Copyright: NetSupport © 1991-2004 NetSupport Ltd. All rights reserved.
Citation: NetSupport © 1991-2004 NetSupport Ltd. All rights reserved.


NetSupport Copyright

Manual COPYRIGHT (C) 2004 NetSupport Ltd.  All rights reserved.

The Information in this document is subject to change without notice. NetSupport Ltd. reserves the right to revise this document and to make changes from time to time in the content hereof without obligation to notify any person or persons of such revisions or changes.

The software described in this document is supplied under a licence agreement and is protected by international copyright laws.  You may copy it only for the purpose of backup and use it only as described in the Licence agreement.

Any implied warranties including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose are limited to the terms of the express warranties set out in the licence agreement.

Program COPYRIGHT (C) 1991 - 2004 NetSupport Ltd.  All rights reserved.

Trademarks

NetSupport is a registered trademark of NetSupport Ltd.

Windows, Windows 95/98/2000/2003/Millennium(Me), XP, Windows NT and Windows CE are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell Inc.

Other products, trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


NetSupport Licence

Please read this agreement before installing or using your copy of NetSupport Software. This is a legal agreement between you and NetSupport Ltd.  If you do not wish to be bound by the terms of this licence agreement you must not load, activate or use the software.

TERM: Subject to termination under Termination Clause below the Licence shall be perpetual.

GRANT OF LICENCE: This software is designed to run on standalone computers and computer networks. You may load the software from a Network File server but you must purchase a licence for each workstation on which you will install or run the software.

COPYRIGHT: This software is protected by international copyright laws.  You may copy it only for backup purposes. The software is licensed to you, but not sold to you.

RESTRICTIONS: Neither you nor any reseller may rent, lease, sell licensed copies on approval, or otherwise transfer the right to use this software to another person, except that you may sell or give away your original copy, as long as you do not keep any copies. The software may not be modified, disassembled or reverse engineered except with the prior written consent of NetSupport Ltd.

LIMITED WARRANTY: NetSupport Ltd warrants that the Software will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying documentation for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. NetSupport Ltd’s entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be either a) the replacement of the defective software or b) return of the price paid.  This remedy shall be at NetSupport Ltd’s option and subject to proof of purchase from an authorised source.

Any implied warranties including any warranties of satisfactory quality or fitness for a particular purpose are limited to the terms of the express warranties. NetSupport Ltd shall not in any event be liable for loss of profits, data or information of any kind or for special, incidental, consequential, indirect or other similar damages arising from any breach of these warranties or use of the Software even if they have been advised of the possibility of such damages.  Some countries do not allow the limitation or exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.  This warranty does not affect your statutory rights and you may have other rights that vary from country to country.  In any event NetSupport Ltd’s maximum liability shall not exceed the price paid by the end-user / licensee.

TERMINATION: You may terminate this Licence and this Agreement at any time by destroying the Program and its documentation, together with any copies in any form.

NetSupport Ltd  may terminate this Licence forthwith by notice in writing to you if you commit any serious breach of any term of this Licence and (in the case of a breach capable of being remedied) shall have failed within 30 days after receipt of a request in writing from NetSupport Ltd so to do, to remedy the breach (such request to contain a warning of NetSupport Ltd’s intention to terminate). Upon termination you will destroy or return to NetSupport Ltd the original and all copies of the software and will confirm in writing to NetSupport Ltd that this has been done.

SUPPORT: If you have a problem with the installation of the software you should in the first instance contact your supplier. You can separately purchase support and maintenance which will also cover the supply of enhancements and upgrades.

GOVERNING LAW : This agreement shall be governed by the laws of England.


NetSupport Manager - Product Description

See also

Product Highlights

Product Features

Product Applications

Installing NetSupport Manager

Every organisation, whether large or small, depends in part on their IT infrastructure to remain competitive & efficient and to ensure static workers and mobile users maximise their productivity for the business.

It therefore follows that the IT Department is one of the most essential resources within a business entity and so supporting this function is critical to any success, whilst ensuring capital expenditure and associated costs are kept to a minimum.

Historically Remote Control software has been presented as the most efficient solution in improving the responsiveness of the helpdesk and support departments. Its largest single contribution being the tool that removes the need for support staff to physically visit a users PC to resolve technical issues.

The dual benefits of this are that users are presented with speedier response times and so the downtime of critical applications is reduced together with support staff being able to operate more efficiently as their resources are ‘on hand’ and not ‘on the road’ visiting users.

As with other areas of IT, remote control has evolved, with users looking for multi-tasking solutions and the associated economies of scale, where they can rely on a single box product to perform a whole range of functions, where traditionally this was handled by multiple software packages and vendors.

NetSupport Manager (NSM) is no exception to this evolution. Combining unrivalled remote control with innovative desktop management functionality, NSM offers one of the fastest ROI’s on the market.

NetSupport Manager is available fully localised in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Arabic, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese.


NetSupport Manager - Highlights

See also

Product Description

Product Features

Product Applications

Installing NetSupport Manager

NetSupport Manager is designed to give IT managers, mobile professionals and telecommuters the power and flexibility to access and control a workstation from anywhere, at anytime.

NetSupport Manager offers the following as standard: -

NEW	Multi-platform support enhanced. Install NSM Client on ‘Linux’ and ‘Pocket PC’ based systems.

NEW	Mouse wheel support provided during Remote Control sessions.

NEW	Monitor Mode.

NEW	Chat feature now includes ‘Whiteboard’ option.

NEW	File Transfer interface enhanced.

NEW	Record replay files at the Control.

NEW	Deploy feature now supports deployment across a specified IP Range.

NEW	NSM Script Editor now supports Xcopy facility.

NEW	Active Directory Authentication.

NEW	Remote Command Prompt. Remotely run command line instructions/routines at Client PCs.

NEW	Enhancements made to Screen Scrape Mode.

•	Internet Gateway delivering seamless Remote Control between PCs that may be located behind different firewalls.

•	Remote Client Inventory. Reports on hardware, software, applications in memory, processes running and installed services.

•	Desktop Integration with Explorer. Launch key functionality direct from your system without needing to first start NetSupport.

•	Support for Mac Remote Control. Connect to and remote control a Mac based system that has a previously installed VNC client.

•	Delta File Transfer. Improve performance by sending only the changed parts of a file during a File Transfer procedure.

•	A full working copy of NetSupport’s training tool, NetSupport School.

•	Supports IPX, NetBIOS, TCP/IP and HTTP.

•	Supports Windows 2003/95/98/2000/Me/XP/NT.

•	Support for DHCP environments

•	Remote Deployment Utility (Remotely Install and Configure NetSupport on Client workstations)

•	Power Management (Remotely Power On/Power Off Client workstations)

•	CAPI Support

•	Multi-Scan (Scan multiple workstations simultaneously)

•	Web Browser Integration

•	SMS Integration

•	Scripting & Scheduling Suite

•	DES/AES Encryption

•	Support for Firewall and Proxy Server Connections

•	Full Multimedia Support

•	Remote Clipboard (cut and paste between workstations)

•	Remote Communications (dial-up)

•	Transparent Protocol Support (connect over multiple protocols simultaneously)

•	File Transfer

•	File Distribution

•	Record/Replay Files

•	Synchronise Directories

•	Customisable User Interface

•	Ability to profile configurations for different Users

•	Integration with NT Security

•	Quick Client Connect and Disconnect

•	Remote Reboot/Logout

•	Client Request Help

•	Multiple connections to a single Client

•	Scalable View Windows

•	View Multiple Windows simultaneously

•	Show function for training

•	Chat and Audio Chat

•	Send Audio/Text Messages

•	Scan between a number of Connected Clients and view each screen in turn

•	Launch Remote Applications on any number of connected workstations

All of the above coupled with an interface designed to make you feel at home straight away, means NetSupport Manager is the most powerful, usable, cost competitive application of its kind on the market.


NetSupport Manager - Features

See also

Product Description

Product Highlights

Product Applications

Installing NetSupport Manager

NetSupport Manager contains a wealth of features to assist you to Train, Support, Monitor and Manage Clients.

Remote Control

Watch, Share or Control the screen, keyboard and mouse of a Client irrespective of colour resolution, network protocol or operating system at either end.

Connectivity

•	Dynamically find and list all Clients on the Network.

•	Connect by Client name.

•	Connect by Network address.

•	Connect via a database of known Clients.

•	Connect entire groups in one step.

•	Client/Control connections via NetSupport’s Internet Gateway providing seamless Remote Control between PCs that may both be located behind different firewalls.

•	Connect to and remote control Linux and Pocket PC based systems.

•	Connect to and remote control a Mac based system that has a previously installed VNC (virtual network computing) Client.

Message

Send a message to one or more chosen Clients, or even broadcast to all Clients on the network.

Chat

Conduct a text chat session in real time between the operator at the Control and one or more users. Annotate tools provide ‘Whiteboard’ capabilities.

File Transfer and Distribution

Transfer and manipulate files between workstations, using advanced ‘Drag and Drop’ technology. Includes support for Long File names, Remote File Edit, Delta File Transfer and more. Copy from a workstation to many workstations, distribute Software or Synchronise Directories. To ensure security while transferring files use encryption on all data being transferred.

View

View more than one Clients screen at the same time, or sit back and watch each connected screen in Scan Mode. The ability to record the activity on a Client workstation while it is remotely controlled, capture a Client’s print output and cut and paste between workstation applications comes as standard.

Scan

Automatically cycle through each Client's workstation in turn, or scan multiple Clients simultaneously, displaying its screen on the Control workstation. This enables the Control to keep a discrete watch over what the Clients are running on their workstations. Particularly important with modern Internet access! The Control does not even need to be in the same room.

Monitor Mode

A convenient thumbnail view of each connected Client screen is displayed at the Control providing a quick and easy method for monitoring activity at remote PCs.

Show

Display the Control’s screen on individual or multiple Clients or display a selected Client’s screen to other Clients.

Remote Client Hardware/Software Inventory

Powerful hardware/software reporting combined with real-time status information for applications in memory, processes running and installed services provide all the key information needed to assist in speedy problem resolution. Over 50 items of information are collected specifically about the hardware or environment of the Client PC.

Launch Applications

Launch an application on one or all Client workstations at the press of a button.

Multimedia

NetSupport provides full Audio and Video Support.

Help Request

Clients can raise requests for help. The Control is instantly alerted to the Clients need for assistance via a pop up box, on their screen.

Power Management

Remotely logoff and shutdown Client workstations to minimise power consumption.

Scripting

NetSupport includes a powerful integrated Scripting Language and Scheduling Suite that enables you to make use of all of its functions in unattended mode.

Remote Communications

Take control of workstations on remote LANs/WANs or standalone workstations via Dial-up Modem (PSTN), ISDN, Internet or Direct Serial Link.

Web Browser Integration

Remote Control a workstation using ActiveX Control Web Browser. Using your Internet connection, download the 350k ActiveX Control software from your Company Website and remote control over IP on your office workstation. This is the ultimate, in portable Remote Control.

Desktop Integration with Explorer

NetSupport Manager integrates directly with explorer, allowing you to launch key functionality direct from your system without needing to first start NetSupport.

Comprehensive Security Features

Exceptional range of security options to meet all need including:-

•	Password protection at Client and Control.

•	User present acknowledgement required at Client.

•	Connection Audit trail.

•	Disable file transfer or specific files and directories.

•	Limit Functionality depending on which workstation is connecting.

•	Allow a Control to Watch only.

•	Restrict file transfer to specific drives, directories and files,

•	Dial-back to different numbers according to password.

•	Restrict connections to named Controls.

•	Customise Control and Client profiles to enable and disable virtually every feature depending on the security level of the signed on User.

•	Set Unique Security Keys on both Control and Client.

•	Integrates with existing NT profiles & Security.

•	DES/AES Encryption

Easy to Install and Configure

•	Install on Client workstations without the need to visit the individual machines using  NetSupports Remote Deployment Utility.

•	Silent Installation across the WAN.

•	Central maintenance of Client Profiles.

•	Configuration utility for Windows.

•	Protocol Transparent Control, (use IPX, NetBIOS, TCP/IP and HTTP simultaneously).


NetSupport Manager - Applications

See also

Product Description

Product Features

Product Highlights

Installing NetSupport Manager

NetSupport’s wide range of features makes it an ideal tool for a wide range of applications.

Some examples might include: -

Help Desk

Use the Remote Control features to provide fast, cost effective support to end users in an Office or Help desk environment. Reduce the cost of providing support while at the same time improving productivity and the speed of problem resolution.

Tele-working

Use the remote Communications modules to enable staff to work from home while still having access to all the functionality on their Office workstation.

Training

NetSupport’s sophisticated Show functions provide the ideal demonstration tool. In addition, a full working copy of NetSupport’s training package, NetSupport School, comes as standard, providing additional features ideally suited for the training environment.

System Automation

Use the powerful integrated scripting language to automate regular tasks such as uploading and downloading files.

Use the Launch Application function to set tasks running without end-user intervention. Take advantage of the scheduler to save costs by running these tasks overnight.

Desktop Management

Use the combination of File Distribution and Scripting to manage user desktops and distribute software. Automatically retrieve workstation information such as Free Disk space.

Use the Registry Edit functions in Scripting to re-configure remote workstations.

User Management

Use the enhanced security features to configure utilities available at a Client.

Set up different profiles and access levels at both the Control and Client depending on the Users level of responsibility.

Maintain a Replay file to audit exactly what a Remote User did, while controlling a Client.


NetSupport Contact Details

If you have any comments regarding the design, installation, configuration, or operation of NetSupport please inform us.

NetSupport software is produced in the United Kingdom and sold throughout the world in English, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic. At NetSupport we work hard to provide you with intuitive software and superior online and printed documentation. However, if you require further technical support please contact your reseller direct.

UK & International

www.netsupportsoftware.com

Technical Support: support@netsupportsoftware.com

Sales (UK & Eire): sales@netsupportsoftware.co.uk

Sales (International): sales@netsupportsoftware.com

North America

www.netsupport-inc.com

Technical Support: support@netsupport-inc.com

Sales: sales@netsupport-inc.com

Germany, Austria and Switzerland

www.pci-software.de

Technical Support: support@pci-software.de

Sales: sales@pci-software.de

Japan

www.pcip.co.jp

Technical Support: support@pcip.co.jp

Sales: sales@pcip.co.jp


Headquarters

Corporate Headquarters

Address: 	NetSupport House,

Towngate East,

Market Deeping, Peterborough,

Lincolnshire,

PE6 8NE,

United Kingdom

Telephone:	+ 44 (0) 1778 382270

Fax:	+ 44 (0) 1778 382290

Website:	www.netsupportsoftware.com

Office Hours:	Monday to Friday 8.30A.M to 5:30PM


Online Knowledge Base

We have an extensive online Knowledge Base at www.netsupportsoftware.com/support/ available.


Documentation Feedback

We strive to produce the highest quality documentation. If  you have comments or suggestions about our online Help or printed guides, please contact us.


What is NetSupport School?

Your NetSupport Manager installation can be customised to include a full working copy of NetSupport School. Containing a wealth of additional features, including the ability to create customised tests and monitor/restrict internet and application usage, NetSupport School is ideally suited for use in a classroom/training environment. Visit our website to find out more.


Client Switches

You can use switches when starting a NetSupport Client to customise its performance and operation.  You set these using the NetSupport Configurator.

See:

Transports

Security

Performance and Customisation


Client Transports

NetSupport Clients can be configured to run over the following Transports and with the following options within each transport: -

Use TCP/IP

Set Port for TCP/IP

Allow connection from Specific IP addresses

Quick Connect

Use IPX

Allow connection from specific IPX addresses

Use NetBIOS

Set NetBIOS Adapter Number

Use HTTP

Set Gateway address

The NetSupport Client can be configured to support multiple Protocols.This means for example, that a Client could be sent to respond to a Control that only has TCP/IP available and/or a Control that only has NetBEUI available.

Multiple Controls can connect to the same Client simultaneously even if they are running different protocols.


Client Security

NetSupport Clients can be configured for a wide range of Security Options and depending on platform for different configurations depending on who the Control user is that is signed on.

Security Profiling

Multiple Profiles with differing Access Levels/Rights

Ability to set Configuration File

Configurator Password

Authenticate User and Password with NT (NT Only)

Restrict Access to Members of the following Groups

Password Protection

Set a Basic Client Password

Set multiple Client Passwords

Set a Configurator Password

Set a Security Key

Allow more than one Control to Connect at a time

Logging (Audit Trail)

Enable Logging

Log to NT Event Log

Log to file

Record replay Files

Append to Log file

Control Connectivity

User Acknowledgement Required

Except when no NT User Logged ON

Disable Profile when an NT user is logged on

Set Usernames for multiple Passwords

Authenticate Control User and Password with NT

Restrict Access to member of NT Group

Allow Connections from specific Control workstations

Allow more than one Control to connect at a time

Disable this Profile when an NT user is Logged On

Disable NT Logoff

User of this Profile has Priority of (non-priority) Users

Lock the workstation if not initially logged on (NT)

Logoff if not initially logged on (NT) or restart if Windows 95/98

Inactivity Timeout

Beep while being Viewed

Client Connectivity

Quick Connect

Disable connections from the Client Menu

Disable connections from Help Request dialog

Remote Connectivity

Dialback File

Inactivity Timeout

Enable Web Extensions

File Transfer

Disable File Transfer

Disable File Transfer when no NT user is Logged on

Impersonate Logged on NT User when transferring files

Restrict Access Rights to Directories and Files

General

Specify location to store Replay files

Lock the workstation when Control Disconnects (NT Only)

Logoff when Control Disconnects (NT Only)

Disable Remote Logoff

Disable Watch

Disable Share

Disable Control

Disable Remote Reboot

Disable Shutdown Client

Disable Print Capture

Disable Remote Ctl+Alt+Del

Disable Remote program Execution

Disable Remote NetSupport Registry Access

Disable File Transfer

Disable Clipboard Access


Client Performance and Customisation

You can tailor the way in which a Client responds to a Control to improve performance: -

Interface

Icon in System Tray

Always on Top

Hide when Idle

Quiet Mode

Hotkeys

Always show Controls in Help Request

Functions

Disable Receive Show

Display Show in a Window

Scale to Fit when Displaying Show

Scrollbars for Show Window

AutoScroll Speed for Show Window

Scroll Delay for Show Window

Disable Request help

Ignore Messages

Ignore Broadcast Messages

Disable Chat

Adjust Volume

Configurable Options

Send Physical Fonts

Allow more than one Control to connect at a time

Disable Disconnect

User of this Profile has Priority over other (non-priority users

Inactivity Time Out

Cache Size

Max Colour Depth

Automatically reboot the Client on disconnect

Impersonate Logged-on NT User when Transferring files

Set the NetBIOS Adapter to be used

Set the cache size for the Client

Set Inactivity Time-out

Omit Tickle packets

Set Tickle Period

Use Computer Name for Clientname

Set Autoscroll speed

Set Scroll delay

Display customisable Text

Set message In About Box

Set message displayed when a Control is Connected

Set message displayed when Client is being Viewed


Client Programs

The NetSupport Client Program is loaded on the workstation that is to be controlled.

The Set-up installation routine automatically selects the Client Program. Once the Client Program has been loaded on a workstation, it can be taken over from another workstation running the NetSupport Control Program.

You can use switches when loading a Client to customise its responses to your exact needs. Use the NetSupport Configurator to set the switches.

See: NetSupport Client


NetSupport Client

For a NetSupport Client, the Client Program is CLIENT.32.EXE. It is loaded via the Registry as a service before the Login.  This provides the capability for Remote Login to Windows Clients.

The NetSupport Set-up program configures this for you when you install NetSupport.  Any subsequent changes or customisations are accomplished using the NetSupport Configurator.

Notes

•	Any problems loading or running the Client under NT/2000/XP are recorded in the System Event Log, and can be viewed with the Event Viewer program supplied with NT/2000/XP.  Look for entries of type Error from source PCISYS.  The file WINNT\SYSTEM32\PCIMSG.ERR may also contain error information.

•	You can use switches when loading the Client program to customise the access and security on the Client to meet your exact needs.

•	The NetSupport Configurator automatically creates the commands for loading a Client and amends the registry entries for you.


Load Client with a Password - Command

This helps to protect the Client from unauthorised access from a NetSupport Control.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9X/ME:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

The Control user will be required to enter a password before obtaining access to the Client.

Notes

•	The Control operator must enter the original password not the encrypted one.

•	The Control operator can still send a message to the Client without entering the password.

See Also

User Acknowledgement,

Security Key


Set the NetBIOS Adapter to use - Command

As you can have more than one NetBIOS stack loaded, each stack is allocated an Adapter Number by the operating system. So for example, NetBEUI may be allocated Adapter 1, NetBIOS over TCP Adapter 2 and so on.

By default, the NetSupport Client or Bridge assumes that the NetBIOS stack is on Adapter number 0.  Depending on how your network is configured this may not be the correct Adapter number for your purposes.

This option enables you to direct the Client to the NetBIOS Adapter to communicate through.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9X/ME:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

The Client will communicate through the selected NetBIOS adapter.

Use this option if

You have more than one network card or NetBIOS stack installed.

Notes

•	Use the Configurator Test network function to determine available NetBIOS Adapter numbers.


Set Security Key - Command

Provides additional security that enables Controls to connect only if they have the same security key set as the Client. As there is no prompt to the Control User this is a very secure means of password protection.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9X/ME:	Set with the Configurator.

Effect

The Control must have the same Security Key configured to be able to connect to the Client.  Optionally this can be set as the Serial number by using an *.

Notes

•	Use the option in the Control's Configure menu to set the security key at the Control.

•	Specify the key as an asterisk (*) at both the Client and the Control to permit only Controls with the same serial number as the Client to connect.


Disable File Transfer - Command

This prevents a Control operator from being able to transfer files to and from the Client using NetSupport’s File Transfer options.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

The Control will not be able to copy, view or otherwise manipulate files on the Client.


Set Cache size at Client - Command

Screen data that has been recently sent to the Control by the Client is cached to improve performance.  A larger cache improves performance, at the expense of using more memory at both the Client and the Control.

Setting this option enables you to configure the cache size used for maximum performance.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

Provided that the same cache size has been set at the Control the last 1024KB of data sent will be cached giving increased performance.

Use this option if

You are running applications that involve large bitmaps.  Increasing the cache size at both the Client and the Control will increase the chances of NetSupport finding a cache hit and therefore improve the performance of screen updates.

You wish to reduce memory usage. Decrease the Cache size at the Control.

Notes

•	The default cache size is 256KB.

•	Maximum cache size is 16MB.

•	The smaller of the cache sizes set at the Control and the Client is used.


Disable receipt of Broadcast Messages - Command

With NetSupport, you can broadcast messages to all Clients on the Network.  Some users may not wish to receive these messages.

Setting this option prevents broadcast messages from being displayed at the Client.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9X/ME:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

Prevents a Client from receiving Broadcast messages. By default, this option is enabled.

Use this option if

You wish to prevent broadcast messages interrupting work on the Client.


User Acknowledgement - Command

Access to the Client is prevented, unless the Client accepts access.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

The user at the Client will have to explicitly accept the request to connect before access is granted.

Use this option if

You wish to ensure that the user is present before accessing the Client.

The user wants to retain control over who has access to their workstation.

Notes:

•	The Control operator can still send a message to the Client without the acceptance of the Client.

•	The Client can be configured to permit access when not present on NT workstations.


Disable Tickle Packets - Command

Normally when a Client is connected to a Control, they send each other a tickle packet every 30 seconds.  This provides a check that the other end is still active and has not been turned off or subject to a network failure.

There may be occasions when the use of tickle packets is undesirable, for example over an ISDN line where you wish the line to be dropped if there is no activity.

Setting this option turns off the tickle packets.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

Unless keystrokes or data is being sent, there will be no activity between the Client and the Control.

Use this option if

You are connecting to a Client over an ISDN line and wish to ensure that a Client can remain connected without keeping the ISDN line open.

Notes

•	Be aware that disabling tickle packets means that the Control cannot verify that the Client is still connected, so you will not receive a warning if, for example, the Client is turned off until you send it a keystroke.

•	For this to be effective, the Control must also be started with Tickle Packets Disabled.


Send Physical Fonts - Command

When a Client is sending its screen to a Control, it passes the font information by reference to reduce the volume of data sent.

The Control refers to its own internal font mappings and uses the closest matching that it has to the one being displayed at the Client.  In most cases, the same fonts will be available at both the Client and the Control and so what is displayed on the screen will appear identical.

However, there may be occasions when a close match cannot be found.  In these cases, it is desirable that the Client sends the Control the full information that it requires to display the data in the same font.

Setting this option forces TrueType text to be sent as glyphs (i.e. character shapes), rather than character codes.  This guarantees that they will be displayed correctly at the Control.

This will, however, impact performance; especially on Dial-up lines, and is not usually required.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

The Client will send the Control a description of the fonts that it is using to enable the Control to recreate and display them.

Use this option if

Fonts installed on the Client are not installed on the Control.


Maintain a Replay File - Command

In addition to all the other security features, NetSupport enables you to record exactly what a Control user did during a Remote Control Session. This information is stored in a Replay File and can later be replayed on a Control with the required rights.

The Replay file can be stored in a secure place such as on a file server to prevent unauthorised changing.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

Whenever the Client is remote Controlled, all screen and keyboard activity will be stored in a file that can later be played back at an authorised Control.

Use this option if

You wish to be able to see exactly what a Control user did during a remote Control session.


Reboot when Control Disconnects - Command

Provides a mechanism whereby you can force the Client to automatically reboot or logoff, when a Control operator terminates the connection.

This option is also available manually from the Control Menu.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

When the Control disconnects the Client will reboot or Logoff.

Use this option if

You wish to leave the Client in a tidy state for each new user.

Notes

•	Use the Configurator to set this option.

•	Be wary of rebooting Clients in an unknown state, as data loss or corruption may occur.  It is safer to reboot from the option in Control.

•	Make sure that when the machine reboots it will automatically load a Client.


Set Inactivity Timeout - Command

When a Control connects to a Client, it prevents other Controls from connecting to that same Client.

If the operator at the Control forgets to terminate the connection then a case might arise where other Control operators who need access are locked out.

Setting this option means that if a connected Control has not carried out any mouse, keyboard or file transfer activity for the specified period, the Client will assume that the connection is no longer required and disconnect automatically.  It will then be available to other Controls.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

If there is no activity between the Control and the Client for the prescribed period the Client will automatically disconnect.

Use this option if

You are using a NetSupport Client to provide access to a shared machine and you want to avoid a single Control operator monopolising it.

Notes

The default is 0 = never disconnect automatically.


Use Computer name for Client name - Command

Instead of entering a client name, you can use this command to default the Client name to be the same as the Computer name.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

When the Client initialises it will use the computer or machine name of the workstation it is loading on.

Use this option if

You wish to autoname the Client


Unloading the NetSupport Client - Command

This allows you to stop the NetSupport Client program from running.

Command

NT/2000/XP:	Net Stop CLIENT32

Win9x/Me:	Not available

Effect

Stops the NT Client32 service.


Permit a Control to Watch only - Command

Disables ability of Control operator to enter keystrokes and mouse movements.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

This restricts all Control access to “watch only”.  The Control cannot influence the Client's mouse or keyboard.

Note: The Control does not report that this option has been set if you use Share or Control.  Instead, it reverts to Watch.


Public when logged off
Public when logged off - Command

Adds an additional level of security on NT Clients that only requires the NetSupport Manager password to be entered by the Control if the Client is logged on.

Also enables the supervisor to set different NetSupport passwords depending on whether the NT Client is logged on or off.

Command

NT/2000/XP	CLIENT32 Clientname /Upp

WIN9X/Me: 	Not available.

Example

CLIENT32 JOHN /UIP /X

Effect (No public password set)

Does not require a NetSupport password to connect to the Client when it is not logged in even if a Client password has been set.  You will however be prompted to enter the password if the machine is logged on under NT.

Example

CLIENT32 JOHN /UIP /X12345

Effect (Public password set)

The Control must enter the public password, in its unencrypted form, to connect to the Client when it is not logged in, rather than the normal password.  When the Client is logged in the Control must enter the normal NetSupport password.

The Control must enter the public password, in its unencrypted form, to connect to the Client when it is not logged in, rather than the normal password.  When the Client is logged in the Control must enter the normal NetSupport password.

When NT/2000/XP is not logged in (whether this option is set or not), the Client opens its icon when a Control is connected.  This prevents a user at the Client machine from inadvertently logging in while a Control is connected and hence allowing the user at the Control to gain access to things that they should not.

Notes

•	Use the Configurator to set this option.

•	If this option is combined with the "Logoff on Disconnect" option, the Client only logs off if it was not logged on when the Control connected.

•	If this option is combined with the "Logoff on Disconnect" (/X) option, /R must precede /X.

•	This option disables File Transfer and Confirm Request to Connect when the Client is not logged in.

•	The Control operator must enter the original password not the encrypted one.

•	The Control can still send a message to the Client without entering the password.


Keep on top - Command

When a Control connects to a Client, the NetSupport icon "pops-up" to warn the user at the Client that they are being Viewed.  As Windows are opened, this connection indicator can become obscured.  This option keeps the NetSupport connection indicator on top of all other windows.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

The user at the Client will always be able to tell if they are being viewed.

Use this option if

You wish to ensure that the user at the Client machine is always aware when a Control is viewing them.


Maintain Activity log - Command

A security feature that records which Controls have connected to a Client and when they connected.  On an NT Client, this also logs NetSupport file transfer activity.

Command

NT/2000/XP/9x/Me:	Set by the Configurator

Effect

Every time a Control connects to the Client, an entry will be made in the Logfile recording the date, time, name and IP or IPX address of the Control.

Use this option if

You wish to maintain a log of Client activity.

Notes

•	The Log file can be on a local or a networked drive.

•	Multiple Clients can share log files on networked drives.

•	You can specify a list of alternative filenames by separating them with semicolons, e.g. YX:\LOG;C:\LOG.  The Client will then attempt to log to the first file, and if this fails the second, and so on.  This can be useful if the Client is sometimes logged in to a file server and sometimes not.

•	You must use fully qualified pathnames and the maximum length of the list is 127 characters.

•	The Windows NT/2000/XP client logs messages to the Application Event Log, which can be viewed with the Event Viewer program supplied with NT/2000/XP; filename is therefore not required.  Look for entries with source PCIAPP.


Configuring Clients

NetSupport Clients are configured using the NetSupport Configurator. This makes all the required changes to and sets up the initialisation commands.

The Configurator is started from the NetSupport Configurator Icon in the NetSupport Manager Program Group. This will display the initial Client Configuration dialog.

You can also load the Configurator from the command line by entering the appropriate parameters. For example, “c:\program files\netsupport manager\pcicfgui.exe. If School Components have been installed, you can load the NetSupport School Client Configurator by entering, “c:\program files\netsupport manager\pcicfgui.exe” /s.

Note:	When performing a custom installation, the Configurator Component must have been selected for this option to be available.

The Client Configurator enables you to set all the possible options for the Client. It also enables you to test the Network to ensure that the Network stack that you are attaching the Client to is installed and operating correctly.

You can run the Configurator in two modes, Basic or Advanced. Some of the options are accessible in both modes.

Basic

Basic Configuration is used for standard settings such as the Client Name, the transport/s that it will use and simple security such as a password before a Control will be allowed to connect to the Client.

Note:	Basic Client Configurations can also be set as part of the NetSupport installation process on workstations.

Choose this option if: -

•	You are using the Client Configurator for the first time.

•	You only wish to set simple security and configuration options.

•	You do not need to create multiple profiles for different Control users who might connect to this workstation.

Note:	Do not use the Basic option if you have set up multiple profiles using the Advanced Option as this will also change the Master Profile in the Advanced Configuration.

Advanced

The advanced option provides access to NetSupport’s wealth of configuration and security options. It lets you tailor the response of the Client to different Control Users who may access the workstation and provides links to areas such as NT Security.

Note:	When performing a custom installation, the Configurator Component must have been selected for this option to be available.

Choose this option if: -

•	You are experienced user.

•	You need the Client to react differently depending on which Control User is connecting.

•	You wish to enable/disable individual features.

•	You want to link to NT Security.

•	You want to restrict a Control user’s access to specific drives, directories or files.

Note:	Any changes you make to the Master Profile in the Advanced option will overwrite any setting that you have made using the Basic option.

See also

Editing and Creating Configuration Files


Basic Client Configuration

For use in a simple environment where you do not require the Client to react differently according to the Control user connecting to it and do not need to enable/disable individual functions.

To open the Basic Client Configurator

1.	Choose {Start}{Programs}{NetSupport}{NetSupport Configurator} from the operating system menus.

Or,

Double click on the Configurator icon in the NetSupport Group.

2.	Select Basic.

The Basic Client Configurator covers three areas:

•	Connectivity

•	Security

•	Audio


Advanced Client Configuration

The NetSupport Manager Client is exceptionally configurable and supports the ability to set differing levels of security and response according to the identity of the Control user that is connecting. This is achieved by the use of configuration files at the Client, which determine the appropriate level of access for each Control user by means of a Profile.

It is important that the concepts behind Configuration Files and Profiles be fully understood.

Configuration File

A Configuration File is a Text File consisting of sections called Profiles.

You can specify the Configuration File that the Client will use when it initialises. The Configuration files themselves are stored in a check-summed file, normally Client32.INI.

This file can be either on the Client workstation or on another workstation such as an NT Server to which the Client workstation has access. You can even set the Client to use a fallback configuration file in case the Server is unavailable.

Note: There are special requirements for setting Windows 95/98 workstations to use shared configuration files.

Profile

A profile is a set of parameters that determine how the Client will respond to a particular Control User and what functionality they will allow that Control User to have.

For example, one Control user may be allowed to View the Client in Watch only mode while another may be allowed full functionality including File Transfer. You can even set up the profile to pre-determine exactly what file access a Control User will have.

A profile set at the Client overrides a profile set at the Control. Security is therefore always ensured.

When connecting to a profiled Client, the Control User will be prompted for a User ID and a Password. The NetSupport Client will then interrogate the first matching Profile in its current configuration file to determine what level of functionality has been assigned to that Control user.

Master Profile

Each configuration file must contain a Master Profile. This is the standard profile and is the one used if you only set a Basic Configuration. Whatever is set here will, by default, apply to all other Profiles you create.

However, you can then amend those profiles to enable or disable particular features for Control users whose USERID and password match those set in the Profile.

As the Master Profile is the first one that the Client checks you should always set maximum security features here to avoid leaving a security back-door.

The Master Profile is also used for setting a number of Global Parameters that apply across all individual Profiles.

Individual Profile

An individual profile allows you to enable or disable individual features for a particular Control User or Group of Control Users. When they connect, the Client will prompt them for a User Name and Password. It will then search its internal profiles until it finds a match and then apply the settings to the subsequent Control session.

The Advanced Client Configurator covers five areas:

Connectivity

Security

Remote Control

Client Interface

Profile Options

See also

Editing or Creating Configuration Files

Configuring the Control workstation


Editing and Creating Configuration files

Configuration files are created by choosing the Advanced Option from the Client Configurator. This will display the Advanced Configuration Window.

The default Configuration file is called CLIENT32.INI and is stored in the NSM installation directory of the Client workstation. You can use either this file or a different file on a Server to which the Client has access.

Note:	Once created, a Configuration file can also be remotely deployed to multiple Client machines simultaneously using the NetSupport Deploy utility.

To create a new Configuration File

1.	Choose NetSupport Configurator from the NetSupport Program Group. The NetSupport Client Configurator will appear.

2.	Choose Advanced. The NSM Client Configurator dialog will appear.

3.	Choose {File}{New} from the Advanced Configuration Window drop down menu bar.

4.	A new file will be created with a Default master Profile.

To open the default or an existing Configuration File

1.	Choose {File}{Open} from the Advanced Configuration Window drop down menu bar.

2.	Select the Configuration File you want, click Open.

To set the Configuration file the Client will use

The configuration file that the Client uses when it initialises can be on the same workstation or on another workstation or Server to which that workstation has access. Multiple Clients can share the same configuration file for ease of Administration. The Configuration file to use is set by choosing {Profiles}{Client Parameters} from the Advanced Configuration drop down menu bar.

Note:	There are special requirements for setting Windows 95/98/ME Clients to use shared configuration files on NT/Windows 2000/XP workstations.

To Set the Client Name

1.	Choose {Profiles}{Client Parameters} and insert a Client name.

Note: The Client name is separate from the Configuration file and is stored on the local workstation. Make sure that you do not choose the same Client name as is used on another workstation. Setting the Client name to be an asterisk is a useful strategy, as the Client name will then be set to be the same as the Computer Name. The Computer Name should always be unique.

To create a new Profile

1.	Open or create the Configuration file you want to use.

2.	Choose {Profile}{Add} from the Advanced Configuration Window drop down menu bar.

3.	Enter the name for the Profile.

Note: You can combine Profiles from other configuration files by choosing the "Include File" option. This is useful where you are using Configuration files on the local workstation but want to include information stored on a central configuration file or vice versa. For example, if the local workstation was using a different NetBIOS Adapter number. Each Profile contains a number of Property Sheets where the actual parameters are set.

To edit an existing Profile

1.	Open or create the Configuration file you want the Client to use.

2.	Select the profile you want to Edit.

3.	Choose {Profile}{Edit} from the Advanced Configuration Window drop down menu bar.

4.	Edit the profile.

Note: If you leave the check boxes greyed, the settings from the Master Profile will be used.


Client Configuration - File Transfer Settings

This property sheet is used to control file access.

Disable File Transfer

Disables File Transfer to and from the Client in all circumstances.

Disable File Transfer when no NT user is Logged on

Disables File Transfer only if it is an NT workstation and no user is logged on. This means that the Control user could log on as themselves if they have a valid User ID and password for this workstation.

Impersonate Logged on NT User when Transferring Files

When using NetSupport file transfer, the Control User will have the same file access as the Logged on user.

Access Rights to Directories and Files

This is used to explicitly allow or deny access to individual Drives, Directories and Files. Note that it only applies to File Transfer within NetSupport Manager.

It is hierarchical in nature so you could for example disable access to Drive C:\ in general but explicitly grant access to sub directories.

Note: Any Access Rights set in the master profile applies to all profiles, unless overridden.


Client Configuration - Dialin Bridge Settings

This property sheet is used to set up Dial-in NetSupport links either to this workstation or to any NetSupport Client on the same LAN as this one.

Protocol

By default, NetSupport Manager is set to have no transport for the Bridge selected. Choose to use either the NetBIOS, IPX, TCP/IP protocols for NetSupport Bridge.

Bridge Options

Load Bridge on Startup

Setting this option will cause the NetSupport Bridge to initialise when the Client loads. If you do not set it then the User at the Client must load it manually from the menu on the NSM Client before dial-in access will be available.

Inactivity Timeout

Specify, in minutes, a maximum time span of inactivity at the Bridge before the Control disconnects.

Dialback File

You can set up the Bridge to support both passwords and dialback with the additional functionality of dialing back different telephone numbers according to the password.

Modem/ISDN

You must select a modem, from the list of modems installed in the Control Panel of the workstation, for the Bridge to use.

Dual Channel Bonding

If enabled, both channels of your ISDN line are combined thus increasing the amount of available  bandwidth to 128k. However, in increasing the speed of transmission you are in effect making two calls.

MSN (Multiple Subscriber Number)

Specify a number that you want the bridge to accept incoming connections from. Depending on the channels in use, you need only specify the trailing digit(s). For example, if the ISDN lines in use are 0181 123456 and 0181 123457, specify 6 or 7.


Client Configuration - Audio Settings

This property sheet provides configuration options for using Audio Support at the Client.

Volume

Threshold – microphone sensitivity

Microphone – volume of microphone

Speaker – volume of speakers

Wave – volume of Operating Systems Sound Effects

Test

Check this box to test all of the above settings.


Client Configuration - Protect Configuration Settings

This property sheet allows you to protect the Client Configurations.

Configurator Password

Nominate a Security Password for the Client profile.

Authenticate User and Password with NT

This only applies to NT Clients and therefore only protects Client Configurators on NT based workstations (NT/2000). If this option is set, the UserID and Password entered at the Control must be a valid “Act as part of the Operating System” NT ID on the Client workstation, or its default domain. This User Right is not granted by NT as default.

To grant this User Right

1.	Run {Programs}{Administrative Tools}{User Manager}.

2.	Select {Policies}{User Rights} from the drop down menus.

3.	Check the “Show Advanced User Rights” check box.

4.	Select the Right.

5.	Click on Add.

6.	Select which users and/or groups, this right should be granted.

7.	Click on OK.

8.	For this User Right to be recognised you must relog into your workstation.

Note: You can also point the Client to validate the ID in another Domain.

Restrict Access to Members of the following Groups

You can further restrict access by specifying groups. Click on Browse to select a group(s).


Client Configuration - Web Extensions

This property sheet allows you to configure the Client to act as a simple Web Server. The TCP/IP transport must be enabled for this to work.

Enable Web Extensions

When this is checked the Client is able to act as a simple Web Server. Typically, you would enable this to allow you to access the Client via the Internet, using the Integrated Browser. See on line help for details.

Server Port

The Server Port number is set, default, to 80. You may want to change this for security reasons.

Server Root Directory

The server root directory is set to where you have installed NetSupport. You may wish to change this for security reasons.


Configuring the Control

NetSupport allows you to fully configure how the Control Program will operate. To provide maximum flexibility NetSupport also allows you to set up multiple profiles for different Control Users, each with their own access and functionality levels. See Profiling a Control

To Configure a Control

1.	Choose {Network}{Configure} from the Control Window drop down menu for basic options (General, Connectivity, Security and Startup).

Or,

Click on the Settings icon for advanced Configuration options.

2.	The Setting Configurations dialog for the current Profile will appear.

Note:	If you want to change the Settings for a different Control profile you must use {Tools}{Configurations} and select the Profile you want to configure.

The Control Configuration options are categorised as follows:

General

This property sheet enables you to set the identification details for the Control.

Connectivity

These property sheets enable you to specify which transport protocols the Control will operate over.

Security

NetSupport Manager offers a wealth of security features that can be applied to each Control profile.

Startup

This property sheet enables you to configure the options that affect NetSupport Manager at startup.

Remote Control

These property sheets enable you to adjust the Remote Control features that apply to each Control Profile.

Control Interface

These property sheets enable you to configure the various components available to the Control from the Control Window interface.

File Transfer

These options configure the File Transfer Settings in NetSupport Manager.  They allow you to alter the way in which information is displayed, and enables you to set safety features such as confirmation before performing a damaging operation.

File Locations

This property sheet allows you to specify where to store this Named Configurations Client, Group, Remote Networks, Tools and Scripting files.


Control Configuration - Startup Settings

This section configures the options that affect NetSupport Manager at startup.  You can connect to a Client, Group or Remote Network or even perform a Browse.  This enables you to perform a repetitive task that you would normally do every time you start the Control.

At Startup

Dial Remote Network

Check this box if you want to dial a Remote Network when the Control starts.  When this item is checked the list of remote networks configured is enabled.  Select one of these networks to continue.

Connect to Client

Check this box to connect to a Client when the Control starts.  All of the clients in your Known Clients List will be displayed here, with the transport appended to the name.  For example, TEST1<TCP>.

Connect to Group

Check this box to connect to a group of Clients when the Control starts.  All of the groups created will be displayed in this list.

Browse for Clients starting with …

When the Control starts it can perform a Browse using the information supplied.  Enter a partial Client name or leave this blank to find all available Clients.  The Clients found will appear in your Browse folder in the Tree View.

Start Viewing

When you have checked one of the Connect boxes above, you have the option to view the Client when the control starts.  Check this box to enable the three buttons below.  This allows you to choose the way in which the Client is viewed.

Watch

Start Watching the Client or Clients when the Control starts.

Share

Start Sharing the Client or Clients when the Control starts.

Control

Start Controlling the Client or Clients when the Control starts.

Icons

This utility allows you to create icons on your desktop that load a NetSupport Control with a specific Named Configuration.  This means that you can have several shortcuts that automatically connect to one or more Clients when run.

Disconnect

The following options are only available on non-Administrative configurations.

Exit Program on Disconnect

Check this box to force the Control to shutdown when you disconnect from a client.  This option is very useful when used in conjunction with the option above and connecting to a Client at startup.

Exit Program after Hanging up the phone

Check this box to force the Control to shutdown once a dial-up session has been completed.  This is most useful when used with dialling a Remote Network at startup.


Control Configuration - General Settings

Use this property sheet to give the Control a specific name. If left blank, the machine name is used.

Identification

Control Name

The name which the NetSupport Control program uses when connecting to Clients to identify itself.  Under NetBIOS this name is registered in the NetBIOS transport.

Description

Enter the description for this Control configuration.


Control Configuration - View Settings

This property sheet provides configuration options for Viewing Client workstations. If editing the Client Settings, all changes you make will only apply while you are connected to that Client. If you wish to make your changes the Control default, check the Update Configuration box.

Options

BIOS Keyboard

Checking this option causes the Control to emulate keystrokes on the Client at the BIOS level, rather than the Hardware level.  Use this if an application at the Client does not appear to be correctly accepting keystrokes from the Control.  Only use this option if you are experiencing problems with the default low-level keyboard option.

Confirm Switch to Full Screen

When this box is checked, you will be prompted to confirm switching to Full Screen Mode.

Full Screen

Checking this options will force the Control to view a Client in Full Screen Mode rather than in a windowed mode.

Scale to Fit

Check this option if you want the contents of the View Window to be automatically shrunk to fit the sizeable frame.

Disconnect when Closed

Check this option to disconnect from a Client, when a View Window is closed.

Screen Scrape

NetSupport’s favoured, and the most efficient, method for capturing screen data is to hook into the Video Driver of the workstation being viewed. However, there may be occasions when this method will not work because certain applications bypass the driver. In these circumstances you can enable ‘screen scrape’ mode in order to take a snapshot of the screen. Although this will have a greater impact on the network it will at least provide an accurate representation of the Client’s screen.

Scrollbars

You can turn off scrollbars on the View Windows by un-checking this option.  This is useful when using Auto-Scroll, as you gain a little extra workspace.

Use Compression

Check this box to enable compression when viewing a Client’s screen.  The state of this checkbox is also reflected in the General Settings.

Wallpaper

Check this box if you want the Client’s wallpaper to be visible when viewing.  Normally this is turned off to improve performance, so expect the screen update speed to be impacted by selecting this option.

Blank Client Screen

This enables the Control operator to blank the Client screen in any of the View modes.

Note:	If another Control, with the Blank Client Screen setting checked, attempts to connect to a Client being controlled in Blank Client Screen mode, the original Control will be disconnected. This is to prevent less privileged users from ‘surfing in’ on the back of a more privileged user.

Video Skipping

NetSupport Controls can now be configured for Viewing performance. The Control program will not display Client screen updates if a subsequent update to the area of the screen is made. Un-ticking the box will result in all Client screen updates being displayed at the Control.

Default Mode

When you view a client, by default, you start viewing in Share Mode.  If you prefer to start viewing in a different way, change the style from the list provided.

Cache Size

The NetSupport Control contains a cache to help improve overall performance.  The cache sizes range from 1Mb to 16Mb and a separate cache is allocated to each Client connection.  If you are running applications on the Client that uses lots of or large bitmaps increase the cache size to improve the performance.

Max Colour Depth

When you connect to a Client, you can restrict the Colour Depth that is sent.  This is done to reduce the amount of traffic between Client and Control.  Reduce the Colour Depth to 16 colours if you are using applications that do not rely on anything other than the standard 16-colour palette.

Change DOS Font

Use this dialog to select the font to use when displaying DOS screens.  This will be either from DOS Clients or Windows Clients running Full Screen DOS boxes. Windows uses a graphic character set for displaying DOS Screens. The higher the resolution that you are running Windows in the larger the font size you will need to set to get an accurate representation of a DOS Screen.

Change Japanese Font

Use this dialog to select the font to use when displaying Japanese DOS screens.

Update Configuration Standard

Check this box to update the currently selected Configuration.


Control Configuration - Print Capture Settings

Print Capture redirects printer output from a local printer at the Client, to the printer or a file at the Control. You would use this when running an application on a Client but want any printed output redirected to the printer that is local to you.

Enable Print Capture

Check this box to enable the Print Capture feature.  If this box is unchecked, the output will be printed at the Client.

These options specify where the printed output will be redirected to on the Control.  This can be either a local or network printer, or a file.

Note:	In addition to enabling this option at the Control you also need to ensure that Print Capture is enabled in the Clients Configuration. The privileges are disabled by default. At the Client, load the Advanced Configurator and select Security – Access Privileges and un-check the Disable Print Capture option.

Capture to Printer

Select this radio button to redirect the Client printing to a local or network printer.  The name of the default printer that is currently set-up is displayed.

Change

Press this button to display a window containing all of the printers configured on your local workstation.

Capture to File

By selecting this button, you can redirect the Client printing to a file that can be printed later.  This file can be on a local or network path.

Browse

A file browse window will appear when you press this button allowing you to find a location for the capture file.

Use Client Printer Driver

NT Clients try to use the correct driver for the Control's default printer (by changing the default printer on the Client workstation, although not all applications notice this).  For this to work, you need to install the appropriate printer driver on the Client and assign it to LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3.

On Windows 95 and Windows NT, the user can change the printer name (in Control Panel, Printers or Settings, Printers).  To handle this situation, and because printer and driver names vary between, Windows 95 and NT, you can specify a list of printer names and Drivers in this field.  For example:

HP DeskJet 520,DESKJETC; HP DeskJet…

Where:

HP DeskJet 520	is a printer name that the Client might recognise

DESKJETC	is the name of the driver file for this printer at the Client (optional, .DRV assumed)

HP DeskJet	is another printer name that the Client might recognise

When Print Capture is enabled, the Control sends this information to the Client, and the Client then looks for the closest match in the Drivers installed on the Client workstation.  The NT Client ignores the name of the driver file; the Clients match this preferentially, using the printer name only in case of a tie.

Report Driver Used

When you connect to a client a dialog box will appear informing you of the printer driver that has been used.  If no matching Drivers were found you would be informed whether you check this box or not.

Notes

•	Print output is captured only from the port to which the default printer is attached.  Note that the Client may change this when Print Capture is enabled, as described above.

•	The Windows NT Client captures print output from DOS programs from the port to which the default printer is attached.

If you experience problems with the Windows Client, try:

•	Disable 'fast printing direct to port' at the Client

•	Removing any connection to a network printer at the Client.

•	Change the printing priority at the Client to Low in Print Manager, Options, Background printing.

•	To capture printed output from DOS programs running under Windows 95, open Printers, Settings, <Your printer>, Properties, Details, Port Settings and ensure that Spool MS-DOS print jobs is not checked.

Update Configuration Standard

Check this box to update the currently selected Configuration.

Note:	If you are editing the Client Settings, any changes you make to this property sheet will only apply while you are connected to that Client. If you wish to make your changes the Control default, check the Update Configuration box.


Control Configuration - Remote Dialup Settings

This property sheet provides configuration options for the Dial-up Settings for Remote Networking.  Before you can dial remote networks, you must enter information about your modem hardware. To dial a Bridge at startup, select Configure from the Networks drop down menu and click on the Startup option.

Modem

NetSupport displays all available modems here. Simply select which Modem you wish to use.

Dual Channel Bonding

If enabled, both channels of your ISDN line are combined thus increasing the amount of available  bandwidth to 128k. However, in increasing the speed of transmission you are in effect making two calls.

MSN (Dialback) (Multiple Subscriber Number)

Specify a number that you want the Control to answer an incoming dial-back from a Client Bridge.

Diagnostics

None

Select this option to perform no diagnostics on your modem.

Basic

When the modems connect, the Control checks the following:

Flow control is correctly set (XON/OFF is disabled, etc)

There is a NetSupport Bridge at the remote number

There are not excessive delays in transferring data

Extended

The Extended setting performs the same checks as for Basic and includes:

Line reliability

Throughput

Logging Level

None

Select this option to display the progress messages on the screen only.

Basic

Selecting Basic logs the following information to MODEM.LOG:

The name of the modem used

The number dialled

Results of Diagnostic tests

Connection speed

Verbose

Selecting Verbose records the same information as Basic, but includes timestamps.

Use this option is you are having problems establishing dial-up links.

View Log

Opens a window that displays the MODEM.LOG file generated by Extended and Verbose Diagnostic and Logging settings.


Control Configuration - File Transfer Settings

This property sheet provides configuration options for transferring files. They allow you  to alter the way in which information is displayed, and enables you to set safety features such as confirmation before performing a damaging operation.

If you are editing the Client settings, all changes you make will only apply while you are connected to that Client. If you wish to make your changes the Control default, check the Update Configuration box.

Display Options

Show System/Hidden files

Check this box to display all files with System and Hidden attributes.  By default, this option is unchecked.

Show file details

Select this option to display multiple columns of information for each file in the list.  These show the file size, modified date, attributes and short filename.  You can toggle between this state and the filenames only state, by using the list style buttons in the File Transfer User Interface.

Show file names only

Select this option to only display filenames in the file lists.  This allows you to display more files at the same time than with file details. You can toggle between this state and the Details State, by using the list style buttons in the File Transfer User Interface.

Confirm

When you perform potentially dangerous file operations, such as deleting a directory or file you can make the Control display a Confirmation dialog box.  This helps prevent accidental loss of data.  If you are familiar with the User Interface, you can turn these options off as required.  By default, all the confirmation settings are turned on.

Directory copy

Make the user confirm before copying a directory structure.

Directory delete

Make the user confirm before deleting a directory structure.

File overwrite

Display a confirmation dialog before overwriting one or more files.

File delete

Display a confirmation dialog before deleting one or more files.

Use Compression

Check this box to enable the use of compression.  When you are communicating with a Client, whether it is a File transfer, View or Chat session, the data being sent and received will be compressed.  This also provides a means of security, as the data will also be encrypted.

Delta File Transfer

Delta File Transfer improves performance by skipping the transfer of information that is unchanged. If the file being transferred already exists in the destination directory only the changed parts of the file will be updated.

Delta File Transfer is enabled by default.

Priority (when also Viewing)

When you are transferring files and viewing a Clients’ screen at the same time, each operation impacts the performance of the other.  You can reduce the priority of a file transfer operation to make the viewing more responsive and vice-versa.  Slide the control to the left to give the file transfer higher priority, or to the right to give Client views higher priority.  If you are not viewing a Client, this setting is ignored.

Update Configuration Standard

Check this box to update the currently selected Configuration.


Control Configuration - Interface Settings

This property sheet enables you to configure the different components available to the named configuration.

Settings

Hide Client List

Check this option to disable the display of known Clients for security reasons.  The Clients branch is removed from the Tree View and all of the menu and toolbar items that allow you to manipulate Client records are removed.

Hide Group List

Check this box to disable all the display of Groups for security reasons.  The Groups branch is removed from the Tree View, and all related menu items and Toolbar buttons are removed.

Hide Dial Directory

Check this box to disable all Remote Network functions.  The Remote Networks branch is removed from the Tree View, and all related menu items and Toolbar buttons are removed.

Hide Gateway

Check this box to disable the Gateway function. The Gateway branch is removed from the Tree View.

Disable Browse

Check this box to disable the Browse function.  The Browse branch is removed from the Tree View, the Toolbar button is removed and the related menu item is removed.

Message on Disconnect

When checked, the Control user will be prompted to send a message to the Client when disconnecting. This may be useful to notify the user on the Client workstation that the Control user has finished using the workstation and advise what action has been taken.

Use internal speaker for Beep

By default, the audible warning beep, which can be sent between machines in functions such as Chat and View, comes from the PCs internal speaker. There may be occasions when it is more appropriate to use the workstations sound card to generate the beep through speakers, in which case un-check this box.

Client List Read-only

Check this box to remove the ability to alter the Known Client List. The Clients item is still available in the Tree View, but you cannot modify or create new Clients.

Group List Read-only

Check this box to remove the ability to alter the Groups list.  The Groups item is still available in the Tree View, but you cannot modify or create new groups.

Dial Directory Read-only

Check this box to remove the ability to alter the Remote Networks list.  The Remote Networks item is still available in the Tree View, but you cannot modify or create new items.

Gateway Read-only

Check this box to remove the ability to alter the Gateway list. The Gateway item is still available in the Tree View, but you cannot modify or create new items.

Shell Extension

NetSupport Manager integrates directly with Windows Explorer allowing you to launch key functionality direct from your system without needing to first start NetSupport.

Disable Shell Extension

Check this box to remove NetSupport functionality from the Explorer shell.

Thumbnail

Thumbnail or Monitor Mode enables the Control to simultaneously view multiple Client screens. The size of the Thumbnails and the frequency at which the display is refreshed can be adjusted to suit personal preferences. Select the required setting from the drop down lists.


Configuration - Audio Settings

This property sheet provides configuration options for using Audio Support.

If you are editing the Client Settings, all changes you make will only apply while you are connected to that Client. If you wish to make your changes the Control default, check the Update Configuration box.

Volume

Threshold – microphone sensitivity

Microphone – volume of microphone

Speaker – volume of speakers

Wave – volume of Operating Systems Sound Effects

Test – Click on Test, to test the volume settings as you adjust.

The following options only appear in the Control Configuration – Audio Settings

Enable

On –  turn Audio on

Off – turn Audio off

Talk – turn the Control Audio to Talk function only

Listen – turn the Control Audio to Listen function only

Selecting the Audio Transmission Format buttons allows you to change the Transmission Format. Use only the level you need for acceptable quality. High quality settings can affect screen update performance.

For Remote Communication Links

Over Remote Communication links we recommend you use a Transmission Format of less than 2 kb/sec.

Update Configuration Standard

Check this box to update the currently selected Configuration.


Control Configuration - Help Request Settings

This property sheet provides configuration options for receiving Help Requests from Clients.

When a Help Request Arrives:

Highlight the Client in the Help Request List

Check this box to highlight the Client icon in the List View when a Help Request is sent.

Display a Message

Check this box to have Help Request messages displayed on the Control screen.

Play a Sound

Check this box to play a sound when a Client sends a Help Request. Use the Browse function to specify the sound.

Control Status (for incoming Client Connections)

Available to take Help Requests

Check this box to be available to receive all incoming Help messages.

Not Available to take Help Requests

Check this box and not receive any Help messages.

Busy at the moment

Check this box to be available to receive all incoming Help messages, but not when connected to xxx number of Clients. Ensure that you specify the number of Clients you need to be connected to, in order to be considered busy.

Set Status to ‘Busy’ when connected to xxx or more than, Clients

Ensure that you specify the number of Clients you need to be connected to, in order to be considered busy.


Control Configuration - File Location Settings

This property sheet provides configuration options for Client, Group, Remote Networks, Tools and Scripting File Locations. This facility allows a Control user to have unique Control files, enabling a Control user to access their Control files from any Control workstation.

If you are editing the Client Settings, all changes you make will only apply while you are connected to that Client. If you want your changes to become the Control default, check the Update Configuration box.

Client File

Use Browse to specify an alternative location for all Control’s, Client details. To make files Read Only, check the Client List Read Only check box, in the Control Configuration User Interface settings.

Group File

Use Browse to specify an alternative location for all profiled Control’s, Group details. To make files Read Only, check the Group List Read Only check box, in the Control Configuration User Interface settings.

Remote Networks File

Use Browse to specify an alternative location for all profiled Control’s, Remote Network details. To make files Read Only, check the Dial Directory Read Only check box, in the Control Configuration User Interface settings.

Tools File

Use Browse to specify an alternative location for all profiled Control’s, Tool details. There is no facility to make these files Read Only.

Scripts File

Use Browse to specify an alternative location for all profiled Control’s, Script details.


Profiling a Control

NetSupport allows you to set up multiple profiles for different Control Users each with their own access and functionality levels.

Each configuration can be protected by a password and an icon can be created on the desktop to load the Control with a particular named configuration if desired.

You must have NetSupport Administrator rights to profile or change a Control.

To create or change a Profile

1.	Choose {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

2.	The Configurations dialog will be displayed.

3.	Select the Configuration that you want to change.

Or,

Choose New to create a new one. By default NetSupport is installed with a single profile called Standard. This is set up for full functionality.

4.	Click on the Settings Button to tailor the global functionality of this profile.

Or,

Click on the Connectivity and Startup settings to tailor the Basic Functionality.

See Configuring a Control for details of the options then available.

To create desktop icons

Having saved the profile, you can create a desktop icon containing the parameters required to load the configuration.

1.	From the Configurations dialog, click Icons.

2.	The Icon Maintenance dialog will be displayed.

3.	Click anywhere in the dialog and drag to the desktop.

4.	The Create or Edit Icon dialog will appear.

5.	Enter the required configuration details and click OK to create the icon.

See also

Using Command Line Instructions


Adding a New Client to the Database

NetSupport Manager maintains a database of all Known Clients. These are stored in the Clients Folder in the Tree View and provide a fast way to connect to those Clients without having to perform a Browse.

You can also see additional information about the Client such as names, contact numbers etc.

To populate the Known Clients database

1.	Use the Browse function to lookup available Clients and connect to them. All required information about that Client will then be stored in the Clients folder.

Or,

Choose {Client}{New} from the Control drop down menus and manually enter the details.

2.	You will then be prompted for the following information:

•	The name of the Client

•	The Network Transport it is running under

•	The Network address of the Client

At this point, you can choose to enter some additional information to be stored with that Client's details.  The information you can additionally store is:

•	An alternative name to be displayed at the Control for that Client

•	A text description about that Client

•	A Contact Name

•	A Contact telephone Number

The newly created Client will now appear in the Clients Folder and be displayed in the Clients List view.

See also:

Connecting to a Linux or MAC Based System


Deleting a Client from the database

Delete a previously saved Client from the Clients Folder in the Control Tree View.

To delete a Client from the database

1.	Open the Clients Folder in the Tree View and select the required Client.

2.	Right click on the Client and choose Delete.

Or,

Choose {Client}{Delete} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

3.	The ‘Delete a Client’ dialog will appear and prompt for confirmation.


Changing the Clients Display name

Instead of displaying the Clients physical name, NetSupport allows you to set a different name that will be displayed at the Control.

For example, a workstation running a Client may have a description allocated by you such as Sales 2. This workstation may move to the accounts function and as such you wish to rename it as Accounts 3.

To rename a Client

1.	Open the Clients folder in the Tree View and select the required Client.

2.	Choose {Client}{Rename} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

Or,

Right click on the Client and choose Rename.

Or,

Right click on the Client and choose {Properties}{Details}.

Note: This only changes the stored name on the Control. It does not affect the physical name of the Client that will be displayed at another Control or if you do a Browse.

Details about the person responsible for the Client workstation and descriptions are displayed here.  All of these fields are optional.

Display Name

Use the Display Name to provide a friendlier name for the Client to be displayed at the Control.  By default, the physical Client name is used.

Description

Enter a description for the Client, or some notes that may help in the future.

Contact

This is the name of the person responsible for the maintenance of the Client workstation.  This is particularly useful on WANs where one person may not be responsible for all Clients.

Phone Number

This is the contact telephone number for the person responsible for the Client workstation, as supplied above.


