Dock sync with mobile accounts

[pliny]

I am trying to get my dock to sync across workstations on mobile accounts – so far without success.

I set up Open Directory services a few days ago on a fresh install of OSXS 10.4.9, and have been testing managed accounts with a view to deploying them across my (boutique – about 12 workstations) company once I have the kinks ironed out.

My objective, along with centralizing authentication, is to replicate the user experience across any workstation for any client or staff member, insofar possible.

While my Documents folder and other prefs such as desktop are syncing fine, the dock remains stubbornly local on each workstation. Am I missing something obvious, or is what I’m trying to do not possible to begin with?

Any advice here is much appreciated.

[pliny]

Incidentally my original post here was far more detailed but kept getting flagged as spam – possibly due to length?

Here’s what I have attempted:

1. In Workgroup Manager -> Prefs -> Mobility turned Sync on (Sync for offline use)

2. In Workgroup Manager -> Prefs -> Mobility -> Rules -> Login & Logout Sync, I deleted the “skip items” entry ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist. Set to “Manage Always”.

3. Under same screen, added ~/Documents and ~/Library to sync at login and logout.

4. Replicated these settings across the user and group level, just to be sure.

5. Also tried manually copying com.apple.dock.plist to the Network copy of my account’s /Library folder – signing out – signing in on a different workstation – still nothing.

6. Am _not_ currently managing the dock on user or group level.

If I had access to the workstation applications (FCP, etc.) from the “Manage Dock” menu in Workgroup Manager, I could achieve part of what I am trying to do — however, from what I can tell I can only add OS standard apps (iCal, QT, etc.) from this interface.

Again, any advice is much appreciated.

[pliny]

Correct. The syncing works in most other aspects — all files in ~/Documents, the desktop wallpaper, &c. are synced back to the user home dir on the network on login/logout. So these elements are carried over when I authenticate on a different workstation.

But the dock is in its default configuration whenever I sign on to a new workstation. Changes to the account’s dock are stored locally, but they do not seem to get synced back to the network home dir and are therefore not replicated across other workstations.

It seems like a relatively minor aesthetic quibble — but since I rent offline edit rooms, I will undoubtedly have to spend a little more time either manually configuring new client accounts or answering “where is my Final Cut icon” questions. All stuff I’d rather just have automated.

[pliny]

First, thanks for your replies.

Yes, each user has a unique login. I’m running the Open Directory service.

By MCX do you mean managing the dock via “Preferences” in Workgroup Manager? Sorry for asking – I’m about 5 days deep into OSX Server. Not totally new to this, but new to Server.

If yes to the above, I don’t seem to be able to add, e.g., FCP into the default dock unless I install FCP locally on my OSX Server box. The only options currently under “Place these items in the user’s Dock:” are standard OSX apps — Mail, Safari, iChat, etc. Is there a way around this?

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