AutoMate attempts to log on a user by simulating the keystrokes of a typical logon sequence. On Windows NT/2000/XP, AutoMate does the following:
1) Confirms that the workstation is in a logged off state and that the secure logon screen is visible
2) Sends the secure sequence Ctrl-Alt-Del by pressing the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys at the same time
3) Gathers the proper accelerator keys (i.e. the underlined letters on the logon box) for the username, password and domain from the Task Administrator Preferences
4) Presses the accelerator key for the username (typically the letter 'u' on English Windows), and types out the username
5) Presses the accelerator key for the password (typically the letter 'p' on English Windows), and types out the password
6) Presses the accelerator key for the domain (typically the letter 'o' on English Windows), and types out the domain
7) Presses the enter key to select the default button (the OK button on English Windows) to begin the logon process
8) Waits and periodically checks if the shell process begins. If it does not, AutoMate assumes a failure has occurred, sends the enter key to clear any dialog boxes that may have appeared, and restores the secure desktop
Steps 5 and 6 are sometimes done differently, or not at all. Step 5 (the password step) would be skipped if:
a) There is no accelerator key defined for the password, or
b) There is no password to type (because one was not supplied in the Run As section for the running task or no default password was specified in Preferences)
Step 6 (the domain step) would be skipped if:
a) There is no accelerator key defined for the domain, or
b) There is no domain to type (because one was not supplied in the Run As section for the running task or no default domain was specified in Preferences), or
c) There is a @ in the username, denoting that the domain is part of the username (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
Because AutoMate is simply using accelerator keys and typing text into fields to logon a workstation, as far as AutoMate is concerned, there really is no true correlation between the terms username, password and domainn, their respective accelerator keys and their actual visual representation. Therefore, it is possible to use AutoMate to logon to a workstation even if it uses a non-standard logon screen, provided the following are true:
* there are no more than three fields to complete
* each field has an accelerator key, and
* the enter key is the default key for beginning the logon process.
To use a non-Windows logon screen, simply change the accelerator keys in Preferences, and use the corresponding fields in the Run As and default logon to match your particular environment.
See also:
Running Tasks While Logged Off
Running Tasks While Locked