Setting Client Properties for current session

You can store additional information about a Client workstation and its User by completing the Properties sheet for the Client. This information can then be viewed in the Detailed List View. You choose which fields are displayed by using the {View}{Columns} function from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

To adjust Client properties

1.	Open the Clients Folder in the Tree View and select the required Client.

2.	Choose {Client}{Properties} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

Or,

Right click on the Client and choose {Properties}.

3.	The Clients property sheet will be displayed.

The Client properties sheet has three options. The System Info is only displayed once you have connected to the Client.

General

•	The Physical Client name

•	Its Network Address

•	The transport it is using

Details

•	The name you want displayed at the Control for this Client.

•	The Description that you want to associate with this Client

•	The Contact name

•	The Telephone Number

System Info

•	What version of NetSupport Manager the Client is running.

•	What operating System it is running on.

See also

Remote Client Hardware and Software Inventory


Adjusting Client Settings for a Control session

During any control session where you may be working with more than one Client, you can tailor how each Client interacts with the Control. For example, on one Client you may want to use compression because it is on a slow link, but on another you may want to turn compression off. NetSupport allows you do this by modifying the default settings for the current Control Profile.

To adjust View Settings

1.	View the required Client.

2.	Choose {View}{Settings for Client} from the View Window drop down menu’s.

Or,

Select the Settings button on the View Window Toolbar.

3.	The Settings dialog will appear.

4.	Configure which options will be enabled, when you start a View Session.

Note: If you edit the Client Settings, the changes you make only apply to that Client during the current Control session. If you want to change the settings permanently check the Update Configuration box.


Customising the Toolbar

To enable you to customise NetSupport to your exact requirements, a variety of user interface customisation features are available. One of these is the ability to set which icons you want to display on the Control Toolbar.

To customise the Control Window Toolbar

1.	Choose {View}{Toolbar}{Customise} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	The Customise Toolbar dialog will appear.

The main NetSupport Toolbar can be customised to include the buttons that you use most frequently. The two lists you can see contain the buttons that can be added to the Toolbar and those already on the Toolbar.  To group the buttons together you can place separators between them

Available Buttons

Displays a list of all the buttons that can be added to your Toolbar.  This list shows the icon and the associated text that will be added.

Current Buttons

Displays the current buttons on your Toolbar.  Separators are shown as a horizontal broken line.  You can add a separator by selecting the item in this list to insert after and pressing the Separator >> button.

Add >>

Choose an item from the Available Buttons and select the position for this item in the Current Buttons list.  The item is inserted after the selected item when you press this button.

Separator >>

Press this button to insert a separator into the Current Buttons list after the selected item.  Separators are used to visually group buttons together.

<< Remove

Choose an item from the Current Button list to remove and then press this button.  The item will be added to your Available Buttons list unless it is a separator in which case it is just removed.

Reset

Pressing this button restores the Current Button list to the defaults provided by the User Interface.

Press this button to move the selected toolbar button up one position in the Current Button list.

Press this button to move the selected Toolbar button down one position in the Current Button list.

NetSupport Manager Control Toolbar Buttons

Button	Name	Function
	Add to Group	Add the selected Client to a new or existing Group.
	Announce	Send an Announcement to the selected Client(s).
	Available	This Control is available to receive Help Request connections.
	Browse	Search the Network for available Clients.
	Chat	Chat with the selected Client(s).
	Configurations	Manage your Configuration Profiles.
	Connect	Connect to the selected Client or Group of Clients.
	Dial	Dial a Remote Network.
	Disconnect	Disconnect from the selected Client or Group of Clients.
	Disconnect All	Disconnect from all currently connected Clients.
	Execute	Execute a program at the selected Client(s).
	File Distribution	Display the File Distribution Window to the selected Clients.
	File Manager	Display the File Manager Window for the Control Workstation.
	File Transfer	Display the File Transfer Window for the selected Client(s).
	Inventory	Retrieve a hardware / software inventory for the selected Client machine.
	Logout	Logout the selected Client.
	Message	Send a Message to the selected Client(s).
	New	Create a new Client, Group, Remote Network, Script Object, or Gateway.
	Properties	Display the Properties for the selected Client or Group.
	Quick Connect	Quickly connect to a Client by supplying its name or address.
	Reboot	Reboot the selected Client.
	Registry	If enabled in the Control Configuration, Control Interface-Functions option, gives access to the selected Clients local Registry.
	Replay	Play back a previously recorded Client session.
	Run	Run the selected Script.
	Scan	Scan through connected Clients screens.
	Settings	Change the Settings for the current Configuration.
	Show	Show your screen to the selected Client(s).
	Show Tree	Show or Hide to Object Tree.
	Tools	Manage and Execute User Defined Tools.
	View	View the selected Clients screen.


Using Client and Group information from previous versions of NetSupport

NetSupport Version 5 uses a different format when storing Client, Group and Remote Network information. Consequently you cannot directly access previous Client and Group details.

To use previous Client and Group information you must import it first. To do this select Tools | Import to display the Import Wizard. This will guide you through the process of importing the information.


Advanced Client Configuration - Add Control

To setup additional Controls, for the Client to request help from, enter the following:

•	The Machine Name of the relevant Control workstation(s).

•	Choose the Transport being run. TCP/IP, IPX, NetBios.

•	Address of the Control workstation. Depending on the transport, enter the MAC Address or IP Address.


Remote Client Hardware and Software Inventory

For many support teams an important part of the problem resolution process is knowing not only what platform the workstation is running, but its hardware specifications and the applications installed on the workstation. For this reason, NetSupport Manager provides the tools to supply a full inventory of the remote workstation.

In addition to its sophisticated hardware/software reporting, where over 50 items of information are collected specifically about the hardware or environment of the client PC, you can obtain details of applications in memory, installed hot-fixes, processes running and installed services.

As well as the real-time reporting, NetSupport Manager also provides the tools, security permitting, to allow you to remotely stop and start services, end applications and more.

Note:	In order to use the HTML based features within NetSupport’s Inventory options, Internet Explorer 4 or above is required.

To Retrieve A Client Inventory

1.	Select the required Client icon in the Control Window List View.

2.	Choose {Client}{Inventory} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or,

Right click on the Client icon and choose Inventory.

or,

Choose the Inventory icon from the toolbar.

or,

While Viewing the Client screen, choose the Inventory icon from the View Window toolbar.

3.	The Inventory Window for the selected Client will appear.

Notes:

•	If a Client is not selected, an inventory of the local machine will be retrieved.

•	Once collected, the various Client inventories are stored locally in the NetSupport Manager program folder meaning that you do not need to be connected to the target PC to be able to view the information at a later date. Simply select the required Client from the List View and choose the Inventory option. However, if you subsequently want to refresh the inventory you do need to connect to the target PC.

See also:

The Inventory Window


Control Configuration - Event Logging

This property sheet enables a NetSupport Control to record, in a text file, the actions it has performed while remote controlling a Client. This may be useful for maintaining a history of how often a particular Client was connected to and for what purpose.

Enable Logging

Check this box to enable the ‘Log to File’ option. Once enabled, each time the Control subsequently connects to a Client(s), the activity for that session will be recorded.

Log to File

Specify the path and file name for the Log File. The NetSupport default is PCICTL.log. This file can be stored on the Local workstation or on a Server. Multiple Controls can write to the same Log file.

As User (NT/2000/XP Only)

Log File User is the user name and password used to be able to write to the log file when the path specified is a UNC Path.

Append to Logfile

By checking this box, NetSupport will continually add to the existing entries in the log file. If unchecked, existing items get overwritten.


Client Configuration - Connectivity Options

These property sheets are used to set which protocols the transport will allow a Control to connect to it by. The NetSupport Client supports multiple protocols meaning that you can set it up to respond to NetSupport Control’s whether they are talking over TCP/IP, IPX or NetBIOS. You can also configure the Client for remote communication via a modem or establish a connection through a NetSupport Gateway. The gateway provides a method for connecting via http and delivers web based remote control without the need for modifications to existing Firewall configurations.

TCP/IP

IPX

NetBIOS

HTTP

Dial in Bridge

Advanced

Web Extensions (available in Advanced Client Configurator Only)


Client Configuration - Set TCP/IP Connection

Use TCP/IP

Check this box if you wish the Client to be able to communicate over TCP/IP.

Port

The TCP/IP protocol requires that a port number be allocated for applications to communicate through. To enable the Control to communicate with a Client, and for the Client to receive the incoming request, the default registered port for NetSupport is 5405.

Select IP Address to Listen on:

This option can prove useful for preventing unwanted connections when the Client has multiple network cards installed, for example, when both a public and private network are used. You can force connections on the required network by specifying the IP Address that the Client uses to listen for incoming Control connections.

Press [TEST] to check that the protocol is correctly installed on this workstation.

Notes

•	Changing port could interfere with other TCP/IP applications.

•	If you are using Routers, you must ensure that they are configured to pass through data using this port.

•	To enable Clients to initiate a connection to the Control, the default registered port is 5421.


Client Configuration - Set IPX connection

Use IPX

Check this box if you wish the Client to be able to communicate over IPX/SPX. Press [TEST] to check that the protocol is correctly installed on this workstation.


Client Configuration - Set NetBIOS connection

Use NetBIOS

Check this box if you wish the Client to be able to communicate over NetBIOS/NetBEUI. If you are using NetBIOS, you must also select a NetBIOS Adapter Number. Press [TEST] to check that the protocol is correctly installed on this workstation.

Adapters (select one or more)

As you can have more than one NetBIOS stack loaded, Windows uses the concept of Adapter numbers. Each stack is allocated an Adapter number by the operating system. So for example, NetBEUI may be allocated Adapter 1, NetBIOS over TCP, Adapter 2 and so on.

By default, the Client uses Adapter number 0. Depending on how your Network is configured this may not be the correct Adapter number for your workstation. To overcome this you must select the required stack from the drop down list.

Notes

•	NetSupport allows you to select multiple NetBIOS Adapters. Make sure only the ones you want are selected. If changing the selected adapter, make sure that you first de-deselect the existing or default adapter number.

•	Under Windows 95, changing you Network settings may also change the NetBIOS adapter number. You may need to re-set the NetBIOS adapter number NetSupport uses after such a change.


Client Configuration - Set HTTP connection

This property sheet enables you to configure the Client to accept a connections via a NetSupport Gateway.

Use HTTP:

Check this box to enable the Client to communicate over HTTP.

Port:

NetSupport’s default port for HTTP communications is 3085.

Gateway Address:

Enter the IP address of the workstation where the NetSupport Gateway Component is installed.

Gateway Key:

The Key set here must also be set at the Control and match the key that has been configured in the Gateway itself. Provides additional security that enables Control Users to connect only if they have specified the same key as at the Client.


Client Configuration - Basic Security Options

These property sheets are used to set basic security at the Client. A more advanced range of security features is also available, see Client Configuration - Advanced Security Options

General

Set passwords to protect the Client configuration and to prevent unauthorised access to the Client.

Access Privileges

Prevents Controls from performing certain tasks at the Client machine. See also Client Configuration - Access Privileges (Advanced)


Client Configuration - Advanced Security Options

The Advanced Client Configurator provides a wealth of security features categorised as follows:

User Validation

Access Privileges

User Acknowledgement

Connect

Disconnect

Protect Configuration

File Transfer

Replay Files

Event Logging


Client Configuration - General Security

Identification

Client Name

Each NetSupport Client on the Network requires a unique name. You can either set a name of your own choosing or use an asterisk to default the Client name to be the same as the workstation name.

On NT you need to be logged in as Administrator to change the Client name.

Notes:

•	If setting the Client Name in Advanced Configuration choose {Profiles}{Client parameters} from the Advanced Configuration Window menu bar.

•	In order for NetSupport’s Integration with Explorer feature to work, the Client Name must remain set to the default Machine Name.

Configurator Password

As an extra level of security, you can associate a password with a Configuration File. This prevents unauthorised amendment of this Client’s configuration. When the Configurator is next started, the user must enter the required password before being able to change any client parameters in this Configuration file. Choose Set, to set your password.

Client Password

This helps to protect the Client from unauthorised access from a NetSupport Control. The Control user will be required to enter the password before obtaining access to the Client.

Client Security Key

Provides additional security that enables Control Users to connect only if the Control has the same security key as the Client. Optionally this can be set as the Serial number. You must set the Security key at both ends.

Quiet Mode (Client not visible on Taskbar)

Check this box to hide the Client icon on the Taskbar.


Client Configuration - Access Privileges (Basic)

User Acknowledgement Required

Prevents access to the Client unless a user is present. The user at the Client will have to explicitly accept the request to connect before access is granted.

Disable File Transfer

This prevents a Control operator from being able to transfer files to and from the Client. The Control user will not be able to copy, view or otherwise manipulate files on the Client using the NetSupport Control file transfer options.

Disable Remote Program Execution

This prevents a Control user from remotely executing applications at the Client from within the menu option in the Control program. They can still start applications on the Client while remote controlling the workstation.

Disable Remote Registry Access

A Control user can remotely manage and edit the Registry on NetSupport Clients. Setting this option will disable that function.

Watch Only

Enables the Control user to be able to view the screen of the Client workstation but prevents them from being able to enter keystrokes or mouse movements.

Disable Receive Show

Prevents the Client workstation from being able to display a Show sent by a NetSupport Manager Control.

Disable Remote Reboot

This prevents a Control user from being able to remotely reboot the Client from the Menu option in the Control Program.


Client Configuration - Access Privileges (Advanced)

This property sheet can be used to limit the range of Remote Control options that are available to the Control User.

Access privileges (see also Remote Control section)

Disable Watch

Prevents a Control from Viewing the Client at all. File transfer, scripting and other functions are still available.

Disable Share

Allows a Control to View a Client in Watch only mode.

Disable Control

Prevents a Control from being able to lock out the Client’s keyboard and mouse.

Disable File Transfer

Disables File transfer to and From the Client in all circumstances.

Disable Program Execution

This prevents a Control user from remotely executing applications at the Client from within the Control program. They can still start applications using the standard Remote Control functions.

Disable Reboot

Disables the ability of the Control User to Re-Boot the Client workstation via the menu option in the Control Interface. You can still Reboot while remote controlling.

Disable Shutdown Client

Prevents the User at the Control from being able to shut down the Client program from a script.

Disable Chat

Prevents the Control from initiating a Chat session with the Client. However, Clients can still open a Chat session with the Control via the Client Menu.

Disable File Transfer when no NT User is Logged on

Disables File Transfer only if it is an NT workstation and no user is logged on. This means that the Control user could log on as with their own User ID if they have a valid User ID and password for this workstation.

Disable Remote Command Prompt

Prevents the Control from being able to run Command Line instructions at the Client.

Disable Blank Screen

Prevents the Control user from being able to blank the Client screen.

Disable Ctl+Alt+Del

Ignore Ctrl+Alt+Delete sent from the menu option in the Control Interface.

Disable Logoff

Disables the ability of the Control User to log off from the Client workstation via the menu option in the Control Interface. You can still Log off while remote controlling.

Disable Clipboard Access

Prevents the Control user from being able to use the Remote Clipboard.

Ignore Messages

Ignores messages sent by Connected Controls.

Ignore Broadcast Messages

Ignores Broadcast messages from a Control whether connected or not.

Disable Print Capture

Prevents the Control user from being able to use NetSupport’s printer re-direction function. Disabled by default.

Disable Registry Access

The Script function and later versions of NetSupport Manager include a function to enable a Control user to remotely manage and edit the Registry on NetSupport Clients. Setting this option will disable that function.

Inventory

These options are disabled by default, un-check to enable the facility. If enabled, the following tasks can be performed when viewing the Hardware/Software Inventory of a selected Client.

Note:	If a Client is not selected, the task will be performed at the Local machine.

Disable Close Applications

If checked, prevents the Control being able to close a currently running Application or Process.

Disable Service Management

If checked, prevents the Control being able to stop or start a Service at the Client machine.


Client Configuration - Remote Control Options

The following Remote Control attributes can be adjusted:

View

Show

Audio

See also:  Client Configuration - Access Privileges (Advanced)


Client Configuration - Client Interface Options

These property sheets are used for customising the interface between the Client and the Control.

Client Settings

Help Requests

Customisable Text


Client Configuration - Profile Options

Disable this Profile when an NT user is logged on

If someone is logged in at the NT Client then this Profile will be deactivated and therefore not available to a Control user. The value of this is that it prevents a Control User inheriting rights on the workstation that they would not otherwise have.

Note: You can have two profiles with the same UserID but with different rights depending on whether the Client User is logged on at the time the Control connects. In this event make sure that the profile with this setting is the first in the list as it will then move on and use the second profile if the Client User is logged in.

User of this Profile has Priority over other (non-priority) Users

This works in conjunction with the option to allow more than one Control to connect simultaneously. If one profile has this set while the other does not the latter will be automatically disconnected.


Client Configuration - User Validation

User Validation

Usernames

Usernames are used for setting the valid USERID and Password for Control Users when they connect to the Client. The USERID is also used to determine which Client Profile will be applied.

You can enter multiple USERNAMES each with its own password. You do this by clicking on Change and adding the individual UserNames and passwords.

By entering specific Usernames and Passwords the Client will restrict access to Controls entering a matching Username and Password when connecting.

Note:	If this is an NT workstation and you have elected to use the NT Security option to validate the Control Users ID and password then you do not need to specify the Username and Password. However, you may still wish to set this option to provide an additional filter when using NT Security validation to restrict access to particular NT Users and determine which Client profile they will use.

NT Options

Authenticate User and Password with NT

This only applies to NT Clients. If this option is set then the UserID and Password entered at the Control must be a valid NT ID on the Client workstation or its default domain.

Restrict Access to members of the following groups

You can further restrict access by specifying groups. Click on Browse to select a group(s).

Active Directory Options

If in use you can configure the Client to validate a user connection against members of the groups defined within Active Directory. A connecting Control will be prompted for their USERID and Password which will be validated against the Active Directory.

Restrict Access to Members of the following Groups:

As an additional level of security you can restrict access to members of specified groups.

Always Prompt for Username and Password

If checked, the Control will be prompted for a username and password each time it attempts to connect to the Client.


Client Configuration - User Acknowledgement Options

These security options, when enabled, display a prompt at the Client machine advising that a Control User is attempting a remote connection. The Client must acknowledge the message before a remote control session can be instigated.

User Acknowledgement

User Acknowledgement Required

When a Control User attempts to connect, a message will be displayed at the Client. Unless the user at the Client explicitly accepts the request, the connection will be refused.

Except when no NT User Logged ON

Only applies when User Acknowledgement has been set. This means that the Client can be configured to allow remote control when the workstation is at the log in screen. The Control User would have to have a valid ID and Password to be able to log in.

Acknowledge Connection Attempts from other Controls

The Client receives a message that another Control is attempting to connect.

Acknowledge Connection Timeout:

Specify a time limit, between 0-255 seconds, for the User Acknowledgement prompt to be displayed. If the Client has not responded to the message within the specified time the connection attempt will be rejected.

Acknowledge Connection Display:

Specify a customised acknowledgement message to be displayed at the Client workstation. The text can also incorporate a choice of default settings should you wish the Client to know, for example, the name of the Control User. There are four available syntax’s:

$loginname$	Returns the logged on user name of the user at the Control.

$fullname$	Returns the full name of the logged on user at the Control.

$computername$	Returns the machine name of the Control.

$userdomain$	Returns the domain of the logged on user at the Control machine.

Note:	The standard NetSupport Graphic in the User Acknowledgement Dialog can be replaced with a customised Graphic by placing an Icon file with the name helpdesk.ico in the installed directory for the product on the client machine.

View Acknowledgement

Acknowledge switching to xxxxx view mode or higher.

Displays a prompt at the Client machine if, while being viewed, the Control User wishes to switch to a higher View Mode. For example, if the level is set to ‘Control’, the prompt will appear if the mode is changed from Share or Watch. The Client can choose to Accept or Reject the change.


Client Configuration - Connect Options

This property sheet is used to administer which Control Users or Control workstations can connect to this Client. You can also set the level of encryption to be used.

Security Key

Provides additional security that enables Control Users to connect only if the Control has the same security key as the Client. Optionally this can be set as the serial number in your NetSupport Licence File. You must set the Security key at both ends.

Allow Connections from these Control Machines

This enables you to restrict access to Controls running on IPX or TCP/IP networks. This feature can also be used to limit access to Control workstations with specific addresses. Wildcards can be used in the address field.

For example:

194.182.*.*	all workstations on TCP/IP subnet 194, 182

00000001-*	all workstations on IPX network 1

Encryption

With encryption turned on, all the information that is sent between the Control and Client is very difficult for others to read. NetSupport offers a range of encryption options, ranging from 56 Bit DES to 256 Bit AES, enabling you to find the necessary balance between security and performance. The higher the level of encryption, the higher the potential for decreased performance

Force Controls To Use Encryption

Checking this box forces a connecting Control to use the equivalent level of encryption, even if the option has not been enabled at the Control end. The encryption only applies when the Control is connected to this Client.

Set Minimum level of Encryption

Choose the level of encryption to be used while a Control is connected.

Allow more than one Control to connect at a time

NetSupport allows multiple Controls to connect and view the Client simultaneously. This is useful for Group Working. Checking this option enables the function.


Client Configuration - Disconnect Options

The options on this property sheet provide additional security when a Control User disconnects from the Client machine. Particularly useful if the connection to the Client is unexpectedly lost.

Lock the workstation if not initially logged on – NT only

When the Control user disconnects the workstation will be locked. The Control user will be able to re-connect and unlock the workstation. This option is valuable when the Control may unexpectedly loose the Connection. It prevents a user at the workstation inheriting the Control users rights, (assuming they have logged in as an Administrator for example). This only applies if the workstation was logged off when the Control was connected.

Logoff if not initially logged on

When the Control user disconnects, the workstation will be automatically logged off. This only applies if the workstation was logged off when the Control connected.

Restart if not initially logged on

When the Control user disconnects the workstation will be automatically restarted. This only applies if the workstation was logged off when the Control connected.

Logoff if user has changed

If a Control needs to logon to a Client workstation under a different name to the user, for example as an Administrator, it prevents the user inheriting the Control users rights should the connection be unexpectedly lost.

Disconnect Display Text

Specify a customised message to be displayed at the Client workstation when a Control disconnects. The text can also incorporate a choice of default parameters should you wish the Client to know, for example, the name of the Control User. The available options are:

$loginname$	Returns the logged on user name of the user at the Control.

$fullname$	Returns the full name of the logged on user at the Control.

$computername$	Returns the machine name of the Control.

$userdomain$	Returns the domain of the logged on user at the Control machine.


Client Configuration - Replay File Settings

The Replay Files feature enables the Control to record and playback the screen activity that takes place at a Client workstation while it is being remote controlled/viewed.

Record Replay Files

Check this option to enable the recording of Replay Files. A Replay File will be created each time the Control views a Client PC with the option enabled.

Prefix Files With Client Name

In order to identify each Replay File, filenames can be prefixed with the Client Name and the date/time of the recording. Alternatively, with the option un-checked the files will be named sequentially in the format 00000001.rpf etc.

In Directory

Specify where the Replay Files should be stored. If saving to a Network share this gives you the opportunity to store each Clients files in individual directories.

As User

The user name and password used to write to the log file.


Client Configuration - Event Logging

Log files record the activity that takes place at a Client machine while it is being remote controlled. Standard information would include the name of the Control that had initiated the connection and the date and time that the session started and ended. The text files that are created provide a useful audit trail but you can also enhance Client security using this feature.

Enable Logging

Check this box to enable logging.

Log to NT Event Log

Sets the Log to be maintained within the NT Event Log.

Log to File

Sets the Log to be maintained within a text file. This file can be on the Local workstation or on a Server. Multiple Clients can write to the same Log file.

Primary Log File

Specify the path, and file name (*.log), where the log file will be stored.

Secondary Log File

Specify the path for a Secondary log file. In the event that the Primary path cannot be found, for example the server is down, the file will be stored here.

Notes

•	To make the tracking of log files easier, particularly if multiple Client log files are stored on the same server, the file names specified above can include the Clients computer name and the date that the log was created. For example, \\Logserver1\logfiles\$computername$$dd$$mm$$yy$.log. In this instance you would be able to build up a daily record of activity on a particular Client machine.

Acceptable formats for the date are:

$d$$m$$y$	which for 18th September 2003 returns 1893.

$dd$$mm$$yy$	returns	180903.

$ddd$$mmm$$yyy$	returns	ThuSep2003.

$ddd$$dd$$mmm$$yyy$	returns	Thu18Sep2003.

$dddd$$dd$$mmmm$$yyyy$	returns	Thursday18September2003.

•	For NT/2000/XP, this file must be a UNC path name as a mapped drive is not available until you log in.

•	For Windows 95/98/ME, the file must be in a Null Session Share.

As User

Log File User is the user name and password used to be able to write to the log file when the path specified is a UNC Path.

Append to File

By checking this box, NetSupport will continually add to the existing entries in the log file. If unchecked, existing items get overwritten.

Reject Connection if no Log Server available

By enabling this option you can apply additional security. With logging enabled, if a Control attempts a connection and neither of the Log Files can be found the connection request is rejected. This ensures that any audit checks that you may have in place will not be compromised due to the activity not being logged while the servers are down.

Only Log while Connected

This option ensures that activity is only logged during the period that the Control is physically connected. When logging is enabled some additional information is recorded that you may prefer to ignore, Client configuration data for example.

Note:	Another useful item of information that can be recorded is the reason why a Control connected to the Client. This comes into effect when ‘User Acknowledgement ’ is enabled at the Client machine and the Control Security Settings option is configured to ‘Prompt for additional information when connecting ’.


Client Configuration - View Settings

Options

Send Physical Fonts

When a Windows Client is sending its screen to a Control, it passes the font information by reference to reduce the volume of data sent.

The Control refers to its own internal font mappings and uses the closest matching that it has to the one being displayed at the Client.  In most cases, the same fonts will be available at both the Client and the Control and so what is displayed on the screen will appear identical.

However, there may be occasions when a close match cannot be found.  In these cases, it is desirable that the Client sends the Control the full information that it requires to display the data in the same font.

Setting this option forces TrueType text to be sent as glyphs (i.e. character shapes), rather than character codes.  This guarantees that they will be displayed correctly at the Control.

This will, however, impact on performance, especially on Dial-up lines, and is not usually required.

Enable Screen Scrape

NetSupport’s favoured, and the most efficient, method for capturing screen data is to hook into the Video Driver of the workstation being viewed. However, there may be occasions when this method will not work because certain applications bypass the driver. In these circumstances you can enable ‘screen scrape’ mode in order to take a snapshot of the screen. Although this will have a greater impact on the network it will at least provide an accurate representation of the Client’s screen.

Cache Size

Screen data that has been recently sent to the Control by the Client is cached to improve performance.  A larger cache improves performance, at the expense of using more memory at both the Client and the Control.

Setting this option enables you to tailor the cache size used for maximum performance. The lower of the cache size set at the Client and Control will be used so you must set at both ends for this to be effective.

You can determine how efficiently the cache is working by selecting {Help}(About}{Cache} from Client View Window at the Control. This will display statistics of hits etc.

Max Colour Depth

The higher the colour depth at the Client the greater the volume of data that needs to be sent to the Control for each screen update. Restricting the Colour depth will improve performance on slower links.

Inactivity Time Out

When a Control connects to a Client, it can prevent other Controls from connecting to that same Client, unless the Allow Multiple Connections option has been set.

If the operator at the Control forgets to terminate the connection then a case might arise where other Control operators who need access are locked out.

Setting this option means that if a connected Control has not carried out any mouse, keyboard or file transfer activity for the specified period, the Client will assume that the connection is no longer required and disconnect automatically.  It will then be available to other Controls.

Enable DVD Playback and Direct 3D support (Win 2000/XP Only)

On Windows 2000 and XP, NetSupport uses the Microsoft Mirror Driver to capture screen data for view sessions. However, while hooked into the Mirror Driver it is not possible to play DVD’s. Therefore, if you do need the capability to play DVD’s, NetSupport provides options which load and unload the Mirror Driver as required.

Except While Viewed

If checked, DVD support is enabled but will be disabled for the duration of a view session while the Mirror Driver is loaded.

Except While Connected

If checked, DVD support is suspended while a connection to the Client is in place.


Client Configuration - Show Settings

Receive Show Options

Disable Receive Show

Prevents the Control from being able to show to the Client.

Show to a Window

Enables the Client to receive a Show in a Window rather than in full screen mode.

Scale to Fit

Automatically scales the Receive Show Window to resize the displayed screen in the available area.

Scrollbars

Determines if Scroll Bars will be displayed with the Receive Show Window for navigation.

Auto-Scroll Speed

When you are viewing a Show in a Window on the Client’s screen, the Client can automatically scroll the contents when the mouse moves close to the edges of the window.  Adjusting the sliding control sets the speed at which the view scrolls, from not at all to very fast.

Scroll Delay

When Auto Scroll is enabled, you can change the delay before the scroll is activated.  If you want the view to scroll as soon as the mouse is at an edge of the screen, move the slider towards Min.  If you prefer a longer delay before the AutoScroll takes effect, move the slider towards Max.


Client Configuration - Client Settings

Disable Client Menu items

Disable Request help

Prevents the Client User from being able to use the request Help Function.

Disable Call Control

Disables the Call Control facility on the Client Drop Down Menu.

Disable Disconnect

Prevents the Client user from being able to force the Control User to disconnect.

Disable Chat

Prevents the Client from initiating a Chat session with a Control. However, the Control can still open a Chat session with the Client.

Client Program Options

Icon in System Tray

The NetSupport Client icon will be displayed in the System tray rather than as a separate icon on the active application bar.

Always on Top

The NetSupport Client icon can become obscured behind other Windows. Setting this option means that it is always visible and the user at the Client will always know when someone is viewing them.

Hide when Idle

The NetSupport Client icon will not be displayed unless a Control is connected or viewing.

Quiet Mode (Client not visible on Taskbar)

Check this box to hide the Client icon on the Taskbar.

Silent Mode (no refresh)

Allows the Control to connect and View a Client without the Clients knowledge. If Silent Mode is not selected the Clients screen and mouse icon will flicker notifying the Client that a connection has been made and their screen is being Viewed.

Use internal speaker for Beep

By default, the audible warning beep, which can be sent between machines in functions such as Chat and View, comes from the PCs internal speaker. There may be occasions when it is more appropriate to use the workstations sound card to generate the beep through speakers, in which case un-check this box.

Beep while being Viewed (every n seconds)

While a Control is viewing the Client an audible beep will be sounded.


Client Configuration - Help Request Settings

This property sheet is used for configuring the Clients Help Request access. You can specify the NetSupport Controls that the Client can forward Help Requests to or even link to a third party web based helpdesk system.

Select a URL for Help Request

If you use a 3rd party web based helpdesk application you can direct Clients to this rather than have them use NetSupports help request feature. To enable, check the Use URL box and enter the appropriate URL.

Available Controls

Lists the Controls that are available to connect to, from the Help Request and Call Control dialogs.

Options

Disable connections from Help Request dialog

Check this box to disallow the options in the Help Request dialog for the Client to choose which Control they wish to send a Help Request to.

Always show Controls in Help Request

Check this box to ensure that the Client Help Request dialog shows all Controls available for the Client to send their Help Request to.

Hotkeys for Request Help

This sets the hot keys that the User at the Client can press to raise an alert for Help. The alert will normally be displayed when a Control connects to the Client. If you are using a keyboard that won’t support three scan codes, configure your Client to use only two hotkeys.


Client Configuration - Customisable Text

This property sheet enables you to add customisable messages which are displayed at the Client machine.

Display Customisable Text

In About Box

Sets the message that will be displayed in the client’s About Box. For example, “For Support call Ext. 123”

When Connected

Sets the message that will be displayed at the Client when a Control Connects. Leave blank if you do not want any message displayed.

When Viewed

Sets the message that will be displayed at the Client when it is being viewed by a Control. Leave blank if you do not want any message displayed.


Client Configuration- Advanced

Tickle period

While a Control is connected, the Client sends Tickle packets to the Control to verify that it is still “alive”. You might like to disable tickle packets for ISDN links but be aware that the Client may then not detect that the Control has disconnected unexpectedly.

The normal period between tickle packets is 18 seconds but you can increase or decrease this value. Setting this to zero disables tickle packets entirely.

Auto configure for XP SP2 firewall

Enabled by default, ensures that the NSM Control and Client continue to function for those users who upgrade to XP Service Pack 2.


Control Configuration - Functions

This property sheet enables you to restrict the functionality that is available to the Control.

Restrict Functionality

You can prevent the following features from appearing in the Control profile by checking the appropriate boxes:

•	Disable File Transfer

•	Disable Chat

•	Disable Send Message

•	Disable Broadcast Message

•	Disable File Manager

•	Disable Duplicate Client Check*

•	Disable Quick Connect

•	Disable Remote Command Prompt

•	Disable Reboot

•	Disable Logoff

•	Disable Replay

•	Disable Execute

•	Disable Registry Editing (This option is disabled by default)

•	Disable Blank Screen

•	Disable Inventory

*	When browsing for Clients, NetSupport checks for duplicate Client details, only connecting to the first occurrence of a particular address. Depending on the setup of your network infrastructure there may be instances where duplicate IDs are in use, so you can disable the check using this option.

Remote Control

The following items disable the different view functions within the NetSupport Manager Control.

•	Disable Control

•	Disable Share

•	Disable Watch

•	Disable Show


Control Configuration - Connectivity Options

Before you can connect to Clients on your network you must select and configure the transports to use.  The transport protocols must be configured in the operating system before attempting to use them.

TCP/IP

IPX

NetBIOS

HTTP

Remote Dialup

Advanced


Control Configuration - Security Options

The Control Configurator provides a wealth of security features categorised as follows:

Settings

Event Logging

Replay Files

User Permissions


Control Configuration - Remote Control Settings

The following property sheets enable you to configure the behaviour of the remote control options when viewing Client workstations.

View

Keyboard/Mouse

Print Capture

Audio


Control Configuration - Control Interface Settings

These property sheets enable you to configure the different components available to the named configuration.

Settings

Functions

Help Requests


Control Configuration - Set TCP/IP Connection

TCP/IP

Use TCP/IP

Check this button to enable the Control to use the TCP/IP protocol.  This protocol is used with the Internet, local and wide area networks.  In order to connect to TCP/IP Clients you need to specify the port number that the Client is listening on.

Port

This value is used for all interactions with TCP/IP Clients. The default registered port for NetSupport is 5405. You can configure Clients on your network to run on a different port number if required.  This is useful to provide additional security, as other NetSupport Control users would need to know on which port your Clients are configured.  You can also specify a port number when creating or connecting to a client.

Note: 	To enable Clients to initiate a connection to the Control, the default registered port is 5421.

Connect By Hostname (DHCP/WINS)

Normally the Control connects to a Client by IP Address, rather than by name.  In an environment that uses DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), this may be undesirable as the address may change when the Client workstation is restarted.  Checking this option forces the Control to connect by hostname.

Test

Press this button to check the configuration and version of the TCP/IP stack installed.  The version of Winsock is returned along with its current state.

Browsing

Subnets used when browsing for clients

When you are running on a network with multiple subnets or addresses, you need to configure the Broadcast Addresses for each effective network.  When a Browse is performed, the broadcast messages are sent to these addresses.

Broadcast Show

When showing the Control screen to clients, the screen information is sent to each client machine in turn. Enabling Broadcast Show results in the screen information being sent to all machines simultaneously. In some network environments where there is limited network bandwidth available or when showing to larger numbers of machines this will provide significant performance benefits.

Whilst reducing overall network traffic generated by NetSupport, using this feature will generate additional broadcast packets on your network. It is recommended that you consult your Network administrator before using this feature.

Note:	If you encounter problems broadcasting to Clients, you may need to upgrade the version of the NetSupport Client that is installed on the target machines. The broadcast show feature is only supported in version 7.10 or higher.

Settings

If Broadcast Show is enabled, select this option to set the Broadcast Address. The Broadcast Settings dialog will appear.


Control Configuration - Set IPX Connection

IPX

Use IPX

Check this box to enable the IPX transport protocol.  This protocol is used on local and wide area networks.

Record Clients’ Network Numbers

When IPX addresses are recorded for a client, the network number is normally set to 0 if the Clients are on the same IPX network as the Control (this prevents subsequent problems when a file server is down). This setting forces network numbers to be recorded and used when establishing a connection.

Use Networks

The Control normally obtains a list of network numbers from the nearest NetWare server or bridge.  On some networks, there is no NetWare server to ask or the list generated is unreliable.  Enter one or more network numbers to use, which replaces the normal discovery mechanism.  The numbers can be in decimal or hexadecimal, and must be separated by commas.  Such as “0x1, 0x2, 0x34db1d69”.  You can also use the Test function to determine these values automatically.

Ignore Networks

This list of network numbers is generated in the same way as for Use Networks except that when browsing, these network numbers are ignored.  You can also use the Test function to determine these values automatically.

Test

Press this button to check the IPX network configuration.  This determines if the IPX network stack is available and configured correctly.  You can also scan the network for network numbers that do and do not respond.


Control Configuration - Set NetBIOS Connection

NetBIOS

Use NetBIOS

Check this box to enable the use of the NetBIOS transport. NetBIOS is a non-routed protocol and is only used on Local Area networks (LAN).  Using NetBIOS requires that you select one or more adapters to use.  See adapters below.

Adapters

This list box contains the NetBIOS adapters that have been detected in your workstation.  Select one or more of these adapters for use in the control. NetBEUI is the most common adapter used here, as it is used primarily by Windows systems. The adapter numbers will vary from workstation to workstation, but the names will remain constant.

Test

Press this button to test the NetBIOS stack and determine the adapters available.  You can also display detailed information about each adapter found.


Control Configuration - Set HTTP Connection

This property sheet enables you to configure the Control to communicate via HTTP.

Use HTTP:

Check this box to enable the Client to communicate over HTTP.

Port:

NetSupport’s default port for HTTP communications is 3085.

See also: NetSupport Gateway


Control Configuration - Advanced Settings

Advanced

Tickle Period

Specify the period in seconds between tickle packets that are sent to the client.  These packets check to make sure that a connected Client is still active.  If the Client fails to respond, the Control assumes that it is no longer present and will close down the connection.

Name Lookup Delay

Specify the delay in seconds between broadcast packets. Use this value in conjunction with Name Lookup Attempts to reduce the amount of time spent performing browses.  The browse is more likely to miss Clients if this value is too small.  You should not specify a value that when multiplied by the Name Lookup Attempts value is less than 4 seconds.

Name Lookup Attempts

Specify the number of name lookup packets the Control broadcasts during a Browse.  The fewer broadcasts that are sent the lower the network traffic and the quicker the browse will complete.


Control Configuration - Security Settings

Password

Enter the Security Password, which you will be prompted for when starting the Control using this configuration.  You must click on the Set button next to this Control to set the password.

Security Key

The Security Key is used whenever you connect to a Client.  Unless the key entered here matches the security key on the Client, you will be denied access to the Client workstation.  Press the Set button to change the key. Optionally this can be set as the serial number in your NetSupport Licence File.

Prompt for Additional Information when connecting

If this box is checked, you will be required to supply a reason for connecting to a Client workstation.  This is sent to and displayed at the Client so that the user knows why you are connecting when the Client has User Acknowledgement enabled.

Try Last Username before displaying login Prompt

Remembers the username and password attached to a named configuration and will attempt to login using this information.

Use Compression

Check this box to enable the use of compression. When you are communicating with a Client, whether it is a File Transfer, View or chat session the data being sent and reviewed will be compressed. This also provides a means of security, as the data will also be encrypted.

Use Encryption

With encryption turned on, all the information that is sent between the Control and Client is very difficult for others to read. NetSupport offers a range of encryption options, ranging from 56 Bit DES to 256 Bit AES, enabling you to find the necessary balance between security and performance. The higher the level of encryption, the higher the potential for decreased performance.


Control Configuration - Replay Files

The Replay Files feature enables the Control to record and playback the screen activity that takes place at a Client workstation while it is being remote controlled/viewed.

Record Replay Files

Check this option to enable the recording of Replay Files. A Replay File will be created each time the Control views a Client PC.

Include Audio

In addition to recording the screen, mouse and keyboard activity, if Client machines are configured for audio you can include any narration that takes place.

Prefix Files With Client Name

In order to identify each Replay File, filenames are prefixed with the Client Name and the date/time of the recording. Alternatively, by unchecking this box the files will be named sequentially in the format 00000001.rpf etc.

In Directory

Specify where the Replay Files should be stored.


Control Configuration - User Permissions

These settings restrict the items that a user running a configuration can modify.  Only if this configuration is running as an NSM Administrator can you restrict the privileges of other users.

Permit a user of this Configuration to

Act as an Administrator

When this box is checked there are no restrictions applied to the user of this configuration.  This should be enabled for at least one account, to allow you to alter other configurations.

Change Settings

This box is only available when the configuration is not running as an Administrator.  Check this box to prevent the user running this configuration from changing any settings from within the user interface.

Configure User Interface

This check box is only available when the configuration is not running as an Administrator, and Change Settings is checked.  Check this box to prevent the user of the configuration from altering any settings that affect the User Interface.


Control Configuration - Keyboard/Mouse Settings

Keyboard Layout

Select from the list provided a keyboard layout to be used at the Control during viewing.  These layouts map keys on the Control to keys on the Client workstation.  If both Client and Control are using the same keyboard layout, you should select Unmapped Keyboard from the list.

Hotkeys

When you are Viewing a Client in Full Screen Mode, hot keys provide a way of returning to the, possibly hidden, user interface.  If the screen resolution at the Client is smaller than the resolution of the Control, you can simply click your mouse button outside the View Window to stop Viewing and display the View Window again.  Check the boxes in this group to determine the keys that are used as Hotkeys.

If you are using a keyboard that does not support three scan codes, choose only two options as your hot keys.

AutoScroll Speed

When you are viewing a Client’s screen, the Control can automatically scroll the contents when the mouse moves close to the edges of the window.  Adjusting the sliding control sets the speed at which the view scrolls, from not at all to very fast.

Scroll Delay

When Auto Scroll is enabled, you can change the delay before the scroll is activated.  If you want the view to scroll as soon as the mouse is at an edge of the screen, move the slider towards Min.  If you prefer a longer delay before the AutoScroll takes effect, move the slider towards Max.

Mouse Delay

Adjusting the mouse delay allows you to reduce the rate at which mouse updates are sent from the Control to the Client when controlling or sharing.  Move the slider control towards Infinite to reduce the rate and conserve bandwidth, or towards Min for the best mouse response.  This is useful on dial-up or very slow networks.

Disable Num Lock Synchronisation

Check this option if using a Laptop as the Control machine to ensure that the keyboards behaviour corresponds with that of a standard desktop machine.

Update Configuration Standard

Check this box to update the currently selected Configuration.


Gateway Configuration Utility

You use this dialog to configure the properties of the Gateway.

You can access the dialog at the end of the installation, when the dialog will appear automatically, or via the NetSupport Gateway icon which appears in the workstations system tray. Right-click on the icon and select Configure Gateway. Alternatively, you can run the file Pcigwcfg.exe from the NetSupport Manager program folder.

Configuration

Gateway Port

The NetSupport Gateway uses HTTP Port 3085 by default.

Note:	If the Control and/or Client are located behind a firewall, you will need to enable Port 3085 within your firewalls configuration.

CMPI (secs) – Comms. Management Packet Interval

When configured for Gateway connections, the Client workstation confirms its availability by periodically polling the Gateway. By default, a network packet is sent every 60 seconds but you can change this if required.

Gateway Event Log Files

Gateway activity during an active session is recorded in a text file, default GW001.LOG. This can be useful for checking which Clients and Controls have connected through the Gateway.

Location

By default, the log file is stored in the NetSupport Manager program folder.  ie c:\program files\netsupport manager\GW001.log. Select Browse to specify an alternative path.

Maximum File Size

Over a period of time the log file could become quite large, you can manage this by specifying a maximum file size. When the limit is reached the existing information in the file is overwritten by the new records.

Gateway Keys

This acts as a form of Security Key. The Gateway will not accept connections from a Control or Client unless a “Gateway key” is specified, and that same key is also present at both the Control and Client end. The Gateway can support multiple keys, at least one key must be specified.

Gateway key data is sent encrypted between Client/Control and the Gateway. Once connected to the Gateway all Client/Control security such as user names and security keys will function normally.

Select Add to specify the key. The Key must be at least 8 characters.


The Control Window

The Control Window is the primary interface for: -

•	Configuring the Control;

•	Connecting to Clients;

•	Maintaining Client information;

•	Selecting which Clients to work with;

•	Selecting tasks to carry out.

The Title Bar

This indicates that you are in the Control Window and displays the name of the NetSupport Control workstation.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities. These menus can also be used for connecting to and selecting Clients to work with as well as maintaining and organising clients in to work groups.

The Toolbar

The Toolbar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.  Double clicking on an individual item takes you straight to that task or function, eliminating the need to work through the drop down menus.  Positioning the cursor over an icon will display a brief description of its function. You can customise the Toolbar to display only your most used functions and adjust the size of the icons, large or small.

The Quick View Bar

The Quick View Bar allows you to View a connected Client quickly and easily. When you connect to a Client a button with the Clients name will appear on the Quick View Bar on the Control Window. By clicking on a button you will View the Clients screen, by clicking on the button while Viewing, the View Window will be closed.

The Quick Execute Bar

The Quick Execute Bar enables you to execute a previously saved application to a Client, without having to direct your way through the drop down menu. By clicking on the button containing the required application, you immediately execute it on the selected Client or Group.

The Tree View

The Tree View provides an explorer like structure for creating, displaying and organising NetSupport objects such as Clients and Groups.

The List View

The List View displays the contents of the currently selected Folder in the Tree View.  You can switch the display mode between icon and detailed view. The information within the List View can be customised to show specific information relevant to you.

See Setting Column Display Fields

The Status Bar

The Control Status Bar is displayed at the bottom of the Control Window. It shows the current Status of the Control, the number of currently connected Clients and the number of items in the Folder. During a Dial-up connection it will also show communications details.

You can Hide or Display the Status Bar from the View Menu options on the Control drop down menu bar.


Control Window - Menu Bar

Provides access to the drop down menus.

The available menus are:

Network

Provides access to the Network functions within NetSupport Manager, namely Browsing the Network, configuring the current Control profile and setting up or connecting over dial-up links.

Client

Used for maintaining, connecting, selecting and carrying out one to one tasks on individual Clients.

Group

Used for maintaining, connecting, selecting and carrying out tasks on groups of Clients.

View

Used for setting the display modes for the components of the Control Window.

Tools

Provides access to additional tools such as Show and Scan and File Distribution.

Window

Lists all active Client and File Transfer Windows and enables you to organise their position on the Control Screen.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


Control Window - Tree View

The Tree View is the access point for information about the various NetSupport Objects. An object may be an individual Client, a Group or even a collection of Help requests generated by Clients.

Each set of objects is stored in its own folder, as displayed in the Tree View, in the Control Window. The individual objects in a Folder are displayed in the adjacent List View. So, for example, selecting the Connected Folder will result in the List View changing to display all currently connected Clients.

The Tree can be expanded or contracted depending on the detail you require, by clicking your mouse pointer on the + or – icons to the left of a heading.

The available Folders are:

Clients

A list of all Known Clients that have been connected either during the current or previous sessions. It is very quick and easy to connect to a Client from this folder as it removes the need to first perform a Browse or know the network address of the Client.

Browse

This is a list of clients discovered by running a Browse action in the current session. Connecting to a Client from this folder causes its details to be stored for later use in the Clients folder.

Connected

Any Client that is currently connected will be displayed in this Folder.

Help Requests

NetSupport includes a function at the Client that enables the Client User to send a request for help. If a Control is connected when a client sends a help request, the Control will be immediately notified, as the Help Request folder turns green. If the Control is not connected, its Help Request folder will turn green the next time it connects to that Client.

Groups

You can organise individual Clients in to Groups. Once a Client is included in a Group, the whole of that Group of Clients can be connected and worked on simultaneously without the need to connect and select them individually.

Remote Networks

This refers to Clients that have to be connected over a Dial-up link. They may be Clients on a LAN in another building or even standalone workstations. In either event they are referred to as Remote networks and the information concerning the telephone number to dial and the type of connection are stored in this folder.

Scripting

Scripts created using the NetSupport Script Editor can be added to this folder. List View shows the names of each script and enables you to add new scripts to the list.

Gateways

The primary role of a NetSupport Gateway is to facilitate seamless Remote Control between PC's that may both be located behind different firewalls.

The Gateway provides a stable and secure method for locating Clients via http and delivers web-based remote control without the need for modifications to existing Firewall configurations.


Control Window - List View

The List View displays the objects stored in the corresponding Folder in the Tree View. For example, if you select the Connected Folder, then the List View will contain the details of the currently connected Clients. Similarly, if you perform a Browse action the results of that Browse will be displayed.

By choosing {View} from the Control Window drop down menu you can change the appearance of the displayed items. The available options are Large Icons, Small Icons, List, Details and Thumbnail.

With Details selected you can tailor the information that is displayed about each Client.

To customise the List View

1.	Select {View}{Columns} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	The Columns dialog will appear.

The Tabs shown at the top relate to each of the Client List windows that are available within the NetSupport Control.

Select the desired Tab, the left-hand window highlights columns that are available for inclusion, the right hand window shows those already included. Simply select the column name you require and then ‘Add’ or ‘Remove’.

The Arrows to the far right of the window are used to adjust the order in which each column is displayed; the higher up the list represents position form the Left.


Control Window - Network Menu

The Network menu provides access to the Network functions within NetSupport Manager. These include Browsing the Network, Configuring the settings for current Named Configuration such as which protocols to use and setting up or connecting over dial-up links.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Browse

Auto-discovers available Clients on the network for all protocols selected in the current Control profile. These are then displayed in the Browse folder. Once you connect to a Client in the Browse folder its details are stored for later use in the Clients Folder.

Remote

This is used for setting up dial-up links to Remote Networks or standalone workstations. Once you have set up a Remote Network you can connect to it from this option.

Configure

Allows you to set the profile for the current Control. These settings will be remembered  the next time you start a Control using this profile. The setting options are:

General

Connectivity

Security

Startup

Note: You must have the appropriate permissions, as dictated by the NetSupport Administrator when creating the original profile.  You can not make settings that you do not have low level rights to. The low-level rights are set by the Administrator via the {Tools}{Configurations} option on the Control Window drop down menu’s.

Exit

Disconnects all connected Clients and closes down the Control.


Control Window - Client Menu

The drop down Client Menu provides access to the individual Client functions within NetSupport Manager such as Share, File Transfer Etc. In each case, the action is performed on the selected (selected) Client in the Control’s List View.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

New

Manually creates a new Client allowing you to enter the name, network address etc.  Note that the Client must have been installed on the target workstation with the same parameters.

Connect

Connects to the selected Client.

Quick Connect

Connects to a Client for which you enter the name or Network address.

Power On

Remotely power on Client PCs.

Power Off

Remotely power off Client PCs.

Disconnect

Disconnects the selected Client.

Disconnect All

Disconnects all currently connected Clients.

View

Switches to the View Window for the selected Client.

Remote Command Prompt

Opens a Command Prompt Window at the Control enabling remote execution of command line prompts at the currently selected Client.

File Transfer

Opens a File Transfer Window to the selected Client.

Chat

Opens a Chat box between the Control and the selected Client.

Message

Displays a message on the screen of the selected Client.

Reboot

Reboots the workstation of a selected Client.

Logout

Logout the selected Client.

Execute at Client

Launches an application on the selected Client. Note that the application must be installed at the Client.

Send Ctrl + Alt + Del

Sends the Ctrl + Alt + Del combination to the selected Client. This should only be used for Windows NT Clients.

Edit Registry

Enables you to edit the local Registry of the selected Client. This option is turned off by default, to activate, edit the Client Options in the Client Configurator.

Delete

Deletes the selected client from the Control’s database of Known Clients as stored in the Clients Folder.  Note that this does not remove the client from the actual Client workstation.

Rename

Renames the selected Client as stored in the Control’s database of known Clients.  Note that this is an alias for this Control only.  The real Client name as discovered by a Browse is unaffected.

Add to Group

Adds the selected Client to a Group.

Add to Scan

When Scanning multiple Clients at one time, add a Client to those being scanned.

Settings for Client

Enables you to customise the settings to be used when Viewing the selected Client. You can configure different setting for each Client but these will only apply during the current NetSupport session.

Inventory

Enables you to retrieve a full Hardware and Software Inventory from a selected Client workstation.

Properties

Sets and Stores the properties associated with the selected Client.


Control Window - Group Menu

The drop down Group Menu provides access to the Group functions within NetSupport Manager. From here you can connect, organise or maintain Groups of Clients.

In each case, the function acts upon the selected Group in the List View.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

New

Manually creates a new group to which you can then allocate individual Clients.

Connect

Connects all the Clients in the selected Group.

Power On

Remotely power on Client PCs.

Power Off

Remotely power off Client PCs.

File Distribution

Transfer Selected Files from the Control workstation to all the Clients in the selected Group.

Message

Displays a message on the screen of all Clients in the selected Group.

Reboot

Reboot the workstations of all Clients in the selected Group.

Logout

Logout all Clients in the selected Group.

Execute at Client

Launches an application on all Clients in the selected Group.  Note that the application must be installed at the Client.

Open

Opens selected Groups when all Groups are displayed in the List View.

Delete

Deletes the selected group from the Controls Groups Folder.  Note that this does not remove the client from the actual Client workstation.

Rename

Renames the selected Group stored in the Control’s Group Folder.

Properties

Sets the properties, name, description etc associated with the selected Group.


Control Window - View Menu

The View Menu on the Control menu bar is used to set out the look and feel of the current Control session.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Toolbar

Hides or displays the Toolbar and enables you to set the appearance of the displayed icons. You can customise the toolbar to include/exclude icons to suit your needs. In order to adequately display the selected icons you can adjust the size of them by choosing Small Icons. You can also choose to display or hide the Quick Execute and View bars.

Status Bar

Hides or displays the Status Bar.

Large Icons

Sets the items in the List View to display as large icons with the description beneath.

Small Icons

Sets the items in the List View to display as small icons with the description adjacent ordered horizontally.

List

Sets the items in the List View to display as small icons ordered vertically.

Details

Sets the items in the List View to display as text only, but provides additional information such as Client Transport, Network Address etc.

Columns

Used in conjunction with the Details toggle to determine which fields will be displayed in the Detailed List View.

Show Tree

Hides or Displays the Tree View.

Settings for Current Configuration

Sets the options for the current Control Profile.


Control Window - Tools Menu

Provides access to additional utilities such as Show, Scan, Replay Files and File Distribution .

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Show

Shows the Control’s screen to the selected Client or Group of Clients.

Scan

Cycles through each of the selected Clients displaying their screen on the Control. Multiple Client screens can also be scanned in one Scan Window.

Replay

Enables the Control to watch a previously recorded Replay File.

Record

Records activity at the Local Machine, storing the information in a Replay File that can be shown at a later date.

Broadcast Message

Sends a message to ALL available Clients on the Network. Use with caution.

Announce

Use Audio Support to announce to a selected Client or Group of Clients.

File Distribution

Brings up the Group File Transfer Window. You can then simultaneously transfer files from the Control to all selected Clients. This is different from Group File distribution as it enables you to work with Ad hoc sets of Clients as opposed to pre-defined Groups.

File Manager

A tool for manipulating and organising files on the Control.

View Local Inventory

Displays a complete hardware and software inventory for the local machine. Also provides real-time status information for applications in memory, processes running and installed services. The Control can also obtain this information for a remote Client PC.

Edit Local Registry

Takes you to the Registry edit dialog, where you can edit the Controls Registry. This option is turned off by default, to activate, edit the Control Configuration User Interface settings.

Configurations

An Administrator tool for setting profiles for what functions individual Control Users have access to. You must have NetSupport Administrator rights to be able to generate individual profiles.

Scripting

Choose to Add a Script Object, Run, Edit or Delete a Script, or adjust a Script’s properties.

User Defined

Manage and Execute defined tools.


Control Window - Window Menu

Tile opens all Windows, all View Windows, File Transfer Windows, or closes all opened Windows. You can then View multiple Clients or File Transfer sessions simultaneously.  The individual windows will be sized to fit on the Screen of the Control. You can also use this option to move between individual Windows or close all open Windows.

Tile

All Windows	Displays and tiles both Client View and File Transfer Windows

View Windows	Displays and tiles only the Client View Windows

File Transfer	Displays and tiles only the active File Transfer Windows

Close All Windows	Closes all opened View and File Transfer Windows

Choosing a named Window brings that Window to the fore. For example, choosing TEST1 – Viewing would make the View Window for Test1 the Active window and display it on top of all others.


Control Window - Help Menu

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


The View Window

The View Window is the primary interface for interacting with individual Clients. Each Client has its own View Window. The Client View Windows are used for displaying the screens of the Clients at the Control. You can have multiple Client View Windows open and displayed simultaneously.

The View Window is divided into four sections:

The Title Bar

This displays the name of the Client that is displayed in the Client Screen Area.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities.

The Toolbar

The Toolbar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.  Double clicking on an individual item takes you straight to that task or function, eliminating the need to work through the drop down menus.  Positioning the cursor over an icon will display a brief description of its function. You can adjust the size of the displayed Toolbar icons, large or small.

Items can be added or removed by right-clicking on the toolbar and selecting customise.

The Client Screen Area

This is used for displaying the screen of the Client.


View Window - Menu Bar

Provides access to the drop down menus in the View Window.

The available menus are:

Client

The drop down Client Menu in the View Window is used for selecting the one to one functions to be applied to this Client.

View

The drop down View Menu is used to configure the display options for this particular Clients View Window.

Tools

Provides access to the File transfer and Chat Windows for this Client.

Window

This provides the same options as in the Control Window drop down Window menu.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


View Window - Client Menu
View Window – Client Menu

The drop down Client Menu in the View Window is used to select the mode in which the Client will be Remote Controlled. It can also be used for suspending Viewing the Client screen and closing the View session.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Share

The Clients screen will be displayed at both the Control and the Client.  Both the users at the Control and the Client will be able to enter keystrokes and mouse movements.

Watch

The Client’s screen will be displayed at both the Control and the Client.  Only the user at the Client will be able to enter keystrokes and mouse movements.

Control

The Client's screen will be displayed at both the Control and the Client.  Only the user at the Control will be able to enter keystrokes and mouse movements.  The user at the Client will be locked out.

Stop Viewing

Suspends the display of the Client screen at the Control.

Message

Displays a message on the Clients screen

Reboot

Reboots the workstation of the selected Client.

Logout

Logout the selected Client.

Execute at Client

Displays a dialog box to enable you to execute an application at the client.

Send Ctrl + Alt + Delete

Send this keystroke combination to the Client.

Clipboard

Cut and paste between applications on the Client and the Control workstations.

Blank Screen

Blank the Clients workstation screen you are viewing, while you are Viewing it.

Close

Closes the View Window for this Client.


View Window - View Menu

The drop down View Menu is used to customise how the Window will be displayed.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Toolbar

Sets the display options for the Toolbar in the View Window. You can adjust the size of the displayed Toolbar icons, large or small.

Status Bar

Hides or displays the Status Bar at the bottom of the View Window on or off.

Scale to fit

Sets the display mode for how the Client screen is displayed. Turning scale to fit on enables you to display the whole of the Client screen in the available View area.

Full Screen

Uses the whole of the available screen area on the Control to display the Clients screen.

Maximise View Area

Hides the View Menu Bar, Status Bar and Toolbar to uses the maximum possible area to display the Clients screen without switching to full screen mode.

Settings for Client

Customises the View, Keyboard/Mouse, Print Capture and Audio remote control settings for the Client that is being viewed.


View Window - Tools Menu

The View Window Tools Menu used to start a File transfer session to the Client you are currently Viewing or to open a Chat session with it.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

File Transfer

If you choose File Transfer a File Transfer Window to this Client will be opened. You can simultaneously View the Client and Transfer Files to it.

Chat

If you choose Chat, a Chat Window to this Client will be opened. You can simultaneously View the Client.

Annotate

If you choose Annotate, the Annotate Toolbar will appear. When you are in Share or Control mode, you can use the different tools to Annotate the Client screen you are viewing.

Capture Screen

A snapshot of the current Client view window will be taken. You will then have the option to name and save the current screen contents to a file.


View Window - Window Menu

Tile opens all Windows, all View Windows, File Transfer Windows, or closes all opened Windows. You can then View multiple Clients or File Transfer sessions simultaneously.  The individual windows will be sized to fit on the Screen of the Control. You can also use this option to move between individual Windows or close all open Windows.

Tile

All Windows	Displays and tiles both Client View and File Transfer Windows

View Windows	Displays and tiles only the Client View Windows

File Transfer	Displays and tiles only the active File Transfer Windows

Close All Windows	Closes all opened View and File Transfer Windows

Choosing a named Window brings that Window to the fore. For example, choosing TEST1 – Viewing would make the View Window for Test1 the Active window and display it on top of all others.


View Window - Help Menu

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


The File Transfer Window

See also

Arranging multiple File Transfer Windows

Applying a filter to files in the List View

Changing the View Format

Changing the sort orders

When you choose an individual File Transfer operation the File Transfer Window is displayed. At its simplest you transfer files by dragging them from one location to another.

The File Transfer Window is divided into five sections: -

The Title Bar

This shows which Client this particular File Transfer Window is working with.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities.

The Toolbar

The Toolbar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.  Double clicking on an individual item takes you straight to that task or function, eliminating the need to work through the drop down menus.  Positioning the cursor over an icon will display a brief description of its function. Please also refer to the toolbar menu for details on how you can customise it to reflect the functions that you use most.

The Local Pane

The Local Pane displays a Tree View of the Directories of the Control on the Left-hand side, and a List View of the contents of those directories on the Right-hand side. Right-click on any item in one of the columns in the the list view and a range of context-sensitive functions become available.

The Remote Pane

The Remote Pane displays a Tree View of the Directories of the Client on the Left-hand side and a List View of the contents of those directories on the Right-hand side. Right-click on any item in the list view and a range of context-sensitive functions become available.

See also

Transferring Files

Changing the sort orders in the File Transfer Window

Changing the View Format

Applying a filter to files in the List View


File Transfer - Menu Bar

Provides access to the drop down menus.

File

Provides access to the options for working with individual files such as copy, delete, rename.  You must select a file to work with first.

Directory

Provides access to the directory level functions, such as create or delete directory.

View

Sets the various display modes for the File Transfer Windows.  Is also used for setting defaults, such as whether to use compression, what confirmation is required on copying, sort order etc.

Tools

Enables you to View or Edit a selected file, or Synchronise directories between the Control and the Client.

Window

Enables you to switch between open NetSupport Windows.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


File Transfer - File Menu

Provides access to the file transfer and manipulation functions. The options are also available by right-clicking in any of the columns in the List View.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Copy

Copies the selected files to the chosen destination.

Delete

Deletes the selected files

Rename

Renames the selected file.

Open

If an association exists, loads the currently selected file.

Open With

If there is no association with Windows, the Open With dialog will appear.

