OS X startup programs

There will come a time (and it may be now!) when you find yourself wanting to add or remove programs that automatically start when your Mac boots up. The first time I did this I struggled to find where the startup programs are managed on OS X. So, for the newly converted or simply frustrated here’s a quick walk-through:

1. Open System Preferences (if it’s not in your Dock, you can go to > System Preferences at the top of the screen)
2. From the System Preferences screen, click the “Accounts” icon under the “System” settings.
3. For each account, there is a “Login Items” tab where you can add and remove programs to automatically launch at startup. If you cannot edit your Login Items there it is one of two things:
   • You do not have proper access to edit the person’s account you are looking at.
   • You have proper access, but you need to “Click the lock to make changes.” Just look at the padlock icon at the bottom-left corner of the page. If it’s locked, that’s what you need to do.

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