leopard you shouldn't use this! Similar functionality is built into the Users Pref Pane (right click on your user to edit the short name, etc).