Edit

Enables you to edit the content of a selected file. Ideal for editing batch files/TXT files in notepad.

Execute

Displays the Execute application dialog, from which you can launch applications at the selected Client(s).

Properties

Sets the file attributes for the selected file.

Close

Closes the File transfer Window.


File Transfer - Directory Menu

Provides access to directory level functions in File Transfer such as creating directories on either the Control or the Client Workstation. The options are also available by right-clicking in any of the columns in the List View.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Create

Creates a new directory beneath the currently selected directory.

Rename

Change the name of a directory at either the Control or Client end.

Delete

Deletes the currently selected directory.

Goto

Enables you to move directly to a named directory without the need to navigate through the Tree View.

Properties

Sets the Attributes for the selected directory.


File Transfer -Tools Menu

Provides access to the file editing and synchronisation capabilities of NetSupport File Transfer.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Synchronise

Synchronise files and directories between the Control and the Client. A briefcase type facility.


File Transfer - View Menu

The drop down View Menu is used to customise how the Window and contents will be displayed. The options are also available by right-clicking in any of the columns in the List View.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Toolbar

Hides or displays the Toolbar.

Status Bar

Hides or displays the Status Bar.

Details

Displays or hides file details in the File List View.

List

The List View will display the filenames only.

Select

Selects all Files and/or Directories in the current List View.

Sort

Sets the sort options for the File List Views.

Print

Enables you to print the content of a selected directory or file list.

Settings

Configures the overall settings for File Transfer.


File Transfer - Window Menu

Tile opens all Windows, all View Windows, File Transfer Windows, or closes all opened Windows. You can then View multiple Clients or File Transfer sessions simultaneously.  The individual windows will be sized to fit on the Screen of the Control. You can also use this option to move between individual Windows or close all open Windows.

Tile

All Windows	Displays and tiles both Client View and File Transfer Windows

View Windows	Displays and tiles only the Client View Windows

File Transfer	Displays and tiles only the active File Transfer Windows

Close All Windows	Closes all opened View and File Transfer Windows

Choosing a named Window brings that Window to the fore. For example, choosing TEST1 – Viewing would make the View Window for Test1 the Active window and display it on top of all others.


File Transfer - Help Menu

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


The File Distribution Window

See also

Transferring Files to multiple Clients

The File Distribution Window is used for distributing files to multiple Clients simultaneously.

The File Distribution Window is divided into five sections:

The Title Bar

This shows which group of client this particular File Distribution Window is working with.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities.

The Toolbar

The Tool Bar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.  Double clicking on an individual item takes you straight to that task or function, eliminating the need to work through the drop down menus.  Positioning the cursor over an icon will display a brief description of its function. Please also refer to the toolbar menu for details on how you can customise it to reflect the functions that you use most.

The Local Pane

The Local Pane displays a Tree View of the Directories of the Control on the Left-hand side and a List View of the contents of those directories on the left-hand side. Right-click on any item in one of the columns in the list view and a range of context-sensitive functions become available.

The Remote Pane

The Remote Pane shows the Clients to whom the Files will be distributed. Right-click on any item in one of the columns in the list view and a range of context-sensitive functions become available.


File Distribution - Menu Bar

Provides access to the drop down menus.

File

Provides access to the options for working with individual files such as copy, delete, rename.  You must select a file to work with first.

Client

Enables you to set the destination of distributed files or lock directories of the Client.

Directory

Provides access to the directory level functions, such as create or delete directory.

View

Sets the various display modes for the File Distribution Window.  Is also used for setting defaults, such as whether to use compression, what confirmation is required on copying, sort order etc.

Window

Enables you to switch between open NetSupport Windows.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


File Distribution - File Menu

Provides access to the File Transfer and manipulation functions.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Copy

Copies the selected files to the chosen destination.

Delete

Deletes the selected files.

Rename

Renames the selected file.

Open

If an association exists, loads the currently selected file.

Open With

If there is no association with Windows, the Open With dialog will appear.

Edit

Enables you to edit the content of a selected file. Ideal for editing batch files/TXT files in notepad.

Properties

Shows the file attributes.

Close

Closes the File Transfer Window.


File Distribution - Client Menu

Enables you to select destination directories and lock directories at Clients.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Set Destination

Enables you to choose a destination directory on the selected Client to where the files will be sent.

Lock Directories

Prevent the Client directories from being automatically updated when you change the local directory.

Reset Directories

Resets the destination directory at the Client to reflect the original destination at the Control.


File Distribution - Directory Menu

Provides access to directory level functions in File Transfer such as creating directories on either the Control or the Client workstation.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Create

Creates a new directory beneath the currently selected directory.

Rename

Change the name of a directory at either the Control or Client end.

Delete

Deletes the currently selected directory.

Goto

Enables you to move directly to a named directory without the need to navigate through the Tree View.

Properties

Sets the Attributes for the selected directory.


File Distribution - View Menu

The drop down View Menu is used to customise how the Window will displayed.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Toolbar

Hides or displays the Toolbar.

Status Bar

Hides or displays the Status Bar.

Show Details

Displays or hides File details in the File List View.

Select

Selects all Files and/or Directories in the current List View.

Sort Files

Sets the sort options for the File List Views.

Settings

Configures the overall settings for File Transfer.


File Distribution - Window Menu

Tile opens all Windows, all View Windows, File Transfer Windows, or closes all opened Windows. You can then View multiple Clients or File Transfer sessions simultaneously.  The individual windows will be sized to fit on the Screen of the Control. You can also use this option to move between individual Windows or close all open Windows.

Tile

All Windows	Displays and tiles both Client View and File Transfer Windows

View Windows	Displays and tiles only the Client View Windows

File Transfer	Displays and tiles only the active File Transfer Windows

Close All Windows	Closes all opened View and File Transfer Windows

Choosing a named Window brings that Window to the fore. For example, choosing TEST1 – Viewing would make the View Window for Test1 the Active window and display it on top of all others.


File Distribution - Help Menu

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


The Scan Window

See also

Scanning Clients.

Scanning multiple Client screens

The Scan Window will cycle through the selected Clients, showing their screens on the Control, until you end the Scan. If you want to start Scanning from a particular Client, highlight their icon before you choose Scan from the toolbar.

Ideal for monitoring a number of workstations and just keeping an eye on what's happening!

The Scan Window is divided into the following sections:

Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities.

The Toolbar

The size of the displayed Toolbar icons can be adjusted, large or small, by selecting {View}{Toolbar} from the Scan Window menu.

The toolbar buttons for a single Client Scan have the following functions: -

Previous, Auto and Next buttons

You can turn auto timing on or off from the Scan Window toolbar, or choose to move forwards or backwards between individual Clients. The previous button shows the previous Client screen scanned. The next button shows the next Clients screen in the scan cycle.

Scaling to Fit

It may be that the Client is running in a higher resolution than the Control. In this case choosing the Scale to Fit option from the View Window Menu or Toolbar, will re-size its screen to fit the Window in which it is displayed.

Full Screen

When Scanning in full screen mode, you can use the Scan Floating toolbar to control the operation.

Capture

A snapshot of the current Client view window will be taken. You will then have the option to name and save the current screen contents to a file.

The toolbar buttons for a multiple Client Scan have the following functions: -

Previous, Auto and Next buttons

You can turn auto timing on or off from the Scan Window toolbar, or choose to move forwards or backwards between individual Clients. The previous button shows the previous Client screen scanned. The next button shows the next Clients screen in the scan cycle.

Scaling to Fit

It may be that the Client is running in a higher resolution than the Control. In this case choosing the Scale to Fit button, will re-size its screen to fit the Window in which it is displayed.

Maximise

To enlarge a Client View Window. This button will be greyed out until you select a Client View Window. To maximise the Client View Window, click the Maximise button or click the box in the top right hand corner of the Client View Window.

Lock

To lock a selected Clients keyboard and mouse.

Chat

To initiate a chat session between a Client and the Control.

Share

To View a Client in Share Mode.

Capture

A snapshot of the current Client view window will be taken. You will then have the option to name and save the current screen contents to a file.

The Status Bar

The Status Bar indicates which Client you are currently scanning and how far through the Scan interval you are.


Scan Window - Scan Menu

Used for moving backwards and forwards between Clients or for setting automatic mode.

The available menus are:

Next

Moves to the next Client in the Scan List and displays its screen.

Previous

Moves to the previous Client in the Scan List and displays its screen.

Auto

Sets Scan to auto-cycle, which displays each Clients screen in turn.

Close

Ends the Scan session.


Scan Window - View Menu

The drop down View Menu is used to customise how the Window will displayed.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Toolbar

Sets the display options for the Toolbar in the View Window. You can adjust the size of the displayed Toolbar icons, large or small.

Status Bar

Hides or displays the Status Bar at the bottom of the View Window on or off.

Scale to fit

Sets the display mode for how the Client screen is displayed. Turning scale to fit on enables you to display the whole of the Client screen in the available View area.

Maximise

Uses the whole of the available screen area on the Control to display the Clients screen.

Capture Screen

A snapshot of the current Client view window will be taken. You will then have the option to name and save the current screen contents to a file.

Note:	When performing a multi-scan, the ‘Scale to Fit’ and ‘Maximise’ options are replaced by the ‘Size’ feature. Depending on the number of Clients being scanned, this enables you to specify how many Client screens are displayed simultaneously in the Scan Window. The ‘Scale to Fit’ and ‘Maximise’ options can still be selected form the toolbar.


Scan Window - Window Menu

Tile opens all Windows, all View Windows, File Transfer Windows, or closes all opened Windows. You can then View multiple Clients or File Transfer sessions simultaneously.  The individual windows will be sized to fit on the Screen of the Control. You can also use this option to move between individual Windows or close all open Windows.

Tile

All Windows	Displays and tiles both Client View and File Transfer Windows

View Windows	Displays and tiles only the Client View Windows

File Transfer	Displays and tiles only the active File Transfer Windows

Close All Windows	Closes all opened View and File Transfer Windows

Choosing a named Window brings that Window to the fore. For example, choosing TEST1 – Viewing would make the View Window for Test1 the Active window and display it on top of all others.


Scan Window - Help Menu

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


The Replay Window

The Replay Window is used for replaying Remote Control sessions that have been recorded on Client Workstations configured to record replay files. You can see exactly what the Control operator did during the session.

The Title Bar

This displays the name of the replay File that is being reviewed.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities.

The Toolbar

The Toolbar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.  Double clicking on an individual item takes you straight to that task or function, eliminating the need to work through the drop down menus.  Positioning the cursor over an icon will display a brief description of its function.

The Replay Screen Area

This is used for displaying the file recorded at the Client.


Replay Window - Menu Bar

Provides access to the drop down menus.

The available menus are:

File

Used to close the replay Window.

View

Configures the Look and feel of the Replay Window.

Window

Enables you to switch between open NetSupport Windows.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


Replay Window - File Menu

The File Menu in the replay is only used for closing the Replay session.

The individual sub menu and available function is:

Close

Select the file you want to replay at the time you begin a replay session from the Tools, Replay option on the Control Menu bar.


Replay Window - View Menu

The drop down View Menu is used to customise how the Window will displayed.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Toolbar

Sets the display options for the Toolbar in the View Window.

Status Bar

Hides or displays the Status Bar at the bottom of the View Window on or off.

Scale to Fit

Sets the display mode for how the Client screen is displayed. Turning scale to fit on enables you to display the whole of the Client screen in the available View area.

Full Screen

Uses the whole of the available screen area on the Control to display the Clients screen.


Replay Window - Control Panel

A VCR like Control panel to enable you to fast forward, stop, start etc.

The Replay Window contains the controls for playing a recorded Client session.  The window contains a replay time index that indicates where in the replay file you currently are, and displays information about the file being played.  Use these controls in the same way you would for a video recorder.

The individual sub menus and available functions are:

Stop and Play

The Stop button is shown when you are playing a replay file and the Play button when the file is stopped.  Only one of these buttons is displayed at a time.  The file is played until the end is reached or the Pause Marker is encountered.

Rewind

Start playing the file from the beginning if it is already playing otherwise moves the replay index to the beginning of the file.

Skip to Previous marker

Moves the replay index to the previous activity marker or to the beginning of the file if there isn’t one.  These markers are added at points when lots of activity was recorded at the Client.

Frame Advance

Advance the replay index to the next frame.  Press and hold this button to Fast-Forward though the replay file.

Skip to Next marker

Moves the replay index to the next activity marker or to the end of the file if there isn’t one.

Other Information

The current time index is displayed to the right of these controls in the hh:mm:ss.ms format.  The name of the Client that the replay was recorded on, the date and time are displayed at the bottom of the window.

Replay Marker

This marker can be positioned anywhere within the time frame of the replay file.  The marker is the small black triangle beneath the time index control.  Click and drag this to the position where you want the file to stop playing.  When the marker is encountered the replay stops, and you can then press play to continue past it.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Licensee, Version, Technical Support and Compression information.


The File Manager Window

File Manager serves the same purpose as Microsoft Explorer, rather than exiting the NetSupport program, do it from here.

The File Manager Window is divided into four sections: -

The Title Bar

This shows which Client this particular File Transfer Window is working with.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities.

The Toolbar

The Toolbar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.  Double clicking on an individual item takes you straight to that task or function, eliminating the need to work through the drop down menus.  Positioning the cursor over an icon will display a brief description of its function. Please also refer to the toolbar menu for details on how you can customise it to reflect the functions that you use most.

The Local Pane

The Local Pane displays a Tree View of the Directories of the Control on the Left-hand side and a List View of the contents of those directories on the left-hand side. Right-click on any item in one of the columns in the list view and a range of context-sensitive functions become available.


File Manager - Menu Bar

Provides access to the drop down menus.

File

Provides access to the options for working with individual files such as copy, delete, rename.  You must select a file to work with first.

Directory

Provides access to the directory level functions, such as create or delete directory.

View

Sets the various display modes for the File Manager Window.  Is also used for setting defaults, such as whether to use compression, what confirmation is required on copying, sort order etc.

Window

Enables you to switch between open NetSupport Windows.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


File Manager - File Menu

Provides access to file manipulation functions.

The detailed information on the individual sub menus and available functions:

See File Transfer - File Menu


File Manager - Directory Menu

Provides access to directory level functions such as creating directories.

The detailed information on the individual sub menus and available functions:

See File Transfer – Directory Menu


File Manager - View Menu

The drop down View Menu is used to customise how the Window and contents will be displayed.

The detailed information on the individual sub menus and available functions:

See File Transfer – View Menu


File Manager - Window Menu

Tile opens all Windows, all View Windows, File Transfer Windows, or closes all opened Windows. You can then View multiple Clients or File Transfer sessions simultaneously.  The individual windows will be sized to fit on the Screen of the Control. You can also use this option to move between individual Windows or close all open Windows.

Tile

All Windows	Displays and tiles both Client View and File Transfer Windows

View Windows	Displays and tiles only the Client View Windows

File Transfer	Displays and tiles only the active File Transfer Windows

Close All Windows	Closes all opened View and File Transfer Windows

Choosing a named Window brings that Window to the fore. For example, choosing TEST1 – Viewing would make the View Window for Test1 the Active window and display it on top of all others.


File Manager - Help Menu

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


Client Main Window

When a Client double clicks on the NetSupport icon on their task bar or uses the hotkeys Alt-LeftShift-RightShift, the Client main window appears.

From here a Client can:

•	Chat to a Control;

•	Request help from a specific Control;

•	Call a specific Control

•	Connect or Disconnect from a Control;

•	Launch a Replay File

•	Switch Desktops;

•	Load or Unload a Bridge.


Install Configuration Options Dialog

When performing a Silent Installation or using NetSupport Deploy, you can customise the installation to suit individual requirements. This dialog, accessed by running INSTCFG.EXE from the NetSupport program folder if performing a Silent Installation or if using NetSupport Deploy, via the Install Properties General Tab, enables you to specify the variables for the installation. The information is stored in a parameter file, Values.TXT.

General

Install Directory

Specify the directory where NetSupport Manager will be installed. Leave blank to install in the default directory, \Program Files\Netsupport Manager.

Start Menu Folder

Specify a name for the program group or leave blank for NetSupport.

Restart Machine

Check this box to automatically Restart the Client workstations upon completion of the installation. The NetSupport Client does not become active until the workstation has been restarted.

Note:	Leave the box un-checked if using NetSupport Deploy to perform the installation. Additional Restart options are available withing the Deploy routine.

SMS 2.0 Integration

NetSupport Manager can be fully integrated with Microsoft’s Systems Management Server. If the SMS Administration Console is present on the Client machine, check this box to allow integration.

Client Parameters (Optional)

If you have created a particular Client Configuration file for use after the installation, specify the path and file name here. Depending on the location of the file, you may need to provide a set of User Credentials, name and password, to give Clients access to the file. In order to specify the parameters in the correct format, it is suggested that you create them in the NetSupport Client Configurator and copy them to this field.

Leave the field blank if you are installing from your distribution copy or if you want to use the default Configuration file contained in the NetSupport setup package.

To Specify Client Parameters

1.	Open your NetSupport Manager Program Folder by choosing {Start}{Programs}{NetSupport}{NetSupport Configurator}.

2.	Choose Advanced.

3.	Select {Profiles}{Client Parameters} from the Configurator Drop Down Menu.

4.	The Client Parameters dialog will appear. Click Add to specify the parameters.

Notes:

•	If User Credentials are required, they must precede the Configuration file name.

•	Each set of parameters must be added separately.

5.	If required, enter the User Credentials (Username and password). Click Ok. The appropriate strings will appear in the dialog.

6.	Click Add to specify the location of the Configuration file. Click Ok.

7.	When the Client Parameters dialog contains the required strings, copy them individually to the Install Configuration Options dialog. (Use Ctrl C to copy, Ctrl V to Paste)

Icons

Leave the Icons box un-checked if you want to install an icon for each NetSupport Component. Check the required boxes to limit the number of icons created.

Components

Check the relevant boxes to indicate which NetSupport Components will be installed on the Client machines.


The Inventory Window

The Inventory Window is the primary interface for accessing the wealth of information that NetSupport’s inventory feature provides.

The Window is organised as follows:

The Title Bar

This displays the name of the remote Client PC, or if a Client was not selected, the Local machine, whose system inventory is being viewed.

The Menu Bar

Contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities.

The Toolbar

The Tool Bar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.  Clicking on an individual item takes you straight to that task or function, eliminating the need to work through the drop down menus.  Positioning the cursor over an icon will display a brief description of its function.

Hardware Tab

Over 50 items of information are collected specifically about the hardware or environment of the client PC, providing all the key information needed to assist in speedy problem resolution.

Note:	The Inventory functions included with NetSupport Manager are designed to run over TCP/IP. The Network adapter details will not be displayed if TCP/IP is not installed.

Software Tab

Provides a full software inventory report for any selected client PC. Includes the name of each installed product, the manufacturer, product icon, version number and even the associated exe file.

Hot-Fixes Tab

NetSupport scans for and checks the status of any ‘hot fixes’ that have been installed on the selected Client workstation. The hot fix ID is listed along with its status. The hot fix ID links to the appropriate Microsoft support page where details of the fix can be found.

When verifying the status of each fix, NetSupport returns one of three indicators:

•	Verifies that the fix is present on the target PC and is current.

X	An expected file may not be present or is not the correct version. It would be advisable to install the fix again.

?	NetSupport was unable to gather the required information for it to be able to verify the status.

Applications Tab

The detection process uses NetSupport’s new "intelliscan" technology to locate currently running applications on the target system rather than relying on the OS Add/Remove Records option. You need to be connected to the target PC in order to retrieve the information. The Control can choose to close a selected application from the list if required.

Processes Tab

Provides a list of processes currently running on the target PC. You need to be connected to the target PC in order to retrieve the information. The Control can choose to close a selected process from the list if required.

Note:	The close process/application features are disabled by default. To enable, choose Advanced Client Configurator - Access Privileges .

Services Tab (NT/2000/XP only)

Provides a list of services currently running on the target PC. If you are not connected to the Client, this tab will not be displayed. The Control can stop and start services as required, unless this facility has been disabled in the Advanced Client Configurator - Access Privileges dialog.

Note:	Once collected, the various Client inventories are stored locally in the NetSupport Manager program folder meaning that you do not need to be connected to the target PC to be able to view the information at a later date. Simply select the required Client from the List View and choose the Inventory option. However, if you subsequently want to refresh the inventory you do need to connect to the target PC.

See also: Remote Client Hardware and Software Inventory


Inventory Window - File Menu

The available options change depending on which Tab is being viewed.

Hardware/Software/Hot Fixes Tabs

The individual menu options while viewing these tabs are:

Export

Enables you to keep a permanent record of the Client’s Inventory by storing the content of the viewed list in a text file.

Print

Provides a printed copy of the viewed list.

Close

Closes the Inventory Window for the selected Client.

Applications/Processes Tabs

In addition to the above, includes the option to Close an Application or Process.

Note:	By default, this option is disabled in the Advanced Client Configurator. To enable, select {Security - Access Privileges}

Services Tab

Includes additional options enabling the Control to Stop, Start, Pause and Restart services at the Client machine.

Note:	By default, this option is disabled in the Advanced Client Configurator. To enable, select {Security - Access Privileges}


Inventory Window - View Menu

The drop down View Menu is used to customise how the Window and contents will be displayed.

The individual options are:

Toolbar

Options are available to remove the toolbar from the Inventory Window, display small toolbar icons and remove the text labels from the icons.

Status Bar

When the Applications, Processes or Services tabs are viewed, the Status Bar at the bottom of the Inventory Window displays the number of items appearing in the list. In the case of Services, it also indicates how many are Running, Stopped or Paused.

Select the following items to switch between the various Inventory lists:

Hardware

Displays the hardware inventory for the selected Client.

Software

Displays the software inventory.

Hot Fixes

Displays the list of installed Hot Fixes.

Applications

Displays a real-time list of Applications running on the Client PC. You must be connected to the Client to be able to retrieve the information.

Processes

Displays a real-time list of Processes currently running on the Client PC. You must be connected to the Client to be able to retrieve the information.

Services

Displays the current status of the Services installed on the Client PC.

Refresh

Updates the Inventory of the selected Client. You must be connected to the Client to be able to retrieve the information.

Update Interval

Applicable to the Applications, Processes and Services tabs, enables you  to set an automatic refresh frequency for the lists. The default is None, meaning that the lists will only update when the main Inventory Refresh option is selected. Alternatively, choose High to refresh the lists every second, Medium every 5 seconds or Low every 10 seconds.


Inventory Window - Help Menu

Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version, Licensee, Technical Support and Compression information.


Inventory Window - Menu Bar

Provides access to the drop down menus.

The available menus are:

File

A range of options are available depending on which tab in the Inventory Window is being viewed.

View

Options are available to configure the appearance of the Inventory Window and to switch between the various Inventory reports.

Help

Provides access to the Inventory Window Help and general Version, License and Technical Support information.


Inventory Window - Toolbar

The Tool Bar contains shortcuts to many of the most frequently used tasks and tools.

The options available when viewing the Hardware, Software or Hot Fixes tabs are:

Refresh

Updates the Inventory of the selected Client. You must be connected to the Client to be able to retrieve the information.

Print

Provides a printed copy of the viewed list.

Export

Enables you to keep a permanent record of the Client’s Inventory by storing the content of the viewed list in a text file.

In addition to the above options, when viewing the Applications and Processes lists, you can also choose to Close a selected application or process.

Note:	By default, this option is disabled in the Advanced Client Configurator. To enable, select {Security - Access Privileges}

When viewing the Services list, additional options enabling the Control to Stop, Start, Pause and Restart services are available.

Note:	By default, this option is disabled in the Advanced Client Configurator. To enable, select {Security - Access Privileges}


Remote Command Prompt Window

By launching the Command Prompt Window a Control can remotely execute command line instructions at a connected Client.

1.	Connect to the required Client and choose {Client}{Remote Command Prompt} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or

Right-click on the Client icon and select Remote Command Prompt.

2.	The Remote Command Prompt Window will appear. The title bar will confirm the name of the connected Client.

The Window is split into two frames. The Input Frame at the bottom of the window, which can be resized if required, and the output/results frame at the top.

A range of tools are available via the drop down menus and toolbar enabling you, for example, to clear the output window and change the displayed font.

See also

Using Command Line Instructions


Using NetSupport

This section will guide you through starting and using the functionality of NetSupport Manager.

Note: This guide assumes you have already installed Clients on the workstations to be controlled. If you have not done this, do so now. See Installation for details of how to install Clients on the various operating systems.

Conventions and Terminology Used

Starting the NetSupport Control

Finding Clients


Conventions and Terminology Used

Conventions Used

•	Step-by-step instructions, which should be performed in sequence, are shown as numbered paragraphs, beneath a clearly stated, ‘How to do’ heading.

•	As there is often more than one way of carrying out a task you will find ‘Or’ options also included.

•	Additional tips or explanatory notes regarding these instructions are enclosed in a border under the heading ‘Note’.

•	Individual items in menu commands are enclosed in braces and should be followed in sequence, for example: {Clients}{Broadcast}.

Terminology Used

Control	The workstation that is used to take over another.

Client	The workstation that is to be taken over.

Available Client	When a Client has been installed on workstation, it becomes available for connection to a Control. A Client must be available before a Control can connect to it.

Known Clients	Having browsed for available Clients, NetSupport Manager stores a list of Clients in the Tree View, Client Folder. These are Known Clients.

Connected Client	All available Client’s or Groups of Clients can be chosen for simultaneous connection. A Control can only remote control a Client they are connected.

Selected Client	When a connected Client is selected, a "one to one" session is established. A Control can then View, Show or Send a Message etc. to that Client only. A Control can also Watch, Control or Share the selected Clients screen, keyboard and mouse. A Control can switch between multiple Clients, making each of them, in turn, the selected Clients.


Starting the NetSupport Control

To start the NetSupport Manager Control program

1.	Double Click on the NetSupport Control icon in your NetSupport Program Group.

Or,

Choose {Start}{Programs}{NetSupport}{NetSupport Control}.

As NetSupport Manager initialises, you will see a window in the middle of your screen with the NetSupport logo and version information. This only appears for a few seconds while NetSupport loads, after which, the Control Window will be displayed.

By default, the Control is configured to support the TCP/IP protocol, however, it can support multiple protocols simultaneously. If you receive a protocol error message when starting the Control or want to configure it to support Clients running on different protocols select {Network}{Configure – Connectivity} from the Control Window drop down menu.

See also

Finding Clients

Connecting to Clients

Quick connect


Finding Clients

Before you can open a View Window for remote control or File work with a Client or Clients, you must first connect to them.

Rather than having to know all the Client names and their network addresses in advance, NetSupport Manager provides a Browse facility that enables you to auto-discover them.

When you run a Browse action, the Control sends a message on all protocols for which it has been configured, asking all Clients to “sign-in” with their name, network address and protocol.

The responses are added to the Browse folder in the Tree View and their details are displayed in the List View.  You can then connect and work with these Clients directly or organise them into groups for later use.

Once you have connected to a Client discovered by the Browse function, its details are automatically stored in the Clients Folder in the Tree View.  These Clients then become Known Clients and you can subsequently connect to them without the need to run a Browse action first.

Note:	You may be using NetSupport’s Gateway facility to establish Client connections, in which case you can choose to include Gateway Clients when Browsing. Although these will appear in the Browse folder along with any Network Clients they are not stored in the Known Client list.

To find a Client on a network

1.	Choose {Network}{Browse} from the drop down menu on the Control Window menu bar.

Or,

Click on the Browse icon on the Control Window Toolbar.

Or,

Highlight the Browse Folder in the Control Tree View and click on the “Look for Clients” icon in the List View.

2.	The Browse dialog will appear.

3.	Enter a partial Client name or leave blank to browse for all available Clients.

Note:	Optional criteria can be specified, such as only browsing for Clients who have requested help or including Gateway Clients in the search.

4.	Click OK.

5.	NetSupport will browse the network for all Clients matching the criteria.

Note:	If you only want to Browse for Gateway Clients, select the Gateways folder in the Control Window Tree View, highlight the required Gateway and double-click Browse Gateway in the List View. Clients browsed for in this way will not appear in the Browse folder.

See also

Quick Connect

Connecting to Clients

Connecting to Clients on different Protocols

Connecting to a Linux or MAC Based System

Connecting to Clients/Controls via a NetSupport Gateway


Connecting to Clients

Before you can remote control a Client you must connect to it. If the Client has been configured for Security such as a password, you will be prompted to enter a USERID and a password.

To connect to Clients

1.	Select the Client you want to connect to in the Clients or Browse Folder and choose {Client}{Connect}.

Or,

Right Click on the Client icon and choose {Connect}.

Or,

Double Click on the Client icon to view it immediately.

If the Client has been profiled you will be prompted to enter your USERID and Password. This must be equal to a USERID and Password that has been set in the Clients Profiles.

See also

Quick connect

Connecting to Clients on different Protocols

Connecting to Clients over the Internet

Connecting to Clients/Controls through Firewalls and Proxy servers

Connecting to Clients/Controls via a NetSupport Gateway

Remote Logoff/Reboot

Sending Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Disconnecting a Client

Connecting to a Linux or MAC Based System


Disconnecting a Client

When you have finished remote controlling connected Clients you must disconnect from them before closing your NetSupport session.

To disconnect a Client

1.	Choose the Connected Clients folder from the Control Window

2.	Select the Client you want to disconnect in the List View.

3.	Choose {Client}{Disconnect} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Right click on the Client icon and choose Disconnect.

See also

Disconnecting all Clients

Disconnecting from a Control


Disconnecting all Clients

Rather than disconnecting Clients individually, you can disconnect all connected Clients in a single action.

To disconnect multiple Clients

1.	Choose {Client}{Disconnect All} from the Control Window drop down menu.

See also

Disconnecting a Client

Disconnecting from a Control


Viewing a Client

Having connected to a Client, you can remote control it. This is called Viewing. The Client’s screen will be displayed in a Window on the Control workstation.  NetSupport will allow you to View multiple Client screens, each in its own Window, simultaneously.

To View a Client

1.	Choose {Client}{View} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Right click on the Client’s icon you want to View, choose {View}.

Or,

Left click on the appropriate Client button in the Quick View Toolbar.

Or,

Double click on the Client icon in the List View.

2.	The View Window for that Client will now appear with its screen displayed.

Note: For acceptable performance while Viewing, ensure that the Client’s Active Desktop is turned off.

To return to the Control Window

1.	Choose {Client}{Close} from the View Window drop down menu.

Other View Window options:

Scaling to Fit

It may be that the Client is running in a higher resolution than the Control. In this case choosing the Scale to Fit option from the View Window menu or Toolbar, will re-size its screen to fit the Window in which it is displayed.

Switching to Full Screen

Alternatively, you might choose to use the whole of the Control’s screen to display the Client’s screen. This is known as Full Screen Viewing. While Viewing a Client in Full Screen a floating toolbar will also be displayed. If you close this down, remember to use the hotkeys, usually <CTRL+RSHIFT+LSHIFT>, to get back to the Control Window or press <PAUSE+ALT> to display the drop down menus.

The Quick View Bar

The Quick View Bar allows you to View a connected Client quickly and easily. When you connect to a Client a button with the Clients name will appear on the Quick View Bar on the Control Window. By clicking on a button you will View the Clients screen, by clicking on the button while Viewing, the View Window will be closed.

Blanking the Clients screen while Viewing

For security reasons, you may require the Client screen to be blank while you are remotely controlling it.

1. Choose {Client}{Blank screen} from the View Window drop down menu.

2. The Clients screen will be blanked.

3. To restore the screen, choose {Client}{Blank screen} from the View Window drop down  menu.

See also

View Modes

Scale to Fit

Viewing in Full Screen

Sending Ctrl+Alt+Delete/Esc

Reboot/Logout

View Window Settings

Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously

Maximising the View area

Scanning Clients


View Modes

You can View Clients in three modes:

Share	The Client’s screen will be displayed at both the Control and the Client.  Both the Control and the user at the Client will be able to enter keystrokes and mouse movements.

Watch	The Client’s screen will be displayed at both the Control and the Client.  Only the user at the Client will be able to enter keystrokes and mouse movements. The user at the Control will be locked out.

Control	The Client's screen will be displayed at both the Control and the Client.  Only the user at the Control will be able to enter keystrokes and mouse movements.  The user at the Client will be locked out.

To change the View mode

1.	Select the mode Share, Watch or Control from the View Toolbar.

Or,

Press <PAUSE> <ALT> and select Watch, Share or Control from the View Window  {Client} drop down menu.

To stop Viewing a Client to increase performance

To stop Viewing a Client temporarily to increase performance in other areas, such as file transfer or Audio.

1.	Choose {Client}{Stop Viewing} from the Client drop down menu, in the View Window.

2.	To restore the View Window, click on Share, Watch or Control.

Other View Window options:

Scaling to Fit

It may be that the Client is running in a higher resolution than the Control. In this case choosing the Scale to Fit option from the View Window menu or Toolbar, will re-size its screen to fit the Window in which it is displayed.

Switching to Full Screen

Alternatively, you might choose to use the whole of the Control’s screen to display the Client’s screen. This is known as Full Screen Viewing. While Viewing a Client in Full Screen a floating toolbar will also be displayed. If you close this down, remember to use the hotkeys, usually <CTRL+RSHIFT+LSHIFT>, to get back to the Control Window or press <PAUSE+ALT> to display the drop down menus.

The Quick View Bar

The Quick View Bar allows you to View a connected Client quickly and easily. When you connect to a Client a button with the Clients name will appear on the Quick View Bar on the Control Window. By clicking on a button you will View the Clients screen, by clicking on the button while Viewing, the View Window will be closed.

Blanking the Clients screen while Viewing

For security reasons, you may require the Client screen to be blank while you are remotely controlling it.

1. Choose {Client}{Blank screen} from the View Window drop down menu.

2. The Clients screen will be blanked.

3. To restore the screen, choose {Client}{Blank screen} from the View Window drop down  menu.

See also

Viewing a Client

Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously

Scale to fit

Maximising the View Window

View Window settings


Scaling to Fit

Scale to Fit allows you to View a Clients screen within the available size of the Remote Window rather than providing you with a series of scroll bars so that you can pan around the screen.

This allows you to View multiple screens simultaneously to maintain an overview of a number of selected workstation’s.

Note: Using Scale to Fit does impact on the quality and clarity of the View and is designed to allow you to monitor a screen as opposed to work on it.

To view a View Window to scale

1.	From the Client View Window, choose {View}{Scale to Fit}.

Or,

Click on the Scale to Fit icon on the View Toolbar.

See also

Viewing a Client in full screen

Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously

Scanning


Viewing a Client Full Screen

Viewing a Client in Full Screen mode removes all Toolbars and maximises the View Window. What you see is exactly what would be seen on the remote workstation.

To View a Client in Full screen mode

1.	Choose {View}{Full Screen} from the drop down menu of the Clients View Window.

Or,

Click on the Full Screen icon in the Clients View Window Toolbar.

2.	The Full Screen dialog Window will appear.

By default NetSupport will provide you with a Floating Toolbar while in Full Screen mode.

See also

Scaling to fit

Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously

Scanning


Maximising the View Area

An alternative to Scale to Fit that maximises the area in the Client View Window allocated to display the Clients screen. It is maximised by removing the menu bar, toolbar and status bar.

This can be useful when you do not wish to use the Scale to Fit option, when a Client is running in a similar resolution to the Control and you need to View their toolbars.

To maximise the View Area

1. Choose {View} {Maximise View Area} from the Client View Window drop down menu.

See also

Scaling to fit


Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously

NetSupport enables you to View multiple Clients simultaneously, each in its own Window. You can even scale their individual View Windows to fit on the Control’s screen.

To View multiple Client screens

1.	View each Client you want to include.

2.	From the Control {Window} drop down menu or any Client {View} drop down menu, choose {Window}{Tile} and then select which NetSupport Windows you want to display.

Your chosen Windows will be tiled on the Control’s screen. If you want to see the entire Client’s screen then choose the Scale to Fit option in the toolbar of each Client’s View Window.

Note: Scale to Fit is set by default. To View the screen in normal resolution, turn off Scale to Fit.

See also

Scanning Clients

Scanning multiple Client screens


View Window Settings

These property sheets provide configuration options while Viewing Client workstations. If editing the Client Settings, all changes you make will only apply while you are connected to that Client. If you wish to make your changes to the Control default, check the Update Configuration box.

Select {View}{Settings for Client} from the View Window drop down menu and use the following options to configure the individual Client settings:

View Settings

Keyboard/Mouse Settings

Print Capture Settings

Audio Settings


Scanning Clients

The Scan function enables you to cycle through each connected Client in turn, displaying its screen on the Control. It is an alternative to Viewing multiple Clients in scaled windows, which may cause their screens to be unreadable.

Multiple Client screens can also be scanned in one Scan Window.

To Scan one Client screen at a time

1.	Choose {Tools}{Scan} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	The Scan dialog will appear.

3.	Specify which Clients to Scan by removing or including the check mark next to the Client name.

Note:	If you want to start scanning from a particular Client, select their name in the Scan dialog.

4.	Select the Scan interval.

5.	Select Display one Client at a time.

6.	Click Scan.

7.	The Scan Window will appear and immediately show you the first Client in the sequence. It will cycle through the selected Clients, showing their screens on the Control, until you end the Scan.

To end a Scan

1.	Choose {Scan}{Close} from the Scan Window drop down menu.

See also

Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously

Scanning multiple Clients simultaneously


Showing to Clients

As well as enabling you to remote control Clients, NetSupport allows you to show your screen to: -

•	a selected individual Client.

•	a pre-defined group of Clients.

•	an ad hoc selection of Clients.

•	Replay Files can also be shown to Clients.

To Show a Control screen

1.	Select the connected Client.

2.	Choose {Tools}{Show} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Choose the Show button on the Toolbar.

3.	The Show Configuration dialog box will appear.

To End the Show

1.	Click on the NetSupport button on the taskbar.

Or,

Right click on the NetSupport icon on the taskbar.

2.	This will display the Showing dialog.

Notes:

•	When showing the Control screen to Clients, the screen information is sent to each Client machine in turn. In some network environments where there is limited network bandwidth available or when showing to larger numbers of machines this can affect performance. In these circumstances, NetSupport’s Broadcast Show facility can be enabled. This results in the screen information being sent to all machines simultaneously thus improving the speed of transfer. Whilst reducing overall network traffic generated by NetSupport, using this feature will generate additional broadcast packets on your network. It is recommended that you consult your Network administrator before using this feature.

•	The broadcast show feature is only supported in version 7.10 or higher.

See also

Enable Broadcast Show

Viewing a Client

Showing a Client screen to Clients

Showing Replay Files to Clients


Showing a Client screen to Clients

With NetSupport, it is possible to Show the Control’s screen to a number of connected Clients. It is also possible to Show a Clients screen to a number of other connected Clients. This is known as Exhibiting.

For example, it may be that workstation_1 has an application on it that you need to Show to the Accounts department. Therefore, by Viewing workstation_1 and then Showing to all members of the Accounts department, they will now be able to see workstation_1’s screen.

To Show a Clients screen

1.	Connect to the Clients you wish to Show to and the Client you wish to View.

2.	View the Client whose screen you wish to Show.

3.	Choose {Tools}{Show} from the drop down menu.

Or,

Select the Show icon on the Toolbar.

4.	Choose Show to ‘These Clients’.

5.	Exclude the Client you are currently Viewing from the Show: the green tick should be changed to a red cross. If you don’t do this, you will get an error saying that the Control cannot Show to this Client while you are Viewing it.

6.	Click Show to start the Show.

The Client’s screen that is being Viewed will be shown to the other Clients. You can use features such as Scale to Fit and Full Screen to Show more of the Client’s screen.

See also

Showing to Clients

Viewing a Client


Showing Replay Files to Clients

Replay Files can be watched by individual Controls and Clients. The Control also has the option of ‘showing’ a specific file to multiple Clients.

1.	Choose {Tools}{Show} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or

Click the Show icon on the toolbar.

2.	The Show Configuration dialog will appear.

3.	From the Client list, select the Clinets to show the Replay File to.

4.	Click Advanced.

5.	Check the Show Replay File box and browse for the required Replay File.

6.	Click Show.

7.	The Replay Window will open at the Control machine and start playing the Replay File to the selected Clients.

8.	Click End on the Replay Window toolbar to end the show.


Chatting to Clients

NetSupport allows you to ‘Chat’ to any number of connected Clients simultaneously, via a scrolling text window. A ‘Whiteboard’ facility can also be introduced during the Chat session enabling a range of screen annotation tools to be used.

1.	Select the Clients or Group of Clients you want to Chat to in the List View. If you do not select a Client icon, all connected Clients will be included.

2.	Choose {Client}{Chat} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Click the Chat icon on the Control Toolbar.

Or,

Right click on an individual Client and choose Chat.

3.	The Create Discussion Dialog will appear. Confirm which Clients to include in the Chat session and select any additional properties that should apply. Click OK to start the Chat session.

4.	The Chat Window will appear on the Control and Client workstations.

Note:	Clients can initiate Chat sessions with the Control by opening the Client Main Window and choosing {Commands}{Chat}.

To end Chat

1.	Choose {Close} from the Chat Window.

See also

Disable Chat

Audio support

Sending a message


Sending a Message

With NetSupport, you can send a message to an individual Client, a Group of Clients or all Clients on the Network.

To send a message

1.	Choose {Client}{Message} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

If enabled, click the Message icon on the Control Window Toolbar.

Or,

Right click and choose Message.

2.	The Message dialog will appear. Choose whether to send the message to all Available Clients, All Connected Clients or only the Currently Selected Client. Enter the message and decide whether to show the message at Client PCs for a specified time.

3.	Click send.

The Message will be displayed in a dialog at the Client screens and will remain until the User closes the dialog or the specified time limit expires.

See also

Sending a message to a group of Clients

Sending a message to all Clients on the Network


Sending a Message to a Group of Clients

To send a message to a group of Clients

1.	Open the Group Folder in the Tree View.

2.	Select the Group you want to send a message to in the List View

3.	Right click and choose Message.

Or,

Choose {Group}{Message} from Control Window drop down menu.

4.	The Message dialog box will appear. You can then choose whether you want to send the message to all Available Clients, All Connected Clients or only the Currently Selected Client.

See also

Sending a message to all Clients on the Network


Sending a Message to all Clients on the Network

Use this option with care, as the message you send will appear on the screen of every NetSupport Client on the Network whether or not it is connected. It is however useful for broadcasting messages such as “The Mainframe is Down”.

To send a message to all Clients on the network

1.	Choose {Tools}{Broadcast Message} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	The Message dialog box will appear. You can then choose whether you want to send the message to all Available Clients, All Connected Clients or only the Currently Selected Client.

See also

Sending a message to a group of Clients


Rebooting or Logging out Clients

Enables a Control to remotely reboot or logoff Client workstations either individually or by selected group.

To reboot or logout a Client

1.	Select the Client in the Control Window List View.

2.	Choose {Client}{Reboot or Logout} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or

Right-click on the Client icon and select Reboot or Logout.

or

Select the Reboot or Logout icons from the Control Window Toolbar.

3.	Click Yes, to confirm send Reboot/Logout.

4.	You will be immediately disconnected from the Client.

Or,

1.	While Viewing the Client, choose {Client}{Reboot or Logout} from the View Window drop down menu.

or

Select the Reboot or Logout icons from the View Window Toolbar.

2.	Click Yes, to confirm send Reboot/Logout.

3.	You will be immediately disconnected from the Client.

To reboot or logout a Group of Clients

1.	Select the members of the Group in the Control Window List View or the entire Group in the Control Window Tree View.

2.	Choose {Group}{Reboot or Logout} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or

Right-click on the group name in the Tree View and select Reboot or Logout.

3.	Click Yes, to confirm send Reboot/Logout to the Group.

4.	You will be immediately disconnected from the members of the Group.

Note:	Make sure that all workstations within the Group are available and not being used by other staff before you use this function!

See also

Sending Ctrl+Alt+Del


Raising a Help Request

NetSupport Manager allows a user, at a Client workstation, to request help from a designated Control workstation.

To Request Help

1.	Clients press the Hot Keys, usually ALT+LSHIFT+RSHIFT.

2.	This opens a dialog box into which Clients type their name and help request message.

3.	Clients can then specify which Control workstation they wish to send their help request message to, by clicking on the Show Control button and selecting a Control workstation.

4.	Clients can also choose to Cancel their previous help request by clicking on the Cancel Previous Request button.

5.	Click OK.

If a Control is connected when a Client sends a help request, the Control will be immediately notified by the Help Request Folder turning green. If the Control is not connected, its Help Request Folder will turn green the next time it connects to that Client.

See also

Dealing with Help Requests


Dealing with Help Requests

NetSupport Manager allows a user, at a Client workstation, to request help from a specified Control workstation.

If a Control’s List View has been set to display Clients details {View}{Details} and customised to display help messages, the Clients help request message will be immediately displayed in the List View. The Help Request Folder in the Tree View will also turn green.

NetSupport also allows you to configure a Controls Help Request warning settings.

To adjust a Controls Help Request warning settings

1.	Choose {View}{Settings for Current Configuration}{Control Interface - Help Requests} “When a Help Request Arrives” section.

2.	A Control can choose to receive three additional warnings when a Client sends a help request message:

•	Have the Client highlighted in the List View;

•	Display an independent help request message on the Controls screen;

•	Play a sound when a help request message arrives.

A Control can also choose to be in one of three states of availability to receive Clients help requests.

To adjust a Controls Help Request availability

1.	Choose {View}{Settings for Current Configuration}{Control Interface - Help Requests} ‘Control Status’ section.

2.	A Control can choose from the following three settings:

•	Available to take all Help Requests

•	Unavailable to take any Help Requests

•	Busy at the moment (ensure that you specify the number of Clients you wish to be connected to, for this status to take effect)

When Browsing for Clients, Controls have the option to browse only for Clients who have requested help.

See also

Raising a Help Request


Working with Groups

NetSupport provides you with sophisticated grouping functions to enable you to manage and organise different groups of Clients.

You can perform the following functions on Groups as a whole:

•	View

•	Show

•	Audio

•	File Distribution

•	Message

•	Execute

•	Reboot/Logout

See also

Creating a Group

Connecting to a Group

Adding/Removing Clients from a Group


Group Properties Setting

This option allows you to review and change the properties of the chosen Group.

To adjust a Groups Properties

1.	Open the Group Folder in the Tree View and highlight the required Group.

2.	Right Click on the Group and Choose Properties.

Or,

Choose {Group}{Properties} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

The Group property sheet will be displayed. This has two tabs:-

General

The name of the Group

A Description for the Group

Members

Lists the Clients in the Group.

See also

Adding/Removing Clients in a Group


Connecting to a Group

NetSupport allows you to Group Clients together for easier connection and to facilitate multiple functions such as File Distribution. You create groups using the Create a New Group function.

To connect to a Group

1.	Open the Group Folder in the Control tree View.

2.	In the List View, select the Group you want to connect to.

3.	Choose {Group}{Connect} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

Or,

Right click on the Group and choose Connect.

You are now connected to your selected Group and can perform Group functions such as Show and File Distribution.

See also

Creating a Group

Working with Groups

Adding/removing Clients from a Group


Capturing the Clients Printer Output

Print Capture redirects printer output from a local printer at the Client to the printer or a file at the Control.  You would use this when running an application on a Client but want any printed output redirected to the printer that is local to you.

Note:	Print output cannot currently be captured from a Network printer at the Client.

To enable Print Capture at the Control

1.	Choose {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	Select the appropriate Configuration.

3.	Click Settings.

4.	Select Remote Control - Print Capture.

5.	Check the Enable Print Capture box.

6.	Select a printer to redirect the Clients output to. Either confirm that the current default is to be used or click Change to select another option.

Or,

Select a file to capture the print file.

Note:	In addition to enabling this option at the Control you also need to ensure that Print Capture is enabled in the Clients Configuration. The privileges are disabled by default. At the Client, load the Advanced Configurator and select Security – Access Privileges and un-check the Disable Print Capture option.

See also

Remote clipboard


Creating a Group

NetSupport allows you to organise Clients in to Groups for easier access and management. For example, you might group all the Clients in the Accounts department in to a single group called Accounts.

To create a group

1.	Make sure that the required Clients have previously been connected as this will store them in the Known Clients folder and make them available for grouping.

2.	From the Control Window menu bar, choose {Group}{New}.

Or,

Double click on the “Create a Group” icon in the Groups Folder.

3.	This will display the Create New Group Wizard. This will guide you through the process of adding or removing Clients in your new Group.

See also

Working with Groups

Connecting to Groups

Adding/removing Clients from Groups


Adding/Removing Clients in a Group

NetSupport allows you to ‘Group’ selected Clients together to allow easier management.

For example, you may have a number of workstations all associated with the Sales department. By placing each of the individual clients in a pre-defined group, you can then perform operations to all members within that group in a single action.

To Add Clients to a Group

1.	Select the Client in the List View.

2.	Choose {Client}{Add to Group} from the Client drop down menu

3.	Ensure that the Group is the correct one, click Add.

Or,

1.	Open the Group Folder and right click on the Group you want to add the Client to.

2.	Choose {Properties- Members Tab}.

3.	Select which Client you wish to add to the Group.

To Remove Clients from a Group

1.	Open the Group Folder and right click on the Group you want to remove Clients from.

Or,

Choose {Group}{Properties- Members Tab}.

2.	Select the Client(s) you wish to remove and click Remove.

3.	When you have finished adjusting the members of your Group, click OK.

See also

Creating a New Group

Working with Groups


Watching Replay Files

Replay Files can be watched by Controls with appropriate access levels to the files, these in turn, can be shown to Clients.

At a local level, the NetSupport Client program also provides a Replay option enabling Clients to launch files.

At the Control

1.	Choose {Tools}{Replay} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or

If enabled, click the Replay icon on the toolbar.

2.	Navigate to the Directory where the Replay Files are stored.

3.	Select the file to replay.

4.	Click Open. The Replay Window will appear. Use the Replay Controls to Start/Stop the file.

At the Client

1.	Right-click on the NetSupport Client icon in the system tray and choose Replay.

or

Double-click on the Client Icon and choose {Commands}{Replay} from the drop down menu.

2.	Navigate to the Directory where the Replay Files are stored.

3.	Select the file to replay.

4.	Click Open. The Replay Window will appear. Use the Replay Controls to Start/Stop the file.

See also

Showing Replay Files to Clients


Using Replay Files

During a Remote Control session the screen, keyboard and mouse activity at a Client or Control PC can be recorded, stored in a file and played back. If the PCs are configured for Audio, any narration that takes place can also be recorded.

A Control can determine how and when recordings take place by enabling the appropriate configuration options:

•	Local Recording

•	At individual or all Client PCs

See also

Watching Replay Files

Showing Replay Files to Clients


Transferring Files between Clients

To transfer files between Clients

1.	Display the File Transfer Window for each Client.

2.	Arrange the File Transfer Windows so you can see both and simply drag file/directories from one Client to the other.

You can see more of a Clients files and directories by moving the horizontal sizing bar or clicking on the maximise button located above the Clients directory tree.


Connecting to Clients on different Protocols

NetSupport supports connecting to Clients on multiple transports. The four supported transports are IPX, TCP/IP, NetBIOS and HTTP. Within NetBIOS there are 8 logical adapters.

Transports can be configured and tested within the Connectivity option of the Basic or Advanced Client Configurator.

When the Control performs a Browse it looks over all configured transports. Highlight the desired Client and select Connect from the Client menu.

Connected Clients on different transports happily coexist within the Control. Operations such as File Distribution, Show and Scan work over different transports.

If you know that you only have Clients on one particular transport then the Control will initialise slightly quicker if you only configure it for this transport.

See also

Connecting to Clients

Quick connect

Connecting to Clients/Controls via a NetSupport Gateway

Connecting over the Internet

Connecting through Firewalls and Proxy servers


Audio Support

NetSupport allows you to use audible communications to Connected Clients, via microphones, headphones and speakers while Viewing a Clients screen and Showing your screen to a Client on their workstation. NetSupport will only operate Audio if the workstations have Audio Support Installed.

See also

Using the Announce Feature

Using Audio Support while Viewing

Using Audio Support while Showing

Adjusting microphone/speaker volume


The Quick Execute Toolbar

Like the Quick View Toolbar, the Execute Bar is a short cut way of executing programs to selected Clients. Only previously saved Execute Applications are shown on this toolbar.

There are two ways to display the Execute Toolbar

1.	Choose {View}{Toolbar – Execute Bar}.

Or,

Tick the Show Toolbar button on the Save List Tab in the Execute Application Dialogue Box.

To execute any of the applications shown on the Execute Toolbar

1.	Select a Client or Group of Clients and click on the desired application.

To Save an application for the toolbar

1.	Choose {Client}{Execute – Execute Tab}.

2.	Enter the full path of the application you want to run.

3.	Click on the ‘Add to List button’

4.	Click Execute or Close.


Using the Announce Feature

This feature sends the audio announcement to all the selected Clients headphones or speakers. They will be able to hear the Control but will not be able to speak back.

To make an announcement

1.	Click on {Tools}{Announce} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.

2.	The Announce dialog box will appear, include (green tick), or exclude (red cross), Clients from the announcement, click Announce.

3.	A dialog box will then appear indicating that you can now announce.

4.	Click OK, when you have finished speaking.

See also

Adjusting microphone/speaker volume

Chatting to Clients

Sending a message


Adjusting Microphone and Speaker Volume

You can adjust the audio settings within NetSupport to match the capabilities of your multimedia workstations or to fine tune performance. However, you should note that the higher the quality of sound you select the greater the volume of data that needs to be sent. This can affect screen update performance on slower workstations.

To access the Volume Controls

1.	Right click on the speaker icon in the task bar.

To change other options, such as sound quality, do one of the following: -

Global Method (Changes default setting for all Clients):

1.	Choose {View}{Settings for Current Configuration}{Remote Control – Audio} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Individual Client Method (While Viewing):

1.	While Viewing the Client.

2.	Choose {View}{Settings for Client – Audio} from the View Window drop down menu.

Or,

Click on the Settings button on the View Window Toolbar and select Audio.

Or,

Click on the Audio button on the View Window Toolbar.

In both cases, the Audio Setting dialog will be displayed.

See also

Using the Announce feature

Using Audio support while Viewing

Using Audio support while Showing


Using Audio Support while Viewing or Showing to a Client

When Viewing a Clients screen or Showing your screen on a Clients workstation, you can conduct a two-way audible chat session.

To use Audio Support when Viewing

1.	Click on the Audio Button on the Toolbar in the View Window.

2.	The Audio options will be displayed. From here you can: -

•	Turn Audio on or off;

•	Enable only the Control or the Client to talk;

•	Set the microphone sensitivity;

•	Select the Audio Quality.

The Mute Toolbar button toggles the speaker and microphone on and off.

To use Audio Support when Showing

1.	In the Show dialog box select the check box Enable Audio Support.

2.	The Audio Settings set in the Control Configurator Audio option will apply during these sessions.

See also

Adjusting microphone/speaker volume

Using the Announce feature


Remote Clipboard

During a View Session you can copy the content of the clipboard between Control and Client PCs.

The Clipboard icon, available on the View Window Toolbar, provides the following options:

Send Clipboard

Used when copying from the Control to a Client and using the {edit}{cut/copy} menu option.

Retrieve Clipboard

Used when copying from the Client to the Control and using the {edit}{cut/copy} menu option..

Auto

When enabled, provides the quickest method for copying data. Use the short cut keys (Ctrl-C & Ctrl-V) to automatically copy to and from the clipboard at both the Control and Client machines.

Sending the content of the clipboard from a Control to a Client workstation

1.	View the required Client.

2.	Open appropriate applications on the Client and Control workstations.

3.	Select and copy the required data from the application at the Control.

If Auto is enabled using Ctrl-C copies the data directly to the clipboard.

or

If you have used {Edit}{Cut/Copy}, return to the Clients view window and click the Clipboard icon on the View Window toolbar and choose Send Clipboard.

4.	To paste the data at the Client application, choose {Edit} from the Client application drop down menu, select Paste.

or

Use the short cut keys (Ctrl-V) to paste the data.

Sending the content of the clipboard from a Client to a Control workstation

1.	View the required Client.

2.	Open appropriate applications on the Client and Control workstations.

3.	Copy the required data from the application at the Client as above but if using menu options rather than the shortcut keys, choose Clipboard – Retrieve Clipboard from the toolbar.

4.	Return to the Control application and paste the data using the appropriate menu options or the short cut keys (Ctrl-V).


Arranging multiple File Transfer Windows

Just as you can View to more than one Client at a time, you can have more than one File Transfer Windows open at a time. These File Transfer Windows can be easily arranged using the commands in the Window, Tile submenu.

To arrange multiple File Transfer Windows

1.	Make sure a File Transfer Window or the Control Window, is active.

2.	Choose {Window}{Tile – File Transfer Windows} from the Control Window drop down menus.

3.	All open File Transfer Windows will be arranged so that they proportionality fill the Control workstation screen.

Notes

•	When working with multiple File Transfer Windows, refer to the File Transfer Window’s title bar to check which Client is being viewed in a particular File Transfer Window.

•	You can use the Tile Windows function, to similarly arrange all open View and Control Windows.


Managing Files on the Control workstation

You can manage files on a Control workstation using the File Manager Window. This is similar to the File Transfer Window, but only displays the contents of the Control workstation.

To display the File Manager Window, choose {Tools}{File Manager} from the Control Window drop down menu.

The Tree View

•	To select a drive or directory in the Tree View, simply click on it, the contents of the selected item will then be displayed in the List View (on the right).

•	If the selected drive or directory contains subdirectories that are not displayed, then a cross symbol will be displayed to the left of the item.

•	To expand the contents of a drive or directory so that its subdirectories are visible in the Tree View, double click on the drive or the directory, or click on the cross symbol to the left of the drive or directory.

The List View

•	To select an item in the List View, simply click on it.

•	To select multiple items in the List View:

1.	If the items are adjacent to one another, select the first item, hold down the Shift Key and then select the last item.

2.	If the items are not adjacent to one another, then select the first item, then hold down the Control Key and select each of the other items.

3.	If all files and/or directories are required choose {View}{Select} from the drop down menu or right-click on one of the items in the list view (not the filename) and choose Select. You can highlight all items in the current list or just the files or directories.

•	To display the contents of the drive or directory that is one level up from the current directory, double click on the previous directory item at the top of the List View.

See also

File Transfer

File Distribution


Disconnecting from a Control

To disconnect from a Control

1.	Bring up the Client Main Window and choose {Commands}{Disconnect}.

Or,

Right click on the Client icon in the Taskbar’s system tray.

2.	When the short cut menu appears, choose the Disconnect command.

3.	A dialog box will appear, listing the Controls to which you are currently connected. Select the Control(s) from which you want to disconnect.

4.	Choose OK to disconnect from the selected Controls.


Receiving a Message from a Control

Client workstations can receive messages from Control workstations. These messages are automatically displayed on a Client’s screen in a message box.

The message box’s title bar includes the name of the Control that has sent the message, along with the date and time the message was sent.

Having read the message sent by a Control, choose OK to remove the message.

See also

Chatting to a Control


Chatting to a Control

You can Chat to a connected Control using the Chat Window.

To initiate a Chat session

1.	Choose {Commands}{Chat} from the Client Main Window drop down menus.

2.	The Chat Window will appear.

3.	Type the message and hit Enter or click Send.

4.	If you need to alert the Control User that you have initiated a chat session, choose {Chat}{Send Beep} from the Chat Window drop down menus.


Resetting the Client Video Driver on Windows 95 and NT4.0

This procedure may be necessary if you install a new video display adapter or in Windows  95 Clients when you have changed the display settings.

Note:	When using Windows XP/ME/2000/98 the Client will automatically reset the video driver, if required, when the Client starts.

In Windows 95 the video driver can be stored in the SYSTEM.INI or the registry, in NT the video driver is stored only in the registry. The default is SYSTEM.INI, however when you reset the video driver you can change where the information is stored. If you choose to store in the information in the SYSTEM.INI file then you may need to reset your video driver when you change screen resolution or other video driver settings.

To reset the Client Video Driver

In Windows NT

1.	Choose {Start}{Programs}{NetSupport}{Reset Video Driver}.

In Window 95

1.	Choose {Start}{Programs}{NetSupport}{Reset Video Driver}.

2.	Select a location to store the NetSupport Manager display drivers.


Using NetSupport on the Internet

NetSupport Manager works across the internet in much the same way as it does across Dialup Networking. It can be done to workstations with a static connection across a LAN or to a dialup account with ISP.

If your workstation can “see” a workstation running NetSupport you can connect to it, whether this is on the internet, via remote communications, a RAS Dialup Link or on your local LAN/WAN.

Note:	While the following procedure can be used, NetSupport also provides a convenient Internet Gateway feature delivering web based remote control without the need for modifications to existing Firewall configurations.

To connect over the internet

1.	Connect to both the Control and the Client in the internet.

2.	Choose {Client}{Quick Connect} from the Control Window drop down menus.

3.	In the Quick Connect dialog choose to connect via TCP/IP address and type in the IP address of the Client you wish to connect to.

4.	You can control the Client normally.

Finding an IP Address

The easiest way to find the IP address of the Client is to use the command line ipconfig.

DHCP

Workstations connecting via a modem link to an ISP will normally have a different IP address assigned to them each time they connect. You will therefore need to find out their address each time you wish to connect. This is done using the command line ipconfig.

Security – Firewalls/Proxy Servers

See Connecting to Client/Controls through Firewalls or Proxy Servers


Connecting to Clients/Controls through Firewalls and Proxy Servers

It is possible to have NetSupport Clients/Controls running on the inside of a Firewall/Proxy Server and still be available to workstations on the outside, without compromising the security of the network. Likewise, you are able to connect to Control and Client workstations running outside Firewalls/Proxy Servers.

Note:	While this section provides general guidance, NetSupport’s Gateway feature is specifically designed to provide seamless Remote Control between PCs that may both be located behind different Firewalls. The Gateway provides a stable and secure method for connecting Clients and Controls and delivers web based remote control without the need for modifications to existing Firewall configurations. The HTTP protocol on port 3085 is used for Gateway communications. You will need to ensure that this port is open within your firewall configuration.

Connecting to Controls and Clients INSIDE Firewalls

For a Control on the external network of a Firewall to connect to Clients on the Firewalls internal network, you must enable some form of address translation. This process translates the address of a workstation on the internal network, which would otherwise be invisible, into an address that is accessible from the external network. You should (depending on the Firewall) be able to specify which IP addresses can access the internal workstation and which Port is open.

TCP/IP Ports Used By NetSupport

Control to Client

The NetSupport Control uses TCP/IP port 5405 to send IP requests to Clients, and the NetSupport Client listens on port 5405 for incoming requests from the Control.

Client to Control

With the introduction of the Client Connect feature in NetSupport Manager 5.00, it was necessary for an additional port to be created to ensure that the two methods of connection (Control calling Client, Client calling Control) could run alongside each other without conflict. Port 5421 is registered for this purpose.

