Preference Panel Lock Click to see a larger image

There are two types of System Preferences– Those that affect just your user and those that affect the system and all users. System Preferences that affect the system and all users are locked to prevent unauthorized changes.

Examples of System Preferences that affect only your user are Dock settings and Screen Saver setting. Each user gets to set their own preferences for these items. Since the changes you are making affect only your user, no password is required to make those changes.

System Preferences that affect all users and the system itself include Energy Saver, Sharing and Security. Because all users and the system are affected, an administrator password is required to make changes.

If a password is required, the options in the preference panel are greyed out and there is a padlock icon on the lower left of the panel. To unlock the options, click on the padlock icon and you will be prompted for a password. Enter your Administrator password. If you are not an Administrator user, you will have to provide the name of an Administrator user and the matching password.

Once the proper password has been entered, the padlock icon changes to unlocked and the panel options become active. Make your changes and when you are done, click the unlocked padlock icon to lock it again.

A cautionary note: If you are the only user of your Mac, then you are an Administrator user. This means that you can change any System Preference that you want. However, I would suggest that you take the fact that a particular preference panel needs to be unlocked with a password as a caution that that changes to that panel could have consequences that could be far-reaching for your Mac and/or your computing experience. It would be worth while to read the help files or consult with an expert before making changes to these preferences if you don't fully understand their behavior.

Related Items: Prefrences | Password