Mac network locations - automatic selection by available network?

Question

When at work, I have to have a bunch of special network configuration for proxies and DNS. I have configured this under the 'location:Automatic'.

When at home though, these proxy and DNS settings don't work of course, so I have to have a separate 'Home' location. Sadly, my work proxies don't seem to work with mac auto-configuration (though work well with IE/Windows).

This is fine, but it is painful to have to switch between these manually, when it could happen based on the network itself.

Is there a better way?

Answer 1

Locamatic seems to have been updated for Lion now, and it works great.

Have you ever wished that your Mac would update its location automatically on the basis of the network that you're currently connected to? Perhaps you use your Mac at work accessing the internet through a proxy server, and also at home where you have none. It isn't difficult to select a new location from the Location menu in the Apple menu, but why should you have to? Locamatic will do all this for you! Now on version 2.5, it’s Lion compatible and it can also set your default printer and your default home page.

Note that it bugs out if you select "install for all users". As a workaround, install just for yourself.

Answer 2

Create a separate location, one for work as well as your one you already created for home.

Leaving it set to automatic has proven to be pretty useless, which is why many Mac users have been using a small, free app called "Locamatic". It installs in system preferences and automatically chooses location for you, based on which wifi network you are currently connected to.

I've found this works brilliantly, with proxy settings when at work, and none for my home location.

However, I've had problems with this since upgrading to Lion. Alternative software, includes "Marco Polo", that does a similar job - but this seems less stable and often crashes.

I have emailed the developer of Locamatic for a fix with Lion. His software can be downloaded from http://www.45rpmsoftware.com/45RPM/utilities.shtml

Answer 3

ControlPlane is an application that can trigger certain actions, such as switching the network location, based on environmental conditions, such as nearby wireless networks. However, it can do much more than Locamatic, since it can use multiple sources of evidence (such as attached USB devices) and it can trigger more kinds of actions when switching profiles (such as launching applications).

ControlPlane is the successor to MarcoPolo and is licensed under GPLv3.