Connecting to Controls and Clients INSIDE Proxy Servers

This will not be possible with Proxy Servers as they will not provide a means of address translation. A Proxy Server, by design, will not allow connections into a protected network.

Connecting from within a Firewall or Proxy Server to a Client on the outside requires the following:

•	Port 5405 enabled for outgoing connections on your Firewall or proxy server.

•	A Client on the other side listening on the same port number and visible to the Control on the inside of the Firewall/Proxy Server.

Client calling a Control

1.	Enable port 5421 for outgoing connections on your Firewall or proxy server.

2.	Choose {Call Control} from the NetSupport Client Main Window drop down menu.

3.	Enter either the hostname or IP address of the Control you wish to connect to.

4.	The Control will then receive a message stating that a Client is attempting to make a connection. They can choose to accept or disconnect the attempt.

Note:	Port 5421 is not configurable.

Control calling a Client

1.	Choose {Client}{Quick Connect} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	Enter either the hostname or IP address of the Client you wish to connect to.

3.	Click OK.

Note:	NetSupport will not communicate directly with a Proxy Server via SOCKS, and will only work if a TCP/IP direct connection is available.

See also

Connecting to Clients/Controls via a NetSupport Gateway

Client Configuration-Setting the Transport Protocol

Control Configuration - Setting the Transport Protocol


NetSupport Video Player

NetSupport provides exceptional multimedia support with full Audio, Video and Remote Control capabilities. This section deals specifically with the use of the Video Player.  Please see Audio Support and Showing for more details.

While the Video Player can be used for viewing a video file on an individual workstation, the combination of NetSupport’s remote control capabilities with full Audio Support allows you to use this tool to enhance training sessions and demonstrations. By running a Show, then launching Video Player, all Clients will be able to watch video files from their own workstations, with full audio support.

The Video Player supports all standard video files for example, avi and mpg. The Video Player runs locally on each Client workstation and the video file can be accessed locally or on a network drive. If video files are stored locally, network traffic is restricted to video player controls and synchronisation and is therefore minimal, making it possible to control video sequences running on a larger number of workstations simultaneously.

If video files are stored on a network drive and Clients have to retrieve files across the network, there will be a greater impact on the network. The Video Player is still run locally on each workstation but the file containing the video will be accessed across the network. For optimum performance, store the video files locally on each workstation, you may wish to use File Distribution to do this.

Other influencing factors will be:

•	The number of Client workstations accessing the file;

•	The speed of the network eg: 10/100 MB;

•	The size of the video file;

•	Client workstation memory/performance specification;

•	Other traffic on the network.

Notes

•	If a Client workstation is required to retrieve files from a Server, for smooth operation, ensure that the Client workstation has sufficient access rights to the relevant drive and files.

•	The video adapter of the workstation and how the screen resolution is configured will affect the quality of the display.

See

To play a Video file

To pause or stop a Video file

To return to the beginning of a Video file

To fast forward to the end of a Video file

Video Player Control Panel


NetSupport Video Player Control Panel

The Video Player Control Panel operates in a similar manner to all audio and visual aids. Although the commands on the toolbar perform there expected actions, you will find a detailed explanation below.

File Menu - The File drop down menu contains the following options:

Open

Allows you to select and load the appropriate video file.

Close

Closes the open video file.

Exit

Shuts down the Video Player.

View Menu - The View drop down menu contains the following options:

Text Labels

Hides and displays text labels on the Video Player toolbar.

Toolbar

Hides and displays the Video Player toolbar.

Status Bar

Hides and displays the Status Bar of the Video Player.

Zoom

Resizes the video screen

Play Menu - The Play drop down menu contains the following options:

Play

Starts the loaded video file.

Stop

Returns to the beginning of the loaded video file.

Pause

Blanks the Clients video screen and pauses the video file at the Control workstation.

Start

Returns to the beginning of the video file.

End

Fast-forwards to the end of the video file.

Mute Clients

If Clients are not using headphones while they are watching a video, the sound coming from each workstation can be distracting. This option turns audio off at the Client workstations but leaves it on at the Control machine.

Help Menu - Provides access to the on-line Help and general Version information.

See also

Video Player


Quick Connect

Quick Connect allows you to directly connect to a Known Client by Client Name, Logged In User Name, or by Network Address saving you having to perform a network browse and then selecting the desired Client from the List View.

Clients configured for HTTP connections through a NetSupport Gateway can also be selected.

To connect to Clients

1.	Choose {Client}{Quick Connect} from the drop down menu.

2.	The Quick Connect dialog will be displayed.

3.	Choose the required connection method, Client name, Logged In User Name, or  Network Address and Protocol.

Note:	If the Client is configured for HTTP connections through a Gateway, in addition to the Name or User Name of the Client you will need to choose the appropriate Gateway name from the list provided.

4.	Click Connect.

5.	A dialog box will inform you that NetSupport is trying to connect to the named Client.

If the connection attempt is successful the Connected Clients folder will be opened and the Client Details displayed in the Client Status. You can then View it or conduct other one to one or group tasks.

Notes

•	If you are using TCP/IP the address is in the form >192.168.100.20.

•	If connecting by User Name and more than one Client machine matches this criteria, a list of Clients will appear for you to select from.

•	If you are using the IPX network transport, the address is in the form >000001-12345678.

•	If you are using NetBIOS, the Client PC's address is the registered NetBIOS network name of that PC.

See also

Connecting to Clients

Connecting to Clients/Controls via a NetSupport Gateway


Sending Ctrl+Alt+Delete

You can send Ctrl+Alt+Delete to a workstation that you are Viewing or simply connected to.

To send Ctrl+Alt+Delete to a connected Client

1.	Press the Ctrl+Alt+Esc keys simultaneously.

Or,

1.	Choose {Client}{Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	Click Yes, to confirm Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

To send Ctrl+Alt+Del to a Client you are Viewing

1.	Press the Ctrl+Alt+Esc keys simultaneously.

Or,

1.	Choose {Client}{Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete} from the View Window drop down menu.

2.	Click Yes, to confirm Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

See also

Reboot/Logging out Clients


To play a Video file

1.	Perform a Show to the Client workstations you want to watch the video file.

2.	While performing the Show, launch NetSupport Video Player by double clicking on the NetSupport Video Player icon in the NetSupport Program Folder.

3.	The NetSupport Video Player toolbar will appear.

4.	Choose {File}{Open} from the Video Player drop down menus to select the correct video file.

5.	The Video Player video screen will then appear below the toolbar with the selected file loaded, ready to be played.

Note:	NetSupport’s Video Player utilises the Audio Support software and hardware installed on your operating system, please adjust these to suit your needs.

6.	Click on the Play button on the Video Player toolbar.

Or,

Choose {Play}{Play} from the Video Player drop down menus.

See

To pause or stop a Video file

To fast forward to the end of a Video file

To return to the beginning of a Video file


To Pause or Stop a Video file

1.	Click on the Pause or Stop button on the toolbar.

Or,

Choose {Play}{Stop or Pause} from the Video Player drop down menus.

Note:	The Pause command blanks any Clients video screens you may be Showing the Video file.

See

To play a Video file

To fast forward to the end of a Video file

To return to the beginning of a Video file


To Fast Forward to the end or Return to the beginning of a Video File

To return to the beginning of the video file

1.	Click on the Start button on the toolbar to return to the beginning of the Video file.

Or,

Choose {Play}{Start} from the Video Player drop down menus.

To fast forward to the end of the video file

1.	Click on the End button on the toolbar to fast forward to the end of the Video file.

Or,

Choose {Play}{End} from the Video Player drop down menus.

See

To play a Video file

To pause or stop a Video file


Remote Communications Overview

NetSupport Manager supports communications over modems, the Internet, ISDN or direct serial links on all protocols and operating systems. You can either use NetSupport’s own Remote Communications programs or a third party remote access product such as Microsoft’s Remote Access Server.

Accessing remote workstations has never been easier.

If you are using NetSupport’s own Remote Communications programs to dial-in to a Client or network, you must install the NetSupport Bridge on the target workstation or a workstation on that network, and the NetSupport Remote option on the workstation that is to be used as the Control to dial out.

The Bridge and Remote modules provide an interface that allows the Control to connect to remote Clients, as if it were on the same LAN.  However, neither the Control nor the Client needs to be physically attached to a LAN.

See Setting Up Remote Communications, Using NetSupport on the Internet.


Optimising Remote Connections

Performance is naturally affected when communicating with a Client over a dial up link. To get the most out of your remote connections follow these simple steps.

•	Use the highest speed modems you can.

•	Set the Mouse Delay to the highest possible level. See Profiling a Control

•	Ensure the modems are configured correctly, use the modem diagnostics and logging to check the throughput. See Modem Diagnostics

•	Use a large cache at the Client and Control. Specifying a large cache means the Control can store more areas of the screen locally without having to ask the Client to send them again. See Optimising Cache Size

•	Make sure NetSupport’s compression is turned on and the modems compression is disabled in Windows TAPI Setting. See Using Compression Efficiently

•	Limit the colour depth to 16 colours. This means that all images sent from the Client to the Control are 16 colour only. A high colour bitmap can be 2 or 3 times the size of a 16-colour bitmap. This will improve performance with the only side affect being that images won’t look as good.

•	Run the Client in a reasonably low resolution. The lower the resolution the less information the Client needs to send. If you can work at 640x480 or 800x600 then set the Client to this. The Control doesn’t have to be at the same resolution as the Client.


The NetSupport Bridge

When loaded on a networked workstation, the NetSupport Bridge provides access to all other Clients, whatever their operating system, on the same network.

Likewise all NetSupport Controls, whatever their operating system, can dial into the NetSupport Bridge

To load a Bridge

The NetSupport Bridge is loaded with a standard Client to provide access to all workstations on the network. You use the NetSupport Configurator to set up the Bridge:

1.	Start the NetSupport Client Configurator, Basic or Advanced, on the workstation that will be used as the Bridge.

2.	Choose {Connectivity - Dial-in Bridge}.

3.	Follow the instructions in Configuring a NetSupport Bridge.

Once configured, the Bridge is loaded at the Client by right-clicking the Client icon and selecting Load Bridge, the Client icon in the system tray will turn red. Alternatively, you can automate the process by checking the Load Bridge on Startup box in the Client Configurator Dial-in Bridge option.

Effect

A Control can dial-in and take control of any Clients on that remote network which are running on the same protocol as the Bridge. It is possible to have the Bridge running on one protocol and the Client on another, however, in this case the Control will not be able to access the Client as the Bridge.

Use this option if

You wish to provide dial in access to this workstation or a NetSupport Client on the same Network.

Note:	To configure the Control Bridge choose {Network}{Configure}{Connectivity – Remote Dialup} from the Control Window drop down menu, or Click Settings on the Toolbar.


Setting up Remote Communications

The sequence of events for establishing a remote communications link is:

At the Remote End

1.	Turn on the modem.

2.	Load the Client Bridge by right-clicking the Client icon in the system tray and selecting Load Bridge. The Client icon will turn red to indicate that the Bridge is loaded. This process can be automated so that the Bridge is automatically loaded when NetSupport is initialised.

See Client Configuration - Dialin Bridge Settings

At the Control

1.	Turn on the modem.

2.	Start NetSupport Control program and choose {Network}{Remote}{Dial - New}.

3.	The Add a remote Network Dialog will be displayed. This Dialog prompts you through the process of creating a remote Network profile.

You must enter the following information:

•	The Name that the connection will be known as.

•	The Telephone Number of the NetSupport Bridge to Dial.

•	The Transport, IPX, NetBIOS or TCP/IP to be used.

Once a dial up or serial link has been established, operation is the same as on a LAN.

If you are using RAS or another third party remote Access product then simply make the Dial-up networking connection before starting the Control and use the Control as if it were on the Local LAN.

Note:	In order for the connection to work, you must ensure that the corresponding NetSupport Bridge has been set up on the Remote Network or Standalone workstation.

See also

Using NetSupport Over A Null Modem (Serial) Cable


Bridge Password File and Dial back

Dial back works by associating a telephone number to call back with the password entered at the Control when it dials into the Bridge.  These passwords and associated number to dial back are stored in a text file.  You can set-up multiple passwords and telephone numbers in the same file.

The password is stored in encrypted form, but the Control dialling in must enter the unencrypted version.

You can use the NetSupport Configurator to set up the Bridge password file.

NetSupport Bridge method:

1.	Start the Configurator at the Client.

2.	Select “Advanced”.

3.	Load the active profile (The default is Master Profile).

4.	Select Dial-in Bridge.

5.	Set the Transport Protocol to IPX, TCP/IP or NetBIOS. This enables the other Bridge Options.

6.	If you want the Bridge to always be active check the Load at Startup box. If you do not do this you will have to manually start the Bridge form the Client icon.

7.	In the Security Section Click on the Browse Button.

8.	If you are selecting a password for the first time you will prompted to set either a default or new one, or select an existing password file (extension psw).

9.	Set an inactivity timeout for the Bridge if required.

10.	Click on the Edit Button.

11.	Complete the Password and Dial-back form.

12.	Repeat for each individual password that you want to set.


Setting up a Modem

At the Control

1.	Choose {Tools}{Configurations}{Settings} from the Control Window drop down menu if updating a specific Control profile.

or

Click Settings on the Control Window Toolbar if updating the Standard Control profile.

2.	Select Connectivity – Remote Dialup .

3.	Select a Modem.

At the Client

1.	Start the NetSupport Client Configurator, Basic or Advanced.

2.	Select Connectivity - Dial-in Bridge.

3.	Check the Bridge box and complete the form.

To adjust modem settings

1.	Choose {Start}{Settings}{}{Control Panel}{Modems}.


Modem Diagnostics

For many users, configuring their modem for optimum performance can be an extremely trying process.  To overcome this, NetSupport includes a sophisticated modem diagnostics module that tests the modem configuration and identifies potential problem areas.

The modem diagnostics can also be used for monitoring the performance of a NetSupport Remote link and for providing a hard copy record of connection information and problems encountered.

The diagnostics are run when you dial into a NetSupport Bridge using the Windows Control.  You can adjust the diagnostic level in the Control Configurator - Remote Dialup option.

Depending on the results of the test, NetSupport will display a dialog advising the user of possible problems and correcting action.  This dialog is displayed when a Modem Diagnostics test fails or detects a potential problem.

All of the relevant information is in the dialog itself.  Some attention to the messages, plus your modem manual, should resolve the problem. If you want to make an additional change or command, any strings need to be added into the Advanced Connection Settings in your Windows Operating System.

You can optionally record this information in log file, which you can later view.  This log file can also be used for maintaining a record of connections that the Control has made.

The Modem Log is a record of the connection information and diagnostic results for each dial up connection that you have made since last archiving or deleting the file.  You can also use the modem log as an audit trail.

Occasional reports of 'low throughput' and 'excessive time to respond' do not always indicate a problem - we err on the side of caution.  If you are satisfied with the way that NetSupport operates over your Dial-up line, you can ignore these.  If not, it is worth investing some time to resolve them.


Setting the Diagnostics level

To set the diagnostics level check the required level in the diagnostics pane of the Remote Dialup option in the Control Configuration. Choose {Tools}{Configurations}{Connectivity – Remote Dialup} if updating a specific Control profile, or click the Settings icon on the Control Window Toolbar if updating the Standard profile.

There are three Diagnostic Levels:

None - No modem functions are tested.

Basic - When the modems connect, NetSupport checks the following:

•	Flow Control is correctly set.

•	There is a NetSupport Bridge at the remote number.

•	There are not excessive delays in transferring data.

Extended - As above plus:

•	The workstation to modem baud rate is compatible with the modem to modem rate.

•	Line reliability.

•	Throughput.

Choose Extended if you have problems establishing Dial-up links, or problems connecting to or maintaining connections to, remote Clients, or if you suspect you have performance problems.


Setting the Logging Level

The Log File Output mode determines the amount of information logged to file MODEM.LOG in the NSM directory.  Choose Extended if you have problems establishing Dial-up links.  To view, delete, archive or print the log, click on [View Log].

There are three Output Modes:

None - Messages are displayed on the screen only.

Basic - Logs the following to MODEM.LOG:

•	Name of the modem used.

•	Number Dialled.

•	Results of Diagnostic Tests.

•	Connection speed.

Verbose - As above plus:

•	Information about the modem retrieved from the modem itself.

When the log file is full, NetSupport will ask you to delete or archive it.


Selecting and Configuring a modem at the Bridge

When using NetSupport’s dial-in capability you simply need to select which modem to use. Normally this would be done at installation. There may however be times when you want to change the settings.

To select a modem

1.	Start the NetSupport Client Configurator, Basic or Advanced.

2.	Select Connectivity - Dial-in Bridge.

3.	Select the appropriate modem.

To change the settings of your modem

1.	Choose {Start}{Settings}{Control Panel}{Modems}.


Configuring a Standalone Client for Dial-in Access

If the workstation is on a network or has a network adapter installed.

See NetSupport Bridge

If you do not have a network adapter installed in the workstation then do the following:-

1.	Add the Microsoft dial-up adapter or MS Loopback Adapter for NT (if not already installed) by choosing {Start}{Settings}{Control Panel}{Network}{Adapters}{Add}.

2.	Add the required IPX, TCP/IP protocol to the Dial-up Adapter.

3.	Use the NetSupport Client Configurator to set the bridge options.

Note: You can not use NetBIOS\NetBEUI as this is non-routable.

Alternatively

1.	If you want to use Dialup Networking instead of the NetSupport Bridge, install Remote Access Server on XP/2000/NT Operating Systems or Windows Dialup networking which can be obtained as a standalone module or installed with Microsoft Plus Pack.

2.	Establish the Dial-up Link using Dial-up Networking from the Control workstation prior to starting the NetSupport Control.

3.	To make the connection use the Manual Connect option, and enter the Clients MAC, IPX or  IP Address.


Setting the NetBIOS adapter number to dial a NetSupport Bridge

The adapter number used for dialling into a NetSupport Bridge is configured slightly differently to those used for connecting to a Client. The adapter number you set is the adapter number configured at the Bridge workstation. This is why the Remote Network wizard and Properties dialog displays all adapters and not just those set at the Control.

Use the Configurator at the Bridge workstation to determine the adapter number to use, then set this same adapter number at the Control for the Remote Network object.

If you attempt to dial a NetBIOS NetSupport Bridge and the adapter number is incorrect the connection will fail and an error message will be displayed.


ActiveX Control

It is possible to remote control a NetSupport Client using an Internet Browser. This is obtained through an ActiveX Control.  All that is required is an Internet Server and an HTML page with the imbedded ActiveX Control.

The ActiveX Control program is installed by default as the CABinet file: PCIAX.CAB.  NetSupport also provides appropriate HTML pages, Control.htm and View.htm, accessible in \\program files\netsupport manager\web, which use the available ActiveX functions.

Note:	View.htm requires Web Extensions enabling in the target Clients Configurator. Control.htm provides more flexibility in that it does not rely on individual Clients having Web Extensions enabled.

1.	Launch Internet Explorer and type in the Clients IP address followed by Control.htm or View.htm. For example, ‘HTTP://10.0.0.1/CONTROL.HTM’.

or

Load Control.htm directly from the program folder and enter the IP Address here.

Note: NetSupport Manager’s ActiveX Control will not work with Netscape.

How to Access the Client as an Internet Server

The Client Internet Server is accessed from an Internet Browser by typing its IP address and port number in the browsers address field, and specifying the HTML page to download. The Internet Browser attempts to connect to the Internet Server at this address.

When the Control connects, it is connecting to the Internet Server section of the Client. It then requests the HTML document to be downloaded. The Client looks for this file in its Internet Server Directory.

If the HTML is found, the Client starts sending it to the browser. As it does, it looks for the variables in the HTML and replaces them as it goes. When the browser has received the entire page, it processes it locally to determine what to do.

When the Control comes across the <OBJECT>...</OBJECT> tag it checks in its registry to see if it has an ActiveX Control registered with this GUID. If it does then it is loaded and created on the Internet page. If it isn't available it checks in the object tag to see if there is a code base, this gives the browser a HTTP address where it can download the necessary Control. An additional piece of information supplied is the version number. Even if the Control is installed locally it will check its version number against the one in the Internet page to determine if it has the correct version, if not it will attempt to download and install a new version.

See also

Web Extensions


Client as a Web Server - Web Extensions

It is possible to configure a Client as an Internet Server, which will supply simple Internet pages as HTML. See Advanced Client Configurator - Web Extensions

Additionally, the Client interprets certain variables when processing the HTML.

These are:

$CLIENTNAME$	Is replaced with the name of the Client

$CLIENTADDR$	Is replaced with the address of the Client

$IPADDRESS$	Is replaced with the TCP/IP address of the Client workstation

$HSCREENRES$	Is replaced with the Horizontal screen resolution

$VSCREENRES$	Is replaced with the Vertical screen resolution

These variables can appear anywhere within the HTML served by the Client Internet Server.


PCIAX.CAB - Cabinet File

The Cabinet file contains three files:

pciax.inf	This installs/uninstalls the necessary files.

pciax.dll	The ActiveX Control.

tcctl32.dll	NetSupport Manager TCP/IP Transport DLL.

When this file is downloaded the browser checks to see if its safe. It does this by checking to see if the file has a digital certificate, this doesn't guarantee that the Control is safe but it does guarantee that the Control hasn't been modified (with a virus or other malicious code). This file is created by NetSupport LTD and signed using a certificate and private key.

The certificate simply guarantee’s that the binary file hasn't changed or been modified since NetSupport LTD signed it.

If the user trusts NetSupport LTD and continues with the download the files are extracted and the install file: pciax.inf is executed. This copies the files to a PCIAX folder under the SYSTEM directory. It then registers the Control in the registry making it available.

The browser then attempts to load the newly downloaded Control and create an instance of it to place on the Internet page.

The window_onLoad sub routine is then executed at the beginning of the HTML, and the Client’s screen will appear.


ActiveX Control - HTML examples

The following is some typical HTML which use all of the variables available with Client Web Extensions.

<html>

<head><script LANGUAGE="VBScript">

Sub window_onLoad()

call CTLAX.Init("*")

CTLAX.Client = "$CLIENTADDR$"

call CTLAX.Connect()

CTLAX.ScaleToFit = 0

call CTLAX.View(2)

end sub

Sub CTLAX_Disconnect()

alert "Client " & CTLAX.Client & " has disconnected!"

end sub

</script>

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">

<title>NetSupport Active Control - Viewing $CLIENTNAME$</title>

</head>

<body>

<p>Viewing Client $CLIENTNAME$ - $CLIENTADDR$</p>

<p>

<object ID="CTLAX" WIDTH="$HSCREENRES$" HEIGHT="$VSCREENRES$"

CLASSID="clsid:04F26A51-3DA8-11D2-B8FC-00104B4F4F6A"

standy="Please Wait.. Loading PCIAX Control"

codebase="http://$IPADDRESS$/pciax.cab#version=1,0,0,2">

</object>

</p>

</body>

</html>

The first piece of HTML that handles the Control is at the beginning.

<script LANGUAGE="VBScript">

Sub window_onLoad()

call CTLAX.Init("*")

CTLAX.Client = "$CLIENTADDR$"

call CTLAX.Connect()

CTLAX.ScaleToFit = 0

call CTLAX.View(2)

end sub

Sub CTLAX_Disconnect()

alert "Client " & CTLAX.Client & " has disconnected!"

end sub

</script>

This is some VBScript that sets up and communicates with the Control. Sub window_onLoad is a standard event that is called when the Internet Page is loaded.

The following commands are executed during this function, CTLAX is the identifier of the Control as defined in the <OBJECT> tag below:

CTLAX.Init("*") Initialises the Control where * means use workstation name.

CTLAX.Client = "$CLIENTADDR$" Sets the address of the Client to connect to, this is in the usual NSM format - ">10.0.0.5:5405"

CTLAX.Connect() Attempts to connect to the client

CTLAX.ScaleToFit = 0 Turns scale to fit off (as the Control will be set to the size of the Client's screen).

CTLAX.View(2) Views the screen in Share mode, 1 is watch, 3 is Control and 0 is stop viewing.

The second sub routine, CTLAX_Disconnect, is an event provided by the PCIAX Control, this will be called if the Client is disconnected, it simply displays a message warning the user.

The main body of the page is some text with an embedded object. The embedded object is crucial.

<object ID="CTLAX" WIDTH="$HSCREENRES$" HEIGHT="$VSCREENRES$"

CLASSID="clsid:04F26A51-3DA8-11D2-B8FC-00104B4F4F6A"

standy="Please Wait.. Loading PCIAX Control"

codebase="http://$IPADDRESS$/pciax.cab#version=1,0,0,2">

</object>

This tells the Internet Browser that the Internet page contains an embedded binary object and it should attempt to create one locally.

The OBJECT tag has the following parameters:

ID 	Gives the Control an identifier that we can use elsewhere on the Internet page.

WIDTH/HEIGHT 	Specifies the width and height of the Control, these will be replaced with the actual screen resolution of the Client.

CLASSID 	The GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) this is (as the name suggests) unique to our Control.

STANDBY 	Text that is displayed while the Control loads.

CODEBASE 	Tells the browser where to find the Control and its version if it isn't already installed.

See PCIAX.CAB


ActiveX - Init

Name:        Init

Syntax:      Object.Init(ControlName)

Description: Initialises the ActiveX Control. This must be called before any other methods/properties. The name supplied is displayed at the Client when connected (you can use "*" for Machine Name).

Example :

CTLAX.Init(“*”) ’Initialises the ActiveX Control using the machine name.

CTLAX.Init( “MyMachine” ) ‘Initialises the ActiveX Control with the name “MyMachine”


ActiveX - Connect

Name:        Connect

Syntax:      Object.Connect()

Description: Connects the Client specified in the Client Property.  Must call Init and set Client before calling this. If the Control cannot connect to the Client then an error is returned and this error can then be handled.

Example:

On Error Resume Next

CTLAX.Client($CLIENTADDR$)

CTLAX.Connect() ‘Will connect to the Client running the NetSupport Web Extensions

If Err.Number <>0 then  ‘Check id an error occurred

MsgBox Err.Description ; Handle the error

Err.Clear

End If


ActiveX - View

Name:        View

Syntax       Object.View(mode)

Description: Views or stops viewing the connected Client.

Valid Modes:

                 0 - Stop viewing

                 1 - Watch Mode

                 2 - Share Mode

                 3 - Control Mode

Note:

             The Control must be connected to a Client before calling this.

Example:

CTLAX.Client($CLIENTADDR$)

CTLAX.Connect()

CTLAX.View( 1 )  ‘Will connect to and watch the Client running the NetSupport Web Extensions


ActiveX - Disconnect

Name:        Disconnect

Syntax:      Object.Disconnect()

Description: Disconnects from the connected Client.

CTLAX.disconnect() ‘ Will disconnect from the Client


ActiveX - Client

Name:       Client

Syntax:      Get the property value: Variable = Object.client

    Set the property value: Object.client = Clientname

Description: Sets or gets the Client that is to be connected to. You can use the address to connect to.  This needs to be a NetSupport address in the format “>nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn:nnnn”

Example:

Client1.client=“test1” ‘Sets the ActiveX control client1’s client property to “test1”

Client1.connect() ‘Will connect to the client test1.

Client2.client=“>10.0.0.1:5405” ‘Sets the ActiveX control client2’s client property to 10.0.0.1:5405

Client2.Connect() ‘Will connect to the client at IP address 10.0.0.1

Client3.client= “$CLIENTADDR$” ‘Sets the ActiveX control client3’s client property to the IP address of the client running the NetSupport Web Extensions.

Client3.Connect() ‘Will connect to the client running the NetSupport Web Extensions

If client1.client = “test1” then

Client1.disconnect() ‘tests to see if the client1 ActiveX control’s client property is set to be test1 then disconnects if this is the case.


ActiveX - ScaleToFit

Name:        ScaleToFit

Syntax:      Set the property value Object.ScaleToFit  = 1 | 0

     Get the property value variable = Object.ScaleToFit

Description: Sets or gets the ScaleToFit state. 1 is on, 0 is off

Client1.ScaleToFit = 1 ‘Sets the ActiveX control client1’s scale to fit property to be on.

If client2.ScaleToFit = 0 then

Client2.Scrollbars = 1’Checks to see if the ActiveX control client2 is set to scale to fit.  If not it turns the scrollbars on.


ActiveX - Scrollbars

Name:        ScrollBars

Syntax:	    Set the property value: Object.ScrollBars = 1 | 0

 Get the property value: variable =   Object.ScrollBars

Description: Sets or gets the ScrollBars state. 1 is on, 0 is off.

Example:

Client1.ScrollBars = 1 ‘ Turns the ActiveX control client1’s Scroll Bars on.

If client2.ScrollBars = 0 then

Client2.ScaleToFit = 1 ‘ Checks to see if the ActiveX control client2 is using it’s scroll bars .  If not it turns scale to fit on.


Using NetSupport Over A Null Modem (Serial) Cable

If you do not have network adapters or modems, you can use a null-modem (serial) cable over dial-up networking to connect a NetSupport Control and Client.

Installing / configuring a serial cable device

In order to establish the connection between the two machines you must install and configure a serial cable device, the following section provides the steps required to do this on each operating system.

Windows Me, 9x and Windows NT 4.0

The serial cable device is installed in the Modem utility in Control Panel and is listed under [Standard Modem Types] as "Dial-Up Networking Serial Cable between 2 PCs.". You will have to add this device manually as it will not be detected automatically.

The serial cable device is configured in the System utility in Control Panel. Click the Device Manager tab, double-click Modems, and then double- click Serial Cable On ComX (where 'x' is the COM port where your cable is attached.) Make sure the speed set here matches the speed of the machine that will be attached to the other end of the serial connection.

Windows 2000

The serial cable device is installed in the Modems tab within the Phone and Modem options utility in Control Panel and is listed under [Standard Modem Types] as "Communications cable between two computers". You will have to add this device manually as it will not be detected automatically.

The serial cable device is configured in the System utility in Control Panel. Click the Device Manager tab, double-click Modems, and then double- click Serial Cable On ComX (where 'x' is the COM port where your cable is attached.) Make sure the speed set here matches the speed of the machine that will be attached to the other end of the serial connection.

For additional information on null-modem (serial) cables, such as the proper pin-out configuration to work with the setups above, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q142324 Cables That Are Compatible With Direct Cable Connection

Windows XP

Please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base

HOW TO: Set Up a Direct Cable Connection Between Two Windows XP-Based Computers (Q305621)

Configuring the NetSupport Client to listen for connections over the Serial cable

The NetSupport Client Bridge provides the interface between NetSupport Client and serial cable connection thus allowing the NetSupport Control to connect.

To configure the NetSupport Client Bridge perform the following at the Client.

1.	Start the NetSupport Client Configurator, {Start}{Programs}{NetSupport}{NetSupport Configurator}

2.	Select the Basic or Advanced Configurator followed by Connectivity-Dialin Bridge.

3.	Choose the Transport protocol to run NetSupport over.

4.	Choose whether to Load the Bridge at Startup.

5.	In the Modem Section select the Serial cable device as installed above.

Configuring the NetSupport Control to connect to a NetSupport Client over a Serial cable

The NetSupport Control must firstly be configured to use the serial cable connection as follows:

1.	Start the NetSupport Control.

2.	Select {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu if updating a specific Control profile or click Settings on the Toolbar if changing the Standard profile.

3.	Choose Connectivity-Remote Dialup.

4.	In the Modem Section select the Serial cable device as installed above.

5.	Click Ok and followed by Close to exit the configuration dialog.

You must then configure a Remote Network to Dial the Client at the other end of the serial cable.

1.	Select {Network}{Remote}{New} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	The "Add a remote Network" Dialog will be displayed.

3.	Enter a name for the connection and a description if you wish and click Next.

4.	Enter 0 as the Telephone Number of the NetSupport Bridge to Dial.

5.	In the Connectivity section select the Network transport to be used (this must be the same as that configured at the Client Bridge)

6.	Once a dial up or serial link has been established, operation is the same as on a LAN.


ActiveX - Compress

Name:       Compress

Syntax:      Get the property value: Variable = Object. Compress

      Set the property value: Object. Compress = Value

Valid Values for Compress:

0 – Compression Off (Default)

1 – Compression On

Description: Sets the compression level for transmissions between Control and Client. The Compression level is only used when the Connect method is called and therefore if the compression level is changed after the Connect() method has been called you must call the Disconnect() method and then the Connect() method before the new Compression setting will be used.

Example:

CTLAX.Init(“*”)

CTLAX.Client=”10.0.0.1”

CTLAX.Compress=1

CTLAX.Connect()


ActiveX - Encrypt

Name:       Encrypt

Syntax:      Get the property value: Variable = Object. Encrypt

      Set the property value: Object. Encrypt = Value

Valid Values for Encrypt:

0 – Encryption Off (Default)

1 – Encryption On

Description: Sets the Encryption level for transmissions between Control and Client. The default value is 0. The Encryption level is only used when the Connect() method is called and therefore if the Encryption level is changed after the Connect() method has been called you must call the Disconnect() method and then the Connect() method before the new Encryption setting will be used.

Example:

CTLAX.Init(“*”)

CTLAX.Client=”10.0.0.1”

CTLAX. Encryption =1

CTLAX.Connect()


ActiveX - SecurityKey

Name:       SecurityKey

Syntax:      Get the property value: Variable = Object. SecurityKey

                   Set the property value: Object. SecurityKey = Value

Description: Sets the Security Key for authentication when the connect() method is called.

If a client is configured to use a security Key then this property allows the ActiveX Controls Security Key to be set to allow a connection to the client. If a SecurityKey is to be used it must be set before calling the Connect() Method.

Note:	The NetSupport Client supports setting the Security Key to * and this will then use the Clients serial number as the Security Key. The SecurityKey Value does not support the use of * at the client machine.

Example:

CTLAX.Init(“*”)

CTLAX.Client=”10.0.0.1”

CTLAX.SecurityKey =”testkey”

CTLAX.Connect()


ActiveX - SetAudio

Name:       SetAudio

Syntax:      Get the property value: Variable = Object. SetAudio

      Set the property value: Object. SetAudio = Value

Description: Sets the level of Audio support for the ActiveX Control. Using this setting it is possible to use the Audio features of NetSupport with the ActiveX Control. The Audio support will only be active if the ActiveX Control has the focus. The focus can be set to the control by calling the Activate() Method.

Valid Values for SetAudio are:

0 – Audio Off (Default)

1 – Talk and Listen

2 – Talk

3 – Listen

Example:

CTLAX.Init(“*”)

CTLAX.Client=”10.0.0.1”

CTLAX.Connect()

CTLAX.SetAudio=1


ActiveX - SetThreshold

Name:       SetThreshold

Syntax:      Get the property value: Variable = Object. SetThreshold

      Set the property value: Object. SetThreshold = Value

Valid Values for SetThreshold are:

0 to 100

Description: Sets the Threshold limit for background noise picked up by a microphone when using the Audio features of the ActiveX Control

Example:

CTLAX.Init(“*”)

CTLAX.Client=”10.0.0.1”

CTLAX.Connect()

CTLAX.SetThreshold=10

CTLAX.SetAudio=1


ActiveX - Activate

Name:       Activate

Syntax:      Object.Activate(Focus)

Description: Sets the focus for the ActiveX control. This can be used after setting audio properties to set the ActiveX control to have the focus and therefore allowing the Audio to be heard.

Valid Values for Focus:

True = Sets the Object to have the focus

False = Sets the Object not to have focus

Example:

CTLAX.Init(“*”)

CTLAX.Client=”10.0.0.1”

CTLAX.Connect()

CTLAX.SetThreshold=10

CTLAX.SetAudio=1

CTLAX.Activate(True)


ActiveX - ShowMessages

Name:       ShowMessages

Syntax:      Get the property value: Variable = Object. ShowMessages

      Set the property value: Object. ShowMessages = Value

Valid Values for ShowMessages:

0 – Error Messages Off (Default)

1 – Error Messages On

Description: This property allows the NSM Error messages to be switched on or off. This can be particularly useful when you are capturing the errors from the connect method to perform some action if the connection fails.

Example:

On Error Resume Next

CTLAX.Client($CLIENTADDR$)

CTLAX.ShowMessages=0 ‘ Switch off NetSupport Error Messages

CTLAX.Connect() ’ Will connect to the Client running the NetSupport Web Extensions

If Err.Number <>0 then ‘ Check id an error occurred

‘ Do something if the connect fails

Err.Clear

End If

CTLAX.ShowMessages=1  ‘ Switch on NetSupport Error Messages


Hardware and Software Requirements (NetSupport Manager)

IBM compatible 486 or higher with 4Mb RAM

10Mb free disk space

NetSupport Manager supports:

DOS, Win 95/8, Win NT , Win ME, Win 2000, Win XP and Win 2003

IPX/SPX, NetBIOS or TCP/IP (under Windows Sockets)

*MAC support compatible with VNC Client

LINUX REQUIREMENTS:

The NetSupport Manager 9 Linux client supports at the time of release, SuSE, Red Hat / Enterprise, Mandrake and Fedora distributions.

POCKET PC:

Operating System: Pocket PC 2003 or above

ActiveSync / WiFi wireless LAN capabilities

Device RAM: 32Mb

Storage: 5Mb free space required


Hardware and Software Requirements (NetSupport School)

Hardware

Control (Tutor) and Client (Student)

100% IBM compatible, 80386SX or higher

Software

Control and Client (depending on Network protocol)

Windows 2003/XP/Me/2000/98/95 or

Windows NT 4

NetBIOS/NetBEUI, IPX or TCP/IP

See also

System Pre-Requisites


Networking Requirements

This section sets out the Networking requirements for running NetSupport.

NetBEUI and NetBIOS

If you are using NetSupport configured for NetBEUI and/or NetBIOS support as the default protocol then no further changes are required to either the Client or the Control workstations.

If NetBEUI is not the default then you must make sure that the Control and Client are configured to use an alternate NetBIOS Adapter.

Use NBSTATUS to determine NetBIOS Adapter numbers and then set the Adapter number for NetSupport using the Configurator.

Note: We do not advise running the Client on NetBIOS over TCP/IP - it will hang, GPF or reboot the workstation.

IPX

To run a NetSupport IPX Client under IPX, simply ensure that you have installed IPX support.

If you are using Novell's NetWare Client for NT, you must install the NetSupport Client after installing the Novell Client.

Make sure that all workstations are using the same frame type. You can check/change this in {Control Panel}{Network}{Protocols}{IPX/SPX Compatible Protocol}{Properties}{Advanced}{Frame Type}.

If your system completely locks up, expand file NWLINK.VXD from the NetSupport release disks and copy it to your WIN95\SYSTEM, directory.  The version of this file shipped with Windows 95 and Windows 95B contains a “problem”, but it does not seem to affect all workstations.  This affects both the Control and the Client.

TCP/IP

If you are using NetSupport in a Windows environment configured for TCP/IP support then no further changes are required to either the Client or the Control workstations.

Note: If your workstation has more than one IP address, the Client will only report the first in the Application Event Log and in the about box.  It will listen on all IP addresses, however.

Connecting by hostname on Windows 95B (OSR2) seems to take forever if you have configured a Domain Name Server in Control Panel, Network but the server is not available.

Dial-up Networking

Both the Client and the Control work correctly over Windows 95 Dial-up networking with all protocols.

You can use Windows 95's Dial-up Networking to dial into your Internet service provider (TCP/IP only), a RAS server or any other PPP server.

If using IPX make sure that all workstations are using the same frame type.  See Windows 95 - IPX.


Changes to Windows 95 System Files

NetSupport makes minimal changes to your system files.  These are made automatically when you install NetSupport or run the NetSupport Configurator.

Most of these changes are needed for the Client only.  The Control programs require only those changes marked with an asterisk.  The exception is if you will be using the Show Feature in which case you must also install the Client.

The changes to SYSTEM.INI made by the NetSupport Set-up program are:

[Boot] Section

Display.drv=drivername 	Changed to Display.drv=path\NSMVGA.DRV

Display.old=Olddrivername	Added

Display.nsm=NSMVGA.DRV 	Added

wclient=path\CLIENT32.EXE	*Added on Windows 95 systems

[386Enh] Section

NetHeapSize=16	* Added unless already greater than 16

Device=NSMVXD.386	* Added

Notes

•	NSM Files NSMVGA.DRV, PROCHOOK.DLL are installed in the system directory.

•	The NetSupport video driver, NSMVGA.DRV, uses the video driver defined by Display.old.  This will be the same your original video driver when NSM was installed.

•	If you change your video setting using Set-up, Display.drv will be set to the new value and you must run "Reset Video Driver" from the NetSupport Program Manager Group to change it back to NSMVGA.DRV.  This will also update Display.old with the filename of the new driver.

•	Under Windows 95, you can elect to load NSMVGA.DRV via the registry.  To do this run "Reset Video Driver" after installing NSM.  This permits changing screen resolution without rebooting with some video cards.

•	If you do run NSMVGA via the registry the DISPLAY.DRV line in SYSTEM.INI will read Display.drv=pnpdrvr.drv.

•	In an emergency, you can edit SYSTEM.INI directly to amend the Display.drv line.  (Display.drv=vga.drv always works).  You can then reinstall your desired video driver and then run "Reset Video Driver".


Changes to NT4 Registry and System Files

The following changes are made when the NetSupport Client is installed on Windows NT4.

On installation of NetSupport, the following files are installed on an NT4 PC.

In the WINNT\SYSTEM32 Directory:

GDIHOOK4.DLL

CLHOOK4.DLLl

PCIGINA.DLL

PCIMON.DLL	 which is renamed to LOCALMON.DLL

In the WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS Directory:

PCISYS.SYS	(NT4.00 only)

Changes to the system Registry:

To locate these entries use the find option in REGEDIT.

GDIHOOK4.DLL is inserted before each listed driver in registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\<videodriver>\Device0\InstalledDisplayDrivers.

To determine the <videodriver>, look in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\VIDEO\Device\Video0.

PCIGINA.DLL is loaded via the registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\GinaDLL.  The previous GINA DLL (usually MSGina) is moved and loaded from key GinaDLL.old

Event log sources (i.e. where your event log is stored) are set up in registry keys HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Application\PCIApp and in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\System\PCISys.

The Client is installed as a service in registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Client32\.  The Image Path registry entry in this key contains the Client command line parameters.

The device driver PCISYS.SYS is installed via registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PCISys.

File SYSTEM32\LOCALMON.DLL is renamed to LOCALMON.ORG, and a PCIMON.DLL is copied to this directory and renamed to LOCALMON.DLL.

An entry is added to the AUTOEXEC.NT file to enable full screen DOS box support.


Dialling into Windows 2000, NT and XP using RAS

The NetSupport Bridge supports NetBIOS and IPX.  This section discusses running NetSupport over RAS, which supports all protocols simultaneously.

A RAS server is supplied with Windows NT/2000/XP.  The Windows 95 plus pack supplies a cut-down RAS server that only supports NetBEUI.  Once dialled into a RAS server, the NetSupport Control can connect to any Client on the network to which the RAS server is attached.

You can dial into a RAS server from Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME. You can also dial into your Internet service provider or any other PPP server in the same way.

IPX

If you do not have a NetWare server on the network to which the RAS server is connected, you must assign a non-zero IPX network number to that network on the RAS server workstation. Any other workstations that assign this number must use the same value.

On Windows 2000, this is done from Network and Dialup Connections. Select the network connection, right click and choose Properties. Select the IPX protocol and press properties.

On NT 4, this is done from {Control Panel}{Network}{Protocols}{NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport}{Properties}.

NetSupport's {Lookup} function may not work - see Lookup does not find the loaded Clients.

When dialling out from an NT workstation, you may need to set the Frame Type in {Control Panel}{Network}{NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport}{Configure}.  Select Remote Access Wan Wrapper from the Adapter list.

NetBIOS

With the link dialled up, run NBSTATUS on the Control workstation to determine the correct NetBIOS Adapter number to use at the Control to connect to Clients over the link.

Under NT, you can also check NetBIOS Adapter numbers in {Control Panel}{Network}{Services}{NetBIOS Interface}.

TCP/IP

Ensure that your gateway and DNS or WINS server are correctly set up in {Control Panel}{Network}{TCP/IP Protocol}{Configure} or {Properties}.  To test this, use PING.EXE


Uninstalling

To uninstall NetSupport, run the 'Uninstall' icon from Program Manager or select the NetSupport option in Control Panel – Add/Remove Programs.


Unloading a Client

Should you wish to unload the NetSupport Client on Windows ME/98/95, you can obtain a utility called Clunload.exe from our company website.

For NT/2000/XP

Use Net Stop Client32 from the command line.


Windows XP/2000/NT Client - Full Screen DOS Box Support

The Windows XP/2000/NT Client supports full screen DOS applications using a TSR, NTFSDB.EXE, which must be loaded in each DOS session.

The installer adds NTFSDB to WINNT\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT, which is the file run when a DOS session initialises.  You can remove or comment out this line if you do not want to use this feature.  This will make more memory available to your DOS applications.

NTFSDB uses about 12k of DOS memory, and usually loads high.  To get a list of NTFSDB command line switches, type NTFSDB /?.  If you want to use any of these, or disable full screen DOS box support, edit AUTOEXEC.NT manually.

NetSupport does *not* currently support 32 bit console apps, nor does the NT 32 bit command processor (CMD.EXE).  You can get around the latter problem in one of the following ways:

•	Set up an icon to run the DOS application from the desktop

•	Start your DOS application from a command window, then press <Alt+Enter>.  When the DOS app terminates, press <Alt+Enter> again to return to Windowed mode

•	Set up an icon to run COMMAND.COM.  Note that if you do this, you lose the 'command line recall' facility

•	Use a third party DOS shell

When using option 3, if you see the message 'out of environment space', append “/E:1024” to the icon's command line.

If you want to set your PATH or any other environment variable, from a batch file, use NT's FORCEDOS command, e.g. FORCEDOS SETPATH.BAT


DOS graphic modes supported from a Windows Control

The Windows Control supports the following DOS graphics modes:

•	SVGA 800 x 600 x 16	(specify graphics mode with /G)

•	EGA  320 x 200 x 16	(mode 0x0D)

•	EGA  640 x 200 x 16	(mode 0x0E)

•	EGA  640 x 350 x 2	(mode 0x0F)

•	EGA  640 x 350 x 16	(mode 0x10)

•	VGA  640 x 480 x 2	(mode 0x11)

•	VGA  640 x 480 x 16	(mode 0x12)

Note: The Windows Control does not track changes to the EGA Palette or VGA DAC

Registers.  Applications that use these features will display incorrect colours at the Control.


How to connect to Clients on different NetBIOS adapters

NetBIOS adapters are treated as separate transports with in the Control. The Transport Configuration dialog lists the available adapters along with a description i.e. NetBEUI or TCP/IP NetBIOS.

You can set multiple NetBIOS adapter support by highlighting the appropriate adapters in the list.

When connecting to Clients over NetBIOS it is important that you include the correct adapter number at the Control. The most common adapter type for Local LANs using NetBIOS is NetBEUI. The NetBEUI adapter can have a different numerical value between workstations so it is important that you set this correctly for both Client and Control.

If you want to connect to a Client that is using NetBEUI on adapter 0 then you need to configure the Control to use NetBEUI. This may not necessarily be adapter 0, as long as it’s name matches you will be able to connect to the Client.


Limitations

NetSupport aims to make you feel that you are seated in front of the Client workstation you are remote controlling.  There are some limitations however, and these are listed below.

General Limitations

•	The Inventory functions included with NetSupport Manager are designed to run over TCP/IP. The Network adapter details will not be displayed if TCP/IP is not installed.

•	Print output cannot currently be captured from a Network printer at the Client.

•	By default Software application packages that by-pass GDI video calls cannot be viewed using the NetSupport Control program. In certain circumstances it may be possible to view the application using "Screen Scrape Mode”.

 Please refer to the NetSupport Technical Support Web site   www.netsupportsoftware.com/support for further guidance.

Functionality Limitations Across a NetSupport Gateway

You may experience problems when using the following features across a Gateway:

Client Connect.

Power On.

ActiveX.

Help request to specified controls.

Show.

Broadcast Show.

Broadcast messages.

Connect on start up.

Any function that specifically requires UDP.

Windows 2000 Known Issues

If you are upgrading your operating system to Windows 2000 you must ensure that you de-install NetSupport prior to upgrading. NetSupport can then be re-installed once the operating system upgrade has been completed.

Windows 95 and 98

•	You cannot remote control the Close Program dialog (CTL-ALT-DEL); invoking this will hang the Client workstation.

•	Changing screen resolution without rebooting does not work with all video cards (see Reset Video Driver.

•	Colour cursors are displayed in monochrome at the Control.

•	The Client does not send the NumLock, CapsLock and ScrollLock lights to the Control when viewing a windowed DOS box.

Windows NT

•	Full screen applications (including the NT command prompt, CMD.EXE) are not supported (you can type, but you cannot see them).  DOS applications running full screen are supported, however.

•	Colour cursors are displayed in monochrome at the Control.

•	If you change the colour depth without restarting NT, you need to stop and restart the Client to get colours displayed correctly at the Control.


NetSupport Licencing

When you purchase NetSupport you are allocated a Serial Number. This combined with your company name and product related information is used to produce a unique software licence key that enables you to use the product.  You can enter your Licence and generate your key during installation or you can use the NetSupport Licence Manager described below to generate a licence key after installation.

Note: NetSupport is Licenced by each workstation that it is installed or used on. It is not licenced by concurrent usage. Therefore if you have 100 workstations on which you install or run a NetSupport Client or Control you must buy a 100 User licence even if the software is loaded from a Server. See License Agreement.

Entering Licence details during installation

If you are installing NetSupport from the original installation media you will be prompted to enter your Licence information. By entering the information provided on your serialisation certificate you will create your unique licence key during the installation of the product. The licence key is stored in a file called NSM.LIC which resides in the directory in which you installed NetSupport

Notes

•	If when prompted for your licence information, you enter EVAL in the licensee field and leave the other fields unchanged you can install NetSupport for a 30-day evaluation period.

•	If you copy the contents of your installation files to a server directory and replace the default NSM.LIC with your NSM.LIC file generated from your serialisation certificate details, installs ran from the server directory will automatically use your generated key and the installer will no longer prompt you to enter licence information. This is particularly useful if you are installing on large numbers of workstations and when combined with the silent install facilities (refer to the defaults.txt file for details of how to do this) enables you to fully automate the installation of the product.

Limitations

The installer program will enable you to generate your licence key for the majority of keys but it does not support some of the advanced key options.

The following types of keys cannot be generated by the installer program

•	Demand load keys

•	Quiet mode keys

•	Special evaluation keys with extended expiry dates

For these types of keys you will need to use the NetSupport Licence Manager described below

Generating Licence Keys without installing

There are a number of reasons why you may need to do this:-

•	You have previously installed using an EVAL key and do not want to re-install

•	You have a special type of key (see limitations in the above section)

You can use a utility called the NetSupport Licence Manager to generate the licence key. Then you can distribute the key to workstations that have NetSupport already installed or use the generated key to replace the default key supplied on the installation media for new installations.

To start the NetSupport Licence Manager, run PCILIC.EXE which you can find in

the directory where you have installed NetSupport.

When it loads it reads in the details from your existing licence file called NSM.LIC and allows you to update the information.

PCILIC.EXE can also be found on your installation media in compressed format. To uncompress copy PCILIC.EX_ and the expand program EXPAND.EXE to a temporary location and run EXPAND PCILIC.EX_ PCILIC.EXE

There are four Tabs in the NetSupport Licence Manager

•	General

•	Advanced

•	Defaults

•	Enforce

The information must be entered exactly as it appears on your Licence Certificate. The process is case sensitive and needs to be exact. If your Authorisation key does not match the information that you enter, the licence key will fail to be generated.

GENERAL TAB

In most cases this is the only information that you will need to change. Here you enter the details from your serialisation certificate.

Licensed to	This is usually your company name

Max Clients	This is the number of client licences that you have purchased

Serial Number 	This is your unique serial number

Expiry Date	If you have purchased the product you will enter 0 in this field as there will not be an expiry date. If you have been provided a special evaluation key you will enter the date supplied.

When you have completed making the changes to this and any other Tabs you will need to enter your authorisation code and select the generate button to create your updated licence key file. If this fails please check and re-enter the details. Also see below for details of common problems.

ADVANCED TAB

You will only need to check the boxes on this tab if you have specifically asked for the functions provided when placing your order

Demand Load Key: This type of key is only provided where specialist requirements prevent the Client program from loading on start-up of the client workstation.

Quiet Client: This type of key is provided to prevent the client icon from displaying

DEFAULTS TAB

Settings are placed in this Tab to change NetSupport default configuration settings. Please leave this tab unchanged unless advised otherwise

Enforce Tab

Settings are placed in this Tab to change / disable NetSupport functions. Please leave this tab unchanged unless advised otherwise

COMMON PROBLEMS:-

•	The process is case sensitive please enter as per the serialisation certificate

•	Entering additional spaces between text

Once you have successfully generated your licence key (NSM.LIC file) you can distribute the file to the workstations that you have previously installed the product on. Alternatively, you can use it to replace the default NSM.LIC on your installation media when installing on new workstations


Resolve Initial Network Errors

When you start NetSupport Manager for the first time, the network transports are loaded and may result in an error.  These errors usually indicate that one of the transports NetSupport uses is unavailable.

By default, NetSupport will have set TCP/IP as the default protocol, so it's worth checking your settings before you proceed.

Select {Network}{Configure} from the Control drop down menu bar. Each transport will be identified and you can select which of these are to be used.

For each transport you select click on the [Test] button. This will check that the stack is installed and properly configured.

For NetBIOS, you must also select the NetBIOS adapter to use by selecting it. Normally this will be the stack identified as NetBEUI.


Using NetSupport's security features effectively!

NetSupport has a large number of security features that can be used to restrict access to the Control and Client. Knowing how these work together and their limitations is useful when planning your security policy.

Firstly, we recommend that if you want to restrict access to or protect a Client you do it at the Client, not at the Control.

There are a number of reasons for this. If the workstation contains sensitive information that you want to protect it is likely that the workstation will have some physical security measures. Perhaps it is located in a locked room, a restricted area or maybe it has some local security measures  e.g. it runs NT using NTFS)

It doesn’t matter how good the NetSupport Client’s security is if people can just walk up to the workstation and access the information.

We recommend the following measures are used to secure a NetSupport Client. They are ranked from most secure to least secure. See the help in the Client Configurator for more information.

•	Physically protect access to the workstation.

•	Use a secure operating system such as NT and use its security to protect the workstation locally. i.e. use NTFS and user profiles for NT.

•	Store the Client Configuration files in a secure area such as NT Server.

•	Set Client Profiles that restrict the access rights that individual Control users or Groups of Users have to what they actually need.

•	Set a security key at the Control and Client. This only allows Controls to connect to the Client only if they have the same security key. For example, you can use this function to provide someone in a department with access to their departments workstations only.

•	Use the audit log/event log so you can determine who has connected and when.

•	Disable features at the Client that you know the Control User will not  need. For example, disable File Transfer or set Watch Only if you don’t want people to manipulate the screen.

•	For NT Client Workstations use the NT Security features such as validate USERID.

•	Set a password on the Configurator and restrict access to who can run it.

•	Password protect the Controls and set Control profiles for individual users.

•	Set restrictions in the Control Profile for accessing certain features like File Transfer, Viewing, Show etc.


Using the Client cache efficiently

NetSupport can store areas of the Client screen in local memory. This enables the Control to determine whether it needs to get the area from the Client (relatively slow) or from local memory (fast), this is commonly referred to as a cache.

The Client and Control use the same size cache, the size of the cache for the Client is set via the Configurator, the size of the Control cache is set in the View settings. The lower of the Control and Client values is used.

Use the Cache tab of the About box to determine how efficiently the cache is currently working. If the hit rate is low then not many items have been requested from the cache (or your remote control session has not been very intensive). You could save memory by reducing the size of the cache. If the hit rate is high then the cache is being used heavily, in this case you may like to increase the size of the cache to speed up the remote control session.

The cache on the Control is created for each Client when it is viewed, bear this in mind if you regularly view multiple Client’s screens. If each Client has a 4Mbyte cache and you view 6 of them, the Control will allocate 24Mbytes of memory. If the total size of all the caches exceeds you physical memory size then the operating system will start paging memory to disk, this will affect the performance of the cache.

If you have Clients with different cache sizes set, configure the Controls to be as big as the largest Client setting. That way the Control will always allocate the largest cache the Client can support.


Using Compression efficiently

Compression can be configured to three different settings, on, off or Delta File Transfer.  When compression is turned on, screen data and file transfer operations are compressed. However, if a file is transferred that is already stored compressed (such as a zipped file or certain graphic files) NetSupport will stop trying to compress it further after 64KBytes. If User Compression is turned on then the file is compressed no matter what its internal structure is, this can be useful for encrypting the file.

The compressing and decompressing of the information takes time. On a dial up link the overhead of compressing and decompressing is minimal compared to the transfer speed of the modems. However, on a local LAN, if either the Control and/or Client are low specification workstations the time taken to compress, transfer the data and then decompress can be greater than just sending the information directly. In this case, it is probably better to turn compression off.

You can use the Compression Tab in the About box to determine if file and screen information is being compressed efficiently. Time copying files of known sizes to determine if compression is speeding up your connection to the Client.


Null Session Shares

These type of Shares are required when you need to access a share on an NT workstation and you cannot pass any user credentials to the WinNT workstation. For example, a Win95 workstation trying to connect to a WinNT share at startup before you have a chance to log in or a process running as “local system” which tries to access files on a WinNT share. These are needed for NetSupport when you are using a centrally stored Client Configuration file on an NT workstation and you are trying to access it with a non-NT workstation.

This is covered in greater detail in the NT 4.0 resource kit, file regentry.hlp (look up Null Sessions Shares in the index).

To create a Share session

1.	From {Start}{Run} run the regedt32 utility.

Note: the regedit utility is not able to make these changes.

2.	Click on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

3.	Navigate to the Registry Branch - System/Current Control Set/Services/Lanman Server/Parameters.

4.	If it is already there edit the value for the Null Session Shares key, if not add it:

•	Click {Edit}{Add Key}

•	Add a key called Null Session Shares of Type REG_MULTI_SZ

•	Add a value to the Null Session Shares key for each of the Shares that you wish to have one per line.

5.	If you have not done so create the Share on your local workstation.

Note: When you are browsing to these Shares in NetSupport you may need to enter a username and password. This won’t be required later when NetSupport is attempting to read or write to this Share.


NT Client Fails to Load

Symptom

After installing NetSupport on an NT Workstation, you re-start NT but the client fails to load.

Possible Causes

1.	You installed NetSupport but were not logged in as an NT Administrator at the time.

2.	You have or have previously had other Remote Control products installed.

Possible Solutions

1.	You need to ensure you are logged onto NT as Administrator when installing or de-installing NetSupport Manager. Logon as administrator and run the Set-up program again

2.	Uninstall the other product(s) before installing NetSupport Manager.

Notes

•	Any problems loading or running the NT Client are recorded in the System Event Log, and can be viewed with the Event Viewer program supplied with NT. Look for entries of type Error from source PCIsys.

•	The file winnt\system32\pcimsg.err may also contain error information, especially on NT 4.

•	If there is an error in the NT Event log "ERROR - Cannot open write pipe - is GDIHOOK installed" see GDIHOOK


Hotkeys do not work

Symptom

You press the Hotkey combination but nothing happens.

Possible Causes

1.	You have re-mapped the Hotkey combination to a different setting or one that is already used by another program.

2.	Your keyboard cannot handle three keys pressed simultaneously.

Solutions

1.	Change the Control's Hotkeys from the Configure menu, or the Client's hotkeys from the Configurator.

2.	Change the Hotkey combination to use only two keys.


Poor Performance over Dialup Links

Symptom

After allowing for the speed of the link, screen updates and file transfer, are slower than would be expected. If you have an external modem you may notice pauses of two to three seconds between sending and receiving data as indicated by the transmit and receive lights.

Possible Causes

1.	Poor line quality.

2.	The modem is receiving data faster than it can pass it to the PC. Characters are therefore being lost and Control is having to request the Client to re-send them.

3.	The PC is sending data to the modem faster than the modem can pass it on. The modem is unable to buffer the overflow and again characters are lost.

4.	The modems themselves may be incompatible.

5.	Wallpaper is enabled at the Client.

6.	Active Desktop is enabled at The Client.

7.	You are running in a high colour depth.

Solutions

1.	Disconnect and re-dial.

2.	Reduce the Baud rate between the PC and the modem.

3.	Enable hardware RTS/CTS flow Control on the modem.

4.	Try to use modems from the same manufacturer at each end.

5.	Set the option in the Control to turn off Wallpaper (default).

6.	Turn off Active Desktop at the Client.

7.	Configure the Control for a lower colour depth to reduce data volumes.

Notes

•	The PC-to-modem baud rate is an important figure. If this is set too high or too low then the modem may not be able to keep up with the PC or vice versa and data will be lost. This is one of the most frequent causes of communication failures.

•	We recommend the use of 16550 UARTs in the PC's, especially with Windows. Unlike the more common 16450 these UARTs have a 16 character buffer and can therefore run at higher speeds without losing data.

•	Use NetSupport's built-in Modem Diagnostics to tune your modem set-up and baud rate.


Clients not found on Browse

Symptom

Workstations that you know have the Client loaded are not listed by the Control's lookup function.

Possible Causes

1.	A network router has been configured to filter out broadcasts. When the Control looks for Clients it broadcasts a message asking all Clients to reply. If broadcasts are filtered out, Clients on the far side of the router will not receive it and thus receive no reply.

2.	The Client and the Control are using different network transport protocols.

3.	The Client and the Control are using incompatible NetBIOS stacks.

4.	The Client and the Control are using different IPX frame types.

5.	The Control cannot discover the Clients' IPX network number(s) (this applies if you dial in over RAS and have no NetWare server).

6.	On TCP/IP networks, you may need to add Broadcast_ entries to the [TCPIP] configuration .

Solutions

1.	If the offending router cannot be configured to transmit broadcasts, you can use Clients, Manual Connect to connect to the Client by network address.  In the Control, this adds an entry to the Client File, and thereafter you can use Clients, Connect.

2.	Check that the network transport protocol (IPX, NetBIOS or TCP/IP) reported in the Clients' and Control's About boxes are the same.

3.	Use NBSTATUS to report on NetBIOS stacks and adapter numbers.  If using RAS, see the comments under NetBIOS.

4.	See the IPX sections in the Technical Reference.

5.	See the Test Networks Section

6.	See TCPIP Configuration .

If one or more workstations on the network can successfully perform a Lookup, you can use it to build a Client File (which you can then copy to those that can't).


Running Dr. Watson

If NetSupport Manager has incompatibilities with hardware or software the information about the problem can be found in the Doctor Watson log (drwtsn32.log) normally found in the OS system directory.

Doctor Watson is installed and run automatically in Windows NT, installed but not run in Windows 98 and is not included as part of Windows 95.

More information about Dr Watson can be found in the Windows Help -> Dr Watson entries.


Keystrokes do not get through to Client

Symptom

You can see the Client's screen but keystrokes at the Control do not appear to be passed through.

Possible Causes

1.	You are watching instead of sharing or Controlling the Client.

2.	The application at the Client is 'Filtering out' the keystrokes.

3.	A key has got 'stuck' (in a software sense).

4.	The Client has become locked out.

Solutions

1.	Switch to sharing or Controlling.

2.	Try using the BIOS keyboard instead of the Low Level Keyboard and vice versa.

3.	Try tapping the CTRL, SHIFT and ALT keys.

4.	Disconnect and reconnect the Client.

If the problem is repeatable with a particular application, please submit a problem report to your vendor.


Colours are incorrect at the Control

Symptom

The Colours on the Client and the Control do not match.

Possible Causes

1.	You have incompatible video cards on the Control and the Client.

2.	The Windows Control does not handle DOS applications that change the colour palette.

3.	The Windows Client does not handle full screen DOS applications that change the colour palette.

4.	The colour palettes on the Client and Control are out of step.

5.	The Control and the Client are running at different colour depths (Windows).

6.	You have a video driver that NetSupport cannot handle.

Solutions

1.	If possible, run the application on another workstation, which will at least help to narrow down the problem.

2.	If you are using the Windows Control to control a DOS application, try using the DOS Control.

3.	Try running the offending DOS application in a window, or in DOS (with the DOS Client).

4.	Disconnect and reconnect the Client. This will cause the Client to re-send its colour palette.

5.	Try running the Control and the Client at the same colour depth. If the Control and Client are at different colour resolutions, for example a 16 colour Control watching a 256 colour Client, then NetSupport has to convert those colours. It is not always possible to find an exact match so an approximation is made.

6.	Try using the standard VGA driver (all cards should handle this).  If this fixes the problem, try to get hold of later Drivers from your video card vendor, or try running the Drivers for that card supplied with Windows.  If this fails, please contact NetSupport Technical Support.

Note: that background windows on 256 colour workstations do not always appear correctly.  This is a compromise between faithful colour rendition and good performance.


Browse does not find IPX Clients

You need to ensure that you are using the same IPX frame type at both the Control and the Client.  Otherwise you may find problems detecting the Client.  Using Auto detect (default) does not always set this correctly.  It is best to set it explicitly it at both the Control and the Client.

This is done by choosing Control Panel -> Network -> Protocols -> IPX -> Properties and setting the frame type.  Normally this is set to 802.3.

More information about Dr Watson can be found in the Windows Help -> Dr Watson entries.


Setting the correct NetBIOS Adapter Number

Using Net Support Manager with an unavailable NetBIOS stack in Windows 98/95 will cause the computer to hang about 30 seconds into start up.  The logical location of the NetBIOS stacks can change in Win95/98 after any change of Network settings.

The best solution to this problem is to disable NetBIOS before making changes to your network settings.

Once this problem has occurred then there are two ways to fix it.

1.	Start up as normal and attempt to disable NetBIOS through the Configurator before the computer hangs.

2.	Start the workstation in safe mode (without any networking) and disable NetBIOS through the Configurator.

Note: That there appears to be a bug in the Windows 95 implementation of TCP/IP NetBIOS, which causes the workstation to ‘blue screen’.  Avoid this protocol on Windows 95 (it works OK on Windows NT and Windows 98).


The Control connects but cannot View Clients screen's

Symptom

The Control can connect to the Client, but the Client's screen does not appear at the Control.

Possible Causes

1.	The Control has missed something sent by the Client.

2.	You have a video driver that NetSupport cannot handle.

3.	On Windows 95, change the hardware acceleration in {Control Panel}{Display}{Settings}{Advanced}{Performance}. Try setting this to Full, and reduce it only if you have problems.

Solutions

1.	Stop and restart remote controlling, or disconnect and reconnect to the Client. This will cause the Client to re-send its screen to Control.

2.	Try using the standard VGA driver (all cards should handle this).  If this fixes the problem, try to get hold of later Drivers from your video card vendor, or try running the Drivers for the card supplied with Windows (if any).  If this fails, please contact NetSupport Technical Support.

3.	Change Hardware acceleration in {Control Panel}{System}{Performance}{Graphics}.  Try setting this to Full, and reduce it only if you have problems.


Text appears in wrong font at the Control

Symptom

The fonts on the Client and Control screens do not match.

Possible Causes

1.	The application running on the Client is using a screen font that is not available on the Control. Control uses the nearest available match that it finds in the Windows font mapper; the results are not always attractive.

2.	You are using a Windows Control to view a DOS Client.

Solutions

1.	The best solution is to make sure that whatever screen fonts are used on a Client are also available on the Control.  Installing the application in question on the Control workstation often achieves this.

2.	If the Client is running, try starting the Client with the Send Physical Fonts option (this only works for True Type fonts).

3.	If the application is running full-screen, try Change DOS Font.  If this fails, try using the DOS Control.

4.	If the application is running in a DOS box, try changing the font used for the DOS box at the Client.

Note: You can install additional fonts on the Control with Control Panel, Fonts.


Poor performance and/or Clients disconnect unexpectedly

Symptom

You have one or more Clients connected during a control session but they intermittently disconnect with the message <Client Name> has disconnected'.

Possible Causes

1.	Insufficient NetBIOS NCB's or TCP/IP buffers.

2.	The Network card and the video card, or another device, are sharing the same IRQ.

3.	A program monopolises one or other workstation for more than 30 seconds.

Solutions

1.	Make sure that the Network card has its own IRQ.

2.	Reconnect when the offending program lets you in.


IPX Control takes a long time to Browse or Connect

Symptom

The IPX Control takes more than a few seconds to connect to a Client by name, or excessive time when Browsing.

Possible Causes

On some networks, the list of network numbers discovered by the Control can be incorrect.  When the Control tries to communicate with non-existent network numbers, delays are encountered.

Solutions

On Windows 9x and NT Clients

1.	From the Control main Window choose Network Configure.

2.	Select Transport.

3.	Check the IPX Box and press the TEST button.

4.	Make sure that the IPX Networking is confirmed as working.

5.	Accept the prompt to Check IPX Numbers.

6.	Check the box to ignore Networks not responding.

You should also investigate why the Network numbers are not responding. It may be a router problem or more likely that the Network Numbers no longer exist but have not been deleted from a table on a server, bridge or router.

This condition is sometimes a transient one, caused by servers starting up or shutting down.


IPX Client takes a long time to load

Symptom

The IPX Client takes more than 30 seconds to load, and the workstation may be unresponsive during this time.

Possible Causes

On some networks, the list of network numbers discovered by the Client can be incorrect.  When the Client tries to communicate with non-existent network numbers, delays are encountered.

Solutions

1.	Run Client Configurator.

2.	Select Transport.

3.	Check the IPX Box and press the TEST button.

4.	Make sure that the IPX Networking is confirmed as working.

5.	Accept the prompt to Check IPX Numbers.

6.	Check the box to ignore Networks not responding

You should also investigate why the Network numbers are not responding. It may be a router problem or more likely that the Network Numbers no longer exist but have not been deleted from a table on a server, bridge or router.

See also: IPX Control Takes a Long Time to Lookup or Connect.


Cannot open write pipe - Is GDIHook Installed?

Symptom

The above error message is displayed in the NT Event log.

Cause

Some system files required by NetSupport are missing or have been incorrectly installed.

Solution

Refer to Changes to Windows NT4 Registry and System Files.

If the files do not exist then run the NetSupport Installation program again ensuring that you are logged in as an NT Administrator.

If the files do exist then run the utility "Reset Video driver" found in the NetSupport Manager folder,  (ENSURE YOU ARE LOGGED ONTO NT AS ADMINISTRATOR before running this). Re-start the workstation.

If after following the above procedure the problem persists, please report the problem through your distributor and provide the following information:-

Check the NT event log to see where you get the error CLIENT32: Cannot open write pipe (is GDIHOOK installed?). Record the bytes info displayed in the lower portion of the screen.

Check for the existence of a file called winnt\system32\pcimsg.err and check the contents for an entry corresponding to the time / date of the current error.

If you are proficient with using the NT utility REGEDIT you can refer to the help files "" and check the sections on GDIHOOK and PCISYS are registered correctly.  If the entries have not been correctly updated please record the current Key entries.


Windows Standby Mode

If you configure your Windows workstations to enter standby mode during periods of inactivity you will find that NetSupport Manager will not find the Clients when performing a browse of the network.

A connection to the Client will only be possible once the Client workstation has been resumed.


Restarting the Client

In order to save any changes made to a Profile the file Client32.INI must be saved. Once saved, Windows should be restarted for these changes to take effect. On Windows XP, 2000 and NT you can stop and start the Client32.INI from the Client Configurator dialog box.

To save changes made to a Profile

1. Choose {Save} from the File drop down menu in the Client Configurator dialog box.

To restart the Client from the Client Configurator dialog box

1.	Click on the Restart button on the toolbar. A general information and licence NetSupport dialog box will appear.

Or,

1.	From the File drop down menu, choose Stop Service. A dialog box will appear informing you that the Client32 Service is being stopped.

2.	From the File drop down menu, choose Restart Service.

3.	A dialog box will appear informing you that the Client32 Service is being started.

4.	A general information and licence NetSupport dialog box will appear.


Changes to Windows 2000/XP Registry and System Files

The following changes are made when the NetSupport Client is installed on Windows 2000 and XP.

In the WINNT\SYSTEM32 Directory:

GDIHOOK5.DLL

GDIHOOK5.INF

GDIHOOK5.SYS

PCIGINA.DLL

CLHOOK4.DLL

In the WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS Directory:

PCISYS.SYS

Changes to the system Registry:

To locate these entries use the find option in REGEDIT.

On Windows 2000 Only

PCIGINA.DLL is loaded via the registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\GinaDLL.  The previous GINA DLL (usually MSGina.dll) is loaded from key GinaDLL.old

Event log sources (i.e. where your event log is stored) are set up in registry keys HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Application\PCIApp and in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\System\PCISys.

The Client is installed as a service in registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Client32\.  The Image Path registry entry in this key contains the Client command line parameters.

The GDIHOOK5.SYS driver is installed as a device in registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\GDIHOOK5\.

The GDIHOOK5.SYS driver is registered in the system registry at

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

The PCISYS.SYS device driver is installed as a Device in the system registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PCISys.

Changes to the AUTOEXEC.NT file

An entry is added to the AUTOEXEC.NT file to enable full screen DOS box support.


Configuring The NetSupport Control For Subnet Browsing

Most corporate networks are made up of a number of small networks that are connected together in order to provide end users with access to network resources. NetSupport Manager incorporates features that allow a NetSupport Manager installation on one network to be used to remotely manage computers on another interconnected network.

Using NetSupport Manager in its default configuration will enable you to remotely manage computers on a remote LAN if connectivity to that remote LAN is provided by a WAN.

However there are some configuration changes that are required to allow a NetSupport Manager Control to browse for NetSupport Manager Clients on remote LAN’s. The configuration changes required are dependant on the network transport that you will be using with NetSupport Manager. The two most common transports that are used over WAN’s are TCP/IP and IPX.

See

IP Subnet Browsing

Browsing a remote IPX Network


Configuring the NetSupport Manager Control for IP Subnet Browsing

Before configuring NetSupport Manager to browse on a remote IP subnet it is useful to understand how IP addresses are made up and in particular what an IP Broadcast Address is. You will need to calculate the IP broadcast address for each subnet that you want NetSupport to browse, including the broadcast address for the local subnet on which the Control is installed.

See Understanding IP Addresses

To Configure the NetSupport Control to browse IP subnets

1.	Choose {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	Select the required Configuration file and click Connectivity and Startup Settings.

3.	Select Connectivity-TCP/IP. In the Browsing area click Settings.

4.	The Configure TCP/IP Client Browsing dialog will appear.

5.	Click Add  and enter the Broadcast Address of the Network you wish to browse.

6.	Click OK.

Notes:

•	When adding the address of a remote subnet, you must ensure that the broadcast address for the local subnet is also present. If not, the Control will not find any local clients when you perform a browse.

•	Some network Routers will suppress broadcast packets from being transmitted across WAN links. If this is the case then even if the Control is correctly configured you will not be able to browse the remote subnet.


Understanding IP Addresses

An IP address is made up of 4 bytes, each byte being made up of eight bits, which can have a value of 1 or 0. This gives possible IP addresses of 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.

Each IP address is also split into two portions, a network portion, which identifies the network the device is on, and the local or host portion, which identifies a particular device.

The subnet mask defines the position of this split between the network and host portions of the address, which is associated with the address. The subnet mask is also a four byte number. Each bit in the subnet mask that is set to 1 denotes that the corresponding bit in the IP address is part of the network portion.

For example if we have an IP address of 10.10.2.21 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0

IP Address	10	.	10	.	2	.	21
Subnet Mask	255	.	255	.	255	.	0
IP Address In Binary	00001010	.	00001010	.	00000010	.	00010101
Subnet Mask in Binary	11111111	.	11111111	.	11111111	.	00000000
Network Portion Of IP Address	00001010	.	00001010	.	00000010	.	00000000
Host Portion Of IP Address	00000000	.	00000000	.	00000000	.	00010101
Network Portion Of IP Address	10	.	10	.	2	.	0
Host Portion Of IP Address	0	.	0	.	0		21
Therefore when we send an IP packet to 10.10.2.21 we are actually sending a packet to device 21 on network 10.10.2.0

In the example above, the network 10.10.2.0 can have 256 host addresses, 0 to 255.  However, two of the host addresses, the first and last, on each IP network are reserved. The reserved host address with all bits set to 0 is the Network Address, and the one with bits set to 1 is the broadcast address.

In our example network of 10.10.2.0

10.10.2.0 is the network address

10.10.2.255 is the broadcast address.

When an IP packet is sent to a networks broadcast address each device on the IP network will receive this packet.

It is this IP network broadcast address, which is used when configuring NetSupport Manager Control to browse on an IP subnet other than its own.


Understanding IPX Addresses

An IPX address is made up of two portions, a network portion, which denotes which network a particular device is attached to, and a node portion, which denotes the physical device on the network.

The network portion of an IPX address is an eight digit hexadecimal number, valid network addresses ranging from 00000000 to FFFFFFFF. There are no reserved IPX network numbers, however each IPX network on an internetwork must have a unique network number.

The node portion of an IPX address is a 12 digit hexadecimal number, this is normally the MAC (Media Access Control) address. The MAC address is a unique number that is burnt into the EPROM of a network card by the cards manufacturer

Below is an example of an IPX address

Network		Node
00000001	:	0000E8D67295
When configuring a NetSupport Manager Control to browse a remote IPX network you must know the IPX network address of the remote network.

The NetSupport Client can display the IPX network number of the IPX network to which it is attached.

1.	From the Client Main Window select {Help}{About the Client}.

2.	Click Transports.

3.	The IPX address is shown in full. Make a note of the network portion of this address, it will be required when configuring the Control.


Configuring the NetSupport Manager Control to Browse Remote IPX Networks

Before configuring a NetSupport Control to browse a remote IPX network it is useful to understand how IPX addresses are formatted. You will need to have the IPX network numbers for each IPX network that you wish NetSupport Manager to browse, this includes the IPX network number for the local network on which the NetSupport Manager Control is installed.

See Understanding IPX Addresses

To Configure the NetSupport Control to Browse Remote IPX Networks

1.	Choose {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	Select the required Configuration file and click Connectivity and Startup Settings.

3.	Select Connectivity-IPX.

4.	Check the Use IPX and Record Clients’ Network Numbers options.

5.	In the Use Networks box enter each of the IPX network numbers that you wish NetSupport Manager to browse. If multiple network numbers are required, separate each with a comma (,).


Using Command Line Instructions

The NetSupport Control program, PCICTLUI.EXE, can be called from the command line. A range of parameters are available, enabling you to create shortcuts to many commonly used tasks.

Using these parameters you can, for example, create different Control profiles, set-up a connection to specific Clients, and then create a desktop icon to automatically execute the commands when required.

NetSupport Command Line Options

At the command line run ‘PCICTLUI.exe’, from the NetSupport Program folder, followed by the appropriate parameters:

/N	Loads a specific Control Configuration. (Created using {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu)

Note: When using control configuration profiles, it is advisable to password protect the configuration and keep the standard configuration unchanged to avoid locking yourself out of the control.

Syntax

PCICTLUI /NPROFILE NAME (where profile name = the stored configuration name)

/F	Used with /N, restricts the control to only use the specified profile. By including this parameter, you prevent the Control User from being able to alter or add configurations.

Syntax

PCICTLUI /N /FPROFILE NAME

/C	Connect to a specific Client by name or address.

Syntax

PCICTLUI /CNN.NN.NN.NN (where “NN.NN.NN.NN” = the IP Address or name of the required Client)

/V	Used in conjunction with /C, opens the View Window, in share mode, of the connected Client.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /V

/VC	Opens a View Window to the connected Client in Control Mode.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /VC

/VW	Opens a View Window to the connected Client in Watch Mode.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /VW

/VS	Opens a View Window to the connected Client in Share Mode.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /VS

/E	Used in conjunction with the /V options, opens the View Window without loading the Control. When the View Window is closed, the remote control session ends.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /V /E

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /VC /E

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /VW /E

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN /VS /E

/G	Connect to a defined group of Clients on startup.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /GNNNNN  (where NNNNN = the Group name)

/D	Dial into a Remote Network. Can be used in conjunction with /C

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /DNNNNN /Cxxxxx  (where NNNNN = the name of the Remote Network and xxxxx = the name of the Client to connect to)

/U	Specify the protocol to use. Use IP for IPX/SPX, TC for TCP/IP, and NBn for NETBIOS where n = the stack 0-7.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /Unb1 (where nb1 = netbios stack 1)

/R	Display a NetSupport replay file.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /RNNNNN.rpf  (where NNNNN.rpf = the file name)

/A	Open a Chat session with a selected Client.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN  /A

/I	Retrieves a Hardware/Software Inventory from the selected Client machine.

Syntax

PCICTLUI.EXE /CNN.NN.NN.NN  /I

See also

Profiling a control/Create Shortcut Icons

Remote Command Prompt Window


Changes to Windows 98/ME System Files

The following changes are made when the NetSupport Client is installed on Windows 98/Me.

On installation of NetSupport, the following system files are installed on Windows 98/Me PCs.

In the windows\system Directory:

PROCHOOK.DLL

PCIMSG.DLL

NSMVGA.DRV

Changes to the system Registry:

To locate these entries use the find option in REGEDIT.

The Client is installed as a service in registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\Microsoft\windows\Currentversion\RunServices.  NetSupport Client registry entry in this key contains the Client and its command line parameters.


System Pre-Requisites

Some areas of NetSupport’s functionality rely on the presence of certain files/applications.

General

Internet Explorer 4.01 service pack 2 or above.

Testing Module

The Test Designer requires MDAC 2.1 or higher and COMCTL32.dll version 5.80 or higher. During installation, NetSupport will check to see if these files are present and advise if not. However, if installing ‘silently’ using the NetSupport Deploy utility, you will not be warned if the files are missing.


Integration with Active Directory

NetSupport integrates with Microsoft’s Active Directory structure enabling you to centrally manage Client configurations and launch remote control sessions. By creating an appropriate Group Policy you can apply standardised Client Configurations to Client machines without the need to visit individual desktops.

To make the task a little easier NetSupport supplies a ready-made Administrative Template, NSMMASTER.ADM, containing the configurable options. When you install NetSupport the template is copied to the NetSupport Manager program folder. In turn, you will need to copy this to the folder containing any existing ADM templates.

To Apply Client Configuration Changes via Active Directory

1.	At the Domain Controller, select the Active Directory Users and Computers tool.

2.	Decide at which level to apply the policies, domain or organisational. Right-click and select the Group Policy tab.

3.	Select the desired policy to add the NetSupport template to and click Edit,

or

Select Add to create a new Policy.

4.	In the Group Policy Editor under Computer Configuration, select Administrative Templates.

5.	Right-click and select Add/Remove Templates.

6.	Click Add and specify the location of NetSupport’s ADM file and click Open. The new NetSupport policy will be added.

7.	Click Close.

By default, each NetSupport policy option is disabled.

Each time you make a change to an option, the Group Policy refresh interval will determine when it is applied to Client machines. If a remote control session is not currently active,  the Client will detect any changes to it’s own Administrative template and restart,  applying the new settings. If a remote control session is open, the Client will restart at the next available opportunity.

For an explanation of the Configuration options that are available, refer to the Configuring The Client section.

Note:	Please refer to the NetSupport Web site support area, www.netsupportsoftware.com/support for the latest information on Active directory policy files, instructions on upgrading from previous versions and applying NetSupport Client profiles within Active Directory.

Launching Remote Control Sessions

NetSupport’s integration with Active Directory also enables you to perform a range of common remote control tasks.

In order to enable these features a NetSupport Manager installation must be performed by at least one user who has Domain Admin Rights.

1.	At the Domain Controller, select the Active Directory Users and Computers tool.

2.	Select the organisational unit where your computer accounts are held.

3.	Right-click on the required computer account and select the required NetSupport operation.

Remote Control:	Launches the Control and automatically opens a View Window to  the selected Client machine.

Chat:	Launches the Control and opens a Chat session with the selected Client.

Inventory:	Retrieves a full Hardware/Software Inventory from the selected Client machine.

The NetSupport Client can be configured to validate user connections against members of Active Directory groups. See Client Configuration - User Validation .

See also

Integration With Explorer

Using Command Line Instructions


Installing a NetSupport Client on Pocket PC Devices

Support for Windows CE compatible devices is provided enabling installation of a NetSupport Client on Pocket PCs. A NetSupport Manager Control can then connect in the usual manner and perform a range of remote control tasks such as Chat, Message and File Transfer.

An MSI Installer can be used with Microsoft™ ActiveSync to install the Client on a Pocket PC Device that has WiFi wireless LAN capabilities.

1.	Before installing NetSupport Manager for CE ensure that the basic pre-requisites for your Pocket PC are in place. A relationship between your Control PC and the hand held device should be available and ActiveSync should be running.

2.	With your Pocket device connected to the Control PC, run NetSupport’s CE Installer. This is a downloadable utility. Please visit our downloads area at www.netsupportsoftware.com.

3.	The installer will detect the pocket device and install a NetSupport Manager CE Client. The usual Client icon will appear in the system tray. The CE Client Configurator utility will be installed at the Control PC in Program Files. The Pocket PC must be connected to the Control in order to configure the Client options.

4.	 With the Client installed, the Control can connect and open a standard view session.


Installing a NetSupport Client on Linux Platforms

A NetSupport Client can be installed on Linux platforms, designed to run on a Windows manager, enabling a Control to connect, view the screen of the remote user and perform a variety of remote control tasks.

Note:	NetSupport currently supports the following Linux Distributions: Red Hat, Fedora, SuSE, and Mandrake.

1.	A downloadable ZIP file containing the installation script and program files is available from our downloads area at www.netsupportsoftware.com. (Full installation instructions will also be available here)

2.	Download to a directory on the Linux machine.

3.	Extract the TAR BALL. A sub-directory called Install will be created.

4.	Point to the directory and run the installation. (As a Root User)

5.	The NetSupport Client will install to /usr/nsm, providing a Linux daemon.

6.	At the NetSupport Control connect to the Client in the usual manner.


Glossary Terms

A

ATX

Active X

Attribute

Audio

Auto-Scroll

Available Client

B

Baud Rate

Bridge

Broadcast Packets

Broadcast Show

Browse

C

Cache

CAPI

Chat

Client

Client.NSM

Client Information Box

Client List

Client Properties

Compression

Computer Name

Configurator

Connected Client

Control

Control Mode

D

Delta File Transfer

Dial-back password

Dial-up Networking

Direct Serial Link

Dual Channel Bonding

E

Encryption

Execute

Exhibit

F

File Distribution

File Manager

File Transfer

Firewall

Full Screen Mode

G

Gateway

Group

Group List

Group Properties

H

Help Requests

Hotkeys

HTTP

I

Icon

Inactivity Timeout

Initialise

IP Address

IPX/SPX

Inventory

J

K

Keyboard Layout

Known Clients

L

LAN

Leased Line

List View

Long File Name

M

MAC Address

Machine Name

Macro

Messages

Modem

Multimedia

Multiple Subscriber Number

N

Named Configuration

NetBEUI

NetBIOS

NetBIOS Adapter

NetSupport Administrator

Network Address

O

P

Physical Font

Port Number

Power Management

Print Capture

Profile

Properties

Protocol

Proxy Server

Q

R

RAS

Remote Access Service

Remote Communications

Remote Control

Remote Deploy

Remote Network Connection

Remote Networking

Replay Files

S

Scanning

Scale to Fit

Scheduling

Script

Security Keys

Selected Client

Settings

Share Mode

Showing

Silent Installation

Subnet

T

TAPI

TCP/IP

Testing Module

Tickle Packets

Transports

Tree View

U

Unattended

User Acknowledgement Required

V

Video Driver

Video Skipping

Viewing

VNC

W

WAN

Watch Mode

X

Y

Z


NetSupport Bridge

A module loaded on any Client, either on a standalone or networked workstation that provides dial-in access to that workstation or to any workstation on the same network with a NetSupport Client running on it.


Remote Network Connection

A connection over a NetSupport Dial-up Link as opposed to over the LAN.


Remote Access Service

Remote Access Service (RAS) is supplied with Windows NT and provides a means of connecting a remote workstation to a LAN using dial-up networking.  It supports IPX, NetBEUI and TCP/IP.

Once the connection has been made the remote workstation effectively becomes part of the LAN.


NetBIOS Adapter

As you can have more than one NetBios stack loaded, each stack is allocated an Adapter Number by the operating system. So for example, NetBEUI may be allocated Adapter 1, NetBIOS over TCP Adapter 2.


NetBIOS

A protocol used to enable workstations to communicate in a Networked environment.

NetBIOS, referred to as NetBEUI in the Microsoft environment, is a non-routable protocol suitable for small LANs.

Where routing, for example in a Wide Area Network, is required it is generally preferable to use another protocol such as TCP/IP.

In the Windows environment you can load multiple NetBEUI stacks by attaching them to different virtual adapters.


IPX/SPX

Internetwork Packet Exchange / Sequenced Packet Exchange. A network protocol developed by Novell to enable workstations and servers to communicate.

IPX/SPX is a routable, connection-orientated protocol that uses the MAC Address of the Network Adapter to uniquely identify the workstation and a network number to identify the network. SPX adds reliability to IPX by requesting acknowledgements to transmitted data. Windows NT implements IPX/SPX through NWLink.


Transports

The networking protocol that the Control or Client have been configured to use.

NetSupport supports TCP/IP, IPX, NetBIOS and HTTP.


Tickle Packets

Normally when a Client is connected to a Control, they send each other a tickle packet every 30 seconds.  This provides a check that the other end is still active and has not been turned off or subject to a network failure.

There may be occasions when the use of tickle packets is undesirable, for example over an ISDN line where you want the line to be dropped if there is no activity. You can turn off tickle packets at both the Client and the Control.


Broadcast packets

A packet broadcast to all workstations on a LAN rather than being addressed to specific network addresses.


Named Configuration

NetSupport supports the creation of named configurations for different Control users. By using a named configuration you can tailor the amount of functionality that a Control user will have according to their security level. For example, you might configure one user to have full functionality but another to have Watch only capability.

You create Named Configurations by choosing {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu bar.


Client

The workstation that is to be taken over. Sometimes called the Host.


Group

A sub-set of NetSupport Clients that have been “Grouped” together for faster and easier access.  Placing Clients in a Group allows you to connect to them in total and undertake actions such as file transfer to multiple Clients simultaneously.

Groups are stored in the Group Folder.


Known Clients

Clients that have previously been connected to and whose Network address is therefore Known. Known Clients are stored in the Clients Folder in the List View.


Port Number

When communicating over TCP/IP, an application needs a Port Number to be able to identify which packets are specifically for that application.

In the case of NetSupport, two default ports are used depending on the type of connection being made. The NetSupport Control uses port 5405 to send IP requests to Clients, the Client receiving incoming requests on the same port. To enable a Client  to call the Control, port 5421 is used.

If connecting to a NetSupport Client/Control over the Internet or anywhere that a router or firewall is involved it is important that the routing device be configured to allow packets on the appropriate NetSupport port.


Tree View

The Tree View Pane in the main Window provides an explorer like structure for creating, displaying and organising NetSupport objects such as Clients and Groups.


NetSupport Administrator

A person or persons with sufficient access rights to set up Control Named Configurations for other Control users.


Hotkeys

Short cut key combinations, set in the Control and Client Configurators.


Keyboard Layout

Normally the Control and the Client will be using the same Keyboard Layout, for example US English. There may be circumstances in which they are using different keyboards, for example English and German. In this case you must configure the Control to use the same Keyboard layout as the Client, otherwise incorrect characters may be displayed.

The key mappings i.e. what is sent from the Control to the Client is stored in the NetSupport file called Control.KBD. You can edit this file to set your own mappings.


Client.NSM

The NetSupport file in which Client names and network addresses are stored. It is located in the NetSupport directory and can be edited or copied to other Control workstations.


Share Mode

When a Client is being controlled in Share mode both the User at the Client and the Control can enter keystrokes and mouse movements.


Control Mode

When a Client is being controlled in Control mode only the User at the Control can enter keystrokes and mouse movements. The user at the Client is locked out.


Watch Mode

When a Client is being controlled in Watch mode only the User at the Client can enter keystrokes and mouse movements. The user at the Control is locked out.


Cache

A means of storing recently used data in memory rather than having to regenerate or retrieve from disk. NetSupport caches screen information to reduce the need to re-send it over the Network. The higher the cache the more likely that the Client screen information will already be available to the Control and therefore the screen update time will appear faster.


Client Properties

Additional information stored at the Control concerning Known Clients such as Name, Display Name, transport and Network Address.

Right clicking on a Client and choosing properties sets the information.

This information is displayed by setting the option from the Control Menu Bar, View Menu to Details.

The fields displayed are set using the View, Columns option from the Control menu Bar.


Showing

Displaying the Controls screen on Client screens. This is the opposite of Viewing a Clients screen at the Control.


Scanning

Cycling through each connected Client displaying its screen at the Control. This is an alternative to Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously where definition can be lost if Scale to Fit is used.


Help Requests

A message from a Client workstation to advise that they require assistance. Clients can specify which Control they send the help request to and the Control can specify when they are available to receive the message. Help Requests appear in the Help Request folder in the Tree View.


Client Information Box

A dialog displayed at the Client workstation by maximising the NetSupport Client icon and choosing Help, About.

The information displayed includes the Clients physical name, its transport and network address and its NetSupport serialisation details.


Long File names

NetSupport supports long file names in File Transfer. File names can be up to 128 characters.


Group Properties

Additional information stored at the Control concerning Groups such as Name, Description and which Clients are members of the Group.

Right clicking on a Group and choosing properties sets the information.

This information is displayed by setting the option from the Control Menu Bar, View Menu to Details.

The fields displayed are set using the View, Columns option from the Control menu Bar.


User Acknowledgement Option

A security option that can be set at NetSupport Clients that requires the Client to explicitly give permission for a Control to remote control it.


Dial Back Password

A security option on a NetSupport Bridge that causes it to Dial-Back the Remote Control attempting to connect through it.


Available Client

A workstation that a NetSupport Client is running on.


Client List

Once a Control has connected to a Client it becomes a Known Client and is stored in the Clients Folder in the Controls Tree View. Its details can then be displayed in the associated List View for the folder.


Group List

A List of Groups displayed in the List View when opening the Group Folder in the Tree View.


Browse

A means of searching the Network to auto-discover all NetSupport Clients and their Network addresses. Those found are displayed in the Browse Folder, or Gateways Folder if a Browse for Gateway Clients has been performed, of the Control Window Tree View.


Remote Networking

Connecting to a LAN from an external site by means of a dial-up link.


Full Screen Mode

You can View a Clients screen in Windowed Mode which allows you to see the NetSupport menus, or Full screen mode. In full screen mode the whole of the Control’s screen is used to display the Clients screen.


Auto-Scroll

When Viewing a Client in a Window the area of the Clients screen may be too large to display in a Window. Auto-scroll provides an alternative to scroll bars whereby the scrollbars are turned off and the mouse position is used to re-locate the screen. Another alternative is to turn on Scale to Fit, which will resize the Clients screen to fit the available View Window.


Control

The workstation that is used to take over another. Sometimes called the Viewer.


Viewing

Controlling a Client workstation on a Control workstation.


Network address

Whatever protocol it is running on a networked workstation has a network address. You can use this for connecting to a Client when all other methods fail.

The network address takes the form of: -

IPX

Network Number-Workstation Address e.g. 00000120-12345678

TCP/IP

123.124.125.255

NetBIOS

NetBIOS uses a Name only and is not routable


Computer Name

A name typically used on Microsoft networks to identify a particular workstation on the network. Also called the Machine Name.


NetSupport Configurator

A utility supplied with NetSupport that simplifies the process of Configuring Clients. It is started from the NetSupport Program manager Group.


LAN

Local Area Network. A group of workstations and other devises dispersed over a relatively limited area and connected by a communications link that enables any devise to interact with any other device on the network.


WAN

Wide Area Network. Network, usually constructed with serial lines, extending over distances.

NetSupport Manager incorporates features that allow a NetSupport Manager installation on one network to be used to remotely manage workstations on another interconnected network.


List View

The List View displays the contents of the currently selected Folder in the Tree View. You can switch the display mode between icon and detailed view. The information within the List View can also be customised to show specific information, choose {View}{Toolbar - Customise}.


Selected Client

When you click on the Client icon in the List View the Client is selected for a ‘one-to-one’ session. Multiple Clients can be selected simultaneously.


Connected Client

A network connection has been made between the Client and Control workstation, that will enable you to remotely control the Client workstation.


Exhibit

Show or display a Client’s screen on any number of Client workstation screens.


File Transfer

To move or copy a file(s) from a Control workstation to a Client.


File Manager

To manage the files on the Control workstation.


File Distribution

To move or copy a file(s) from a Control workstation to multiple Clients, simultaneously.


Encryption

A method or algorithm used to scramble data being transferred to protect it from being intercepted by unauthorised persons.


Compression

Method by which data is compacted for more efficient transmission. Data is compressed before transmission and decompressed afterwards.


Dialup Networking

Connection in which a workstation calls a server and operates as a local workstation on the network.


Chat

An online communication method between a Control and Client during a remote control session. A dynamic dialog window appears on each screen, both the Client and Control can type simultaneously and the messages will appear on both screens.


Messages

Way for a Control to communicate a message to multiple Clients, simultaneously. A dialog window appears on the Client screen, they must click OK for the message to disappear.


Initialise

1.	To prepare for use.

2.	In communications, to set a modem and software parameters at the start of a session.


Security Keys

An additional level of NetSupport security that requires both the Control and the Client to have the same encrypted key before the Client will allow a connection.


Attribute

Property of an object, such as a file or display advice.


Audio

Communicate with Clients or make announcements using preinstalled Audio hardware.


Baud rate

Number of times per second a signal changes in a communications channel. This rate varies in the number of bits it represents.


Machine Name

A name typically used on Microsoft networks to identify a particular workstation on the network. Also called the Computer Name.


Configure

To set the security and functionality levels of a Client and Control workstation.


Delta File Transfer

A method for improving performance when using the File Transfer feature. If the file being transferred already exists in the destination directory, only changed parts of the file are updated.


Direct Serial Link

A connection between two workstations via a Null Modem Cable, operating as they would over a telephone link.


Execute

To launch an application on a Client workstation. The application must be installed or available to the Client workstation.


Firewall

Software to protect a network from another network (normally the Internet) where TCP/IP packets are only sent on certain ports.


Icon

A picture or symbol that represents an object, task, command or choice users can select by pointing and clicking with a mouse.


Inactivity Timeout

If a connected Control has not carried out any mouse, keyboard or file transfer activity for the specified period of time, the Client will assume that the connection is no longer required and disconnect automatically.


IP Address

Internet Protocol Address. An IP address is a number that identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in a packet across a network or the internet. Before a workstation can be remote controlled using the TCP/IP transport, it’s IP Address must be known to NetSupport.

See also TCP/IP.


Leased Line

Telephone line leased from a common carrier for private use. A leased line is faster and quieter, but generally more expensive than a switched telephone line.


MAC Address

Media Access Control. On a network, the MAC address is a workstation's unique hardware number. The MAC address is used by the Media Access Control sublayer of the Data-Link Control (DLC) layer of telecommunication protocols. There is a different MAC sublayer for each physical device type. The Data-Link Layer is the protocol layer in a program that handles the moving of data in and out across a physical link in a network.


Script

All NetSupport functions can be automated into a script, saving time and money when running repetitive tasks.


Macro

See Scripting


Modem

Hardware used to allow workstations to communicate over phone lines. It modulates a digital signal from a workstation to an analogue signal for transferral over phone lines. It then demodulates the signal to digital.


Multimedia

Use preinstalled audio hardware to communicate and available avi/mpg video files to demonstrate to Clients.


NetBEUI

See NetBIOS


Physical Font

If a Client sends its screen information to a Control that does not have the same or similar fonts available, the Client will have to send the Control the full information required to display the data in the same font. Setting the ‘Send Physical Fonts’ option in the Advanced Client Configurator Remote Control Tab forces TrueType text to be sent as glyphs (character shapes), rather than as character codes. This guarantees that they will be displayed correctly at the Control. If Viewing a DOS or a Japanese font, adjust the setting ‘Change DOS Font’ or ‘Change Japanese Font’ in the Control Configuration View Tab.


Print Capture

Redirects printer output from a local printer at the Client workstation to the printer or file at the Control.


Properties

Tabs that contain general contact, transport, address and system information on the Client or Group of Clients.


Protocol

See Transports


Proxy Servers

A method of using a server where workstations run/use software on another workstation by ‘proxy’.


RAS

Remote Access Service. Supplied with Windows NT and provides a means of connecting a remote workstation to a LAN using dial-up networking. It supports IPX, NetBEUI and TCP/IP. Once the connection has been made the remote workstation effectively becomes part of the LAN.


Remote Control

To control a Client workstation from a remote workstation.


Remote Communications

Interaction with a Client by a remote workstation through a telephone connection or another communications line.


Replay Files

A security video file that records all mouse movements and keyboard actions of  a Control while they were connected to the Client. Replay files can be stored locally at the Client or at the Control.


Scale to Fit

See Auto-Scroll


Scheduling

Scripts can be run unattended overnight using the Scripting Agent.


Settings

During any control session where you may be working with more than one Client, you can tailor how each Client interacts with the Control. These settings only affect the Client during that session. For example, on one Client you may want to use compression because it is on a slow link, but on another you may want to turn compression off.


Silent Installation

An installation performed with no input from the user. You must pre-configure the Defaults.Inc file which is used to pre-set the options you would normally be prompted for during installation and the Release.Ini file which enables you to pre-set the Advanced Client Configuration options.


Subnet

Subnetwork.


Unattended

See Silent


Video Driver

Software that captures video signals from the operating system then interprets them into colours and positions on a monitor.


Video Skipping

Sets a maximum number of screen updates to be sent to reduce network usage and improves performance.


Profile

A configured file that enables or disables functionality. By default NetSupport is installed with a single profile called Standard that is configured to allow full functionality.

NetSupport allows you to configure multiple profiles to cater for a variety of Control Users.


TCP/IP

Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A protocol used to enable workstations to communicate in a Networked environment. It is now the standard used across LAN’s, WAN’s, the Internet and it provides fast routable packets.


ATX

A particular specification for a set of hardware components. For example, mouse, case, keyboard, power supply etc.


Power Management

A technique that enables hardware and software to minimise system power consumption.


ActiveX

A Microsoft portable application.


Log

To record the activities and events that take place on a workstation while a Control was connected. The records are stored in a data file.


Login/Logoff

Login

To identify the user, using a name and password, to a workstation after connecting to it over a communications line.

Logoff

To end a session with a workstation accessed over a communications line. Also known as logout.


Null Session Share

A type of Share, required to access a Client configuration stored on a NT workstation from a non NT workstation.


Operating System

NetSupport runs over all Windows operating systems, including DOS, OS/2 and Alpha.


Inventory

Can be run on a Client workstation, informing you of the hardware specifications and the applications installed on the workstation.


CAPI

Common Application Programming Interface. An application programming interface for communicating over ISDN lines.


TAPI

Telephony Application Program Interface. A standard program interface that lets you and your computer "talk" over telephones or video phones to people or phone-connected resources elsewhere in the world.


Remote Deploy

A NetSupport utility enabling NetSupport Manager to be remotely installed and configured on multiple workstations simultaneously.


Dual Channel Bonding

A method for increasing bandwidth across an ISDN line. An ISDN line typically provides two channels, each of which can send/receive data at 64Kbps. By using both channels at once, calling the same location, you can double the speed to 128Kbps. However, by using both channels in this way, you are in effect making two calls.


Multiple Subscriber Number (MSN)

A facility whereby you can have more than one telephone number allocated to your ISDN line. In the case of NetSupport, you may want to restrict access to the Bridge to a specfic MSN.


HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The protocol used to transmit and receive all data over the World Wide Web. A NetSupport Gateway uses this protocol to enable connections to Clients/Controls across the Internet.


Gateway

A NetSupport component which provides a stable and secure method for connecting Clients and Controls via the Internet using HTTP. Delivers web based remote control without the need for modifications to existing Firewall configurations.


VNC

Virtual Network Computing. Remote display system which allows you to view a desktop environment not only on the machine where it is running, but from anywhere on the Internet and from a wide variety of machine architectures. You can use NetSupport to connect to a Linux or MAC based system which has a previously installed VNC Client.


Broadcast Show

A feature that enables you to optimise performance when Showing the Tutor screen to multiple Student screens.


Testing Module

A NetSupport utility enabling Tutor’s to create customised exams, run them at Student workstations and automatically collate results.


Add a Remote Network Location

Supply the telephone number and network transport of the NetSupport Bridge site and specify the network transport, you want to connect to.

Phone Number

Enter the telephone number of the NetSupport Bridge that you are connecting to.  You can include prefixes, such as the number to obtain an outside line if it has not already been set in your dialup networking configuration.

Transport

You must specify the transport of the NetSupport Bridge you are dialing in to.

If you specify NetBIOS, you must also specify the NetBIOS adapter number of the Bridge workstation not the NetBIOS adapter of the Control workstation.


Browse Dialog

When you perform a browse, all NetSupport Clients found on the network will be added to the browse list.  Only Clients that are using the transports you have configured in the Control, will be detected.  Once a list of Clients has been generated, you can then begin working with them.

Note:	Clients that are connected to through a NetSupport Gateway will not be found by default. The Gateways option in the Control Window Tree View provides a separate Browse facility for this purpose. However, you can choose to include them in the standard Browse by checking the Include Gateway Clients box.

Enter a partial Client name or leave blank for all Clients

Type in the first part of a Client name here to narrow the search.  If you have many Clients on your network, you may only be interested in those that begin with a certain word or letter.  If you have Clients that begin with ADMIN, typing this in would return Clients such as ADMIN1, ADMIN_OFFICE and ADMINISTRATOR.  To find all available Clients leave this field empty.

Only Clients Requesting Help

Select this check box to browse only for Clients that have requested help.

Include Gateway Clients

Check this box to include Gateway Clients when Browsing.

Click OK to begin the browse. An information box will advise you that the Control is browsing for Clients. Press Cancel to abort your browse for Clients. This will take a few seconds, after which, a list of Available Clients on the Network meeting the criteria will be displayed in the Browse folder. You can then right click on individual Clients to connect to them, display their properties or carry out tasks.


Details for NetBIOS Adapter

This window displays detailed information about the NetBIOS adapter interrogated. The adapter number and type is displayed in the title of this window.

See also

Testing NetBIOS adapters


Print Capture

This list displays all local and network printers configured on your workstation. Select one of these printers to be used when capturing printing from a Client. The location of the printer is shown in parenthesis after the printer name.

For example: “HP LaserJet IID (LPT1:)” is attached to the first printer port on your workstation.

See also

Print Capture


Client List Columns

From this dialog you can configure the columns that are displayed in the List View.

Choose the view that you want to configure by selecting the appropriate tab from those provided.  This enables you to display the columns that you are most interested in.  The tabs available are:

•	Clients

•	Remote Clients

•	Browse

•	Connected

•	Group Members

•	Help Requests

Available Columns

Displays the columns available for the selected List View that are not currently being shown. To add any of these, select it and press Add.

Current Columns

Displays the columns that are currently being displayed in the selected List View.  To remove any of these, select it and press << Remove.

Add >>

To add a column to the list of Current Columns, select an item from the Available Columns list and press this button.  The item will be displayed in the Current Columns list, and removed from the Available Columns list.

<< Remove

Select an item from the Current Columns list and press this button to remove it.  The item is removed from this list and added to the Available Columns list.

Reset

Press Reset to restore the default columns for the selected List View.

To rearrange the current order of the columns, select the column from the Current Columns List and press Reset to move it one place to the left in the selected List View.


File Properties

This dialog displays information about the selected file or files.  If you have selected multiple files, the summary will display total sizes and attributes for those files. You can set the attributes of the file here by using the attribute checkboxes.

MS-DOS Name

If the selected file has a long filename MS-DOS has a different interpretation of the filename.  This is what is commonly known as 8.3 format (short filename).

Location

Displays the location of the selected file, either on the local or current Client workstation. The path of the file is also displayed in long filename format.

Size

The total size in bytes of the selected file or files.  If you have selected multiple files, the total size of all files will be displayed.

Modified

This is the time and date that the selected file was last modified.

Attributes

You can alter the attributes of a selected file or files by checking and un-checking these boxes.

If you have selected multiple files, some of the check boxes will have three states.  If an attribute is set on all of the selected files, the checkbox will have the two normal states otherwise A third State will indicate that this attribute will not be affected.

You can change the following attributes:

•	Read Only

•	Archive

•	Hidden

•	System


Specify Password
Security – Please Specify Password

This option has been protected by the Control to stop unauthorised access. You must enter the correct password to be able to continue.


Group File Transfer - Connect to Clients

See File Distribution


Remote Networks

This dialog is displayed when dialing a remote network, but have not selected one from the Tree View or List View. The list displayed shows all of the remote networks configured and allows you to create and modify their properties.

Choose a network to dial

Select one of the remote networks from this list to dial.

Dial

Press this button to establish a connection to the specified remote network.

Properties

Edit the properties of a remote network. Any changes that take effect immediately.

Close

This will close the dialog and abandon dialing remote networks.

Transport and Startup Settings

This will configure the Transport and Startup settings for this remote network object.


Security - Please Login

Enter a valid username for the Client you are trying to connect to. These are configured at the Client, and may or may not be valid NT user ID's.

The Client will then accord you the privileges associated with the username you enter.

For example: File Transfer may be disabled or read-only.

Remember Password

If this is checked, the Control will attempt to use the same username and password when you connect to other Clients.


Modem Log

This window displays the log file generated by remote network operations.  The file contains all the information about the numbers dialed, the connection statistics and all errors that occurred.  The amount of detail displayed in the log file varies depending on the Logging Settings, set in the Dialin Bridge dialog.

Archive

Archive the current log file. The file will be saved in the same location as the original log file, but will have an incremental decimal file extension, such as MODEM.003. The original log file will then be empty.

Delete

Delete the current log file. You will be prompted to confirm before the file is deleted. Optionally use Archive to make a backup of this file.


Quick Connect

Quick Connect allows you to directly connect to a Known Client by Client Name, Logged In User Name, or by Network Address saving you having to perform a network browse and then selecting the desired Client from the List View.

Clients configured for HTTP connections through a NetSupport Gateway can also be selected.

Name

Enter the name of the NetSupport Client to connect to.  You must enter a name before you can continue.

User Name

Enter the logged in user name of the required Client.

Address

If you know the address of the Client workstation you are connecting to, you can enter it here.  You select the transport that the Client is using from the settings below.  If you are using IPX, the address is in the form 000001-12345678, or 192.168.100.20 for TCP/IP.  If you are using NetBIOS the Client address is the registered NetBIOS network name of that workstation.

HTTP Gateway

If the Client is configured for HTTP connections through a Gateway, in addition to the Name or User Name of the Client you will need to choose the appropriate Gateway name from the list provided.

Transport

Specify the transport that the Client is running on by selecting the appropriate radio button.

IPX

Specify that the Client workstation is running on the IPX protocol. This protocol is used in LAN/WAN environments.

TCP/IP

Specify that the Client workstation is running over the TCP/IP protocol. This is the protocol used by the Internet and Wide Area Networks (WAN).

NetBIOS

Specify that the Client workstation is running over the NetBIOS network protocol. This is a non routing protocol so is only available for local networks.  You also need to specify the adapter/stack that NetBIOS should use.

Adapters

This drop down list contains the NetBIOS adapters that are selected in your current configuration.  NetBEUI is the most common adapter used here.  You must select the adapter name that matches the NetBIOS adapter on the Client workstation. The adapter numbers will vary from workstation to workstation, but the name will remain constant.

Connect

When you have entered all the required information, choose Connect to attempt the connection.


Replay Controls

This window contains the controls for playing a recorded Client session.  The window contains a replay time index that indicates where in the replay file you currently are, and displays information about the file being played.  Use these controls in the same way you would a video recorder.

Stop and Play

The Stop button is shown when you are playing a replay file and the Play button when the file is stopped.  Only one of these buttons is displayed at a time.  The file is played until the end is reached or the Pause Marker is encountered.

Rewind

Restarts the replay file from the beginning.

Skip to Previous marker

Moves the replay index to the previous activity marker or to the beginning of the file. These markers are added at points when lots of activity was recorded at the Client.

Frame Advance

Advance the replay index to the next frame. Press and hold this button to Fast-Forward through the replay file.

Skip to Next marker

Moves the replay index to the next activity marker or to the end of the file if there isn’t one.

Other Information

The current time index is displayed to the right of these controls in the hh: mm: ss.ms format.  The name of the Client that the replay was recorded on, the date and time are displayed at the bottom of the window.

Replay Marker

This marker can be positioned anywhere within the time frame of the replay file.  The marker is the small black triangle beneath the time index control. Click and drag this to the position where you want the file to stop playing.  When the marker is encountered the replay stops, and you can then press play to continue past it.


Select Client

More than one Client was found with the specified name on different transports. This dialog allows you to select the protocol to use for the connection.


Security - Set Key

When you connect to a Client that has a Security Key set, you must enter it here in order to connect successfully. If the Security Key on the Client is different, the connection attempt will be rejected.  You can enter an asterisk in the fields below to use the serial number of this Control as the Security Key.

If connections are made through a NetSupport Gateway, the Gateway Key performs the same role as a standard Security Key in that it protects against unauthorised connection attempts. A Control must specify the same Key that has been set at both the Client and Gateway end.

Password

Enter the new Security Key here.  This must match the key set at the Client you are connecting to. Create a different Named Configuration if you connect to different Clients with different Security Keys.

Confirm

Re-enter the Security Key for confirmation.


Set Destination

This File Distribution function enables you to set which drive/directory on the Client workstation you copy files to.

To set the destination

1.	Select the Client in the remote pane that you want to set the file destination on.

2.	Choose {Client}{Set Destination} from the File Distribution drop down menus.

3.	A list of the Clients drives/directories will appear, specify which directory the files should be copied to.


Security - Set Password

In order to prevent unauthorised users from gaining access, enter a password here.

Password

Enter the new password here. The passwords are not case sensitive.

Confirm

Re-enter the password you have nominated, for confirmation.


Synchronise Directories

You can use this function to Synchronise the Files in:

•	Selected directories.

Files that are in one directory but not the other will be copies across.

Files that are newer in one directory than the other will also be copied.

This function is Bi-directional.


Directory Synchronisation Results

Having synchronised the directories of a Control and Client you can view how many files were copied to and directories created on the Client and Control workstations.


About - License

This page displays details about the current NetSupport Manager license.

Licensee

The registered name of the company or persons this license belongs too.

Serial Number

Your unique serial number for the NetSupport Manager license.

Licensed For

The total number of Clients that this license will allow you to run.

If this license file is an evaluation version, the following information will be displayed. This is an evaluation copy and will expire on dd/mm/yy, and NetSupport will not function after this date.

The version of NetSupport is displayed at the bottom of this and all the pages in this dialog box.

See also

Technical Support

Compression

Cache


About - Technical Support

This dialog displays information about the type of system that the Control is running on, the amount of resources available and the version of the various NetSupport components installed.

The information displayed is:

•	Operating system and version

•	Platform build number and any installed service packs

•	The User you are currently logged in as

•	The amount of physical memory installed and the amount available

File Version Information

This list displays all of the NetSupport components installed, a description about them and their version numbers.  Use this list to make sure you have the all the up to date components.

See also

License

Compression

Cache


About - Compression

This dialog is only available when you are viewing a Client workstation. It details all of the statistics about the compression engine.

Bytes Sent

These statistics tell you about compression on data being sent to the Client.

Uncompressed

The total number of bytes that were sent uncompressed; i.e. no compression was attempted.

Compressed

The total number of compress bytes sent after compression.

Expanded

The total number of compress bytes sent before compression.

Bytes Received

These statistics tell you about compression on data being received from the Client.  Details as for bytes sent.

See also

License

Technical Support

Cache


About - Cache

This dialog displays information about the usage of cache for the current connection.  Caching helps to improve performance by storing recently received screen data.  A larger cache improves performance, at the expense of using more memory at both the Client and the Control.

Cache Size (KB)

Displays the current size of the cache allocated to this connection. This is the smaller of the cache sizes set at the Control and the Client.

Items Cached

Incremented by one each time, an item is stored in the cache, but not decremented when an item is deleted to make room for a newer one.

Items Referenced

Incremented by one each time, an item is referenced in the cache.

Bytes Cached (KB)

Incremented (by the size of the item) each time, an item is stored in the cache, but not decremented when an item is deleted to make room for a newer one.

Bytes Referenced (KB)

Incremented by the size of the item each time, one is referenced in the cache.

Hit Rate

This percentage gives some indication of the effectiveness of the current cache.  Bigger numbers are better.

See also

Configuring Cache sizes

Compression

Technical Support

License


The NetSupport Bridge requires a Password

The NetSupport Bridge you are dialing into has been configured to ask for a password.  You must enter either the Bridge password or one of the Dial Back Passwords if they are set.


Delete Remote Network

The Remote Network Object you are deleting has Client records associated with it. You can save these records before the object is deleted by moving them to a different network, either local or another Remote Network

What do you want to do with the Clients?

Select what should be done with the Clients in this Remote Network Object.

Delete them

Check this radio button to simply delete the Client records when the Remote Network Object is deleted.

Assign them to network

Check this radio button and select a location for the Client records.  The list will always contain Local, and will contain the names of all the other Remote Networks that have been configured.  If you select Local the records are moved to the Known Client list.

See also

Creating a Remote Network


Client 'xxx' is about to disconnect due to inactivity

Meaning

This Client has detected that the specified period of inactivity has been encountered.  You must respond if you still want to remain connected to this Client.  If you do not respond to this message, the Client will disconnect.

Suggestions

If the period of inactivity is too short for your purposes, you can change Client Inactivity Timeout.


Import CLF/GLF Files

If you have been using a previous version of NetSupport, you may have created one or more lists of Clients, Groups and Remote Networks.  This import facility allows you to convert these existing files into the new format used by NetSupport version 4 and later.

Note: Any existing Clients or Remote Networks will be replaced by those encountered here. If a Group already exists then any new members are added, but existing members are not removed.

See also

Specifying the Import File Locations


Import CLF/GLF Files - Specify Locations

Specify the location of the import files and optionally the location of a WCONTROL.INI file. If you do not specify a directory for WCONTROL.INI, the import routine will try to locate it in the NetSupport directory.  Client files have the extension CLF, Group files have the extension GLF and the Dial Directory is stored in the file CONTROL.DIR.

If a WCONTROL.INI file was located, the import routine can use it to determine the transport of the Client files.  If you do not you can still import the files but you will need to specify the transport for each file yourself.

Specify the location of the Previous NetSupport version

Enter the directory that the old version of NetSupport was installed in. If you have installed your new version of NetSupport in the same location as the old, these files will have been preserved.  Use the Browse button to locate this directory.

Leave blank if you do not have a WCONTROL.INI

If you have the WCONTROL.INI file from an existing version of NetSupport, enter the location here.

See also

Select the file to Import


Import CLF/GLF Files - Select Files to Import

Specify which files you want to import. The list provided displays all of the Clients, Groups and Remote Networks that can be imported. If a WCONTROL.INI was found in the locations specified, some of these files will already have the correct transport information set. If an import file does not have a transport set, you must specify one before you can import it.

Note: You cannot import a Group file without importing the associated Client file.

Select files to import

Check the items you want to import into your new version of NetSupport.

If the transport for this file is not already set, you will be prompted for transport information. If the transport is already set and you want to change it, press the Set Transport button underneath the list.

The Dial Directory list entry displays the number of Remote Networks configured instead of transport information. You must set the transport for at least one Remote Network before the file can be imported.

Set Transport

Set Transport to alter the transport information for the selected item in the list provided.


Import CLF/GLF Files - Ready to Import

The items displayed in this list are the items that are ready to be imported.

Press Finish if you are happy with the file chosen, or press Back to make changes.


Import - Set Transport

Before a Client or Remote Network file can be imported you must specify the transport that the file will use.

Setting the Transport for Client files

The list of entries that are stored in the selected Client file are displayed in the large window in this dialog.  You must select a transport that will apply to all of these new Clients.

Setting the Transports for Dial Directory entries

The list provided displays all of the Dial Directory entries that were found in the CONTROL.DIR file. You must specify a transport for at least one of these networks before the file can be imported. The transport selected for each Remote Network will be displayed next to the name of the network in the list.

Transport

Select one of the available network transports to be associated with the selected Client file or Dial Directory entry.

Location

This list is only available when setting the transport for Client lists. By default the Clients will be on the local network, but can also be set to belong to a remote network. Remote networks will only appear in this list if you have included a CONTROL.DIR and have selected one or more transports for them.


Passwords Dialog

This is where you set up the individual password and the telephone number to dialback for each if required.

Password

Type a password that the Remote Control User will have to enter before the Bridge allows access.

Confirm

Confirm the password.

Dialback

This entry is optional. If left blank no dialback will take place.

Enter the telephone number, including any prefixes, that the Bridge will call when the user with this password connects.

Dialback delay

This entry is optional.

Enter the delay in seconds before the Bridge will attempt to dial-back the calling Control. This is to allow time for the Control to hang-up the line and reset modem to auto-answer.

Comment

Enter a description if required. For example: Engineers Password.


Add/Edit User

Username

The name a Control User will be prompted for when trying to connect to this Client.

Password

The password a Control User will be required to enter, when connecting to this Client with the above Username.

Confirm

Re-type the password to confirm correct entry.


Client Parameters for this Machine

This is used for setting the ClientName and for determining which configuration file it will use when it initialises.

Clientname

Enter a unique name for this Client. The name can be up to 9 characters long. If you set this parameter to an asterisk the MachineName, which is the same as the Computer name under Windows Networking, will be used.

Parameters

This is used for setting the configuration file that the Client will use at start-up. The file can be on the local disk or on a file server. If it is on an NT file server you may also need to add a log-in username and password file. To do this press <Add>.

You can enter multiple configuration files, the Client will use the first one in the list that it can open. For example you can set-up a configuration on a server that the Client will use by default and a configuration file on the local disk that the Client will use if the file server is down.

Note: If you do this, restrict the local configuration file to the minimum required (such as a single emergency password known only to trusted support staff).

The format of the parameters are:-

/U

A valid Login Name and Password to the area of the NT Server where the configuration file is stored. This must precede the actual filename.

/C

The path and name of the configuration file to use.

For example: /C/SERVER1\\CLIENTS\STANDARD.INI


Add/Edit Client parameters

This is used for setting the configuration file that the Client will use when it initialises and any associated User Credentials.

User Credentials are required because the Client will initialise before any networked drives have been mapped. The Client therefore needs a valid network ID and password, before it can open the file.

User Credentials

UserName

Enter a valid Username that is known at both the File Server and at the Client.

Password

Enter the associated Password.

Confirm

Confirm the password.

Configuration File

Select the Configuration File that the Client will use.


Add New Profile or Include File

This is used to create a new Profile which can subsequently be edited to set parameters specific to Control Users, whose Username matches that set in the Profile.

You can set as many Profiles as you need. When a Control connects, the Client will search through each of its profiles until it finds one in which the Username, set in the Users settings, matches the USERNAME and PASSWORD entered by the Control.

Profile Name

Enter a name for the Profile.

Include File

Alternatively select a .INI file to be included as a Profile. This is useful for setting up a central profile and making it available to all Clients.


Edit Access Rights

This is used for setting the specific access rights that a Control User, matching this Profile, will have to Directories and Files on this workstation when using File Transfer. It does not affect their rights when Remote Controlling the workstation.

It is hierarchical in nature. For example: You can exclude all rights to the root directory but then explicitly grant rights to sub-directories.

By default the Control User will have access to all drives, directories and files.

For example the following would allow the Control user to use NetSupport File Transfer only in the E:\Temp directory.

-ARWELV	E:\

+ARWELV	E:\TEMP

Note:	If you want to limit File Transfer in this way, ensure you explicitly remove access to all drives and then only grant it to the specific drives, directories and files that you require.

The Access Rights check boxes accept three settings:

Checked	Grant rights to the specified path.

Un-Checked	Disable rights to the specified path.

Checked and Greyed Out	Inherit rights from the path above.


Announce Dialog

Enables you to select which Clients will receive your audible announcement.

To make an announcement

1.	Select the Clients you wish to receive the announcement.

2.	Click Announce and speak into the microphone.


Select Group

These are the groups available to you.

1.	Select the one you want to work with and choose OK.

Or,

Choose New, to create a new Group.


Call Control

The Call Control function only works for TCP/IP connections and is intended to enable you to establish a connection across a firewall or proxy server.

Note:	To enable a Client to call a Control, NetSupport uses TCP/IP port 5421. For the Client to connect through a Firewall, you will need to configure the Firewall to use this port.

To connect to a Control

1.	Enter the hostname or IP address of the Control you wish to connect to. Or,

Select from a list of the 10 most recently connected Controls.

Note:	A maximum of 10 Controls can be stored, after which the oldest is discarded.

2.	The Control will receive a connecting message and either allow or disallow the connection.

Note:	The Control must be running for a Client to connect.


Client Connect

The Client Connect function only works for TCP/IP connections and is intended to enable you to establish a connection across a firewall or proxy server.

Note:	To enable a Client to call a Control, NetSupport uses TCP/IP port 5421. For the Client to connect through a Firewall, you will need to configure the Firewall to use this port.

To connect to a Control

1.	Choose {Commands}{Call Control} from the Client drop down menu.

2.	The Call Control dialog appears.

3.	Enter the hostname or IP address of the Control you wish to connect to.

Or,

Select from a list of the 10 most recently connected Controls.

Note:	A maximum of 10 Controls can be stored, after which the oldest is discarded.

4.	The Control will receive a connecting message and either allow or disallow the connection.

Note:	The Control must be running for a Client to connect.


Client Help Request Dialog

Write your help request message and send it to a specific Control workstation.

To request help

1.	Enter your name.

2.	Enter your help message.

3.	Click OK, NetSupport will send your help message to the connected Control or the next Control workstation to connect to your workstation.

4.	If available, you can select which Control you want to send your help message to. Choose Show Controls and select which Control workstation you wish to send your message to. Choose Hide Control.

Note: You can also cancel the last help request sent from this workstation by selecting Cancel Previous Request.


Client Help Request - Send to Which Control

Write and send your help message to a specific Control workstation.

To specify which Control to send the help request to

1.	Enter your name.

2.	Enter your help message.

3.	Choose Refresh to update the list of available Controls.

4.	NetSupport will then determine which Controls are currently offline/online.

5.	Choose which Control you want to send your help message to.

6.	Choose OK.

Note: If you do not select a Control workstation to send your help message to, your message will be sent to the next Control that connects to your workstation.


Client Help Request Message Dialog at Control

This message has appeared on your screen because a Client has chosen your Control workstation to send a help request.

The dialog informs you, who has sent the help request and the help request message.

You can also:

1.	View the Clients screen;

2.	Initiate a Chat session with the Client;

3.	Disconnect from the Client;

4.	Clear the Help Request folder in the Control List View when you close this dialog.


Client Connect - Dialog at Control

This dialog has appeared because a Client is attempting to connect to your workstation. The dialog also informs you, of any help request messages that Client has sent.

From this dialog you can perform the following on the connecting Client workstation:

•	View the Clients screen;

•	Initiate a Chat session with the Client;

•	Disconnect from the Client;

•	Clear the Help Request folder in the Control List View when you close this dialog.

Choose Close, to close this dialog and allow the Client to connect to your workstation.


Client Disconnect from/Chat to a Control

To disconnect from a selected Control(s)

1.	Select which Control(s) you want to disconnect from.

2.	By choosing the Select All button, you will select all currently connected Controls.

3.	Click OK.

To chat with a specific Control

1.	Select which connected Control workstation you want to Chat to.

2.	Click Chat.


Send to/Collect Work from ...

Select the Students you wish to Send work to or Collect work from by checking the check box (include = red cross, include = green tick) beside each Students name.

You might also like to ensure that the operation you are about to perform is correct, as the necessary information is displayed at the bottom of the dialog.


You have tried to create a Send/Collect work object with the same description as an existing one. It must be unique!

Meaning

Previously you have sent or collected a task with the same description.

Suggestions

1.	Change the description name of the newly created task.

Or,

If no-longer used, delete the send/collect work object with the same description.


Add a Remote Network - Name

This wizard creates a new Remote Network connection.

This connection will allow you to dial a remote site that has a NetSupport Bridge loaded and connect to Clients. You can create as many Remote Network connections as you need, but you can only connect to one site at a time.

Before you can continue, you must enter the Name for this Remote Network and an optional Description.

Name

Type in a name for the Remote Network.  This is the name that will be displayed in the Remote Networks folder.

Description (Optional)

Enter a more detailed description of the site that this object will connect to.

See also

Remote Communications Overview


Add a new Group Wizard - Name and Description

This wizard creates a Group in the Control program that contains Client records. Any Client can be a member of more than one group and each Group can have multiple Client members.

Name

Enter the name by which the Client group will be identified.  This will appear in your Groups View Window.

Description (optional)

Enter a description for the Client group, which is displayed in the detailed mode and in the Group Properties dialog.


Add a new Group Wizard - Select Clients

From this page, you can add one or more Clients to your new group.  All the Clients in your Known Client List will be displayed for you to choose from.  If you do not select any Clients, an empty group will be created that you can add Clients to later.

Available Clients

Displays all of the Clients that you can add to the group. Only the name and transport are displayed here.

Group Members

The Clients in this list are members of your new Group.  You can add and remove Clients from this list as required.  Only the Client name is displayed here.

Add >>

Select one or more Clients from the Available Clients list, and then click on Add. This will add them to the Group Members list.

<< Remove

Select one or more Clients from the Group Members list, and then click on Remove.  These Clients will now appear in the Available Clients list again.

Add All >>

Press this button to add all of the Clients in the Available Clients list, to the Group Members list.


Add a new Group Wizard - Group Members

If you have selected one or more Clients in your Known Client List, you have the option to add them directly to your new Group.

Yes, add them to this new group

Select this radio button to add all of the currently selected Clients to your new Group.

No, I’ll choose from a list of clients

Allows you to manually select the Clients to add to the Group, in the next wizard page.

No, I’ll add members later

Allows you to create an empty Group, that you can add Clients to at a later time.


Send/Collect Work Description

Provide a description for the task, which will appear in the task list.


Send/Collect Summary

This is a summary of the options set for the current task. Edit and change the task from here.


Send/Collect Dialog

This is the main dialog for creating, maintaining and running Send/Collect jobs.

New

Guides you through creating a new Send/Collect job.

Remove

Removes the selected task from the list.

Properties

Displays the summary Dialog for the selected task, you may edit the task from here.

Reset

Clears the log file for the selected task.

Send Work

Sends the files in the selected task, to the Client workstations.

Collect Work

Retrieves the files in the selected task, from the Client workstations.


Specify Files to Send

Specify which files to send to the Client.

Add

Adds the selected files to the list.

Browse

Enables you to select the files to send, by browsing.

Remove

Removes the selected files from the list.


Specify where to Send Files

Specify the folder, at the Client workstation, to send the file to.

The following properties can also be set:

Delete all files from Folder before Sending work

Before sending new work, you can delete any files that are currently stored in the folder at the Client workstation.

Remove files from Student after collecting

After collecting the completed work, you can remove the files from the Client workstation.

Student Store on Network Drive

When work is retrieved, the Client name is associated with the individual piece of work. If the Clients work areas are on a file server, you must specify a structure to identify which folder is associated with which Client.

Choose either Student or Machine Name.


Specify where to collect files to

Specify which folder, at the Tutor workstation, to store the files in when retrieving work. It will automatically create an individual sub-folder for each Client.

Delete

Check this box if you want to clear the Clients sub-folder at the Control workstation before collecting work.

When work is collected back the Client name is associated with the individual piece of work. You must specify a structure to identify which sub-folder is associated with which Client.

Choose either Student or Machine Name.

Advanced

Further specify which files to collect from the folder at the Client. The default is all.


Advanced File Collection

Further specify which files to collect from the folder at the Client. The default is all.


This is a NetSupport Manager Message

This is a NetSupport  Manager error Message. You should not see it when using a NetSupport School Control. If you do please advise your Distributor.


This is a NetSupport School Message

This is a NetSupport School error Message. You should not see it when using a NetSupport Manager Control. If you do please advise your Distributor.


Message Obsolete

This Message is no longer used. If you see it, please advise your Distributor.


Feature not available in NetSupport School

This is a NetSupport Manager Function that is not available within NetSupport School. Please contact your Distributor for details of NetSupport Manager.


Help not available

This Topic is no longer used and no help is available. Should you see this message please contact your Distributor.


Error nnnn RegKey

Meaning

You are attempting an action that requires NetSupport to access or update a Registry Entry. You do not have sufficient rights.

Solution

Make sure that you are logged in as a user with access rights to the Registry Entry.


User Acknowledgement

The Client you are connecting to has User Acknowledgement configured.  Until the User at the Client workstation accepts your attempt to connect, this dialog is displayed.  If no one is at the Client, you can abort the connection attempt by pressing Cancel.


Switch to Full Screen?

You can maximise the View Window to full screen. If the Client is running at a lower resolution than you are, the window will be positioned at the top left corner of your display.

To return to this Computer use the hotkeys

To return to your local workstation when you are viewing in Full Screen mode press the hotkeys (by default these are Ctrl+LeftShift+RightShift). These hotkeys can be changed from the View option in the configuration settings dialog.

Don’t display this message again

If you often use Full Screen mode, you may not want to see this dialog every time.  Check this box, to hide the message in future.


Overwrite File?

This dialog will appear when you are about to overwrite files that already exist on the destination workstation.

Choose to:

Yes

To confirm that you want to overwrite the file on the destination workstation.

No

To confirm that you want the transfer operation to proceed without copying the current file. If you are copying multiple files it will attempt to copy the next file.

Cancel

To abort the file transfer operation.

Overwrite All

Check this box to automatically overwrite all remaining files in this transfer operation.


Print Capture - Capture to ... ?

Specify the file that all printer output is captured to.  This file will contain the printer control codes for the printer driver used at the Client, and can later be printed by copying it directly to the printer (e.g. from a command prompt, copy myfile.prn lpt1).

See also

Capturing a Clients print output


The Showing Dialog

You have stopped showing your screen to the listed Client’s. The Clients mice and keyboards will currently be locked with the last screen sent, displayed.

End

Ends the show and releases the Client’s screens and keyboards.

Resume

Resumes the Show.

Continue

The Client’s screens and keyboards will remain locked while you prepare other work at the Control. They will not be able to see what you are doing. Effectively the show is suspended.

Show Leader

With the Show suspended, the Control can assign Show Leader status to one of the selected Clients. This unlocks the mouse and keyboard of the Client, enabling them to take over the demonstration. The Control continues to oversee the Show and can End the Show as required.


Delete Files?

You are about to delete one or more files off the local or Client workstation. To confirm the deletion press Yes. Press No, to abort the operation.


Reason for Connecting to Client?

This dialog is displayed when you have configured the Control to prompt for additional information when connecting.  You must enter the reason for connecting to the Client before you can continue.  This additional information is shown to the User at the Client workstation if the Client is configured to use this information.  The User then has the option to reject the link if desired, and will know why you intend to connect.


Copy Files?

This dialog allows you to specify where the files will be copied to on the Client workstation.

Use the tree provided to navigate the Client workstation and pick a destination.  You can create a new directory by pressing the Create button, and entering a directory name.  This new directory will be created in the selected branch of the browse tree.


Add a new Client - Select from Browse List

Select the Client to be added to your Known Client List, from the browse list provided.

Select the Client from the list

The list provided contains all of the Clients found on all of the available transports, during a Browse.  Select one to be added.

Partial Name

In order to narrow down the list of Clients, enter the first part of a Client name here and press the Refresh button.  This will now perform a browse for Clients, using the partial name supplied.

Refresh

Starts a new Browse on the network and updates the Client list.  This is modified by the Partial Name that is entered in the field above.

See also

Adding a New Client


Add a new Client - Contact Details

This wizard page allows you to supply information about the person responsible for this Client.  This is useful in a support environment across a WAN, where no one person is responsible for the maintenance of Client workstations.

Contact

Enter the name of the person who is responsible for the maintenance of Client workstations.

Phone Number

Enter the contacts phone number, when network communications are unavailable


Add a new Client - Additional Details

This page allows you to supply additional information for the Client record.

Display Name

The name you enter here will be displayed in the Client list instead of the Client name supplied earlier.  This can be more descriptive than the Client name. For example: “Network Web Server” instead of NETWEB.

Description

Enter a description of the Client record.  You can see this information in the Client Properties dialog, and in the Control List View when set to display details.


Add a new Client - Name

This is the first page in the wizard that creates a new Client record.  The Client record will contain all the information necessary to allow the Control to make a connection as well as contact details.

Name

Enter the name of the Client that you want to connect to, which is often the name of the Client workstation.  You can display the Client information box on the target workstation to determine its name.

Location

Select the location of the Client from this drop down list.  This list contains all of the Remote Networks that have been configured, as well as the local network.  Information about the Remote Network is displayed beneath the list box.

Client Type

Choose NSM or VNC from the drop down list. Using the NetSupport Control you can connect to and remote control a Linux or Mac based system that has a previously installed VNC client.

I’ll choose the name from a Browse list

By checking this box, the next page shows you a list of all the Clients currently available on the network.  This is accomplished by performing a Browse. This option is only available if the Client Type is NSM.

See also

Adding a New Client


Add a new Client - Transport

This page specifies where on your network the Client workstation is located.  Select the transport that the Client is running over, and if required, the workstations network address.

IPX

Specify that the Client workstation is running over the IPX protocol.  This protocol is used in LAN/WAN environments.

TCP/IP

Specify that the Client workstation is running over the TCP/IP protocol.  This is the protocol used by the Internet and Wide Area Networks (WAN).

NetBIOS

Specify that the Client workstation is running over the NetBIOS network protocol.  This is a non routing protocol and therefore only available for local networks.  You also need to specify the adapter/stack that NetBIOS should use.

Adapters

This drop down list contains the NetBIOS adapters that are selected in your current configuration.  NetBEUI is the most common adapter used here.  You must select the adapter name that matches the NetBIOS adapter on the Client workstation.  The adapter numbers will vary from workstation to workstation, but the name will remain constant.

Address

You can optionally supply the address of the Client to connect to.  This can be an IPX address in the form 000001-12345678 or a TCP/IP address in the form 192.168.100.20.

See also

Adding a new Client


Client Connect - Add Dialog

Add a Control, for Clients to connect to.

Name

Enter the name of the Control workstation.

Address

Enter the network address of the Control workstation.

Transport

Nominate which transport the Client will use, to connect to the Control.


Configuration - Icon Maintenance

This utility allows you to create a shortcut on your desktop that loads a NetSupport Control, with a specific Named Configuration. This means that you can have several shortcuts that automatically connect to one or more Clients when run.  When creating this shortcut you may wish to set the file to automatically save any changes that are made when you exit.

To create an icon

1.	Click and hold the left mouse button anywhere in the dialog (other than a button)

2.	Drag the mouse to your desktop or a folder.

3.	When you have chosen a location for the shortcut release the mouse button.


Configuration - Create or Edit Icon

This dialog specifies the settings and configuration to use with a new shortcut icon.

Title

Enter the title that will appear on the shortcut icon.

Load Configuration

Select the Named Configuration from the list provided that will be loaded when the Control shortcut is run.  Select '(Default)' to use the current configuration.

Prevent user from switching to another configuration

Checking this option prevents the user from selecting a different Named Configuration.  This is a suggested security procedure for system administrators.

Additional options

This allows additional commands to be passed to the Control program on start-up.  Some common examples follow, but for more information see: Using Command Line Instructions

/Dphone_number	dial into a NetSupport Bridge

/Uxxx	use the specified network transport protocol (IPX, TCP/IP or NBx, where x is the NetBIOS adapter number); this is mainly for use with /D.

/Cclientname	connect to the specified Client at startup (to connect to more than one Client, repeat this option).

/Ggroupname	connect to the Client(s) in the specified Group on startup


Configurations

This dialog configures the Named Configurations for the Control. Each of these configurations can contain different settings, they can also contain different User privileges.

Current Configuration: xxx

Displays all of the Named Configurations available.  The current configuration is the item selected in the list when the dialog is first displayed.  The name of the current configuration is also displayed above the list.

Select

Changes to the selected configuration.  The Control will Disconnect from any Clients or Remote Networks and reinitialise all of the settings.  You will be warned of this before the action is taken.

Close

Closes the session.

New

Creates a new Named Configuration.  A dialog will appear that allows you to choose an existing configuration to copy.  You can then use this dialog to select or edit its settings.

Delete

Deletes a configuration from the list.  If you try to remove the currently selected configuration, you will be notified and the operation will fail.

Reset

Restores the default settings to any Named Configuration.  You will be prompted to confirm this action before the configuration is reset.  Any changes you have made to this configuration will be lost.

Load

Loads a previously saved Control profile from a file to the Control.

Save

Saves a Control profile to a file for later use. You can also set up a Control icon to automatically load and optionally save this file at the beginning and end of the session respectively.

Icons

This utility allows you to create icons on your desktop that load a NetSupport Control with a specific Named Configuration. This means that you can have several shortcuts that automatically connect to one or more Clients when run.

Settings

Configure the Settings for the selected Named Configuration.

Transport and Startup Settings

Configures the Transport and Startup settings for the selected Named Configuration.


Configurations - Create new Configuration

This dialog creates a new Named Configuration by duplicating an existing one.  The new configuration will then be added to the list of configurations so that you can alter its properties.

Name

Enter a name for the new configuration.  The name is not case sensitive and must be unique.  If you specify the name of an existing configuration, you will be notified and be required to enter a new name.

Copy From

The list provided contains all of the existing Named Configurations.  Select one of these to copy its properties, or select (None) to create a new configuration with the default settings.

Once you have supplied the above information, press OK to continue, or Cancel to abort the operation.


Configuration - Configure TCP/IP Client Browsing

When you are running on a network with multiple subnets or addresses, you need to configure the Broadcast Addresses for each network.

When a Browse is performed, the broadcast messages are sent to the addresses defined here. Broadcast addresses are usually the last address in a subnet, such as 192.168.100.255 in a full Class C subnet.

Broadcast Addresses (or Client Addresses)

This list contains all of the addresses that broadcast packets will be sent to.  Use the buttons underneath the list to add, edit and remove entries.

Add

Adds a new Broadcast Address to the list.

Edit

Edits an entry in the Broadcast Address list.

Delete

Removes an entry from the Broadcast Address list.


Configuration - Configure NetBIOS Client Browsing

The list displayed here contains all of the NetBIOS adapters that are present on this workstation.

You can test an individual adapter and display detailed information about it.  To test adapters, first select one from the list and press OK.  This will interrogate the adapter stack and inform you of its usability within NetSupport Manager.

To display complete details about the adapter stack, select it from the list and press Details.

See also

Details for NetBIOS stack


Configuration - Test IPX Networks

This dialog displays the different networks that were reported, those that did and didn’t respond.

Networks reported and responding

A list of hexadecimal network numbers reported by a NetWare or NT server that have responded correctly.  These network numbers can be used successfully.

Use these networks

Allows the Control use these network numbers when part of a Client address.

Networks reported but not responding

A list of hexadecimal network numbers reported by a NetWare or NT server that have responded incorrectly or not at all.  These network numbers should be ignored.

Ignore these networks

Prevents the Control from using the reported network numbers when connecting to Clients.


Client Properties - General Tab

This property sheet displays information about the selected Client record.  Some of these fields will be disabled when you are connected to the Client, such as the address and transport, as they cannot be altered.

Client Name

The Network name that this Client responds to.  Note that this can be different to the Display Name.  You can change the name of the Client if required.

Location

The location of the Client is selected from the drop down list box.  The Client may be local or on a Remote Network. Remote networks display the Transport and telephone number underneath the list provided.

IPX

If this radio button is selected, the Client is running over the IPX network protocol.  This protocol is generally used with Novell NetWare networks with LANs and WANs.

TCP/IP

This radio button is selected if the Client is using the TCP/IP protocol.  This protocol is used in the Internet and Wide Area Networks.

NetBIOS

This radio button is selected when the Client is using NetBIOS.  NetBIOS is a non-routed protocol so is only used on LANs.  The Adapters drop down list box only becomes available when NetBIOS is selected.  When NetBIOS is selected you must also select the adapter/stack that NetBIOS should use.

Adapters

This drop down list box contains the NetBIOS adapters that are selected in your current configuration.  NetBEUI is the most common adapter used here.  You must select the adapter name that matches the NetBIOS adapter on the Client workstation.  The adapter numbers will vary from workstation to workstation, but the name will remain constant.

Address

You can enter the network address of the Client to connect to here.  If you have already connected to the Client or have performed a Browse the address will be entered automatically.  If you remove the address, the next time you try to connect to the Client the Control will attempt to locate the Client across the selected protocols by name.  The address will then be re-entered automatically, which is useful if the hardware on this workstation is changed.

Include this Client in Shows/Scans

When you are connected to the Client you can toggle this check box to either include or exclude the Client from the subsequent Shows and Scans.  You can also toggle this state from the Client List views.


Client Properties - Details Tab

This is where you can store background information about the Client workstation. More importantly you can change the name of the Client workstation that is displayed in the List View in the Control Window.

The following options are available:

Display name

If set this is the name that will be displayed in the List View at the Control instead of the actual Client name. Note that this only applies to the Control workstation. The real name as set at the Client workstation remains the same.

Description

Using this for storing useful information about the Client.

Contact and Phone Number

Store the name of the workstation User and a relevant telephone number for the workstation.

Mac/Ethernet Address

Store the Mac/Ethernet Address of the Client workstation.


Client Properties - Help Requested

This property sheet displays the request from a Client, for help.  These requests can be posted if you are not connected to the Client, and will be displayed as soon as a connection is made.

Requested by

The name of the person requesting the help, not necessarily the Client names.

Help Request

The actual help message that the user at the Client workstation sent.

Clear

When you are connected to the Client, you can clear the request for help when you have assisted the user.

See also

Help Requests (SOS)


Client Properties - System Information Tab

This property sheet displays version and platform information about the Client.

Client Version

Displays the version number of the NetSupport Client that you are connected to.

Client Platform

Displays the operating system that the Client is running on.  This can be any of the supported Client platforms, such as Windows NT or Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP.

Note: This information is only available while you are connected to the Client.


Group Properties - General Tab

This property sheet contains details about the group you have selected.

Name

The name that identifies this group in the group list.

Description

A description about the selected group

See also

Create a new Group


Group Properties - Members Tab

This property sheet lists all of the Clients currently contained in this Group.  You can also add and remove Clients here.

Available Clients not in this group

Displays all of the Clients that are currently in your Known Client List that are not members of this Group.  These can be added to your Group Members list.

Group Members

Displays the names of all Client members of this Group.  These members can be removed if they are no longer required.

Add

Select one or more Clients from the Available Clients list to add to this Group. The Client names are removed from this list and added to the Group Members list.

Remove

Select one or more Clients from the Group Members list to remove from the Group.  The Client names are removed from this list and added to the Available Clients list.

See also

Create a new Group


Remote Network Properties - General

This dialog allows you to change the properties of the selected Remote Network.  Use the Remote Network Wizard to create a new Remote Network connection.

Name

Supply the name of the Remote Network that will appear in the Remote Networks list.

Description

Enter a more detailed description of the site that this object will connect to.  This field is optional.

Phone Number

Enter the telephone number of the NetSupport Bridge you are connecting to.

Transport

You need to specify the transport of the NetSupport Bridge you are dialling into. When you specify NetBIOS, you must specify the adapter of the Bridge workstation not the adapter of the Control workstation.  When a connection is established with the NetSupport Bridge, the NetBIOS stack on the number specified is used.


Configuring the Client

NetSupport Clients are configured using the NetSupport Configurator. This makes all the required changes to and sets up the initialisation commands.

The Configurator is started from the NetSupport Configurator Icon in the NetSupport Manager Program Group. This will display the initial Client Configuration dialog.

Note:	When performing a custom installation, the Configurator Component must have been selected for this option to be available.

The Client Configurator enables you to set all the possible options for the Client. It also enables you to test the Network to ensure that the Network stack that you are attaching the Client to is installed and operating correctly.

You can run the Configurator in two modes, Basic or Advanced.

Basic

Basic Configuration is used for standard settings such as the Client Name, the transport/s that it will use and simple security such as a password before a Control will be allowed to connect to the Client.

Note:	Basic Client Configurations can also be set as part of the NetSupport Installation process on workstations.

Choose this option if: -

•	You are using the Client Configurator for the first time.

•	You only wish to set simple security and configuration options.

•	You do not need to create multiple profiles for different Control users who might connect to this workstation.

Note: Do not use the Basic option if you have set up multiple profiles using the Advanced Option as this will also change the Master Profile in the Advanced Configuration.

Advanced

The advanced option provides access to NetSupport’s wealth of configuration and security options. It lets you tailor the response of the Client to different Control Users who may access the workstation and provides links to areas such as NT Security.

Note:	When performing a custom installation, the Configurator Component must have been selected for this option to be available.

Choose this option if: -

•	You are experienced user.

•	You need the Client to react differently depending on which Control User is connecting.

•	You wish to enable/disable individual features.

•	You want to link to NT Security.

•	You want to restrict a Control user’s access to specific drives, directories or files.

Note: Any changes you make to the Master Profile in the Advanced option will overwrite any setting that you have made using the Basic option.


User Defined Tools

As well as allowing a Control to launch applications on Client workstations, you can automatically run a task on a Control workstation using a Defined Tool. These tools can also be copied to other Control workstations for use.

To Add a Tool

1.	Choose {Tools}{User Defined – Edit} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	The User Defined Tool dialog will appear.

3.	Click on the Add button.

4.	The Add Tool dialog will appear.

5.	Choose to add a Program or Script tool by selecting the appropriate Tab.

6.	Enter the required information.

7.	Click OK.

8.	The tool will be listed.

To Edit a Tool

1.	Choose {Tools}{User Defined – Edit} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	The User Defined Tool dialog will appear.

3.	Select the tool you wish to edit or delete.

4.	Click on the Edit button.

5.	The Edit dialog will appear.

6.	Edit the appropriate information, click OK.

To Delete a Tool

1.	Choose {Tools}{User Defined – Delete} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	The User Defined Tool dialog will appear.

3.	Select the tool you wish to edit or delete.

4.	Click on the Delete button.

5.	A confirmation dialog will appear, click Yes.

6.	The Tool will be removed.

To run a Tool

1.	Choose {Tools}{User Defined Tools} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	Select the tool you wish to run.

3.	The Tool automatically run.

To copy User Defined Tool Settings to other Control workstations

1.	From the Control Configurator, select File Locations .

2.	The Tools file section, click on the Change button.

3.	Specify and alternate location or name for the Tools file.

4.	Make this file available to Control workstation that is going to adopt this Tools file.

5.	From the workstations Control Configurator, {File Locations – Tools file section}, click on the Change button.

6.	Select the new Tools file, click Open.

7.	The new Tools file will be implemented.


User Defined Tool - Add Tool dialog

Menu Text

Enter a name to describe the tool you are defining.

Program Tab

Path

Select the tool by entering in the full path name or utilise the Browse feature.

Arguments

Enter the parameter of your tool. Eg: C:\MY DOCUMENTS\LETTER.DOC

Wait for program to finish

Check this box to disable the Control whilst the selected program is being executed. A dialog will appear offering you the opportunity to stop the application being executed at any time. Please note, if you terminate an application before it has finished, data could be lost.

Script Tab

Script

Select a previously defined Script to run as a Defined Tool.

New

Add a name, optional description and the Script filename for this new Script object.


The Show dialog box

In this dialog you must select the Client, or Clients, that you will Show your screen or replay file to. You can also use this feature to Show Replay Files. If you are connected to only one Client, or have selected a specific Client before choosing Show, they will appear as an individual option. If you only wish to Show to this Client, click on Show, otherwise make your selection as follows:

These Clients

The list displays all of the connected Clients and their descriptions.  If you are only connected to one Client, this list is disabled. Once you have chosen the Clients you want to Show to, click Show.

Set Show Mode at Client (Windowed or Full Screen)

This option allows you to Show at the Client either in a small window or in full screen.

Advanced>>

Click the Advanced button to reveal the following options:

Show icon on taskbar

This option enables you to choose whether you want to display the NetSupport icon or button on the Control task bar, when Showing. This icon is displayed on the taskbar of Windows ’95/98 and Windows NT 4 operating systems. It is not available on Windows NT 3.51. By double clicking on either, you return to the Show dialog box.

Enable Audio Support

This turns Audio Support on. If you are Showing to only one Client, both the Control and Client can speak. If you are Showing to many, only the Control can speak (Announce).

Show Replay File

This option enables you to show Clients a stored Replay File instead of the current display. Use the Browse button to navigate to the folder containing the required Replay File.

Send Physical Fonts

In order to reduce the volume of data being sent when sharing information of this nature, NetSupport passes the font information by reference. The target workstation will refer to it’s own internal font mappings to find an appropriate match to the one that has been sent. In most cases the same fonts will be available but if there are instances where this isn’t the case you can send the full information. Check this box to enable.


Modify Known List

Use this dialog to define the Client workstations that the Control connects to at Startup.

Enter a prefix for the Computer Names of the Client workstations you want to connect to in the text box and click Browse. All NetSupport Clients found will appear in the Available Students List.

Add the Clients you want to remote control to the Known List by selecting their icon in the Available Student List and clicking Add. If you want to add all the Clients found to the Known List, click Add All. If you want to remove a Client from the Known Client List select their icon in the Known List and click Remove.

Once part of the Known List the following information about each Client is stored in the Client.NSS file:

•	Computer Name

•	Workstation Location

•	Transport Details

•	IP Address

•	Control Window Display Name

•	Workstation Contact Name and Telephone Number

•	Workstation Mac/Ethernet Address

•	NetSupport Client Version

•	Workstation Platform

This information can be accessed by selecting the Client icon in the Known List and clicking Properties.

Once a Client is Known it can be connected to without having to browse the network, simply click Done.


Send Message Dialog

Enter the required message and click Send. The message will be sent to the Client you are viewing.


The Execute Dialog

From here, you can Execute an application at the Client you are Viewing. Enter the name and path of the application, you must include the command line parameters.

The application you are executing must be installed on or available to the Client workstation.


The Execute Application Dialog

When opened, the Execute dialog box has two tabs: the Execute Tab and Saved List Tab.

The Execute Tab

Enter the name and path of the application to execute at the Client

Enter the full path of the application you want to run and click Execute. If the program is in the path environment variable on the Client, you only need enter the application EXE name. If the file you want to run has a valid file association to the application that launches it, you only need to enter the filename.

Note:	If you want to launch a specific file simultaneously with the application, you must separate the two instructions with quotes. For example, “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Excel.exe” “C:\My Documents\Accounts.xls”.

Local Browse

Run a browse on the local workstation to find the path of an application. To successfully launch an application using Local Browse, it must be available on the same path at the Client.

Add to List

By Clicking on the ‘Add to List’ Button before you execute the application, you will save it for future use in the Saved List Tab.

Results

Once you have executed an application at a Client or a Group of Clients, the result of the operation will be displayed in the Results Box. By selecting a Client(s) in the Result Box, you can use the View or Chat buttons:

No Result Required

By selecting this option, you can close the dialog box after executing an application, without having to wait for the results.

View Button

Allows you to View a selected Client(s).

Chat Button

Allows you to open a Chat session to the selected Client.

The Saved List Tab

When executing an application, you have the option to choose pre-saved application paths.

Add Button

Another Dialogue Box will appear allowing you to edit or add program details.

Remove Button

Allows you to remove saved applications.

Edit button

Another Dialogue Box will appear allowing you to edit or add program details.

Show Toolbar tick box

By ticking the Show Toolbar box, a new Toolbar will appear on the Control Window below the Quick View Toolbar.

Results

Once you have executed an application at a Client or a Group of Clients, the result of the operation will be displayed in the Results Box. By selecting a Client(s) in the Result Box, you can use the View or Chat buttons:

No Result Required

By selecting this option, you can close the dialog box after executing an application, without having to wait for the results.

View Button

Allows you to View a selected Client(s).

Chat Button

Allows you to open a Chat session with the selected Client.


The Scan Dialog

This dialog is used for setting the parameters for the Scan session.

Scan the following Clients

This list displays all of the currently connected Clients and their descriptions.  To include or exclude a Client from the Scan, click the check box next to it. Choose to include (green tick), or exclude (red cross), the Client in the Scan.

Scan Interval

Use this slider control to specify the interval before the scan is advanced to the next Client. The Scan period can be set anywhere between 2 seconds to a minute.

Display one Client at a time

Displays one Clients screen in the Scan Window at a time.

Display multiple Clients at a time

Displays up to 16 Client screens in one Scan Window at a time. To set the number of Client screens in the Scan Window, select from the drop down option, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4.

Scan Button

When you have selected the Clients to be included in the Scan, press the Scan button to start Scanning.


The Execute Dialog

From here, you can Execute an application at the Client you are Viewing. Enter the name and path of the application. You must include the command line parameters.

The application you are executing must be installed on or available to the Client workstation.


The Message Dialog

Choose whether you want to send the message to all Available Clients, All Connected Clients or only the Currently Selected Client.


Configure TCP/IP Browsing

This dialog is used for configuring which TCP/IP networks the Control will search for when browsing for Clients. By default the Control will perform a UDP browse for Clients on the same subnet as itself.

To force it to search for Clients on other subnets, you must add their subnet addresses here. (You must also include the Local Subnet address).

Example

194.150.150.255	(The local subnet address)

194.150.160.255	(Another available subnet address)

You can also specify an individual IP Address or a range of addresses. The latter being particularly useful if the subnet is behind a router that has UDP browse disabled. This would normally prevent the Control from finding the required Clients but by specifying the required IP address range a broadcast packet will be sent to each machine. (Only Class C address ranges can be entered)

Example

194.150.160.33

194.150.160.1 - 33

Broadcast Addresses (or Client Addresses)

This list contains all of the addresses that broadcast packets will be sent to.

Add

Add a new Broadcast Address to the list.

Edit

Edit an entry in the Broadcast Address list.

Delete

Removes an entry from the Broadcast Address list.

See also

Configuring The NetSupport Control For Subnet Browsing


Create Discussion Dialog

Select the Clients to include in the Chat session and the properties that will apply.

Topic

If required, enter a title or description for the subject to be discussed in the Chat session. This will appear in the Title Bar of the Chat Window that is displayed at the Client machines. If left blank, the Control Name will appear.

Members

To exclude Clients from the Chat session, remove the check mark next to the Client name.

Options

Members can decline to join

If checked, a message will appear at the Clients machine inviting them to join the Chat session. They can choose to Join or Decline.

Members can’t leave the chat

If checked, the option for Clients to Leave the Chat session will be removed.

Chat Window is always visible

If checked, the Chat Window remains on the Clients desktop for the duration of the Chat session. Members cannot minimise the Window.

Click OK to commence the Chat session when ready.


The Chat Window.

The following options are available from the Chat Window: -

Chat Menu

If the Control begins a Chat session and the Student does not notice the window appear on their screen, you can also send an audible Beep. Do this by selecting {Chat}{Send Beep} from the Chat drop down menu.

Window Menu

Only the Control’s Chat Window will have a Window drop down menu. This menu enables you to swap between opened screens or Tile them.

Control Text Box

This is where you type your part of the conversation.  Characters are sent in real time, so you do not have to type a line of text and then send it.  The backspace key can be used for editing the text as you go, but you cannot use the direction keys.

Client Text Box

The response from the user at the Student appears here.


The Chat Window

This Window is displayed at each participating members machine and lists the progress of the Chat session.

Unless the option is disabled in the Create Discussion dialog, Clients can choose to Leave the session.

The following options are available from the Chat Window:-

Chat Menu

The following options are available on the Chat Menu.

The content of a Chat session can be stored for future reference. Choose Save to create a file containing the text or Copy to be able to paste the Chat content into another application or file.

Should the Chat members not respond, you can send an audible beep to each workstation by selecting Send Beep. (The Client can also do this from their Chat Window) You can configure the Client and Control workstations to play the beep through either the PCs internal speaker, the default, or via the installed sound card to speakers attached to the PC. Select Client Configuration - Client Settings or Control Configuration - Settings.

Window Menu

Only the Control’s Chat Window will have a Window drop down menu. This menu enables you to swap between opened screens or Tile them.

Chat Progress

The main body of the Chat Window is used to record the progress of a Chat session. It holds details of members who have joined or left the discussion, as well as the messages that have been sent by each member.

Message

This is where you type your comments. Type the message and hit Enter or click Send.

Auto Send

Each message is restricted to 128 characters. Check this box to automatically send the message when the limit is reached.

Show/Hide Whiteboard

If required, you can introduce a ‘Whiteboard’ into the Chat session. This provides a range of tools enabling you to annotate the screen and display graphics.

Whiteboard Leader

If enabled, one of the participating Clients can be nominated to take control of the whiteboard.

Close

Ends the Chat session.

Members

Members currently included in the Chat session are listed here. The Control can add or remove Clients from the Chat session as required. Unless disabled, Clients have the option to Leave the session of their own accord.

Invite

The Chat Properties dialog is initially used to select the Clients to include/exclude from the Chat session. To add Clients when the Chat session is in progress, click Invite. The Add Members dialog will appear, select the required Clients and click Add. You can send a copy of the Chat progress to new members by checking the Send discussion history box.

Note:	Clients that have been removed or have decided to leave the Chat session can be invited back.

Eject

To remove Clients from the Chat session, select the Client in the Members list and click Eject. Ejected Clients can be invited back into the session if required.


Student Chat Dialog

As well as Chatting to the Tutor, you can include other Students in the Chat session if required.

Chat with Tutor

Click OK to Chat to the Tutor only. The Chat Window will appear at each machine.  If you Leave the Chat session, the Window is also closed at the Tutor machine.

Create Group Chat with other Students

Choose this option to include other connected Students in the Chat session.

Note:	The Tutor is automatically included in a Group Chat session. The Tutor can add Students and end the session if required. If you Leave a Group Chat session that you have initiated, the other participants can continue to Chat.

Topic

Enter a title or description for the Chat session. This will be displayed on the Title Bar of the Chat Window at each participants machine.

Members

This lists the names of other connected Students. To include all Students click Select All. To select individual Students, CTRL+click on each name. Click OK to commence the Chat session.


Client Chat Window

This Window is displayed at each participating members machine and lists the progress of the Chat session.

The following options are available from the Chat Window:-

Chat Menu

The following options are available on the Chat Menu.

The content of a Chat session can be stored for future reference. Choose Save to create a file containing the text or choose Copy to be able to paste the Chat content into another application or file.

You can send an audible beep to the other members of the Chat session by selecting Send Beep.

Chat Progress

The main body of the Chat Window is used to record the progress of a Chat session. It holds details of members who have joined or left the discussion, as well as the messages that have been sent by each member.

Message

This is where you type your comments. Type the message and hit Enter or click Send.

Auto Send

Each message is restricted to 128 characters. Check this box to automatically send the message when the limit is reached.

Leave

Click this when you are ready to Leave the discussion. If other Clients have been included in the Chat session, they will be able to continue chatting with the Control.

Members

Members currently included in the Chat session are listed here. The Control can add or remove Clients from the Chat session as required.


Cannot Show While A Group Leader Is Present

This dialog has appeared because you are trying to perform a Show while Group Leaders are present. To enable you to continue without conflicting with tasks being performed by the Group Leader, select one of the following options:

Cancel this Show

Choose this option if you do not want to continue with your Show.

Suspend Group Leader privileges

To proceed with your Show, choose this option to temporarily remove all Group Leaders. When you end the show, the appropriate Students will automatically regain their Group Leader rights.

Exclude ‘Group Leader’ and all its Students from the Show

You cannot Show to Students who are Group Leaders or are in a Group that has a Group Leader. Choose this option to exclude these and continue Showing to the remaining Students.


Publish A Class

This dialog lists the names of Students who have joined the class, it also enables you to remove Students as required.

In order for Students to be able to find the class when they logon to the network, this dialog must be open at the Tutor machine.

Change

This button enables you to change the name and description of the class. These details, along with the Control name, are displayed at the Client machine when the Student elects to join the class.

Done

Select this when all Students have joined the class and you are ready to commence the session.

New Students can join at any point but to make the class available to them, you will need to display this dialog again. Select Refresh from the Control Window toolbar.

Reject

Only the Tutor can remove a Student from the class. Highlight the required Student and click Reject.

Note: To join a class, Students open the NetSupport Client icon and select {Commands}{Join a Class}


Broadcast Settings Dialog

When you have enabled Broadcast Show, you specify the UDP Port and Broadcast Address on which the destination machines are sited. Data is sent to the specified address meaning that all machines appearing in that segment will receive the information simultaneously.

UDP Port (User Datagram Protocol)

Specify a UDP Port  to use for broadcasting the show. NetSupport's default is 5421.

Destination Address

This is the  broadcast address that the Show will be sent to.


Add a New VNC Client
Add a New ‘VNC’ Client

Specify the connection details for the VNC Client machine.

Address

Specify the network address of the VNC Client you wish to connect to.

Screen Number

The number of the virtual terminal being connected to. You do not need to alter this number.

Port Number

To enable the NetSupport Control to communicate with the VNC Client, and for the Client to receive the incoming request, the default registered port is 5900.


Add a New 'VNC' Client - Video Encoding

Select the preferred video encoding for the new Client.

The Net Support Control supports four types of VNC encoding:

•	Raw

•	RRE

•	CoRRE

•	Hextile

Raw is the fastest as far as CPU processing is concerned but creates overheads in terms of network traffic. Raw encoding simply sends raw screen data to the Control.

Hextile creates the most CPU overhead but is more suitable for slower network speeds. Hextile divides the Client screen into small tiles, and decides which of the three other methods is most suitable for that screen area.

The other two, performance-wise, are between Raw and Hextile. RRE and CoRRE analyse the Client screen and turn as much of it as possible into a "code" consisting of rectangles, which means that less has to be sent over the network.  This is especially useful on pages with a lot of simple graphics or text.

The type of encoding chosen should reflect the speed of the Client and Control machines, and the speed of the network.  On pages with simple graphics or text, it is recommended to use RRE or CoRRE encoding.

Use CopyRect

This is a very fast type of encoding to tell the Control if large areas of the Client screen are being moved around.  It is recommended to leave this box checked as it speeds up the video enormously.


Client Properties - VNC

This property sheet displays the connection information for the selected VNC Client record and enables you to edit the details if required.


Add a Gateway - Name

Enter a Name and Description for the new Gateway. These are the details that will appear in the Gateways folder of the Control Window Tree View.

Click Next to continue.


Add a Gateway - Address

Address

Enter the IP address of the workstation where the Gateway component is installed.

Port Number

NetSupport’s default port for Gateway (HTTP) communications is 3085.

If the Control is located behind a firewall, you will need to enable Port 3085 within your firewalls configuration to allow outbound communications.


Add a Gateway - Key

The Gateway Key provides additional security between the Gateway and the Controls/Clients trying to communicate through it. The same Key must be present in the Gateway, Control and Client configurations before a link can be established.

Gateway Key

Choose Set and enter the appropriate Gateway Key. This must match the one that is set at the machine where the Gateway component is installed.

Click OK to accept. The Key will appear encrypted.

Click Finish to add the new Gateway to the Gateways folder in the Control Window Tree View. You can check the properties of the Gateway should you need to amend any of the details by right-clicking on the Gateway name in the Tree View and selecting Properties.


Gateway Properties

This property sheet enables you to check and edit the Gateway details. You can change the Name and Description, the IP address of the machine where the Gateway is installed and the Gateway Key.


Enable Broadcast Show

When showing the Control screen to clients, the screen information is sent to each client machine in turn. Enabling Broadcast Show results in the screen information being sent to all machines simultaneously. In some network environments where there is limited network bandwidth available or when showing to larger numbers of machines this will provide significant performance benefits.

Whilst reducing overall network traffic generated by NetSupport, using this feature will generate additional broadcast packets on your network. It is recommended that you consult your Network administrator before using this feature.

Enable Broadcast Show

By selecting the checkbox you will enable the Broadcast Show feature. You can also change this later via the Configuration option available under the School menu.

Settings

When you have enabled Broadcast Show, you specify the UDP Port and Broadcast Address on which the destination machines are sited. Data is sent to the specified address meaning that all machines appearing in that segment will receive the information simultaneously.

UDP Port (User Datagram Protocol)

Specify a UDP Port to use for broadcasting the show. NetSupport's default is 5421.

Destination Address

This is the broadcast address that the Show will be sent to.


Show Video

This is used to select the Clients to show to and the video file to be shown. You can show to a selected Client or multiple Client workstations.

To show to multiple Clients, click ‘These Clients’. You can exclude Clients by clicking next to the Client name.

Video File

In the Video File field enter the location and name of the required video, you can select Open to browse for the file.

Show

Click Show to begin the Video file.


Select Background

As well as tailoring the position of Client icons in the Control List View to reflect the layout of the classroom you can choose alternative bitmaps to decorate the background and enhance the layout of the icons.

It is recommended that you select one of NetSupport’s default .BMP files but you can use a file that you have created.

Image Location

Browse

Select the location of the image you wish to use. The default BMP files are stored in the NetSupport School program folder.

Image Preview

A preview of the selected image is provided.

Picture Display

Select the position of the image.

Centre Clients to Image

If you select Tile you can also choose to centre the Client icons on the image.

Background Colour

If required, select a background colour.


Select Tutor Profile

Multiple Tutor Profiles can be set up for different Control users, each with a pre-defined set of options. This dialog shows the list of Tutor Profiles available on startup. Profiles can be added to this list via the Administration option in the Tutor Configuration after startup.

Profile Name

Select a Tutor Profile from the available list. Click OK to load the selected Tutor Profile.

If you Cancel this dialog the default NetSupport School option is selected.


User Defined Tools

As well as allowing a Tutor to launch applications at Student workstations, you can automatically run a task on a Tutor workstation using a Defined Tool.

To Add a Tool

1.	Choose {School}{Tools – Edit} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	The User Defined Tool dialog will appear.

3.	Click on the Add button.

4.	The Add Tool dialog will appear.

5.	Enter the required information.

6.	Click OK. The new tool will be listed on the Tools menu.

7.	Click Close.

To run a Tool

1.	Choose {School}{Tools} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	Select the tool you wish to run. The Tool will automatically run.

To Edit a Tool

1.	Choose {School}{Tools – Edit} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	The User Defined Tool dialog will appear.

3.	Select the tool you wish to edit or delete.

4.	Click on the Edit button.

5.	The Edit dialog will appear.

6.	Edit the appropriate information, click OK.

To Delete a Tool

1.	Choose {School}{Tools – Delete} from the Control Window drop down menus.

2.	The User Defined Tool dialog will appear.

3.	Select the tool you wish to edit or delete.

4.	Click on the Delete button.

5.	A confirmation dialog will appear, click Yes. The Tool will be removed.


Add Tool

Menu Text

Enter a name to describe the tool you are defining. This will be listed in the Tools menu once created.

Program Tab

Path

Select the tool by entering the full path name or utilise the Browse feature.

Arguments

Enter the parameter of your tool. For example, a specific file that should be loaded when the tool runs.

Wait for program to finish

Check this box to disable the Control whilst the selected program is being executed. A dialog will appear offering you the opportunity to stop the application being executed at any time. Please note, if you terminate an application before it has finished, data could be lost.


Record Local Activity

Use this dialog to enable the recording of Replay Files at the local machine.

1.	Include Audio

In addition to the screen, mouse and keyboard activity, if the workstation is configured for Audio, you can record any narration that takes place. Check this box to enable.

2.	Record Physical Fonts

In order to reduce the volume of data being sent when sharing information of this nature, NetSupport passes the font information by reference. The target workstation will refer to it’s own internal font mappings to find an appropriate match to the one that has been sent. In most cases the same fonts will be available but if there are instances where this isn’t the case you can send the full information. Check this box to enable.

3.	In Directory

Specify where you want the Replay Files stored. In order to identify each file, filenames will be prefixed with ‘Local’ and the date and time of the recording.

4.	Click OK to start recording. The Recording icon will appear in the task bar.

5.	To stop recording, double click the Recording icon.


Application History

Displays a list of the Applications used by Clients in the current session. When the Control disconnects the list is cleared.

Show Application History for:

The list can be viewed by currently Selected Client or All Connected Clients.

Refresh

While viewing the list click Refresh at any time to update the display.

Save

To keep a permanent record of the displayed items, you can save the details to a text file before disconnecting.

Print

Prints details of the currently displayed items.

Close

Closes the History dialog but details will continue to be recorded while the Control is connected.


Web History

Displays details of the Sites visited by Clients in the current session. When the Control disconnects the list is cleared.

Show Web History for:

The list can be viewed by currently Selected Client or All Connected Clients.

Refresh

While viewing the list click Refresh at any time to update the display.

Save

To keep a permanent record of the displayed items, you can save the details to a text file before disconnecting.

Print

Prints details of the currently displayed items.

Close

Closes the History dialog but details will continue to be recorded while the Control is connected.


Select Question

This dialog enables you to administer the questions and responses that are stored within the currently loaded Survey List. You can edit the content of the existing list or add new questions and responses. Custom responses can be entered and, if required, these can be made available to other Surveys by adding them to the default list of responses.

Add a new Survey to the List

1.	Enter the question in the box provided.

2.	Enter the required responses, maximum of 6, separating each one with a comma.

or

Choose a set of pre-defined responses from the drop down list.

3.	Click Add. The question along with the responses will be added to the list.

4.	To use the new question in a Survey, highlight it in the list and Click OK. It is now ready to send to Students.

Select an existing Survey

Existing Surveys can be re-used or edited before being sent to Students.

1.	Highlight the required Survey in the list.

2.	If no changes are required click OK. The Survey is ready to send to Students.

or

Overtype the parts of the question and/or responses that need changing. Click Add to store the amended Survey. Highlight the Survey in the list and click OK.

Note:	If you change the question it will be added to the list in addition to the original. If you only change the responses, the original will be overwritten.

Manage Responses

When you use customised responses in a Survey they will be attached to that question only. If you want to make the responses available to other Surveys they need to be added to the default drop down list.  Click Manage, the Manage Responses dialog will appear, enter the required responses and click Add.


Scripting -  Introduction to Scripting
Introduction to Scripting

NetSupport includes a powerful Scripting Language and Scheduler that allows you to automate the tasks you would normally perform repetitively in the NetSupport Control.

For example, you might set up a Script that runs unattended overnight to connect to a number of remote NetSupport Clients and upload or download files to them.

This is a simple case, but the Scripting also contains a wealth of Desktop Management functions such as the ability to interrogate Clients and retrieve information such as their free disk space; what operating system they are running etc.

You could even use NetSupport Scripting to distribute applications by using a combination of File Transfer, Remotely Execute Applications and edit the Registry.

Anything that you do manually with NetSupport Manager you can do automatically with NetSupport Scripting.

The following are just a few of the highlights: -

•	A powerful structured language

•	A wide range of text manipulation functions

•	The ability to work with multiple connected Clients

•	Local and remote operations are supported

•	Full logging of activities

•	The ability to supplement the system log with your own log messages

•	All of the security features associated with the 32-bit control are available

•	Your Scripts will not contain visible human readable passwords to develop your Scripts.

A full description of the Script Editor can be found in the on-line helpfiles or reference manual.


Scripting -  Starting the Script Editor
Starting the Script Editor

The Scripting Editor allows you to edit and create automated NetSupport Manager Scripts.

To start the Script Editor

Method

1.	Choose {Start}{Programs}{NetSupport}{NetSupport Script Editor}.

2.	The Script Editor Main Window will appear.

The Script Editor is divided into four main areas.

•	The Menu Bar and Toolbar.

•	The Command Window

•	Edit Dialog Window

•	Script Output Frame

See Also

Script Editor Menu's


Scripting -  Creating a Simple Script
Creating a Simple Script

NetSupport Scripting contains so many functions that it is not possible to cover them all in a brief guide like this. Instead, we will take you systematically through creating, testing and running a simple Script. You can then explore the full functionality yourself.

Method:

1.	Prepare a new Script Window, choose {File}{New} from the Scripting drop down menu bar.

2.	A new Text Window, in which you will create your Script, will appear.

3.	Double click on the Functions Folder and then again on Clients sub-folder. A list of functions relating to the Client will be displayed.

4.	Select a function and holding down your mouse, drag and drop it into the Script Dialog Window.

5.	A dialog box will appear, prompting you for the variables you need to enter.

6.	Select a transport for the Script to run on by selecting the SetTransport function, drag and drop it into the Script Dialog Window.

7.	A dialog box will appear, prompting you to set a transport.

8.	Select which transports you wish to use and click OK. The correct syntax will automatically be inserted in the Script.

9.	Select the Connect function, drag and drop it into the Script Dialog Window.

10.	Enter the Client(s) workstation to connect to and run your Script over.

11.	Continue in this manner until you have completed your Script.

Notes:

1.	To access on-help on function, select it and right click and choose ‘Display Help On …’.

2.	It is advisable to regularly check the syntax of your Script, choose {Run}{Check Syntax} from the drop down menus. The Script will then be checked and the results displayed in the output frame at the bottom of the screen.


Scripting -  Starting and Scheduling a Script
Starting and Scheduling a Script

You schedule a Script to run, using the NetSupport Scripting Agent. Start this from the NetSupport program Group.

The Scripting Agent contains many functions for tailoring the schedule to your exact needs. You create a schedule by choosing {Script}{Add} and selecting or adding the details you want in the Schedule Dialog.

You can set many Scripts to run in the same schedule. You can even set the running of one Script to depend on the results from another.

NetSupport Scripting is an exceptionally powerful tool and there an almost unlimited number of ways on which it can be used. Here are just a few ideas for you to consider: -

•	Connect to Clients at remote sites overnight via a dial-up link and retrieve there days Sales.

•	Connect to every Client on the Local LAN and retrieve its free disk space. Raise an alert if it is less than a certain limit.

•	Send a command to every Client to log in to the File Server and download a database.

•	Send a message to all Clients to be read by the Users first thing in the morning.

•	Download an Application overnight and use the Execute Command to run it’s Setup.

•	Update your NetSupport Clients to the latest version.

The list is endless.


Scripting -  Scripting Overview
Scripting Overview

The Scripting Language for NetSupport Manager consists of two main components, the Interpreter/Editor and the Scripting Agent.  The following sections review the use of each component, and detail the complete Scripting Language.

•	Scripting Interpreter

•	Scripting Editor

•	Scripting Agent


Scripting -  Scripting - Introduction to the Interpreter
Scripting - Introduction to the Interpreter

About the Interpreter

The Scripting Interpreter is a VBScript style language, which allows you to automate the tasks you would normally perform repetitively in the NetSupport Control. This could enable you to connect to multiple workstations during the night and upload/download log files, new data files and many other possibilities. When used in conjunction with the Scripting Agent this provides a very powerful tool to aid the busy network manager.

The Scripting Interpreter gives you the basic language functions, which are documented in the following sections, and lots of specialized functions only available to the NetSupport Manager user. The following is a list of some of the major features available:

•	A powerful structured language

•	A wide range of text manipulation functions

•	The ability to work with multiple connected Clients

•	Local and remote operations are supported

•	Full logging of activities

•	The ability to supplement the system log with your own log messages

•	All of the security features associated with the 32-bit control are available

•	Your Scripts will not contain visible human readable passwords

•	... and many other features

Please read the following sections before starting to develop your Scripts:

•	Introduction

•	Language Structure

•	Using Comments

•	Qualified Pathnames


Scripting - Introduction

The Language

NetSupport Scripting is an interpreted language designed to allow you to automate tasks within NetSupport Manager. The language is based upon the VB Scripting language. The structures will seem familiar if you have had any contact with VB Scripting before now. Although this language is based on VB Scripting, it is NOT VB Scripting, and there are many differences.

Throughout this help file, several different text formats identify parts of instructions such as:

Format	Comments
Identifier	Identifies a function name or reserved keyword
Args	Arguments which are supplied to a function
( )	Parenthesis, must be supplied where shown
[ ]	Square brackets surround arguments which are optional
//	Anything following these two slashes are treated as comments, and are ignored by the interpreter
Example	Fixed pitch fonts indicate a syntax description or example

Where you find three dots (ellipses) on a line by themselves (...), these refer to other commands that can be placed between the preceding and following lines. Do not copy these into your Script, as the interpreter does not understand what they mean.

The topics that describe individual Scripting functions are formatted in a particular way to help you use the functions in your script.

The following example shows how the Connect help topic is formatted:

Description

Establishes a connection with a NetSupport Client on the network.

Syntax

Success = Connect (client [, username/password])

Argument	Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of connecting to the Client.

Client	Required. The name of the Client to connect to.

Username	Optional. The Username required to connect to the Client.

Password	Optional. The Password required to connect to the Client.

Notes:

This function connects to a NetSupport Client on the network. Client must specify the full name of the Client to connect to. The Client argument is case insensitive, so "test1" is the same as "TEST1". You can specify an optional argument to contain the Client’s password. If this is not specified and the Client requires a password, you will be prompted for one. If the script is running unattended , or from within the Agent you will not be prompted, and the return value will be FALSE.

In order to connect to a TCP/IP Client by it's IP address in Scripting you need to use the following syntax:

connect(">103.149.83.61<TCP>")

To insert a password into the script you must use the Insert Password function from the Edit menu, or from the editor context menu. The password is encrypted so that people looking at your scripts will not be able to steal the password.

Example

Connect("test1"); Will connect to the client test1.

If Connect ("test1") = FALSE then Print "Could not connect to the client!"

If Connect ("test1", "AGHSKDY") then

Print "Connected to client ", CurrentClient (), " okay"

Endif

See Also

Disconnect

From the example above, you can see the important areas of the topics.  See Also provides a list of topics that are related to this one, and these may provide additional useful information.  Description provides a brief outline of what the function actually does.

The Syntax displays the way in which you construct the function, use the table above to identify the different arguments required.  If the function or command returns a value, this is signified by the xxx = part of the syntax.  This means that you can assign the return value to a variable, or use it in another function or command.  Notes detail more of the arguments that the function requires, and explains in more depth as to what the function does.  An Example will be provided in most cases showing you a simple way of using the command or function.


Scripting - Language Structure

Variables

The language structure, which is defined here, covers the basic restrictions and guidelines for writing Scripts. There are three variable types available to your Scripts, which are listed below. Unlike some BASIC languages, you do not need to suffix your variables with special characters, such as $ for strings.  All variable identifiers must start with a character not a number.  You cannot use characters other than alphanumerical characters and the underscore character in the identifier, if you try the interpreter will generate an error.

Variable Type	Description
String	A series of characters
Integer	An unsigned numeric variable, with a maximum value of 4,294,967,295
List	Contains a series of strings in a list, which you can manipulate freely

Assigning Values to Variables

When you need to assign a value to a variable, you must take into account the following restrictions. The = symbol is used to assign values to variables. You can reassign any variable at any time. So if you created variable A with a numeric value, you could simply assign a string to A to use A as a string variable. The following table shows valid ways of assigning values:

Operation	Description
A = 10	Assigns an integer value to the variable A
A = B	Assigns the value of another integer variable to A (B must be valid first)
Name = "Paul"	Assigns the string "Paul" to the variable name.
Name = firstname	Assigns the value of string variable firstname to name (firstname must be valid first)
Name = A	Converts the numeric value of A to its string representation and assigns it to name
Name = "Paul " + lastname	Creates a string variable that combines a string literal and the contents of another string variable
Defining Variables

In order to use variables, they must be defined first. Integer and String variables must have a value assigned to them, before using them within conditional statements, such as IF-THEN-ELSE. Assigning a value to a variable for the first time informs the interpreter to create this variable and this is then available for the rest of your Script, or the scope of the current function block.

If you try to use a variable that has not been defined, you will receive a runtime error. See the section about errors for more details.

Logic Operations

Before you can create operations that execute when a statement is TRUE or FALSE, you need to understand the Logic operations. These again are similar to BASIC in the way they work. The table below describes the operations that are available:

Operator	Description
=	Equal to (Only valid in conditional statements, otherwise = means assign)
==	Equal to
!=	Not Equal to
<	Less than
>	Greater than
<=	Less than or Equal to
>=	Greater than or Equal to
AND	Logical AND. The result is TRUE if bother operands are TRUE (non-zero)
OR	Logical OR. The result is TRUE if either operand is TRUE (non-zero)

When these operations are put together to form a conditional statement, the result is either TRUE or FALSE. This result is used by all of the conditional structures within the interpreted language.

Other Operators

As well as operators that create conditional information, the following operators are used to modify the result of a calculation.

Operator	Function	Description
*	Multiply	Multiply the left operand by the result of the right operand
/	Divide	Divide the left operand by the result of the right operand
+	Addition	Add the result of the right operand to the left operand
-	Subtraction	Subtract the result of the right operand from the left operand
( )	Parenthesis	Return the result of the arithmetic operations inside the brackets. These can contain other brackets and/or functions
&	Bitwise AND	The bitwise-AND operator compares each bit of its first operand to the corresponding bit of its second operand. If both bits are 1, the corresponding result bit is set to 1. Otherwise, the corresponding result bit is set to 0
|	Bitwise OR	The bitwise-OR operator compares each bit of its first operand to the corresponding bit of its second operand. If either bit is 1, the corresponding result bit is set to 1. Otherwise, the corresponding result bit is set to 0
Loops

There are three different types of conditional loop available within the Scripting Language. Each of the loops does something until a condition is met. The table below shows the three loops available:

Loop	Description
FOR/NEXT	Execute a set of instructions until the upper limit of the loop is reached, or there are no more strings in a list
DO/LOOP (While)	Execute a set of instructions whilst a supplied expression is TRUE
DO/LOOP (Until)	Execute a set of instructions until a specified expression is TRUE


Scripting - Using Comments

Description

At times you will want to comment your Script, so that you can remember what things do later on. This language interpreter uses the C style single line comment format, which consists of two forward slashes //. These can be placed anywhere on a line in your Script, and anything following the // will be interpreted as a comment.

The following example shows different uses of comments:

Example

// This script connects to all of our remote branch networks and

// retrieves various site statistics

//

// Written by Joe Bloggs, Date 1-Jan-98

//

SetTransport (T_IPX, T_REMOTE) // This sets the transport to remote IPX

// Ok now lets dial the sites

...

// Ok were all done


Scripting - NetSupport Qualified Pathnames

Description

NetSupport Manager qualified pathnames are how the interpreter distinguishes between operations performed on local workstations, and Client workstations. The NetSupport Manager pathname consists of a conventional pathname, preceded by a greater than symbol '>' if the operation is to be performed on the currently selected Client. If you want to specify a Client other than the current one, you precede the '>' with the Client name. You must have successfully connected to a Client, before you can perform any operation on it.

When would you use an NetSupport Manager pathname?

You use NetSupport Manager pathnames wherever a file or disk operation is to be performed. Below is a list of functions that need qualified pathnames:

Rename, Delete, MkDir, RmDir, DriveSize, DriveSpace, GetDriveList, GetFileList, GetDirList, Copy

Functions like DriveSpace and DriveSize do not require a full path, they only need a drive identifier. The following example shows how to specify local and Client drives:

Local	Client	Description
C:	>C:	Drive C on a local and the currently selected Client workstation
A:	TEST2>A:	Specify the floppy drive on the local or a specified Client workstation

Another exception is GetDriveList. This functions needs only to know where to look, it does not need paths or drive identifiers. To create valid arguments for this function, you need only specify either the Client name (followed by a greater than symbol), the greater than symbol (for the current Client) or nothing for the local workstation. The table below shows some possible formats:

Format	Description
">"	Retrieve drives from currently connected Client
"TEST1>"	Retrieve drives from a specified connected Client
""	Retrieve drives from the local workstation

The format for a fully qualified NetSupport Manager pathname is as follows:

Format	Description
"C:\COMMAND.COM"	Specifies a single file on the local workstation
"C:\*.COM"	Specifies multiple files on the local workstation
">C:\COMMAND.COM"	Specifies a single file on the currently selected Client workstation
">C:\*.COM"	Specifies multiple files on the currently selected Client workstation
"TEST1>C:\COMMAND.COM"	Specifies a single file on a specified connected Client workstation
"TEST1>C:\*.COM"	Specifies multiple files on a specified connected Client workstation


Scripting - User Functions

Description

As with most scripting or BASIC languages, you can create function blocks within NetSupport Scripting.  This allows you to create blocks of code that would normally be repeated, that can be called by a single function.  For example, you might create a function to connect to a Client and log all of the available information about it.  This could then be used lots of times, but you only need to create the code to do this once.

When you decide to use functions in your Scripts, the following guidelines apply:

•	You MUST create a main function block

•	All statements must be inside a function block

•	Any statements outside of a function block are ignored

•	All variables and labels that are created inside a function block are available only to that function

•	Your function names must be unique

•	Function declarations must be followed by open and close parenthesis, and optional arguments

Creating a function

To create a function you need to decide of a name that should identify what the function does.  This will be referred to as the function block.  To create a simple function use the following format:

Function MyFunction ()

...

End Function

You can replace the … with any scripting commands to build your function.  If your function needs one or more arguments you can create is like this:

Function MyFunction (argument1, argument2)

...

End Function

The arguments shown above do not have a specific type when you create the function.  This means that you could call this function with a string or an integer value as argument1 or argument2.  You can specify up to 10 arguments in a function, which is the current limit.  Note that you cannot parse list variables in function arguments.  The argument variable names you supply are available only whilst inside the function block.  These variables should be treated as read-only.  If you supplied a variable as one of the function arguments, for example:

MyString = "test1"

MyNumber = 3

MyFunction (MyString, MyNumber)

Any changes to the variable within the function block will not affect the variable in the function that it was called from.  You can also have your function return a value by treating the function name like a variable.  This allows you to parse a value back to the function that called it.  For example:

ReturnValue = MyFunction (10, 20)

...

Function MyFunction (argument1, argument2)

MyFunction = argument1 * argument2

End Function

This example multiplies the two arguments together and returns the value by setting MyFunction.

Creating the Main function

You must create a function called Main before your Script will run.  This serves as the starting point for your Script.  If you do not create this function, you will receive Interpreter Error C0007.  The main function does not require any arguments, and should be created like this:

Function Main ()

...

End Function

Your Main function can be placed anywhere in your Script, and does not have to be the first function.  The Script starts executing the first scripting command found within this function block.


Scripting -  Constant Values
> Scripting -  Constant Values

Constant Values

The following table contains all of the constant values in the Scripting Language. You cannot alter the value of these constants. If you try, a runtime error will occur.

Identifier	Default Value	Description
TRUE	1	Boolean TRUE
FALSE	0	Boolean FALSE
T_IPX	1	IPX Transport Identifier
T_TCPIP	2	TCP/IP Transport Identifier
T_NETBIOS	6	NetBIOS Transport Identifier (Add the adapter number to this value)
T_REMOTE	255	Specifies the remote transports should be loaded
FI_ATTRIB	0	Used with GetFileInfo to return the attributes of an object
FI_SIZE	1	Used with GetFileInfo to return the file size of an object
FI_DATE	2	Used with GetFileInfo to return the date of an object
FI_TIME	3	Used with GetFileInfo to return the time of an object
FA_ARCHIVE	32	Archive file attribute
FA_HIDDEN	2	Hidden file attribute
FA_RDONLY	1	Read Only file attribute
FA_SYSTEM	4	System file attribute
PLATFORM_WIN95	2	Platform flag : Windows 95
PLATFORM_NT4	4	Platform flag : Windows NT 4.0
PLATFORM_WIN2000	6	Platform flag: Windows 2000
PLATFORM_WIN98	7	Platform flag: Windows 98
PLATFORM_WINME	9	Platform flag: Windows ME
PLATFORM_WINXP	10	Platform flag: Windows XP
IGNORECASE	1	When doing string comparisons, ignore case
MATCHCASE	2	When doing string comparisons, match case
NOTHING	0	Assigned to a variable to either delete a list or used as null a value
LASTERRORSTRING	0	This variable contains the error message from the last operation.
LASTERROR	0	This variable contains the result of the last Client operation. If the value is zero, then no error has occurred.
ONLINE	0	After attempting a dial up, is set to true if successful.
RB_LOGOFF	0	Used when calling Reboot,  Log off the client machine
RB_POWEROFF	4	Used when calling Reboot, Powers Off the client machine
RB_REBOOT	1	Used when calling Reboot,  Reboot the client machine
RB_SHUTDOWN	2	Used when calling Reboot,  Shutdown the client machine
ERR_OK	0	Compare to LASTERROR to get the reason for the error.  No Error
ERR_NOTCONNECTED	3	Compare to LASTERROR to get the reason for the error. No client Conencted
ERR_REJECTED	5	Compare to LASTERROR to get the reason for the error. The Client rejected the command.
ERR_INCORRECTPASSWORD	9	Compare to LASTERROR to get the reason for the error.  Incorrect Password provided
ERR_NOCLIENTSFOUND	12	Compare to LASTERROR to get the reason for the error.  No clients were found.
ERR_NONSELECTED	34	Compare to LASTERROR to get the reason for the error.  No Client was selected.
REG_BINARY	1	The type of value returned by RegGetValue or RegEnumValues. The return type was a binary value
REG_DWORD	2	The type of value returned by RegGetValue or RegEnumValues. The return type was a Numeric value
REG_SZ	3	The type of value returned by RegGetValue or RegEnumValues. The return type was a String value
REG_MULTI_SZ	4	The type of value returned by RegGetValue or RegEnumValues. The return type was a Multi String value
FILE_READ	0	Open the file Read Only.  Fails if the file does not exist.
FILE_CREATE	1	Create the file.  Fails if the file already exists.
FILE_OVERWRITE	2	If the file exists delete it and create a new file.  If the file does not exist create the file.
FILE_APPEND	4	Add text to the bottom of a file
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT	(HEX)0x80000000	Registry key.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER	(HEX)0x80000001	Registry key.
HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE	(HEX)0x80000002	Registry key.
HKEY_USERS	(HEX)0x80000003	Registry key.
WU_CLIENTNAME	1	Used when calling WakeUpClient, Powers On the client machine when Client Name is known.
WU_MAC_ADDRESS	2	Used when calling WakeUpClient, Powers On the client machine when MAC Address is known.
MB_OK	0	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_OKCANCEL	1	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_ABORTRETRYIGNORE	2	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_YESNOCANCEL	3	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_YESNO	4	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_ICONSTOP	16	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_ICONQUESTION	32	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_ICONEXCLAMATION	48	Used with the MsgBox Function
MB_ICONINFORMATION	64	Used with the MsgBox Function
IDOK	1	Used with the MsgBox Function
IDCANCEL	2	Used with the MsgBox Function
IDABORT	3	Used with the MsgBox Function
IDRETRY	4	Used with the MsgBox Function
IDIGNORE	5	Used with the MsgBox Function
IDYES	6	Used with the MsgBox Function
IDNO	7	Used with the MsgBox Function


Scripting -  Global Variables
> Scripting -  Global Variables

Description

The following table contains all of the variables that have an effect on various Scripting commands. They are accessible from any part of the Script, inside and outside of sub routines.

Identifier	Default Value	Description
dial_delay	30	The time (in seconds) between redial attempts
dial_retry	3	The number of redial attempts
report_size	0	The value effects the output from functions that return the size of files. The following values are valid: 0. Return the size in bytes 1. Return the size in Kilo bytes (Kb) 2. Return the size in Mega bytes (Mb)


Scripting -  Introduction to the Scripting Editor
> Scripting -  Introduction to the Scripting Editor

About the User Interface

The Scripting Editor has a wealth of features aimed at making your Script development easier. The Editor gives you a multiple document interface, allowing you to have lots of documents open at the same time. You can drag sections of code between scripts, check syntax and run the scripts all from the easy to use interface.

Some of the main features of the Editor are:

•	The ability to find errors in your Script before running it

•	Drag and drop functions and identifiers into your Script

•	View and clear the log files created from running Scripts

•	Insert encrypted passwords into your Script

•	... and many others


Scripting -  The Main Window
> Scripting -  The Main Window

Description

This is the window in which you will develop and test your Scripts.

The Menu

The main navigation tool in the Scripting Editor is the menu.

The Toolbar

The toolbar provides quick and easy access to many of the functions in the Scripting Interpreter.

The Command Window

The command window lists all of the functions, variables and statements available in the Scripting Language in drag and drop form.

The Output Window

The output window is where all information about the execution of your Script is sent.


Scripting -  The Editor Toolbar

Description

The Toolbar provides quick and easy access to many of the functions in the Scripting Interpreter. You can check the syntax of a Script, run a Script, change the views in the UI and many others. This is the Toolbar:

These are the functions of each button, reading from left to right:

New	Opens a new script window.
Open	Open an existing script document
Save	Save the current script document
Cut	Remove the current text selection and place it in the clipboard
Copy	Copy the current text selection into the clipboard
Paste	Insert the contents of the clipboard at the current caret position
Undo	Undo the last text operation
Run Script	Runs the current Script
Check Syntax	Check the syntax of the current Script
Cancel Script	Stops the currently executing Script
Print	Print the current Script
Help	Displays the NetSupport on-line Help
Command Window	Hides or shows the command window down the left hand side of the UI
Output Window	Hides or shows the output window at the bottom of the UI
Find	Search the Script for a text string
Find and Replace	Searches the Script for a text string and replace it with another
Properties	Display the properties of the current Script
No User Interaction	Prevents user interaction dialogs from appearing when developing your Script.


Scripting -  The Command Window
> Scripting -  The Command Window

Description

The command window lists all of the functions, variables and statements available in the Scripting Language. You can drag commands to your editor windows to help you build a Script quickly. It also provides a quick reference as to the usage of a statement. By using the context menu (right clicking on an item) you can display the help topic for that command. You can also drag with the right mouse button, which allows you to insert the structure of the command without prompting for the arguments. You must replace the items surrounded by square brackets before your Script is allowed to run.

By default the list is displayed as shown here. This allows you to find commands depending on the function within the language. For example, a loop, which requires a condition to execute, would be found in the Conditional branch of the tree, a function that requires a Client workstation will be in the Client branch.  If you prefer the list in a sorted order, use the context menu on the tree and select List Type | Flat. When you drag a command from this window to an active edit window, you will be presented with a dialog.

This dialog prompts you for the information required for constructing the selected command.  The OK button will not be available until all the necessary fields have been supplied.  To get full detailed information about how the command should be structured, how and when to use it, press the Help button.

Any field that has Optional in the description, is exactly that.  These fields, when completed provide additional functionality to the command, as described in the command help.

When you select OK, the structure of the command is inserted into the Script that contains the caret.  Some commands, such as structures require more than one line, and the caret should be positioned at the beginning of a line of text, whilst some commands can be inserted into the middle of other statements, or on a line by themselves.


Scripting -  The Output Window
> Scripting -  The Output Window

Description

The Output Window is where all information about the execution of your Script is sent.  Progress messages from the NetSupport API, scripting progress messages and scripting errors are displayed here.  The messages take different formats depending on the type of information being displayed.

This is a list of the different formats used:

C:\lookup.scr(1) : error ...	This indicates a fatal error occurred in your Script.  This must be rectified before the Script will be allowed to run.  See the section on Runtime Errors for more details.
No errors detected	Normal, informative messages from the Scripting Interpreter.  Either generated by the interpreter or from the use of a Print statement.
Notification : Client reject ...	Informative errors from the NetSupport API.  These inform you of problems related to NetSupport Clients.

The layout of the output window is very simple.


Scripting -  The Options Dialog
> Scripting -  The Options Dialog

Description

The options dialog allows you to configure the editor environment.

Tabs

When you press the tab key in an editor window, you can control what happens here.  You can either have the editor insert spaces, or keep the original tab characters.  The benefit of using spaces is that you can structure your Script a little easier.  You can also specify the number of spaces to be used when not using tab characters.

Output

The output window, which is attached to the bottom of the editor environment, can be cleared every time a Script is executed.  You can uncheck the check box to leave the contents of this window as it is, meaning you have to clear the contents as and when necessary.


Scripting -  Using the Drag and Drop feature
> Scripting -  Using the Drag and Drop feature

Description

The Scripting environment provides a comprehensive drag and drop system for quickly creating your Scripts.  From the Command Window, which is attached to the left-hand side of the environment, you can drag all the commands and identifiers that are available in the Scripting Language.

See the topic The Command Window for a complete description.


Scripting -  Insert a Named Configuration
> Scripting -  Insert a Named Configuration

Description

When you call the scripting function SetConfig, you need to supply the name of a configuration to load.  These configurations are defined in the NetSupport Control program.  Firstly you need to position the caret at the point in your Script where the Named Configuration will go.  Select Insert Named Configuration from the Edit menu, at which point you are presented with a dialog box.

The list provided contains all of the configurations currently set up.  Select Standard if you do not have any of your own configurations defined.  Once you have selected the Named Configuration to use, press the Insert button.

This combination of functions is most useful when dialing remote networks.  Each configuration contains the modem settings to use, if you have more than one modem for example.


Scripting -  Set Predefined Script Variables
> Scripting -  Set Predefined Script Variables

Description

When you execute a Script, the only variables available are the system variables and the ones you define yourself.  By using predefined variables, you can set up to 10 variables that are present when you run a Script.  For example, you could define ClientName to be “TEST1” and use this in your Script to perform an operation on a specific Client.  You can parse string values or integer values to the Script.

The list you see contains all the variables already defined.  You can add, remove and edit variables by first selecting it in the list and then pressing the appropriate button.

Adding a new variable

To add new variables press the Add button. A dialog box will appear.

Enter the name of the variable, the identifier, in the first edit field.  You must observe the rules for variable names as defined in the language structure.  The next field contains the value to assign to the variable.  Enter either a numeric value or a string here.

The next step is to select the type of identifier to create.  By default the “Automatic Assignment” radio button is selected.  This means that the value supplied is converted depending on the interpretation of the value.  If for example you enter a string of numeric characters, and this can be converted to a numeric value, the identifier becomes a numeric variable.  If the value cannot be converted to a numeric value, the identifier becomes a string variable.

You can force the value to one or the other by selecting the appropriate radio button.  Select “String Assignment” and regardless of the value, the identifier will become a string variable, and likewise for the “Integer Numeric Assignment”.  If the value cannot be converted to a numeric value, the variable type is enforced and the value becomes 0 (zero).

Removing a variable

To remove a variable from the list, simply select the one to remove, and press the Remove button.

Editing a variable

To edit a predefined variable, select the variable in question and press the Edit button.  You then see a dialog that is the same as for adding a variable, except that the fields are set to the appropriate values.  You use this dialog in exactly the same way.

When you have defined all the variables required, press the OK button to return to the editor.  When you run scripts, these variables will be defined for you and can be used at any point in your Script.


Scripting -  Insert an Encrypted Password
> Scripting -  Insert an Encrypted Password

Description

When you need to connect to a Client or dial a remote network, you may need to specify a password.  To prevent prying eyes from seeing these passwords, you are required to enter them in encrypted format.  You position the caret in your Script where you want the password to be inserted, and then select Insert Password from either the editor context menu, or from the Edit menu.  You are then prompted with this dialog box:

The password you enter will not be displayed, you will see asterisks for each character typed.  Press the insert button to insert the encrypted password into your Script.


Scripting -  Move to a specific line number
> Scripting -  Move to a specific line number

Description

When you receive an error message, the caret is moved to the line where the error occurred.  Sometimes you may move the caret away from this line, and especially in large scripts, you may want to go back to that line quickly.  You can do this by selecting Go to Line Number from the Edit menu.  You are then prompted with this dialog:

Simply enter the line number to move the caret to in the edit box.  If you specify a number greater than the number of lines in the Script, a message will appear informing you of the valid range.  If the line you specified is not visible in the editor window, it is scrolled into view.


Scripting -  File Properties - General
> Scripting -  File Properties - General

Description

By selecting Properties from the editor window context menu, or by pressing the Properties button on the toolbar, you are presented with dialogs detailing the focused file.  The following dialog is displayed regardless of whether or not the focused editor window contains a Script, or other text file.

Note: The Statistics tab only appears if the editor window you have selected contains a script, identified by the file extension .SCP.

The details displayed shows the following information:

Filename	The name of the file, without the path
Location	The full pathname to the file
Size	The size in bytes of the file
Created	Date the file was created
Modified	The last time the file was modified
Accessed	The last time the file was accessed


Scripting -  File Properties - Statistics
> Scripting -  File Properties - Statistics

Description

This tab in the Properties dialog is displayed when the file in the focused editor window is a NetSupport Script.  This is determined by the file extension .SCP.

Note: This dialog only appears when looking at the properties of a Script.

The details displayed in the dialog is as follows:

Execution Time	The amount of time it took for the Script to run.
Client Errors	These are non fatal errors reported during the execution of a Script
Fatal Errors	The number of errors that caused the script to terminate, usually zero or one
Termination Type	The way in which the Script terminated.  Either Normal, User Terminated or Runtime Error


Scripting -  Creating a new Script

Description

Before you can begin to write your Scripts, you must open a new Scripting Edit Window.  To do this, simply press the Create a blank script button on the toolbar or select New from the File menu.  A new blank editor window will appear in the user interface.  To begin with the window will be named Untitled.

Once you have created some text in the editor window you can save the Script, and give it a name.  The editor window will now reflect the name of the Script.  You can use the Properties function to see the statistics for this file at any time.  Do this from either the toolbar or from the editor context menu.


Scripting -  Opening an existing Script

Description

To open an existing Script either select Open from the File menu, or from the toolbar.  You will be presented with the standard Windows file browser.  The default extension for NetSupport Scripts is SCP.  Select the Script to edit and press the Open button.


Scripting -  Saving your Scripts

Description

Scripts can be saved in one of three ways.  Firstly you can select Save from the toolbar or File Menu.  Secondly you can use Save As, and thirdly let the user interface save the file(s) when it terminates.

When you press Save on the toolbar, or from the menu and the Script you are working on is Untitled the Save As windows dialog will be presented.  Otherwise the file will be saved over the existing file.  If the file has been made read-only whilst the user interface was open, you will be warned and the file will not be saved.

When the Scripting Editor shuts down, you will be prompted to save unsaved files.  If you press Yes, the file will be saved, or if you press No the file will remain unchanged.  If you press Cancel the shut down process will be aborted and the file will remain unchanged.


Scripting -  Saving your Script under a different name

Description

You can save a Script under a different name by selecting Save As from the File Menu.  This also happens when you try to save an untitled file.  The standard Windows Save As dialog will appear, and you must select the location and name for your new Script.  If you do not supply the .SCP extension to the filename, the user interface will do it automatically.


Scripting -  Loading a log file
> Scripting -  Loading a log file

Description

You can load the log file associated with the focused editor window by selecting Load Log file xxx from the File Menu.  The xxx is replaced by the name of the current Script, and when you select this menu item an editor window is opened containing the log file.

If the log file has become too large (greater than 64k in size) you will receive a warning to the fact, and it is suggested that you load the log file into Notepad or other editor.


Scripting -  Clearing a log file
> Scripting -  Clearing a log file

Description

To clear the log file associated with the currently focused editor, select Clear Log File xxx from the File Menu.  The xxx is replaced by the filename of the currently focused editor window.  Select this menu item and the log file will be cleared.

Note:  This operation cannot be undone.


Scripting -  Checking the syntax of a Script

Description

To check the syntax of a Script, simply focus the editor window that contains the Script to check, press the Check Syntax toolbar button or select Check Syntax from the Run Menu.

The user interface will first save the file, so you may be prompted with the Save As dialog if the Script is untitled.  The Scripting interpreter then runs through the Script looking for any errors that would prevent it from running.  All function blocks and loops are checked, even if those bits of code are not actually used in the flow of the running Script.  You must resolve any Runtime or Interpreter errors that are reported here, before the Script is allowed to run.


Scripting -  Running a Script

Description

Focus the editor window that contains the Script to run, and press the Run Script toolbar button or select Run Script from the Run Menu.

The first thing the user interface does is save your Script.  You may be prompted with the Save As dialog if the Script is untitled.  The Script is then checked for correct syntax, in the same way you would.  If no errors are reported the Script is then executed.

You can stop the Script from executing by pressing the Cancel Script toolbar button at any time.  The response may not be immediate, especially if the Script is performing a lookup or connect.


Scripting - Cancelling a Script

Description

When you are running a Script from within the editor, you can abort it at any time.  To do this, press the Cancel Script button on the toolbar.  If the Script is performing a lookup, connect or dial, the response may not be immediate but the Script will stop.

Note: The Script will stop before the next line in the Script is executed, once the cancel button is pressed.


Scripting -  Running in Unattended mode
> Scripting -  Running in Unattended mode

Description

When you run a Script in unattended mode, you are basically simulating running the Script from the Scripting Agent.  Any prompts that would normally appear will be suppressed, and a Script should take the appropriate action.  For example, if you connect to a Client which has a password set you would be prompted to enter a password.  In the Agent this wouldn’t happen, and that is what unattended mode simulates.

It is recommended that you run all your Scripts inside the editor in unattended mode, before creating a task in the Scripting Agent.  This allows you to track down errors more easily than looking at the problem in log file afterwards.

To set or clear unattended mode, either check the toolbar button or select Unattended Mode from the Run Menu.


Scripting -  The Editor Menus

Description

The other main navigation tool in the Scripting Editor is the menu.

Context menus

There are also several context menus available, accessible by pressing the right mouse button in one of the main windows within the user interface.

•	Edit Window

•	Command Window

•	Output Window


Scripting -  File Menu - No Edit Windows Open
> Scripting -  File Menu - No Edit Windows Open

Description

This file menu only appears when you do not have any editor windows open.  This is because many of the functions available in the full menu are not usable without having one or more files open.

New

Creates a blank editor window, into which you can begin writing your Script.  This window will have the title “Untitled” until you save or run the Script

Open

This allows you to open an existing Script or other text file.  You will be prompted with the standard windows file browser, varying depending on the operating system you are running

Recent Files

This sub menu lists the 9 most recent files opened.  The most recent file will appear first, through to the oldest file opened

Exit

Closes down the Scripting Editor. You will be prompted to save files you have opened that are not saved, which includes “Untitled” files


Scripting -  File Menu - With Edit Windows Open

Description

This file menu appears when you have one or more editor windows open.  The menu provides you with more functionality than the previous file menu.

New

Creates a blank editor window, into which you can begin writing your Script.  This window will have the title “Untitled” until you save or run the Script.

Open

This allows you to open an existing Script or other text file.  You will be prompted with the standard windows file browser, varying depending on the operating system you are running

Close

Closes the currently focused editor window.  You will be prompted to save this file if it is unsaved, or is “Untitled”

Save

Saves the currently focused editor window.  If the file is “Untitled” then the Save As dialog box will appear

Save As

Saves the currently focused editor window under a different name.

Load Log File

When you have a Script loaded in an editor window, indicated by the extension .SCP, this menu item will display the name of the associated log file for the Script.  By selecting this menu item, the specified log file is opened in an editor window

Clear Log File

Does the same as the Load Log File menu item, but clears the specified log file

Print Setup

Displays the standard windows printer setup dialog, to allow you to configure your printer

Print

Prints the currently selected editor window to the default printer

Recent Files

This sub menu lists the 9 most recent files opened.  The most recent file will appear first, through to the oldest file opened

Exit

Closes down the Scripting Editor. You will be prompted to save files you have opened that are not saved, which includes “Untitled” files.


Scripting -  Edit Menu
> Scripting -  Edit Menu

Description

The Edit Menu provides all of the standard windows text editor functions, and a few specific to Scripting.

Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete

These are the standard Windows editor functions.

Find and Replace

Allows you to search the currently focused editor window for a string, and/or replace it with another string.

Go to Line Number

Jumps to a specified line number in the focused editor window.

Insert Password

Inserts an encrypted password into your Script at the current caret position.

Insert Named Configuration

Inserts a NetSupport Named Configuration identifier into your Script at the current cursor location.


Scripting -  Editor View Menu

Description

The View Menu allows you to show or hide various different windows in the Scripting environment.

Toolbar

This menu item allows you to show or hide the toolbar at the top of the editor environment.  The check mark indicates whether the toolbar is displayed or not.

Status Line

This menu item allows you to hide the status line at the bottom of the editor environment.

Command Viewer Type – Structured

By selecting Structured, all the items in the command viewer will be displayed as a tree.  Each branch of the tree contains different commands, functions, structures and variables that can be used in your Script.  This structured format makes it easier to find items quickly

Command Viewer Type – Flat

When the command viewer format is flat, all the items that were previously displayed in the Structured format will be listed in alphabetical order

Output Window

This allows you to hide or show the output window.  The output window is attached to the bottom of the editor environment

Command Window

The command window can be hidden or shown by selecting this menu item.  This window is attached to the left-hand side of the editor environment


Scripting -  Run Menu
> Scripting -  Run Menu

Description

From this menu you can control the execution of a Script.

Check Syntax

When you select this menu item, the Script in the focused editor window is checked to make sure it’s syntax is correct.  This allows you to make sure that what you are typing is understood by the interpreter, and that the Script will run.

Execute

This menu item will display the name of the Script in the focused editor window.  By selecting Execute you will tell the editor to check the syntax of the Script (as above) and then execute it.  Any errors that are generated will be displayed in the Output Window.

Unattended Mode

When you are going to run your Scripts from the Scripting Agent for example, you want to make sure that no prompts are displayed, and that the Script handles these conditions correctly.  If you connected to a Client that required a password, a dialog box would appear prompting for it.  By selecting Unattended Mode these dialogs will not appear.


Scripting -  Editor Options Menu

Description

This is where you configure the Scripting Editor environment.

Fonts

A dialog will be displayed listing the fonts available to the editor.  You can select any font and any style, which is then applied to all the current and future editor windows.

Options

This displays the Configuration dialog box, and allows you to alter the settings for the editor environment.

Predefined Variables

The dialog box that appears allows you to manipulate variables that are supplied to any and all Scripts that are run.

Run Scripting Agent

Launches the Scripting Agent


Scripting -  Editor Window Menu

Description

These are your standard window manipulation functions.

Cascade, Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically, Close All

Changes the positions of child windows, and allows you to close them all.

All the currently open editor windows are appended to this menu, and you can focus a specific window by selecting it from the menu.


Scripting -  Editor Help Menu

Description

The help menu provides access to the various resources needed when developing with the Scripting Environment

Contents

Displays the NetSupport help file, table of contents.

Search

Displays the search tab in the NetSupport help file, allowing you to search for keywords.

Using Help

Displays the standard windows help file, which explains how to use the help viewer installed on your system.

About Scripting

The Scripting About dialog box is displayed providing general version information.


Scripting -  Edit Window Context Menu
> Scripting -  Edit Window Context Menu

Description

To display the edit window context menu, press the right mouse button anywhere in an editor window.

Help Topic: xxx

When you press the right mouse button the keyword underneath the cursor is extracted from your script and displayed here.  If you then select this menu item, the help file tries to display the topic with that keyword association.  If there is no keyword underneath the cursor, this menu item is disabled.

Insert Password

Allows you to insert an encrypted password into your Script.  The encrypted password is inserted at the current caret position.

Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete

These are the standard editing functions available.  These are also accessible from the main menu and toolbar.

Properties

Displays the properties of the currently focused editor window.  See the related topic File Properties.


Scripting -  Command Window Context Menu
> Scripting -  Command Window Context Menu

Description

To display the command window context menu, press the right mouse button anywhere in the command tree view.

If the mouse pointer was over an item in the tree view, the Display Help On menu item reflects this item.  By selecting this menu item the help file will display a help topic for the command, statement or variable.

The List Type menu item allows you to change the format of the list view.  See the topic for the View Menu for more details about the styles.

Select Hide to hide the command window. This can be shown again by pressing the Show Command Window button on the toolbar, or from the View Menu.


Scripting -  Output Window Context Menu
> Scripting -  Output Window Context Menu

Description

To display the output window context menu, press the right mouse button anywhere in the output window.

Select Clear Output to empty the output window.  Select Hide to hide the output window.  This window can be shown again by pressing the Show Output Window button on the toolbar, or from the View Menu.


Scripting -  Introduction to the Scripting Agent
> Scripting -  Introduction to the Scripting Agent

About the Scripting Agent

The Scripting Agent allows you to schedule multiple tasks to run at various times and dates. You can see the status of the Scripts as they run, and the user interface makes it easy to add, remove and edit tasks. You can also manually run and check the syntax of a Script from within the Agent.

The main features of the Agent are:

•	Run Scripts at specific times and dates

•	Repetitively run Scripts at a specified intervals

•	Fully year 2000 compliant

•	See which Scripts are running, which failed, why they failed and which tasks have been postponed

•	Disable individual tasks from running, or disable the entire Agent

•	Plus many more features


Scripting -  The Main Window
> Scripting -  The Main Window

Description

This window displays all of your scheduled tasks.

The Toolbar

This provides access to most of the functions available from the menus.  Click on the toolbar above for more information.

The Menu

From here you can specify other options not available on the toolbar.  Click on the menu for more details.

The List View

This is where all of your schedules are displayed.  Currently running tasks, waiting tasks, postponed tasks and disabled tasks are shown with different colored icons to indicate their states.  Click on the list for more details.


Scripting -  The Agent Toolbar

Description

The Toolbar provides quick and easy access to many of the functions in the Scripting Agent. You can add, remove and edit the tasks, launch the Scripting Editor and view the log files.

The buttons read from left to right as follows:

Create a new task	Creates a new scheduled task
Delete Task	Removes the selected task from the schedule list
Edit Task	Edits the properties of the selected task
Edit Script	Launches the Scripting Editor to edit the selected task
Execute Task	Executes the selected task immediately
Cancel Task	Stops the execution of the current task
View log file	Views the log file for the selected task
Help File	Displays the NetSupport on-line Help


Scripting -  The Schedule List
> Scripting -  The Schedule List

Description

This is where all of your schedules are displayed.  The following image shows five scheduled tasks, each in a different state.

The coloured sphere to the left of each task indicates the state of the task.  This is the meaning of each icon:

Icon	Description
Green	This is the normal state icon.  This means the Script is ready to run, and no errors have been detected.
Yellow	The task has been postponed.  This happens when two or more tasks are scheduled to run at exactly the same time.  The task that is higher up the list is executed first, and then all subsequent tasks.
Black	This task is disabled.  You have disabled the task for one reason or another, and will not be executed.
Light Green	This task is currently running.
Green with red circle	The small read icon is added to the other state icons to indicate the task generated an error for one reason or another.  You normally encounter this overlay with the normal state icon, but can be applied to any of the others.
You can use various accelerator keys in this window.  Pressing the INS (insert) key will take you to the dialog to create a new task.  Press the DEL (delete) key to remove a task from the list.  Pressing ALT+ENTER will display the properties of the selected task.

By displaying the context menu for the list view, press the right mouse button, you will see a menu that has items specifically for the task selected.  All of these are available from either the main menu or toolbar.


Scripting -  Creating a new Task

Description

To create a new task, simply press the Insert key, the toolbar button or select Add from the Script menu.

Here you need to supply the description of the schedule to create.  This is displayed in the list of the main window.

Now you must specify the Script that is to be executed.  To do this either type in the full pathname of the Script, or press the Browse button.  If you select the browse button, use the dialog provided to locate and select your Script.

At this point you can check the syntax of the Script by pressing the Check Syntax button.  You can also launch the Scripting Editor to edit the Script if necessary.

If you want the log file to be cleared every time the task is run, check the Clear Log file when run checkbox.  This probably isn’t helpful when the same Script is running repeatedly, as you may need to see the accumulative progress messages.

If the Script should be disabled at this point, then check the Disabled checkbox.  This would prevent the task from begin queued when pressing the OK button.  You can enable the Script later on very easily.

Next you need to define the days on which the schedule is to run.  Click on the Which Days? Tab for details.


Scripting -  Creating a new task - Which Days?
> Scripting -  Creating a new task - Which Days?

Description

Once you have completed the information in the General tab of this dialog, you can proceed to set the days that the Script will run on.

Select the appropriate configuration radio button.

Every Day

The schedule will run every day.

Every Weekday

The schedule will run on every weekday.  Which is Monday to Friday.

These Days

Specify which individual days the schedule should run on.

Every x of the month

Specify that the schedule should run on one specific day every month.

This Date

Run the schedule on this specific date only.

Once you have supplied this information, click on the What Time? tab, to specify what time the schedule should run on the required days.


Scripting -  Creating a new task - What Time?
> Scripting -  Creating a new task - What Time?

Description

When all the information about the days to run the schedule have been entered, you can specify the times at which to run the schedule.

On the hour

Specifies that the schedule runs every hour, on the hour for the days specified.

Every

Specify the period between executions of the schedule, in minutes.  From the drop down list box you are provided with several additional constraints on the execution period.  These are:

All Day	Executes all day, every x minutes
Before	Executes every x minutes, before the time specified
After	Executes every x minutes, after the time specified
Between	Execute every x minutes, between the times specified
Not Between	Execute every x minutes all day, but NOT between the times specified

At This Time

Executes the schedule only at the time specified.

The schedule will run successfully now, but you have the option of specifying some other details.  Click on the Advanced tab to see how to do this.

Click on the OK button if no more information needs to be added.


Scripting -  Creating a new task - Advanced
> Scripting -  Creating a new task - Advanced

Description

These additional settings are not required for the schedule to run, but provide more flexibility and power for those more complex tasks.

To enable the options in this dialog, check the Run Application on Successful completion checkbox.  This allows you to execute an external program when the current schedule completes successfully.

Application

The name of the external program to execute.  Click on the browse button (…) to search for the application.

Parameters

These are the command line arguments for the specified application.

Run

Specify the window style to apply to the executed application, Normal, Minimized or maximized.

Now you can click on the OK button to add the schedule to the schedule list.


Scripting -  Editing a Task

Description

To edit a scheduled task, either double click on the item in the task list, press ALT+Enter, select Properties from the main menu or the toolbar.  The property sheet dialog that appears is identical to the dialog for creating a new task, except that the fields will be filled with the configuration of the task.

See the section on Creating a new task for details about the different fields.


Scripting -  Editing a Script
> Scripting -  Editing a Script

Description

You can launch the Scripting Editor from within the agent to allow you to edit a Script.  From the Task Properties dialog box, press the Edit Script button to launch the editor.  You can also select Edit Script from the context menu.


Scripting -  Deleting a Task

Description

To delete a task from the task list, simply select the task to delete and do one of the following:

Press the DEL (delete) key

Press the toolbar button

Selecting Delete from the Script Menu

In all cases you will be prompted for confirmation, before the selected task is deleted.


Scripting -  Executing a Task

Description

You can make a Script run immediately by selecting Run Now.  Do this from one of the following:

The toolbar

Selecting Run now from the Script Menu

Selecting Run now from the Agent context menu

While you are executing a task, all other tasks will be postponed until this task has finished.


Scripting -  Disabling a Task

Description

To disable a task, so that the scheduler ignores it altogether, simply select Disable from either agent context menu or from the task property dialog.

The icon in the task list is changed to reflect the new state.  See the topic schedule list for more details about the different icons displayed.


Scripting -  Deactivating the Agent
> Scripting -  Deactivating the Agent

Description

By disabling the Scripting Agent you can create lots of tasks and not have to worry about them being executed.  To disable the Agent, select Deactivate Agent from the Script Menu, or select Deactivate Agent from the taskbar icon context menu.

The title bar of the Agent will change to reflect the new state.  If the Agent has been minimized and the taskbar icon is displayed, this icon will also reflect the new state.

See the topic on taskbar icons for related information.


Scripting -  Canceling a running Task

Description

When you are executing a task, the cancel functions will be available on the main menu, context menu and the toolbar.  Select one of these and the running task will be aborted as soon as possible.

Note: If the Script is performing a Lookup or a Connect, these functions will be completed before the Script is aborted.


Scripting -  Agent Taskbar Icons

Description

Taskbar icons appear in the notification window of your taskbar.  These icons are only visible when the Agent has been minimised with the Scripting Agent options set at Normal or Disabled.

By double clicking on either icon, the user interface is show again in the state before you minimised it.  If you right click on the icons you can Show Scripting Agent, Disable the Agent and Close the Agent.


Scripting -  Log Files

Description

The scripting agent to keep a record of which tasks executed, worked and failed generates a log file.  This log file can be viewed by selecting Load Agent Log File from the Options menu.  The default text file viewer, usually notepad is loaded to display the file.

The format of the log file looks like this:

06/01/98 - 10:54:24 > The NetSupport Scripting Agent was started

06/01/98 - 11:45:13 > Task 'Explore' finished. Status: No Error

06/01/98 - 11:47:03 > Task 'Script with error' finished. Status: Unable to locate source file

The first part of each line is the time and date at which the entry was made.  The text following the > is the log message.  These messages are self-explanatory and are kept simple.  For detailed error logs, see the log file for the associated Script that was run.


Scripting -  The Agent Menus

Description

You use the menus to add tasks, delete tasks, disable tasks and other scheduler functions.

Script

This menu is where you will manage the different scheduled tasks.

Options

This is where the options and utilities are found.

Help

The help menu provides access to the various resources needed when developing with the Scripting Environment and Scripting Agent.

Click on one of the menu titles above for full details, or click on the image of the menu.


Scripting -  Agent Script Menu

Description

This menu is where you will manage the different scheduled tasks.

Add

Allows you to create a new scheduled task.  See the section on Creating a new task for more information

Delete

Deletes the currently selected task from the schedule list.  You will be prompted to confirm, before the item is deleted.

Properties

Allows you to edit the properties for the currently selected task in the schedule list.

Run Now

Executes the currently selected task in the task list, now.

Cancel Script

If a task is currently executing, this menu item is enabled and allows you to stop it.

Deactivate Agent

By checking this menu item, the Agent will be disabled so no tasks will run.  Useful when setting up lots of tasks.  See the section about taskbar icons for related information.

Exit

Quits the Scripting Agent.  If any tasks are currently running, they are aborted.


Scripting -  Agent Options Menu

Description

This is where the options and utilities are found.

Load Agent Log File

Loads the Scripting Agents log file into Notepad for viewing.  This log file contains information about the tasks that were run and when they were run.

Clear Agent Log File

Clears the Scripting Agent log file.

Hide when minimized

Hides the Scripting Agent when it is minimized, and places an icon in the system tray window.  See the section about taskbar icons.


Scripting -  Agent Help Menu

Description

The help menu provides access to the various resources needed when developing with the Scripting Environment and Scripting Agent.

Contents

Displays the NetSupport help file contents page

PCI on the Web

These menu items start your default system web browser and display various PCI web sites.  If your system does not have a default browser, nothing will happen.

PCI Home Page

Displays the PCI web site main page.  Find us at http://www.pci.co.uk

Scripting Home Page

Displays the home page for the scripting components.  This includes the editor and agent, and can be found at http://www.pci.co.uk/scripting

Support Online

Displays the PCI Support Online web site.  This provides you with access to the PCI knowledge base and support information.  You also have information about contacting the support team, and can be found at http://www.pci.co.uk/support

About Scripting

The Scripting About dialog box is displayed, which shows you version information and provides links to the PCI web sites.


Scripting -  Agent Context Menu
> Scripting Agent Context Menu

Description

You access the Agent context menu by pressing the right mouse button when the pointer is over an item in the Schedule list.

The items in this menu provide a shortcut to the main menu and toolbar.


Scripting -  Text Cursor Position
> Scripting Text Cursor Position

This status line item displays the current position of the caret in the focused editor window.


Scripting -  Time and Date
> Scripting Time and Date

This status line item displays the current time and date


Scripting -  Adding Predefined Script Variables
> Scripting Adding Predefined Script Variables

When you run a Script, these predefined Script variables are available to your Script along side the system variables.

List View - Identifier

Displays the variable name, or identifier that will be defined in your Script

List View - Value

This column will display the value assigned to the variable

See Also

Setting Predefined Script Variables


Scripting -  Properties - General
> Scripting Properties - General

This page of the property sheet displays general information about the current file open in the focused editor window.

Filename

The name of the file, without the path

Location

The full pathname to the file

Size

The size in bytes of the file

Created

Date the file was created

Modified

The last time the file was modified

Accessed

The last time the file was accessed

See Also

 File Properties - General


Scripting -  Properties - Statistics
> Scripting Properties - Statistics

This tab of the property sheet will only be available for NetSupport Scripts.  These files are identified by their extension SCP.

Execution Time

The amount of time it took for the Script to run.

Client Errors

These are non-fatal errors reported during the execution of a Script

Fatal Errors

The number of errors that caused the Script to terminate, usually zero or one

Termination Type

The way in which the Script terminated.  Either Normal, User Terminated or Runtime Error

See Also

 File Properties - Statistics


Scripting -  Options
> Scripting Options

This is the dialog that allows you to configure the NetSupport Scripting environment.

Tab Size

Specify the number of spaces to insert when you press the TAB key.  Only enabled when Insert Spaces is selected.

Insert Spaces

Inserts the specified number of spaces when you press the TAB key, rather than using tab characters.

Keep Tabs

Do not replace tab characters with spaces.  Leave the tabs intact.

Yes, clear the output window

Checking this item tells the user interface to clear the output window whenever you run or check the syntax of a Script.

See Also

 The Options Dialog


Scripting -  Insert Configuration Name
> Scripting Insert Configuration Name

The list provided here contains all of the configurations that have been created from within the NetSupport Manager control program.  If you haven’t created any additional configurations, you will only see Standard in the list.

Configuration Name

This list shows the configurations available.  Select one of these to enable the Insert button.

Insert

Press Insert to add this configuration name to your Script.  The name is inserted at the current text caret position.

See Also

 Insert a Named Configuration


Scripting -  Add Schedule - General
> Scripting Add Schedule - General

Here you specify the various pieces of information about the Script to run.

Description

A description for the schedule that will appear in the task list

Script

The name and path of the Script to execute

Browse

Provides a browse window to help you locate the Script to run

Check Syntax

This allows you to check the syntax of the Script before adding it to the task list.  This button is only available when you have supplied a Script filename in the field above

Edit Script

Launches the Scripting Editor so that you can modify the Script if necessary.  Again this button is only available when you have supplied the filename of the Script.

Clear Log file when run

When the Script is executed, the associated log file is emptied first

Disabled

Check this to prevent this task from being executed

See Also

Creating a new task


Scripting -  Add Schedule - Which Days?
> Scripting Add Schedule - Which Days?

This is where you specify which days to run your task on.

Every Day

Runs this task on every day of the week

Every Weekday

Runs the task on weekdays only, Monday to Friday

These Days

Specify the individual days of the week that the task will run on

Every

Specify a day of the month on which to run the task

This Date

Run the task on this specific date only.  Construct the date from the drop down list boxes provided

See Also

Creating a new task


Scripting -  Add Schedule - What time?
> Scripting Add Schedule - What time?

Here you specify the times at which your task will run.

On the hour

Runs this task on the hour or as close to the hour as possible

Every

Run this task at specified intervals All Day, Before, After, Between or Not Between the time constraints supplied

At this time

Run this task only at the time specified

See Also

Creating a new task


Scripting -  Add Schedule - Advanced
> Scripting Add Schedule - Advanced

Here you can specify an application, which runs when a task has been executed successfully.

Run Application on Successful completion

Check this box to enable the advanced feature.

Application

Enter the filename and path to the application to execute.  This can be any registered file type, so typing the name of a GIF file here would display the application associated with files that have an extension .GIF.  This isn’t very practical but demonstrates the point.

… (Button)

Press this button to display a browse window to help you locate an application to run

Parameters

Enter any parameters that the application requires when being executed

Run

Select the window style for the application about to be executed

See Also

Creating a new Task


Scripting - Object Wizard 1

This is the first page, of the three, in the Object Wizard.

You need to specify the following, in order to run a Script:

•	The name of the Object

•	The description of the Object

•	File Name of the Script to run


Scripting - Object Wizard 2

This is the second page, of the three, in the Object Wizard.

You need to specify the following options for the Object:

•	Whether the Script output is displayed.

•	Whether the Syntax of the Script every time it is run.


Scripting - Object Wizard 3

This is the third and final page of the Object Wizard.

You need to specify the arguments passed to the Script, these can include tokens which represent the current Client or Group.


Add/Edit Defined Arguments

Add or Edit the following defined arguments to the Script:

•	The name of the variable

•	The value

•	Its Type (String or Number)


Scripting - General Properties - Scripting Object

This property sheet outlines the details of the Scripting Object.

You have the opportunity to adjust the following details:

•	The name of the Object

•	The description of the Object

•	File Name of the Script to run


Deleting Scripting Objects

Are you sure you want to delete the Script Object(s)?

Note: This will not delete the actual Script file.


Unable to locate the Script Editor Program!

Meaning

The Control was unable to locate the Script Editor Program.

Suggestions

Ensure that PCISRCUI.EXE is in the directory you have installed NetSupport Manager in.


User Defined Script could not be found.

Meaning

The User Defined Script file could not be found.

Suggestion

Ensure that the path name of the Script file you have made a Defined Tool is correct.


The Script could not be found.

Meaning

The Script file attached to the Script you have run, could not be found.

Suggestion

Ensure that the file attached to the Script you are attempting to run is


There is already a Script with this name. Choose a different name.

Meaning

There is already a Script Object with the name you have nominated.  Choose a different name.


Syntax Error in Executed Script.

Meaning

You have executed the System Information Script, it has a syntax error.

Suggestion

Check the syntax of the System Information Script in the Client {Properties}{System Information Tab}.


Scripting - Syntax Error

Meaning

The Script you are attempting to run has a syntax error.

Suggestion

1.	Choose {Run}{Check Syntax Error} Script Editor drop down menus.

2.	The Script Editor will inform you of any syntax errors.


Registry Edit Window

Purpose

Within the Registry Edit Window you are able to edit the Registry of a Client or Control workstation.

Note:	The ability to edit the registry of a Control or Client workstation, can be turned on or off in the Client Configuration - Access Privileges (Advanced) or Control Configuration - Functions dialog.

The available Registry Edit Window Menu’s are:

File

The Registry File Menu provides you with the tools to Import and Export.

Edit

The Registry Edit Menu provides you with the tools to create new, delete, compare and edit Values, Rename Keys or find specific data.

View

The Registry View Menu enables you to customise the Edit Registry Window.

Bookmarks

The Bookmark drop down menu allows you to add, edit, remove or move up and down your list, previously nominated bookmarks.

Window

Lists all active Client and File Transfer Windows and enables you to organise their position on the Control Screen.

Help

Provides access to the on-line Help and a detailed description of the Registry Edit Window.

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.

This dialog enables you to edit or create a multi-string entry.


Registry Edit Window - File Menu

Purpose

The Registry File Menu provides you with the tools to Import and Export.

Import

Select a Key or Value to be imported.

Export

Select a Key or Value to be exported.

Close

Closes the Registry Edit Window.

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.


Registry Edit Window - Edit Menu

Purpose

The Registry Edit Menu provides you with the tools to create new, delete, compare and edit Values, Rename Keys or find specific data.

New

Create a new Key, String Value, DWORD Value, Binary Value, Multi String Value.

Delete

Delete the selected Key, String Value, DWORD Value, Binary Value, Multi String Value.

Rename Key

Renames the selected Key.

Compare Values

Compares the selected String, Multi String, DWORD, Binary Values.

Edit Value

Edit the selected String, Multi String, DWORD, Binary Values.

Find

Find specific data in the registry by entering a string and selecting from the following options:

Match whole Strings	Matches the whole string only or matches part of the string.

Search Key Names	Looks for the string in the key name.

Search Value Names	Looks for the string in the value name.

Search Data	Looks for the string in the data.

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.


Registry Edit Window - View Menu

Purpose

The Registry View Menu enables you to customise the Edit Registry Window.

Toolbar

Hide or show the explanatory names of the tool buttons on the quick toolbar.

Status Bar

Hide or show the Registry Windows Status Bar.

Refresh

Refreshes the Registry Edit Window screen.

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.


Registry Edit Window - Bookmarks Menu

Purpose

The Bookmark drop down menu allows you to add, edit, remove or move up and down your list, previously nominated bookmarks.

Add

Allows you to add new Bookmarks.

Edit

Allows you to edit, add, remove or move up and down your list, previously nominated bookmarks.

Lists previously nominated Bookmarks

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.


Registry Edit Window - Window Menu

Purpose

Tile opens all Windows, all View Windows, File Transfer Windows, or closes all opened Windows. You can then View multiple Clients or File Transfer sessions simultaneously.  The individual windows will be sized to fit on the screen of the Control. You can also use this option to move between individual Windows or close all open Windows.

Tile

All Windows	Displays and tiles both Client View and File Transfer Windows

View Windows	Displays and tiles only the Client View Windows

File Transfer	Displays and tiles only the active File Transfer Windows

Close All Windows	Closes all opened View and File Transfer Windows

Window

Choosing a named Window brings that Window to the fore. For example, choosing TEST1 – Viewing would make the View Window for Test1 the Active window and display it on top of all others.

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.


Registry Edit Window - Help Menu

Purpose

Provides access to the on-line Help and a detailed description of the Registry Edit Window.

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.


Edit Bookmarks Dialog

Use this dialog to add, edit, remove or move up and down your list of previously nominated bookmarks.


Add a Bookmark

Use this dialog to add a bookmark. Enter the Users and Key name.


Find data in the Registry

Use this dialog to find specific data in the registry.

Enter a string and choose from the various options:

Match whole Strings	Matches the whole string only or matches part of the string.

Search Key Names	Looks for the string in the key name.

Search Value Names	Looks for the string in the value name.

Search Data	Looks for the string in the data.


Comparing Registry Data - Select Client and Key Values

This dialog allows you to select a Client or the local workstation to compare all registry data, all Values in the Key or just selected ones.


Comparison Results

This dialog displays the results of a registry comparison, including the following details:

•	Value Name

•	Whether data is equal to, not equal, less than or greater than the selected workstation.


Results of Find

This dialog displays the results of a Find search, including:

•	The Key Name

•	The Value Name

•	The Data


Create a new Key

Enter your new key. The key will be created below the currently selected one.


Edit/Create Binary Data

This dialog enables you to edit or create binary data.


Edit/Create a DWORD (number) Entry

This dialog enables you to edit or create a DWORD, or number, entry.


Edit/Create Multi-String Entry

This dialog enables you to edit or create a multi-string entry.


Edit/Create a String Entry

This dialog enables you to edit or create a string entry.


Tried to compare a key on another workstation but that Key could not be found.

Meaning

Your attempt to compare a Key on another workstation has failed as the Key could not be found.


Tried to compare a Key but there are no other Clients connected, to compare with.

Meaning

Your attempt to compare a Key with another workstation has failed, as you are not connected to the Client.

Suggestion

Connect to the Client you want to compare a Key with, then attempt the comparison again.


Attempted to import a Registry File, but there does not appear to be one.

Meaning

Your attempt to import a Registry File has failed.

Suggestion

Ensure that the Registry File you are attempting to Import exists and that the import path is correct.


WARNING: Are you sure you want to delete Values/Keys from the Registry?

WARNING: The Registry contains vital information on the workstation. Editing any section of a Registry should be done with EXTREME care.


Scripting - Runtime Errors

Description

When you execute or check the syntax of your script you may encounter Runtime Errors. These runtime errors must be resolved before the script is allowed to run. Usually the error is a result of a typing error, or omission of a parenthesis. The errors you may see look like this:

S:\scripts\helptest.scp(1): error R0006: Unknown Identifier 'dunno'

There are three parts to the runtime error, which are:

s:\scripts\helptest.scp(1)	The filename of the script and the line at which the error occurred.
error R0006	The actual runtime error number
Unknown Identifier 'dunno'	A text description of the error and the offending syntax

The following table contains all of the errors you are likely to encounter when developing your scripts. Chances are you will not see the majority of them. The xxx will be replace by some meaning full text in the interpreter. Click on the error message format for more detailed help for the error.

Note: Numbers missing from the following sequence were left out intentionally.

Error Number	Error message format
1	Missing quote ' " '
3	Missing parenthesis 'xxx'
4	Type mismatch
5	Divide by zero
6	Unknown Identifier 'xxx'
8	Function 'xxx' not found
10	Function 'xxx' does not return a value
13	Insufficient arguments supplied to function 'xxx'
14	Too many arguments supplied to function 'xxx'
15	Expected 'THEN' keyword
16	Keyword 'ELSE' found without a corresponding 'IF' statement
17	Keyword 'ENDIF' found without a corresponding 'IF' statement
18	Label 'xxx' not found
19	The statement 'xxx' requires one of the following arguments xxx
20	Numeric variable assignment expected
21	Expression expected
22	Keyword 'NEXT' encountered without corresponding 'FOR' statement
23	Keyword 'LOOP' encountered without corresponding 'DO' statement
24	You cannot use 'EXIT FOR' outside of a 'FOR ... NEXT' loop
25	You cannot use 'EXIT DO' outside of a 'DO ... LOOP' statement
26	Value out of range
27	Invalid index. Note: Lists are 1 (one) based (NOT zero based)
28	Index value out of range
29	Source and destination arguments cannot be the same
30	Variable identifier expected
31	You have created a conflict between the 16-bit and 32-bit interpreter. Please check the documentation for details about the differences between the two versions.
32	You must specify a fully qualified, absolute pathname
33	Unable to open file 'xxx' for xxx
34	The variable 'xxx' has only been declared, and cannot be used in this way
36	You must load a remote network before using Dial. See SetTransport for details


Scripting - Runtime Error 1 - Missing Quote ' " '

Description

This error is generated when you omit a quote from the end of a string expression.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Print "This is a test string


Scripting - Runtime Error 3 - Missing Parenthesis 'xxx'

Description

This error is generated when you omit an open or close parenthesis from an argument, function or other expression

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Print (10 * 2

Print "Current client is ", CurrentClient (


Scripting - Runtime Error 4 - Type Mismatch

Description

This error will occur if you try to use different variable types in expressions. If you try to add an integer and a string you will get this error.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

a = 10 + "10"


Scripting - Runtime Error 5 - Divide by zero

Description

If you try to divide a value by zero, this error will be generated.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Print 10 / 0

a = 0

Print 10 / a


Scripting - Runtime Error 6 - Unknown Identifier 'xxx'

Description

You may have referenced a variable that is either not within the scope of the current function, or has not been defined.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Ab = "Test String"

Print Aa


Scripting -  Runtime Error 8 - Function 'xxx' not found
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 8 - Function 'xxx' not found

Description

You have referenced a function that has not been defined.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Function Main ()

Print "Value from my function ", MyFunc (10, 20)

End function

Function MyFunction (a, b)

MyFunction = a * b

End function


Scripting -  Runtime Error 10 - Function 'xxx' does not return a value
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 10 - Function 'xxx' does not return a value

Description

You used a function that does not return a value, in an expression.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Dim List

AddItem (List, "Test")

Print SetItem (List, 1, "Test2")


Scripting -  Runtime Error 13 - Insufficient arguments supplied to function 'xxx'
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 13 - Insufficient arguments supplied to function 'xxx'

Description

You called a function, but specified too few arguments. Check the arguments required for the function.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Print InStr ("Test")


Scripting -  Runtime Error 14 - Too many arguments supplied to function 'xxx'
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 14 - Too many arguments supplied to function 'xxx'

Description

You called a function, but specified too many arguments. Check the arguments required for the function.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Print CInt ("10", "20")


Scripting -  Runtime Error 15 - Expected 'THEN' keyword
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 15 - Expected 'THEN' keyword

Description

When constructing an IF...THEN...ENDIF structure, you omitted the THEN keyword.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

If X = 10 Print "X Does equal 10!"


Scripting -  Runtime Error 16 - Keyword 'ELSE' found without a corresponding 'IF' statement
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 16 - Keyword 'ELSE' found without a corresponding 'IF' statement

Description

You have supplied the keyword ELSE somewhere in your script, and there isn't a matching IF statement somewhere before it.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

//If X = 10 then

Print "X equals 10"

Else

Print "X does not equal 10"

Endif


Scripting -  Runtime Error 17 - Keyword 'ENDIF' found without a corresponding 'IF' statement
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 17 - Keyword 'ENDIF' found without a corresponding 'IF' statement

Description

You have supplied the keyword ENDIF somewhere in your script, and there isn't a matching IF statement somewhere before it.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

//if X = 10 then

Print "X equals 10"

Endif


Scripting -  Runtime Error 18 - Label 'xxx' not found
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 18 - Label 'xxx' not found

Description

You have used the GOTO command and specified a label that does not exist in this function block, or does not exist at all.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

MyLabel:

Goto My_Label


Scripting -  Runtime Error 19 - The statement 'xxx' requires one of the following arguments xxx
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 19 - The statement 'xxx' requires one of the following arguments xxx

Description

A function or command requires another keyword to complete the function reference

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Do until x = 10

Exit loop

Loop


Scripting -  Runtime Error 20 - Numeric variable assignment expected
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 20 - Numeric variable assignment expected

Description

A function or structure requires that you supply a variable and assign a value to that variable in the expression.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

For 0 to 10

Print "Test"

Next


Scripting -  Runtime Error 21 - Expression Expected
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 21 - Expression Expected

Description

You must supply an expression to the structure or function defined.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

For

Print "Test"

Next


Scripting -  Runtime Error 22 - Keyword 'NEXT' encountered without corresponding 'FOR' statement
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 22 - Keyword 'NEXT' encountered without corresponding 'FOR' statement

Description

You supplied the closing statement of a For ... Next or For each ... Next loop without specifying the opening statement.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

forr x = 1 to 10

Print "Multiply ", 10 * x

Next


Scripting -  Runtime Error 23 - Keyword 'LOOP' encountered without corresponding 'DO' statement
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 23 - Keyword 'LOOP' encountered without corresponding 'DO' statement

Description

You supplied the closing statement of a Do ... While or Do ... Until loop without specifying the opening statement.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

x = 10

doo until x = 1

Print "Hello world"

x = 1

Loop


Scripting -  Runtime Error 24 - You cannot use 'EXIT FOR' outside of a 'FOR ... NEXT' loop
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 24 - You cannot use 'EXIT FOR' outside of a 'FOR ... NEXT' loop

Description

You specified that the interpreter should exit from a For ... Next loop, outside of the for... next loop.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

For x = 1 to 10

Print "Hello world"

Loop

Exit for


Scripting -  Runtime Error 25 - You cannot use 'EXIT DO' outside of a 'DO ... LOOP' statement
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 25 - You cannot use 'EXIT DO' outside of a 'DO ... LOOP' statement

Description

You specified that the interpreter should exit from a Do ... Loop statement, outside of the do ... loop statement.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Do until x = 1

Print "Hello world"

x = 1

Loop

Exit do


Scripting -  Runtime Error 26 - Value out of range
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 26 - Value out of range

Description

You supplied a value to a function or expression that was either too large or too small. Check the help for the offending function.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Print Chr (1234)


Scripting -  Runtime Error 27 - Invalid index. Note: Lists are 1 (one) based (NOT zero based)
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 27 - Invalid index.  Note: Lists are 1 (one) based (NOT zero based)

Description

You supplied an index for a list function that was zero. All lists are indexed from 1 (one).

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

...

Print GetItem (List, 0)


Scripting -  Runtime Error 28 - Index value out of range
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 28 - Index value out of range

Description

The value you supplied to a list function specified an index that doesn't exist.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

...

AddItem (list, "String1")

Print GetItem (List, 3)


Scripting -  Runtime Error 29 - Source and destination arguments cannot be the same
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 29 - Source and destination arguments cannot be the same

Description

The two arguments you supplied cannot be the same. This occurs when you try to join one list to the end of another.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

...

Join (List1, List1)


Scripting -  Runtime Error 30 - Variable identifier expected
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 30 - Variable identifier expected

Description

You have omitted a variable identifier from a function or statement.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

For each in list

Print "Item Found"

Next


Scripting -  Runtime Error 31 - You have created a conflict between the 16-bit and 32-bit interpreter. Please check the documentation for de
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 31 - You have created a conflict between the 16-bit and 32-bit interpreter. Please check the documentation for details

Description

You have created a statement that is only valid in one of the versions of the interpreter. Some functions in the 32-bit interpreter are allowed to take more arguments than the 16-bit version. Check the help for the function that is at fault. All differences are detailed for each function that differs. Use the two read-only variables 16BIT and 32BIT to determine which version of the interpreter the script is running from.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated, in the 16-bit interpreter:

SetTransport (T_IPX, T_TCPIP, T_NETBIOS+1)


Scripting -  Runtime Error 32 - You must specify a fully qualified, absolute pathname
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 32 - You must specify a fully qualified, absolute pathname

Description

Whenever you supply a pathname or filename to the scripting language, it must be a fully qualified NSM pathname, and must be absolute. The scripting interpreter does not allow or work with relative/current directories.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Copy ("TEST1>C:\TEST\TEXT.RTF", "C:")

Copy ("cmd.exe", ">C:\")


Scripting -  Runtime Error 33 - Unable to open file 'xxx' for xxx
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 33 - Unable to open file 'xxx' for xxx

Description

The scripting interpreter was unable to open a file for reading/writing.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

LoadFields (">C:\names.txt", Name, Address, PhoneNumber)


Scripting -  Runtime Error 34 - The variable 'xxx' has only been declared, and cannot be used in this way
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 34 - The variable 'xxx' has only been declared, and cannot be used in this way

Description

You have declared a variable using Dim and are trying to pass this variable to a function that expects this variable to contain a value.

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

Dim List

Print "Item from list at index 2 (", GetItem (list, 2), ")"


Scripting -  Runtime Error 36 - You must load a remote network before using Dial. See SetTransport for details
> Scripting -  Runtime Error 36 - You must load a remote network before using Dial. See SetTransport for details

Description

You are trying to use a remote function such as Dial (), without first having set up a remote transport using SetTransport ().

Example

The following example shows when this error can be generated:

SetTransport (T_IPX)

Dial ("0123 456789")


Scripting -  Interpreter Errors
> Scripting -  Interpreter Errors

Description

When you execute or check the syntax of your script you may encounter Interpreter Errors. These errors must be resolved before the script is allowed to run. Usually the error is a result of a typing error, or omission of a parenthesis. The errors you may see look like this:

s:\scripts\helptest.scp : error C0007: You have used functions, but have not defined the function 'MAIN'

There are three parts to the interpreter error, which are:

s:\scripts\helptest.scp	The filename of the script in which the error occurred
error C0007	The actual interpreter error number
You have used functions, but have not defined the function 'MAIN'	A text description of the error and the offending syntax

The following table contains all of the errors you are likely to encounter when developing your scripts. Chances are you will not see the majority of them. The xxx will be replace by some meaning full text in the interpreter. Click on the error message format for more detailed help for the error.

Error Number	Error message format
0	Unexpected end of file
1	Cannot nest functions
2	Function name expected
3	Open parenthesis '(' expected
4	Invalid characters in function name
5	Close parenthesis ')' expected
6	Invalid characters found in argument variable
7	You have used functions, but have not defined the function 'MAIN'


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 0 - Unexpected end of file
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 0 - Unexpected end of file

Description

When the script was being loaded, either the file was of zero bytes in size, or an End of file marker was found before the completion of a function statement. Make sure the file is saved and is not corrupted, and make sure there is something in the file.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 1 - Cannot nest functions
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 1 - Cannot nest functions

Description

You have nested one function inside another somewhere in your script. The NetSupport scripting language does NOT support this style of programming.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 2 - Function name expected
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 2 - Function name expected

Description

You have supplied the FUNCTION declaration, but have omitted the function name.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 3 - Open parenthesis '(' expected
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 3 - Open parenthesis '(' expected

Description

The interpreter encountered the FUNCTION keyword and function name, but did not find an open parenthesis.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 4 - Invalid characters in function name
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 4 - Invalid characters in function name

Description

The function name that was found after the FUNCTION keyword contained invalid characters. Anything other than alphanumeric characters, and the underscore character, will generate an error.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 5 - Close parenthesis ')' expected
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 5 - Close parenthesis ')' expected

Description

You have omitted a close parenthesis on the end of a function declaration.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 6 - Invalid characters found in argument variable
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 6 - Invalid characters found in argument variable

Description

One of the argument variables in a function declaration contained an invalid character. Only alphanumeric and the underscore '_' characters are valid.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 7 - You have used functions, but have not defined the function 'MAIN'
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 7 - You have used functions, but have not defined the function 'MAIN'

Description

Your script contains function blocks, and you have not created a function called 'Main'. This function is required, as this is the starting point for the interpreter. Make sure you have spelt the function correctly and it exists.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 8 - Duplicate Label Found
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 8 - Duplicate Label Found

Description

You have declared a label twice.  This occurs when the label is repeated within the same function block.  You can have labels with the same name, but they must be in different functions.


Scripting -  Interpreter Error 9 - Duplicate Function Declaration Found
> Scripting -  Interpreter Error 9 - Duplicate Function Declaration Found

Description

You have declared two functions with the same name.  Change the name of one of these functions, by adding an underscore for example, to resolve the problem.


Scripting -  Connect
> Scripting -  Connect

Description

Establishes a connection with a NetSupport Client on the network.

Syntax

Success = Connect (client [, username/password])

Argument	Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of connecting to the Client.

Client	Required. The name of the Client to connect to.

Username	Optional. The Username required to connect to the Client.

Password	Optional. The Password required to connect to the Client.

Notes:

This function connects to a NetSupport Client on the network. Client must specify the full name of the Client to connect to. The Client argument is case insensitive, so "test1" is the same as "TEST1". You can specify an optional argument to contain the Client’s password. If this is not specified and the Client requires a password, you will be prompted for one. If the script is running unattended , or from within the Agent you will not be prompted, and the return value will be FALSE.

In order to connect to a TCP/IP Client by it's IP address in Scripting you need to use the following syntax:
connect(">103.149.83.61<TCP>")

To insert a password into the script you must use the Insert Password function from the Edit menu, or from the editor context menu. The password is encrypted so that people looking at your scripts will not be able to steal the password.

Example

Connect("test1") ; Will connect to the client test1.

If Connect ("test1") = FALSE then Print "Could not connect to the client!"

If Connect ("test1", "AGHSKDY") then

Print "Connected to client ", CurrentClient (), " okay"

Endif

See Also

Disconnect


Scripting -  ConnectedClients
> Scripting -  ConnectedClients

Description

Returns the number of Clients that you are currently connected to.

Syntax

Clients = ConnectedClients ()

Argument	Description

Clients	The number of Clients you are currently connected to.

Note:

If you are not connected to any Clients the return value is zero, otherwise the return value indicates the number of connected Clients.

Example

Connect ("Test1")

Print "We are connected to ", ConnectedClients (), " clients"

See Also

CurrentClient


Scripting -  Copy
> Scripting -  Copy

Description

Copy one or more files between the Client and Control.

Syntax

Success = Copy (source, dest)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of copying one or more files between the Client and Control.

Source	Required. The source pathname.

Dest	Required. The destination pathname.

Notes:

Using this function you can copy single or multiple files locally, from Control to Client, from Client to Client or locally on a Client. The source and destination pathnames must be fully NSM qualified pathnames, and must be absolute paths. When copying multiple files, you do need only specify the directory that the files are going to. You will see from the examples below how this works. The return value determines if the operation(s) was successful.

16-bit Note

In the 16-bit version of the interpreter, you cannot copy files from client to client. If you try to do this, an error will be generated.

Example

Copy ("C:\TEST\*.EXE", "C:\TEMP")	// Copy multiple files locally

Copy ("C:\TEST\DEMO.EXE", "C:\TEST\DEMOCOPY.EXE")	// Copy locally as a new file

Copy (">C:\WINDOWS\*.DLL", "C:\WINDOWS")	// Copy files from the current client to the local drive

Copy ("TEST2>C:\WINDOWS\*.EXE", "TEST4>C:\WINDOWS")	// Copy files from one client to another

See Also

Delete, Rename


Scripting -  CurrentClient
> Scripting -  CurrentClient

Description

Returns the name of the currently selected Client.

Syntax

Client = CurrentClient ()

Argument	 Description

Client	The selected Clients name.

Note:

If you are not connected to any Clients, the return value will be an empty string.

Example

Connect ("TEST2")

Print "The currently selected client is ", CurrentClient ()

See Also

ConnectedClients


Scripting -  Delete
> Scripting -  Delete

Description

Deletes one or more files from the specified location locally or on a Client workstation.

Syntax

Success = Delete (source)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of deleting one or more files from the Client workstation.

Source	Required. The pathname of the source files.

Note:

The source must be a fully qualified NSM pathname, and must be absolute. The return value determines whether the operation was successful or not. You use this function in a similar way to the DOS delete command. Wildcards are allowed for multiple file deleting.

Example

Delete ("C:\TEMP\*.*")	// Delete file locally

Delete (">C:\TEMP\*")	// Delete files on the current client

Delete ("TEST2>C:\TEMP\*")	// Delete files on a specific client

See Also

Rename, Copy


Scripting -  Dial
> Scripting -  Dial

Description

Dials and connects to the remote bridge via a modem.

Syntax

Success = Dial (number [, password])

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of the modem connecting to the remote bridge.

Number	Required. The phone number to dial.

Password	Optional. The password required to connect to the bridge.

Note:

You can select different modem configurations by using SetConfig to select a named configuration from the Control. If this isn't done, the default "Standard" configuration is used. You can also set the number of times the bridge is redialled when the connection attempts fail, and the time between the redial attempts. This is done by setting two system variables, dial_delay and dial_retry. You must make sure that the transport is set to remote before calling Dial (). If you do not, a runtime error is generated to warn you that this must be done. See the description for SetTransport () for more details.  If the remote network you are dialing requires a password, you must insert an encrypted password as the optional argument.  This is done from the Edit menu and by selecting Insert Password, or from the editor context menu.  If you need to dial a number to get an outside line e.g. 9 then use the number followed by a comma and a space then the number e.g. “9, 01234567890 “

Example

SetConfig ("RemoteSetup")	// Load a different named configuration

SetTransport (T_IPX, T_REMOTE)	// Set the transport to IPX and load the remote network stack

dial_retry = 2	// Retry the connection twice

dial_delay = 40	// Wait 40 seconds between the redial attempts

// Dial a remote network, and supply a password for the bridge security. Note the password is encrypted!

If !Dial("9, 01234567890", "SGGDFDAY") then

Print "Unable to connect to remote network!"

Endif

Print "Connected to remote network"

...

Hangup ()

See Also

Hangup, SetTransport


Scripting -  Disconnect
> Scripting -  Disconnect

Description

Disconnects from a NetSupport Client.

Syntax

Success = Disconnect (client)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of disconnecting from a Client.

Client	Required. The Client name you want to disconnect from.

Note:

You must specify the full Client name in Client. The return value is TRUE if you disconnected, or FALSE is the script couldn't disconnect or you were not connected to the Client.

Example

If Disconnect ("TEST2") = FALSE then

Print "Couldn't disconnect from the client. We may not be connected to it!"

Endif

See Also

Connect


Scripting -  DirExists
> Scripting -  DirExists

Description

Checks for the existence of a directory on the local or remote workstation.

Syntax

Exists = DirExists (source)

Argument	 Description

Exists	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of the existence of a directory.

Source	Required. The path of the directory you wish to know exists.

Note:

The return value is TRUE if the specified directory was found on the specified workstation, or FALSE if the directory was not found. The source argument requires a Fully Qualified NSM Pathname in order to work. The operation can be performed on the local workstation not requiring any Client connections, or on a connected Client workstation.

Example

If DirExists (">C:\TEMP") then Print "Directory C:\TEMP was found on the current client"

See Also

FileExists


Scripting -  DriveSize
> Scripting -  DriveSize

Description

Returns the total size of a specified drive, either locally or on a Client.

Syntax

Size = DriveSize (source)

Argument	 Description

Size	The size of the specified drive.

Source	Required. The pathname of the specified Client’s drive.

Notes:

The value returned by this function is determined by the value stored in the report_size variable. You specify a drive letter in the following format in source:

"C:" or ">C:" or "TEST2>C:"

The format for source is the same as a fully qualified NSM pathname, but without anything after the drive designation. The interpreter ignores anything after this anyway, but it good practice to omit this.

Example

report_size = 2	// Return size in Mbytes

Print "Size of drive C: on this machine is ", DriveSize ("C:"), " Mb"

Print "Size of drive D: on the current client is ", DriveSize (">D:"), " Mb"

Print "Size of drive C: on client TEST2 is ", DriveSize ("TEST2>C:"), " Mb"

See Also

DriveSpace ,  Report_Size


Scripting -  DriveSpace
> Scripting -  DriveSpace

Description

Returns the total space available of a specified drive, either locally or remotely.

Syntax

Size = DriveSpace (source)

Argument	 Description

Size	The available space of the drive.

Source	Required. The pathname of the specified Client’s drive.

Notes:

The value returned by this function is determined by the value stored in the report_size variable. You specify a drive letter in the following format in source:

"C:" or ">C:" or "TEST2>C:"

The format for source is the same as a fully qualified NSM pathname, but without anything after the drive designation. The interpreter ignores anything after this, but it good practice to omit this.

Example

report_size = 2	// Return size in Mbytes

Print "Space available on drive C: on this machine is ", DriveSpace ("C:"), " Mb"

Print "Space available on drive D: on the current client is ", DriveSpace (">D:"), " Mb"

Print "Space available on drive C: on client TEST2 is ", DriveSpace ("TEST2>C:"), " Mb"

See Also

DriveSize, Report_Size


Scripting -  FileExists
> Scripting -  FileExists

Description

Checks for the existence of a file on the local or remote workstation.

Syntax

Exists = FileExists (source)

Argument	 Description

Exists	The existence of a file on the workstation.

Source	Required. The pathname of the file.

Notes:

The return value is TRUE if the specified file was found on the machine, or FALSE if the file was not found.

The source argument requires a Fully Qualified NSM Pathname in order to work. The operation can be performed on the local workstation not requiring any Client connections, or on a connected Client workstation.

Example

If FileExists (">C:\WINDOWS\SETUP.EXE") then

Print "File C:\WINDOWS\SETUP.EXE was found on the current client"

Endif

See Also

DirExists


Scripting -  GetClientPlatform
> Scripting -  GetClientPlatform

Description

Retrieves the platform of the specified Client workstation.

Syntax

PlatformID = GetClientPlatform ([client])

Argument	 Description

PlatformID	Returns the platform of the specified Client workstation.

Client	Optional. The Client whose platform you wish to receive.

Notes:

The Client argument is optional. If no arguments are specified or the Client string is empty, then the currently selected Client is used. The return value is one of the following:

Identifier	Value	Description
PLATFORM_WIN3X	1	Any Windows 3.x or Windows for Workgroups platform
PLATFORM_WIN95	2	Windows 95
PLATFORM_OS2	3	OS/2
PLATFORM_NT4	4	Windows NT 4.0
PLATFORM_NT351	5	Windows NT 3.51
PLATFORM_WIN2000	6	Windows 2000
PLATFORM_WIN98	7	Windows 98
PLATFORM_NT350	8	Windows NT 3.5
PLATFORM_WINME	9	Windows ME
PLATFORM_WINXP	10	Windows XP
Example

Print "Current Client Platform is ", GetClientPlatform ()

Platform = GetClientPlatform ("TEST1")

If Platform = PLATFORM_WIN95 Then

Print "The Client is running Windows '95!"

Endif

See Also

GetClientVersion, GetInstallDir, GetOSDir


Scripting -  GetClientVersion
> Scripting -  GetClientVersion

Description

Retrieves the version of the specified Client.

Syntax

Success = GetClientVersion ([client], MajorVersion, MinorVersion)

Argument	 Description

Success	Retrieves the version of the specified Client.

Client	Optional. Specify a Client to retrieve version information from other than the selected Client.

MajorVersion	Required. Eg  4 – version 4.

MinorVersion 	Required. Eg 15 – version 4.15

Notes:

You need to supply the names of two variables that will store the Major and Minor version numbers to this function. These must be defined by Dim before calling GetClientVersion (). The return value indicates if the function was successful or not.

The MajorVersion variable will contain a number such as 4, and the MinorVersion variable will contain something like 10, indicating version 4.10. You do not need to supply Client if you want to retrieve the information from the currently selected Client. Also if this string is empty, the current Client is used.

Example

Dim MajorVersion, MinorVersion

If GetClientVersion (MajorVersion, MinorVersion) then

Print "Client ", CurrentClient (), " is running version ", MajorVersion, ".", MinorVersion

Endif

See Also

GetClientPlatform, GetInstallDir, GetOSDir


Scripting -  GetDirList
> Scripting -  GetDirList

Description

Returns a list of directories from a specified location on either the local or a Client workstation.

Syntax

Items = GetDirList (source, list)

Argument	 Description

Items	The list of directories from the local or Client workstation.

Source	Required. The pathname of the directory.

List	Required. A variable to hold the list of directories on the local or Client workstation.

Notes:

This function returns a list of the directory names found in a specific location on the local machine, the current Client or a specified Client workstation.

The source must be an NSM qualified pathname, and must be absolute. You do not supply wildcards in the source argument.

The list that is created contains all of the directories found. The return value specifies how many directory names were added to the list.

Example

Dim Dirs

Print "Directories found locally in C:\ ", GetDirList ("C:\", Dirs)

For each Dir in Dirs

Print "Directory -> ", Dir

Next

See Also

GetFileList, GetDriveList


Scripting -  GetDriveList
> Scripting -  GetDriveList

Description

Populates a list with the drive letters available on the specified source workstation.

Syntax

Items = GetDriveList (source, list)

Argument	 Description

Items	The number of drives found on the machine.

Source	Required. The pathname of the specified drive letters.

List	Required. The list of drive letters available on the workstation.

Notes:

The list that is created contains only the drive letters, not the following full colon (:). The list is populated with physical drives as well as mapped network drives.

The source argument only needs to contain the Client specifier of an NSM qualified pathname. So to get the drive lists on the local workstation specify source as an empty string, for the current Client just specify the chevron '>'. And for a specific Client, specify source as the Client name followed by the chevron ‘>’. The return value contains the number of drives available on the specified workstation.

Example

Dim Drives

Print "Number of drives on local machine ", GetDriveList ("", Drives)

Print "Number of drives on current client ", GetDriveList (">", Drives)

Print "Number of drives on specific client ", GetDriveList ("TEST2>", Drives)

See Also

GetFileList, GetDirList


Scripting -  GetFileInfo
> Scripting -  GetFileInfo

Description

Retrieves various information about a specified file on the local or Client workstation.

Syntax

Value = GetFileInfo (source, flag)

Argument	 Description

Value	The information retrieved from the specified file.

Source	Required. The pathname of the specified file.

Flag	Required. The identifier of the attribute to return.

Notes:

You must specify an NSM qualified pathname in order for the function to work. The return value varies depending on the flag specified. Use the values from the following table:

Identifier	Return type	Description
FI_SIZE	integer	Returns the size of the specified file
FI_ATTRIB	integer	Returns the file attributes
FI_TIME	string	Returns the time the file was created
FI_DATE	String	Returns the date that the file was created

Example

Print "File size = ", GetFileInfo ("c:\command.com", FI_SIZE), " bytes"

print "File attrib = ", GetFileInfo ("c:\command.com", FI_ATTRIB)

print "File time = ", GetFileInfo (">c:\command.com", FI_TIME)

print "File date = ", GetFileInfo ("TEST1>c:\command.com", FI_DATE)

See Also

SetAttrib


Scripting -  GetFileList
> Scripting -  GetFileList

Description

Populates a list with files that match a specified wildcard in a specified location.

Syntax

Items = GetFileList (source, list)

Argument	 Description

Items	The list of files that match the specified wildcard and location.

Source	Required. The pathname of the specified files.

List	Required. The list of file names returned.

Notes:

This function returns a list of the filenames found in a specific location on the local machine, the current client or a specified client machine.

The source must be an NSM qualified pathname, and must be absolute.

The list that is returned only contains filenames, not the full path to the file. You can specify an 8.3 file mask, or a long filename mask. You can use asterisks and question marks in the wildcard, as you would in a DOS DIR. The return value indicates how many matched files were found and added to the list. Zero indicates that no files were found, or the function failed.

Example

Dim filelist

Items = GetFileList ("C:\windows\*.exe", filelist)

Print "Found ", items, " files matching the wildcard"

See Also

GetDirList, GetDriveList


Scripting -  GetInstallDir
> Scripting -  GetInstallDir

Description

Retrieves the directory that NetSupport is installed into on a Client workstation.

Syntax

String = GetInstallDir ([client])

Argument	 Description

String	The pathname of the Client workstations install directory.

Client	Optional. The specified Client.

Notes:

The client argument is optional. If no arguments are specified or the client string is empty, then the currently selected Client is used. The return value is a string containing the full path to the directory where NetSupport is installed.

Example

Connect ("TEST1")

Print "Client is installed in ", GetInstallDir ()

See Also

GetClientVersion , GetClientPlatform , GetOSDir


Scripting -  GetOSDir
> Scripting -  GetOSDir

Description

Retrieves the directory of the operating system on the Client workstation.

Syntax

String = GetOSDir ([client])

Argument	 Description

String	The pathname of the Clients operating system directory.

Client	Optional. The specified Client.

Notes:

The client argument is optional. If no arguments are specified or the client string is empty, then the currently selected Client is used. The return value is a string containing the full path to the directory where the operating system is installed on the Client workstation.

Example

Connect ("TEST1")

Print "The operating system is installed in ", GetOSDir ()

See Also

GetClientVersion, GetClientPlatform, GetInstallDir


Scripting -  SetAttrib
SetAttrib

Description

Sets the attributes of a specified file either locally or on a Client workstation.

Syntax

Success = SetAttrib (source, attrib)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of setting the attributes of a Client file.

Source	Required. The pathname of the specified file.

Attribute	Required. The combination of file attributes.

Notes:

This function allows you to alter the specified files attributes.  You must supply a Fully Qualified Pathname in source, and a combination of file attributes in attrib.  You combine the attributes for the file by using the Bitwise-OR operator.  The following constant values that represent attributes are available:

Constant Identifier	Value	Description
FA_ARCHIVE	32	Archive file attribute
FA_HIDDEN	2	Hidden file attribute
FA_RDONLY	1	Read Only file attribute
FA_SYSTEM	4	System file attribute

The following example shows how to combine the different attributes together.

Example

...

// Set the attribute of AUTOEXEC.BAT to Archive

If !SetAttrib ("C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT", FA_ARCHIVE) then

Print "Unable to change this files attributes! "

Endif

// Now combine several attributes together using the Bitwise-OR

If !SetAttrib ("C:\CONFIG.SYS", FA_ARCHIVE | FA_RDONLY | FA_HIDDEN) then

Print "Unable to change this files attributes! "

Endif

See Also

GetFileInfo


Scripting -  Hangup
> Scripting -  Hangup

Description

Hangs up a remote dial-up connection.

Syntax

Success = Hangup ()

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of hanging up the remote dial-up link connection.

Notes:

If this function is called without a successful call to Dial (), the return value is FALSE. If the connection was terminated successfully then the return value is TRUE.

Example

...

If !Hangup() then

Print "We couldn't terminate the remote connection!"

Endif

See Also

Dial


Scripting -  Lookup
> Scripting -  Lookup

Description

Performs a lookup across the default network protocol(s) for NetSupport Clients.

Syntax

Clients = Lookup (mask, list)

Argument	 Description

Clients	The number of Clients found during the lookup.

Mask	Required. The prefix used to specify which Clients to connect to.

List	Required. The list of returned available Clients.

Notes:

When you perform a lookup, the execution of the script is suspended until the function returns. If no clients were found in the lookup, list will be in the same state that it was in when you parsed it (i.e. unchanged). The return value is the number of clients found during the lookup. If you want to narrow the search, specify part of the client name in mask. You do not need to supply wildcards, just part of the client name. Mask is not case sensitive. To find all clients on the network, specify mask as an empty string. Each item in the list takes the format: Client|Address<Transport this is done to make the conenctions

Example

Dim ClientList

Print "Number of clients found with the prefix of TEST ", Lookup ("TEST", ClientList)

Print "Total number of all clients found ", Lookup ("", ClientList)

See Also

Dim


Scripting -  MkDir
> Scripting -  MkDir

Description

Creates a directory on the local or Client workstation.

Syntax

Success = MkDir (source)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of creating a directory on the local or Client workstation.

Source	Required. The pathname of the directory being created.

Notes:

The source argument must be a fully qualified NSM pathname, and must be absolute. If the directory was created successfully, the return value is TRUE, otherwise if an error occurred the return value is FALSE.

Example

MkDir ("C:\TEMP_DIR")	// Create a directory locally

MkDir (">C:\TEMP_DIR")	// Create a directory on the currently selected client

MkDir ("TEST1>C:\TEMP\TEMP_DIR")	// Create a directory on a specific client

See Also

RmDir


Scripting -  Reboot
> Scripting -  Reboot

Description

Restarts a Client machine in one of four ways. Rebooting, Logging off (NT), Shutting down the client or Powering off the Client workstation.

Syntax

Success = Reboot ([clientname], style)

Argument	Description
Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of the Client being logged off, rebooted, shutdown or powered off.
Clientname	Optional. The specified Client you wish to logoff, reboot, shutdown or power off.
Style	Required. The specified reboot style to be used on the Client workstation.
Notes:

You call Reboot () with an optional Client name. If you do not specify a Client name, the operation is performed on the currently selected Client. If you specify a Client, that Client will take the focus of the call.

You can send one of four different reboot styles to a Client, which are:

Identifier	Value	Description
RB_LOGOFF	0	NT: Logs off the workstation/server. 95: Reboots the Client workstation
RB_REBOOT	1	NT & 95: Reboot the Client workstation
RB_SHUTDOWN	2	NT & 95: Causes the Client to shutdown
RB_POWEROFF	3	NT & 95: Powers Off the Client workstation
Example

If Reboot (RB_LOGOFF) then

Print "The client was logged off or rebooted okay"

Endif

If !Reboot ("TEST2", RB_SHUTDOWN) then

Print "We could not shut the client down"

Endif


Scripting -  Rename
> Scripting -  Rename

Description

Renames a file or directory on the local or a Client workstation.

Syntax

Success = Rename (source, dest)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of renaming the file or directory.

Source	Required. The pathname of the file or directory to be renamed.

Destination	Required. The destination/new name of the renamed file or directory.

Notes:

When renaming a file you must specify an absolute NSM qualified pathname in the source. In the 32-bit interpreter, you can specify a different directory for the dest argument for example moving the file. Normally you only need to specify the new name of the file in dest. The return value allows you to determine if the operation was successful.

Example

Rename ("C:\TEST.TXT", "NEW_TEST.TXT")	// Rename a file locally

Rename ("C:\WINDOWS\WCONTROL.INI", "C:\NSM\WCONTROL.OLD")	// Rename/Move a file locally

Rename (">C:\TEST.TEXT", "Test Long Filename.NSM")	// Rename a long file on the current client (32-bit only)

See Also

Copy, Delete


Scripting -  RmDir
> Scripting -  RmDir

Description

Deletes a directory on the local or Client workstation.

Syntax

Success = RmDir (source)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of deleting the file or directory.

Source	Required. The pathname of the file or directory to be deleted.

Notes:

The source argument must be a fully qualified NSM pathname, and must be absolute. If the directory was deleted successfully, the return value is TRUE, otherwise if an error occurred the return value is FALSE. Note that this function does not delete files or directories within the source specified.

Example

RmDir ("C:\TEMP_DIR")	// Delete a directory locally

RmDir (">C:\TEMP_DIR")	// Delete a directory on the currently selected client

RmDir ("TEST1>C:\TEMP\TEMP_DIR")	// Delete a directory on a specific client

See Also

MkDir


Scripting -  Select
> Scripting -  Select

Description

Selects a new default Client that will be the focus of all operations.

Syntax

Success = Select (client)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of selecting a new default Client.

Client	Required. The Client to be the new default.

Notes:

By selecting a new default client, any client operation that follows will be directed at this client. The return value is TRUE if the client was selected, or FALSE if it could not be selected. If you are not connected to the specified client, the return value will be FALSE.

Example

Connect ("TEST1")

Connect ("TEST2")

If !Select ("TEST1") then Print "Could not select a different client"

See Also

CurrentClient


Scripting -  SetConfig
> Scripting -  SetConfig

Description

Sets a new Named Configuration in the interpreter.

Syntax

Success = SetConfig (configname)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of setting a new named configuration in the interpreter.

Configname	Required. The selected named configuration.

Notes:

Calling this function will disconnect any Clients that are already connected. By default the interpreter loads the default named configuration on startup, and you should call SetConfig () at the beginning of your script.

You can select the named configuration from the menu option Edit | Insert Named Configuration. The list provided saves you having to remember the names of each configuration. If you enter the named configuration yourself, and it does not exist, the default configuration will be loaded.

If the function fails, for any reason, the return value is FALSE and the default configuration is loaded, otherwise if the config was changed the return value is TRUE.

Example

If !SetConfig ("beaker") then

Print "We were unable to load our named configuration 'Beaker'"

Endif


Scripting -  SetTransport
> Scripting -  SetTransport

Description

Sets a new default network transport protocol, on the LAN or across a dial-up link.

Syntax

Success = SetTransport (transport [, transports])

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of a new defaul network transport protocol being set.

Transport	Required. The new default network transport protocol.

Transports	Optional. The network transport protocol is to be used across a dial-up link.

32-bit Note

When you set new transports, all following Client operations will be performed across these protocols. You can specify one or more transports for the scripting to work over. To specify NetBIOS, you add the adapter number to the constant value T_NETBIOS. If you specify T_REMOTE as one of the arguments, the transport is initialised for use over an NSM dial-up connection. You must remember to set this back to local when you have finished with remote connections. If you specify more than one transport with T_REMOTE, only the first one is used the rest are ignored.

16-bit Note

You can only specify one transport for the scripting language to work over. Specify one of the constants in the table below, observing the same procedure for NetBIOS as above. You still specify T_REMOTE in the same way as above.

Use the constants in the table below, to specify the transport.

Identifier	Value	Description
T_IPX	1	IPX transport
T_TCPIP	2	TCP/IP transport
T_NETBIOS	6	NetBIOS transport (add adapter number to this value, range 0...7)
T_REMOTE	255	Specifies that the network is remote

Example

SetTransport (T_IPX, T_TCPIP, T_NETBIOS + 5)	// IPX, TCP/IP and NetBIOS adapter 5 on the LAN

SetTransport (T_NETBIOS)	// NetBIOS Adapter 0

SetTransport (T_IPX, T_REMOTE)	// Load IPX for remote connections


Scripting -  AddItem
> Scripting -  AddItem

Description

Adds a string to a list.

Syntax

Index = AddItem (stringlist, expression)

Argument	 Description

Index	The index where the string was added to the list.

Stringlist	Required. The defined string list.

Expression	Required. The string expression.

Notes:

The string list must have been defined before the call to AddItem. Use Dim to create the list variable. The expression can be any string expression. The return value indicates the position of the new item in the list, which will always be the last item.

Example

Dim List

Print "Item added at index ", AddItem (List, "String1")

See Also

DelItem, FindItem, GetItem, Join, SetItem, Items, Dim


Scripting -  DelItem
> Scripting -  DelItem

Description

Removes an item from a list.

Syntax

Items = DelItem (list, index)

Argument	 Description

Items	The number of items remaining the list.

List	Required. The list from which the item will be removed.

Index	Required. The index from which the item will be removed.

Notes:

The return value is a numeric value, which reports the number of items remaining in the list. The index must be 1 (one) based, not zero based. If you specify zero, an error will occur.

Example

Print "After deleting item 3, there are ", DelItem (list, 3), " items left in the list"

See Also

AddItem, FindItem, GetItem, Join, SetItem, Items, Dim


Scripting -  FindItem
> Scripting -  FindItem

Description

Searches a list for a specified string, and returns the index to it.

Syntax

Index = FindItem (list, expression [, case])

Argument	 Description

Index	The index to which the string is returned.

List	Required. The list that is searched for the specified string.

Expression	Required. The specific way in which the strings are compared.

Case	Optional. Whether the string comparison is case or non-case sensitive.

Notes:

When you search the list, you can specify how the strings are compared. If you do not specify the third optional argument, the string comparison is non-case sensitive. The return value is a one base index to the item found, or zero if the item was not found. You can specify one of the following values in the third option argument:

Identifier	Value	Description
IGNORECASE	1	Ignores the case of strings (This does not have to be specified)
MATCHCASE	2	Matches the case of string

Example

...

found_at = FindItem(list, "String 3", MATCHCASE)

If found_at then

Print "Found the exact string item at index ", found_at

Else

Print "Did not find the exact item in the list"

Endif

See Also

AddItem, DelItem, GetItem, Join, SetItem, Items, Dim


Scripting -  GetItem
> Scripting -  GetItem

Description

Returns the string located at the specified index in a list.

Syntax

String = GetItem (list, index)

Argument	 Description

String	Returns the string located at the specified index in a list.

List	Required. The list to get the item from.

Index	Required. The size of the index.

Notes:

The interpreter will generate an error if the index you supply is greater than the number of items in the list. You should check to make sure that you know how many items there are in the list. Use the Items function to do this.

Example

Print "Item at index 3 is ", GetItem (List, 3)

See Also

AddItem, DelItem, FindItem, Join, SetItem, Items, Dim


Scripting -  Items
> Scripting -  Items

Description

Returns the number of items in the specified list.

Syntax

Items = Items (list)

Argument	 Description

Items	The number of items in the specified list.

List	Required. The list to find the number of items in.

Notes:

If there are no items in the specified list, then return value is zero (0).

Example

Print "There are ", Items (list), " items in the list"

See Also

AddItem, DelItem, FindItem, GetItem, SetItem, Join, Dim


Scripting -  Join
> Scripting -  Join

Description

Appends one string list to the end of another.

Syntax

Items = Join (dest, source)

Argument	 Description

Items	The number of items in the string after they are joined.

Dest	Required. A string list which will have the source string added to.

Source	Required. The name of the list which will be added to the end of dest

Notes:

The items in source are appended to the end of dest. The return value is the number of items in dest after the joining.

Example

Print "Total items in the joined list ", Join (List1, List2)

See Also

AddItem, DelItem, FindItem, GetItem, SetItem, Items, Dim


Scripting -  SetItem
> Scripting -  SetItem

Description

Alters the item at the specified index in a list.

Syntax

SetItem (list, index, expression)

Argument	 Description

List	Required. The list in which the specified index will be altered.

Index	Required. The index in which a specified item will be altered.

Expression	Required. The new value to be placed in the list at index.

Notes:

Index is a one base value for the item in the list. If index is greater than the number of items in list, an error will occur. Expression must be of string type. There is no return value for this function.

Example

SetItem (list, 3, "New String 3")

See Also

AddItem, DelItem, FindItem, GetItem, Items, Join, Dim


Scripting -  Chr
> Scripting -  Chr

Description

Returns the character associated with the specified ANSI character code.

Syntax

Character = Chr (charcode)

Argument	 Description

Character	The character associated with the specified ANSI code.

Charcode	Required. The numeric value of the returned ANSI character code.

Notes:

Charcode is a numeric value. Numbers from 0 to 31 are the same as standard, nonprintable ASCII codes. For example, Chr (10) returns a linefeed character.


Scripting -  CInt
> Scripting -  CInt

Description

Returns an expression that has been converted to an Integer.

Syntax

Intval = CInt (expression)

Argument	 Description

Intval	The returned expression of the converted integer.

Expression	Required. The string expression to be converted into its integer alternative.

Notes:

CInt () converts a string expression to its integer alternative. The string should contain numeric characters, but the conversion will also handle non-numeric characters by ignoring them.

See Also

CStr, IsNumber


Scripting -  CStr
> Scripting -  CStr

Description

Convert a numeric value to a string value.

Syntax

String = CStr (expression)

Argument	 Description

String	The return string value from the converted numeric value.

Expression	Required. The numeric expression to be converted into a string.

Notes:

The expression can be any numeric expression. The return value is the result of the expression converted into a string. The number representation is in decimal.

See Also

CInt, IsNumber


Scripting -  Hex
> Scripting -  Hex

Description

Converts a numeric value into a hexadecimal string representation.

Syntax

String = Hex (expression)

Argument	 Description

String	The returned hexadecimal string representation of the numeric value.

Expression	Required. The numeric expression which will be converted into hex.

Notes:

0x prefixes the returned hexadecimal string. So hex (32) would return 0x20.


Scripting -  InStr
> Scripting -  InStr

Description

Search the source string for the existence of a substring.

Syntax

Index = InStr (source, substring [, case])

Argument	 Description

Index	The character index of the beginning of the substring within the string.

Source	Required. The string to be searched.

Substring	Required. The substring to be searched for.

Case	Optional. Specify whether the search is case or non-case sensitive.

Notes:

By default, the search is case sensitive unless you specify IGNORECASE in the third optional argument in which case the search is non-case sensitive. The return value is the character index of the substring within the string if a match was made. If no match could be made, then the return value is zero (0).

Example

Print "Substring 'TEST' found in String 'This is a test' at index ", InStr ("This Is a test", "TEST", IGNORECASE)

Print "Substring 'TEST' found in String 'This is a test' at index ", InStr ("This Is a test", "TEST")


Scripting -  IsNumber
> Scripting -  IsNumber

Description

Returns TRUE if the expression can be converted to an integer, or FALSE if the string is non-numeric.

Syntax

Success = IsNumber (expression)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of converting the expression into an integer.

Expression	Required. Either the string or integer expression.

Notes:

The return value is Boolean. The expression can be either string or integer expressions. If the expression is integer then the return value is TRUE. If the expression is a string value, and the contents can be converted to an integer the return value is TRUE.

Example

a = 10

b = "10"

Print "Return from IsNumber ", IsNumber (10)	// TRUE

Print "Return from IsNumber ", IsNumber ("10")	// TRUE

Print "Return from IsNumber ", IsNumber ("a10")	// FALSE

Print "Return from IsNumber ", IsNumber (a)	// TRUE

Print "Return from IsNumber ", IsNumber (b)	// TRUE

See Also

CInt, CStr


Scripting -  LCase
> Scripting -  LCase

Description

Converts a string to lowercase.

Syntax

newstring = LCase(expression)

Argument	 Description

Newstring	The converted lower case string.

Expression	Required. The expression to be converted to lower case.

Note:

The return string contains the converted string. If expression is a variable, the contents of this variable are NOT altered.

Example

a = "TEST STRING"

Print "Variable A converted to lowercase becomes ", LCase (a)

a = LCase (a)

See Also

UCase


Scripting -  Left
> Scripting -  Left

Description

Copies a specified number of characters from the left hand side of a string.

Syntax

String = Left (expression, length)

Argument	 Description

String	The string with the specified number of characters copied from the left hand side of the string.

Expression	Required. The string expression from which to return length characters from the left.

Length	Required. The number of characters to copy.

Note:

If the number of characters specified in length is greater than the number of characters in the expression, the entire string is returned. If length is zero, no characters will be returned.

Example

a = "This is a test string"

Print "The first 4 characters of variable A are ", Left (a, 4)

See Also

Right, Mid


Scripting -  Len
> Scripting -  Len

Description

Returns the number of characters in a string.

Syntax

Count = Len (expression)

Argument	 Description

Count	The number of characters in the specified string.

Expression	Required. The string.

Note:

Expression must be of string type. If the string is empty, the return value is zero (0).

Example

a = "This is a test string"

Print "Number of characters in the variable string A, ", Len (a)


Scripting -  LTrim
> Scripting -  LTrim

Description

Removes the leading white space from a string.

Syntax

String = LTrim (expression)

Argument	 Description

String	The returned string from which the leading white space is removed.

Expression	Required. The expression from which all space and tab characters are removed.

Note:

All space and tab characters are removed from the left-hand side of the expression. If expression is a variable, the contents are not altered.

Example

a = " This is a test string"

Print "Trim the left of variable A, [", LTrim (a), "]"

See Also

RTrim, Trim


Scripting -  Mid
> Scripting -  Mid

Description

Returns a specified number of characters from a string.

Syntax

String = Mid (expression, start [, length])

Argument	 Description

String	The number of specified numbers returned from a string.

Expression	Required. The string from which the specified number of characters will be returned.

Start	Required. The character index that the string should be copied from.

Length	Optional. The number of character to copy.

Notes:

Expression must be a string, otherwise a runtime error will be generated.

You specify the character index that the string should be copied from in start.

The optional third argument, length, specifies the number of characters to copy. If you specify more characters in length than there are in the string, the entire string to the right of start will be returned. If length is not specified, all the characters to the right of start are returned.

Example

a = "This is a test string"

Print "Copy 4 characters at index 6, [", Mid (a, 6, 4), "]"

See Also

Left, Right


Scripting -  Print
> Scripting -  Print

Description

Displays a series of values in the output window.

Syntax

Print [var1,var2, ... varn]

Argument	 Description

Varl	Optional. The expression with an unlimited number of arguments.

Varn	Optional. The last expression.

Notes:

All the arguments for this function must be separated by commas (,).

The arguments can be integer literal, string literal, integer or string variables. You cannot specify list variables. If you do not specify any arguments to this function, a blank line is displayed in the output window and log files. You can perform string and integer expression evaluations within the print function, see examples.

Example

Print "This is a test string"

Print "This is an integer -> ", 10, " <-"

Print "This is a string -> ", "TEST", " <-"

Print "This is the result of a function -> ", Items (list), " <-"

Print "This is an expression evaluation -> ", 10 * 2 + (30 * 4), " <-"


Scripting -  RepChar
> Scripting -  RepChar

Description

Returns a string with the specified number of repeated characters.

Syntax

String = RepChar (char, length)

Argument	 Description

String	The returned string with the specified number of repeated characters.

Char	Required. The first character in the returned string.

Length	Required. The length of the string (Max value = 255).

Notes:

Although char can contain more than one character, only the first character is used. If char is empty, the return string will be empty as well.

The maximum value that can be specified in length is 255. Anything greater than this will generate a runtime error.

Example

Title = "This is a title string"

Print title

Print RepChar ("-", Len (title))

See Also

Space


Scripting -  Right
> Scripting -  Right

Description

Copies a specified number of characters from the right hand side of a string.

Syntax

String = Right (expression, length)

Argument	 Description

String	The string with the specified number of characters copied from the right hand side of the string.

Expression	Required. The string to return length characters from the right of.

Length	Required. The number of characters to return

Note:

If the number of characters specified in length is greater than the number of characters in the expression, the entire string is returned. If length is zero, no characters will be returned.

Example

a = "This is a test string"

Print "The last 6 characters of variable A are ", Right (a, 6)

See Also

Left, Mid


Scripting -  RTrim
> Scripting -  RTrim

Description

Removes the trailing white space from a string.

Syntax

String = RTrim (expression)

Argument	 Description

String	The returned string from which the trailing white space is removed.

Expression	Required. The expression from which all space and tab characters are removed.

Note:

All space and tab characters are removed from the right hand side of the expression. If expression is a variable, the contents are not altered.

Example

a = "This is a test string "

Print "Trim the right of variable A, [", RTrim (a), "]"

See Also

LTrim, Trim


Scripting -  Space
> Scripting -  Space

Description

Returns a string containing the specified number of spaces.

Syntax

String = Space (length)

Argument	 Description

String	The returned string containing the specified number of spaces.

Length	Required. The number of spaces to return.

Note:

Length has a range of 0...255. If length is greater than 255, a runtime error will be generated. If length is zero, an empty string will be returned.

Example

Print "Print 10 spaces [", Space (10), "]"

See Also

RepChar


Scripting -  Trim
> Scripting -  Trim

Description

Removes leading and trailing white space from the expression.

Syntax

String = Trim (expression)

Argument	 Description

String	The returned string without leading or trailing white spaces.

Expression	Required. The expression from which all space and tab characters are removed.

Note:

All space and tab characters are removed from the left and right hand sides of expression. Expression must be of string type.

Example

a = " Test String "

Print "Remove spaces from variable A [", Trim (a), "]"

See Also

LTrim, RTrim


Scripting -  UCase
> Scripting -  UCase

Description

Converts a string to uppercase.

Syntax

Newstring = UCase (expression)

Argument	 Description

Newstring	The converted upper case string.

Expression	Required. The string expression to be converted to upper case.

Note:

The return string contains the converted string. If expression is a variable, the contents of this variable are NOT altered.

Example

a = "test string"

Print "Variable A converted to uppercase becomes ", UCase (a)

a = UCase(a)

See Also

LCase


Scripting -  Date
> Scripting -  Date

Description

Returns the current date as a string.

Syntax

Date

Argument	 Description

None

Note:

The date format is returned as dd/mm/yy, regardless of your system settings.

See Also

Time


Scripting -  Dim
> Scripting -  Dim

Description

Declares a variable or set of variables, so that the interpreter recognizes then in function arguments.

Syntax

Dim var1, var2...

Argument	 Description

None

Notes:

Use the Dim statement to declare lists before they are used, to prevent runtime errors. Dim can also be used to declare any variable identifier. This is needed when passing variables to functions, when the variable hasn't previously been declared.

Example

Dim ClientList, index


Scripting -  Time
> Scripting -  Time

Description

Returns the current time, as a string.

Syntax

Time

Argument	 Description

None

Note:

The time is returned in the format HH:MM:SS regardless of your system settings.

See Also

Date


Scripting -  Goto
> Scripting -  Goto

Description

Moves the execution of the script to the line following the specified label.

Syntax

Goto label

Argument	 Description

Label	The label to go to.

Notes:

If the label doesn't exist in the current scope, an error will be generated. Only labels inside the current function block will be available. Also you can have the same label defined in different function blocks, and the interpreter will use the one in the current scope.

Example

Goto get_out

Print “This will not be displayed”

...

get_out:


Scripting -  For ... Next Loop
> Scripting -  For ... Next Loop

Description

The FOR loop is used to execute a set of functions a set number of times.

Syntax

FOR counter = init-value TO end-value [STEP step-value]

Statement(s)

[EXIT FOR]

NEXT

Argument	 Description

Counter	Any numeric varilable to store the loop counter.

Init-value	Required. The initial value of counter.

End-value	Required. The final value of counter.

Step-value	Optional. The amount counter is changed each time the loop is executed. If this statement is omitted, the default step is one (1).

Notes:

The init-value can be greater than the end-value and visa-versa.

The EXIT FOR statement can be placed anywhere inside the FOR loop. This causes the processing of the script to continue after the NEXT statement, effectively stopping the loop.

Example

The following example creates a loop of ten repetitions and displays the loop counter in each repetition.

FOR I = 1 TO 10

PRINT "I = ", I

NEXT

For loops can be nested inside one another, so the following example is still valid.

FOR a = 1 TO 10

FOR b = 1 TO 10

PRINT "A * B = ", (a * b)

NEXT

NEXT

See Also

For Each ... Next, Do … Loop, If … Else … Endif


Scripting -  For Each ... Next Loop
> Scripting -  For Each ... Next Loop

Description

The FOR EACH loop is used to execute a set of functions once for every item in a string list.

Syntax

FOR EACH item IN list

Statement(s)

[EXIT FOR]

NEXT

Argument	 Description

Item	Any string variable to store the retrieved item from the string list.

List	Required. The string list which the loop will traverse

Example

The following example creates string list using a FOR loop, and then uses a FOR EACH loop to display them:

DIM stringlist

FOR I = 1 TO 10

AddItem (stringlist, "String" + CStr (I))

NEXT

FOR EACH string IN stringlist

Print "Item -> ", string

NEXT

The FOR EACH loops, can be nested inside one another, so the following example is still valid.

Dim ClientList

Dim GroupList

Get Groups (grouplist)

For each group in the Grouplist

GetClientsInGroup (Group, ClientList

For each Client in the Clientlist

Print "Group", group, has Client"

Next	GetClientName (Client)

Next

See Also

For ... Next, Do … Loop, If … Else … Endif


Scripting -  Do ... Loop
> Scripting -  Do ... Loop

Description

The Do loop is used to execute a set of commands until a condition is met, or while a condition is TRUE.

Syntax

Do Until expression

Statement(s)

[EXIT DO]

Loop

Or

Do while expression

Statement(s)

[EXIT DO]

Loop

Argument	 Description

Expression	Required. An expression to evaluate.

Example

The following example loops until the expression is met:

x = 1

Do Until x = 10

Print "Value = ", x * 10

x = x + 1

Loop

And this loops whilst the expression is TRUE:

x = 1

Do While x < 10

Print "Value = ", x * 10

x = x + 1

Loop

See Also

For … Next, For Each … Next, If … Else … Endif


Scripting -  If...Else...Endif
> Scripting -  If...Else...Endif

Description

Conditionally executes a group of statements, depending on the result of an expression.

Syntax

If expression then

Statement(s)

[Else]

Statement(s)

Endif

Or

If expression then Statement

Argument	 Description

Expression	Required. The expression to evaluate.

Notes:

When expression is evaluated as TRUE, the flow of execution starts at the line immediately following the If statement, and continues until an Else or Endif keyword is encountered.  If the expression is evaluated as FALSE, and there is an Else keyword present, the flow of execution starts at the line immediately following the Else statement.  Otherwise the flow of execution continues at the line immediately following the Endif keyword.

You can use single line If statements for conditions that only require one line of statements.  To do this you do not need to supply the Endif keyword, and cannot use the Else keyword.

These structures can be nested inside each other, up to a maximum depth of 10.  If the structures become too deep, you may encounter problems matching the Endif keywords to the If statements.

Examples

If ConnectedClients () = 0 then

Print "We are not currently connected to any clients! "

Else

Print "We are connected to clients. "

Endif

If !ConnectedClients () then Print "We are not connected to any clients! "

See Also

For … Next, For Each … Next, Do … Loop


Scripting -  Exit
> Scripting -  Exit

Description

Exit allows you to break out of a For … Next, Do … Loop or function statement, and continue execution of the script at the line following the statement block.

Syntax

Exit [style]

You must supply one of three arguments to this command:

Argument	 Description

For	Optional. Exit from the current For … Next or For Each … Next loop.

Do	Optional. Exit from the current Do … Loop structure.

Function	Optional. Exit from the current Function block.

Example

These examples show where you would use the Exit command:

For each ClientName in ClientList

If !Connect (ClientName) then Exit For

Next

...

Do While X < 100

If X = 20 then Exit Do

X = X + 1

Loop

...

Function MyFunc (X, Y)

If X * Y = 100 then

MyFunc = 0

Exit Function

Endif

MyFunc = X * Y

End Function


Scripting -  RegOpenKey
RegOpenKey

Description

Opens a key in the registry of the local or Client workstation.  The value that is returned by this function is used in other registry functions.

Syntax

handle = RegOpenKey( KeyRoot, SubKey )

Argument	 Description

Handle	The handle used to open a key in the local or Client workstations.

KeyRoot	Required. The valid handle of a key that is to be used as the parent key.

SubKey	Required. The string containing the name of the key to open.

Notes:

The value that is returned is a handle that must be used when accessing the key you have just opened in other registry functions.  You must specify the valid handle of a key that is to be used as the parent key in KeyRoot.  This value can be one of the pre-defined values (shown in the table below) or the handle of a key that has already been opened.

Constant

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKEY_USERS

SubKey must be a string containing the name of the key to open.  This key must be a sub key of the key identified in the KeyRoot argument.  If you want the registry key to be opened on a Client machine, you must follow the same procedure as with NSM Qualified Pathnames.  If the root key that you specify is other than ones listed in the table above, this key will override any location information specified in the sub key.  For example, if you have created/opened a key on the local machine and then specify a sub key that specifies a Client, the root key location will take precedence.

Examples

This example attempts to open an existing key on the default client, and handles a failure by creating the key.

If (handle = RegOpenKey (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, ">SOFTWARE\MySubKey"))  == NULL then

handle = RegCreateKey(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, ">SOFTWARE\MySubKey"

…

Endif

// The handle variable now contains a valid registry key handle

...

// Let’s close the handle now we’ve finished using it.

RegCloseKey (handle)

Also See

RegCloseKey, RegCreateKey


Scripting -  RegCreateKey
RegCreateKey

Description

Creates a registry key on either the local or a Client machine.  The value that is returned is used in subsequent registry functions.

Syntax

handle = RegCreateKey( KeyRoot, SubKey )

Argument	 Description

Handle	The handle of the new key, used to access a key in the local or Client workstations.

KeyRoot	Required. The valid handle of a key that is to be used as the parent key.

SubKey	Required. The string containing the name of the key to create.

Notes

The value that is returned is a handle that must be used when accessing the key you have just created in other registry functions.  You must specify the valid handle of a key that is to be used as the parent key in KeyRoot.  This value can be one of the pre-defined values (shown in the table below) or the handle of a key that has already been opened.

Constant

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKEY_USERS

SubKey must be a string containing the name of the key to create.  This key must be a sub key of the key identified in the KeyRoot argument.  If you want the registry key to be created on a Client machine, you must follow the same procedure as with NSM Qualified Pathnames.  If the root key that you specify is other than ones listed in the table above, this key will override any location information specified in the sub key.  For example, if you have created/opened a key on the local machine and then specify a sub key that specifies a Client, the root key location will take precedence.

Examples

This example attempts to open an existing key, and handles a failure by creating the key.

If (handle = RegOpenKey (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\MySubKey"))  == NULL then

handle = RegCreateKey(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\MySubKey")

…

Endif

// The handle variable now contains a valid registry key handle

...

// Let’s close the handle now we’ve finished using it.

RegCloseKey (handle)

Also See

RegOpenKey, RegCloseKey


Scripting -  RegCloseKey
RegCloseKey

Description

This function closes the handle associated with the open registry key.  You should use this function whenever you no longer need to access a registry key.  If you do not close registry handles when your script terminates, they will be closed automatically.

Syntax

Success = RegCloseKey( Handle )

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of closing the handle assoicated with the open registry key.

Handle	Required. The specified handle to be closed.

Notes:

You cannot close any of the pre-defined system key handles that are listed below.  If you specify a handle that is invalid you will receive a runtime error.  The return value indicates if the operation succeeded or failed.

Constant

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKEY_USERS

Example

RegCloseKey (handle)

Also See

RegCreateKey, RegOpenKey


Scripting -  RegDeleteKey
RegDeleteKey

Description

Deletes a key from the registry on the local or Client workstation. You cannot delete keys with sub keys on Windows NT.

Syntax

success = RegDeleteKey( KeyRoot, SubKey )

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of deleting a key from the local or Client workstation registry.

KeyRoot	Required. The specified handle of the key to delete.

SubKey	Required. The key to be deleted.

Notes:

You cannot delete any of the pre-defined system key handles that are listed below.  If you specify a handle that is invalid you will receive a runtime error.  The return value indicates if the registry key was deleted successfully.

Constant

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKEY_USERS

To delete a key that you have already opened/created, specify this handle as the KeyRoot and specify SubKey as an empty string.

Examples

This example creates a key in the local registry and then deletes it again, not very practical in the working environment, but shows these functions at work.

// Create a temporary key for this demonstration

Handle = RegCreateKey (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\MySubKey")

// Check the handle is not NULL before attempting to delete it

If Handle then

Print "Result from deleting key is ", RegDeleteKey( Handle, "" )

Else

Print "Could not create temporary registry key"

Endif

Also See

RegDeleteValue, RegSetValue, RegGetValue


Scripting -  RegDeleteValue
RegDeleteValue

Description

This function removes a named value from an open registry key.

Syntax

success = RegDeleteValue( KeyRoot, ValueName )

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of the named value being removed from the open registry key.

KeyRoot	Required. A valid key handle.

ValueName	Required. A valid value name.

Notes:

The KeyRoot must be a valid key handle, either created by RegOpenKey or RegCreateKey, or one of the pre-defined handles.  The ValueName must be a valid value name, if this name is invalid the function will return FALSE.

Examples

This example enumerates a set of values within a registry key, and then deletes all of the values.

Warning: This example could be potentially destructive if performed on a required registry key!

Dim ValueNames

// Open a registry key, and do something if the key doesn’t exist

handle = RegOpenKey(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\OurKey")

If !handle then

...

EndIf

If !RegEnumValues( handle, ValueNames ) then

...

EndIf

For Each ValueName in ValueNames

RegDeleteValue (handle, ValueName)

Next

RegCloseKey(handle)

Also See

RegGetValue, RegSetValue, RegEnumValues


Scripting -  RegGetValue
RegGetValue

Description

Retrieves the data and type for a specified value name associated with an open registry key.

Syntax

data = RegGetValue (KeyRoot, ValueName, type [, error])

Argument	 Description

Data	The retrieved data and type for the specified value name.

KeyRoot	Required. A valid key handle.

ValueName	Required. The name of the value you wish to retrieve.

Type	Required. The type of the data retrieved.

Error	Optional. To check for an error occurs in the return value Type.

Notes:

The return value from this function can be either a string or a numeric value.  You should use the type argument to decide what to do with the data once it has been retrieved.  If an error occurs the return value will be zero, but you cannot rely on this to detect an error as the return value may actually be zero.  You should in this case, supply the optional error argument to enable you to check for an error.  The type argument will contain one of the following values to indicate the type of data returned:

Constant	Description
REG_BINARY	A binary string has been returned, this string will be expanded to an ASCII string
REG_DWORD	A numeric value has been returned
REG_SZ	A string value has been returned
REG_MULTI_SZ	A string has been returned in which each entry is separated by a CF-LF character pair
Examples

The following example works on Windows NT, but can be modified to work on other platforms.  The registered user for the operating system is returned and displayed.

Handle = RegOpenKey (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion")

If !handle then

Print "The specified registry key does not exist"

Exit function

EndIf

Dim type, error

Print "Registered User: ", RegGetValue (handle, "RegisteredOwner", type, error)

RegCloseKey (handle)

Also See

RegDeleteValue, RegSetValue


Scripting -  RegSetValue
RegSetValue

Description

Stores data in the value field of an open registry key.  This function can also set the type of the value name that you are updating.

Syntax

success = RegSetValue (KeyRoot, ValueName, Type, value)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of storing data in the value field of the open registry key.

KeyRoot	Required. A valid key handle.

ValueName	Required. The name that belongs to the key.

Type	Required. A valid registry data type that is listed in the table below.

Value	Required. A numeric or string value of the stored data.

Notes:

KeyRoot must be a valid handle for a key that the value name belongs to.

You must set type to be one of the valid registry data types that are listed in the table below.

The value argument can be either a numeric or string value, a list variable will generate an error.

Constant	Description
REG_BINARY	A binary string has been supplied, and will be converted to a series of DWORD values
REG_DWORD	A numeric value has been specified
REG_SZ	A string value has been specified
REG_MULTI_SZ	A string has been specified in which each entry is separated by a CF-LF character pair
Examples

This example sets three data values in the same key, a string, a numeric and a binary string.

Handle = RegCreateKey (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\OurKey")

If !handle then

Print "Could not create the required key"

Exit function

EndIf

Print "String Result:  ", RegSetValue (handle, "String Data", REG_SZ, "This is a string")

Print "Numeric Result: ", RegSetValue (handle, "Numeric Data", REG_DWORD, 1234)

Print "Binary Result:  ", RegSetValue (handle, "Binary Data", REG_BINARY, "0x0010 0x0011 0x0012 0x0013")

RegCloseKey (handle)

Also See

RegDeleteValue, RegGetValue


Scripting -  RegEnumValues
RegEnumValues

Description

This function enumerates all of the values within a specified registry key.

Syntax

Success = RegEnumValues (KeyRoot, NameList [, DataList, TypeList])

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of itemising all of the values within a specified registry key.

KeyRoot	Required. A valid key handle.

NameList	Required. The list to store the value names.

DataList	Optional. The list to store the data from the values.

TypeList	Optional. The list of the types of the data in the values

Notes:

You need to supply a registry key handle that has been opened or created successfully.  You must also supply at least one list to store the value names.  If you also need the data associated with that value, you must supply a second list that will contain a series of strings and numeric values.  You can also supply an optional third list that will contain the data type associated with the value, you can also use the IsString and IsNumeric functions to determine the data type if required.

Examples

The following example enumerates a key in the registry, retrieves a list of values and value data and displays them.  Note that this example may require the registry key to be changed to work on your system.

handle = RegOpenKey ( HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion")

If !handle then

Print "Unable to open the required registry key"

Exit function

EndIf

Dim NameList, DataList

RegEnumValues (handle, NameList, DataList)

Index = 1

For Each Name in NameList

Print "Value Name = ", Name, " [Value = ", GetItem (DataList, Index), "]"

Index = Index + 1

Next

NameList = NOTHING

DataList = NOTHING

RegCloseKey (handle)

Also See

RegEnumKeys


Scripting -  RegEnumKeys
RegEnumKeys

Description

Enumerates all the registry keys in the same branch as the specified registry key.

Syntax

Success = RegEnumKeys (KeyRoot, KeyList)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of itemising all the registry keys in the same branch as the specified registry key.

KeyRoot	Required. Specified key handle to be opened or created.

KeyList	Required. Specified list to contain the key names.

Note:

You must specify a registry key handle that has been opened or created successfully.  The list you provide will contain the key names that appear in the registry under the specified root key.

Examples

This example opens the key that contains software application data and displays these key names.

handle = RegOpenKey (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE")

If !handle then

Print "Unable to open required key"

Exit function

EndIf

Dim KeyNames

If RegEnumKeys (handle, KeyNames) then

For Each KeyName in KeyNames

Print "Key Name = ", KeyName

Next

EndIf

KeyNames = NOTHING

RegCloseKey (handle)

Also See

RegEnumValues


Scripting -  IsNumeric
IsNumeric

Description

Used to determine if the specified argument is a numeric variable.

Syntax

success = IsNumeric (variable)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of specifying whether the argument is a numeric variable.

Variable	Required. The specified argument to find out if it is numeric or not.

Example

ListSize = 1024

If IsNumeric (ListSize) then Print "This argument is a Numeric Variable"

ListSize = "A String"

If IsNumeric (ListSize) then

Print "This argument is a Numeric Variable"

Else

Print "This argument is NOT a Numeric Variable"

EndIf

Also See

IsString, IsList, IsUndefined


Scripting -  IsString
IsString

Description

Used to determine if the specified argument is a string variable.

Syntax

success = IsString (variable)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of specifying whether the argument is a string variable.

Variable	Required. The specified variable to see if it’s a string or not.

Example

Information = "A String"

If IsString (Information) then Print "This argument is a String Variable"

Information = 1234567

If IsString (Information) then

Print "This argument is a String Variable"

Else

Print "This argument is NOT a String Variable"

EndIf

Also See

IsNumeric, IsList, IsUndefined


Scripting -  IsList
IsList

Description

Used to determine if the specified argument is a list variable.

Syntax

Success = IsList (variable)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of specifying whether the argument is a list variable.

Variable	Required. The variable to find out if it’s a list..

Example

Dim FileList

AddItem (FileList, "C:\COMMAND.COM")

If IsList (FileList) then Print "This argument is a List Variable"

FileList = NOTHING

If IsList (FileList) then

Print "This argument is a List Variable"

Else

Print "This argument is NOT a List Variable"

EndIf

Also See

IsNumeric, IsString, IsUndefined


Scripting -  IsUndefined
IsUndefined

Description

Used to determine if the specified argument has been DIM’d but not assigned a value.

Syntax

success = IsUndefined (variable)

Argument	 Description

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of specifying whether the argument has been DIM’d but not assigned a value.

Variable	Required. The specified argument as a DIM’d but not assigned a value.

Example

Dim OurVar

If IsUndefined (OurVar) then Print "This argument is undefined"

OurVar = 100

If IsUndefined (OurVar) then

Print "This argument is Undefined"

Else

Print "This argument is defined and has a value"

EndIf

Also See

IsNumeric, IsString, IsList


Scripting -  Wait
Wait

Description

There may be times when you need to wait for an arbitrary amount of time before attempting an operation again.  Often this would be required if you have restarted a Client workstation, and need to connect to it again once restarted.  You should wait for a period of time before attempting to reconnect.

Syntax

Wait (duration)

Argument	 Description

Duration	Required. Specify the number of seconds to wait.

Example

...

Reboot ("TEST1", RB_REBOOT)	// Reboot a Client

again:

Wait (30)	// Wait for 30 seconds

// Attempt to connect to the Client again, and loop if it still hasn’t restarted

If !Connect ("TEST1") then Goto again

.…


Message

Description

Sends a message to the specified Client, the Client must have previously been connected.

Syntax

Message (Client, MessageText)

Argument	 Description

Client	Required. The specified Client, that the Control has previously been connected to.

MessageText	Required. The text to be sent as the message.

Notes:

Use “>” as the Client name for current Client.

Example

Message (">TEST1", "Test 1 I am connected to you")

See Also

Connect


GetClientName

Description

Extracts the Client name from the Client Name/Address string as returned by a lookup. This takes the format: Client|Address<Transport.

Syntax

Name = GetClientName (Client)

Argument	 Description

Name	String required.

Client	Required. The Client name to be extracted from the string.

Example

Lookup("", clientlist)

Print "The name of the first client found is:  ", getclientname( getitem ( clientlist, 1))

See Also

Lookup


GetClientAddress

Description

Extracts the Client address from the Client Name/Address string as returned by a lookup. This takes the format: Client|Address<Transport>.

Syntax

Address = GetClientAddress (Client)

Argument	 Description

Address	String required.

Client	Required. The Client address to be extracted from the string.

Example

Lookup("", clientlist)

Print "The address of the first client found is:  ", GetClientAddress ( getitem ( clientlist, 1))

See Also

Lookup


GetClientTransport

Description

Extracts the Client Transport from the Client Name/Address string as returned by a lookup. This takes the format: Client|Address<Transport>.

Syntax

Transport = GetClientTransport (Client)

Argument	 Description

Transport	String required.

Client	Required. Specify which Client to extract the transport from.

Example

Lookup("", clientlist)

Print "The address of the first client found is:  ", GetClientTransport ( getitem ( clientlist, 1))

See Also

Lookup


IsInteractive

Description

The IsInteractive function would be typically used during a Script that runs within the script editor. Returns 1 (TRUE) if the Script is running under the editor or 0 (FALSE) if its running under the control or agent.

Syntax

IsInteractive

Argument	 Description

Interactive	Returns TRUE or FALSE.

Example

If IsInteractive then

Print "This script is running from within the script editor. "

Else

Print "This script is not running from within the script editor. "

Endif


GetConnectedClients

Description

Creates a list of currently connected Clients and returns it in the variable specified.

Syntax

GetConnectedClients (list)

Argument	 Description

List	Required. The returned list of currently connected Clients.

Example

Dim clientlist

Dim client

GetConnectedClients ( clientlist )

Print " The list of currently connected clients is: "

For each client in clientlist

Print client

Next

See Also

GetAllClients , Connect


GetAllClients

Description

Returns a list of all known Clients.  Known clients are those that can be seen in the Known Clients Window

Syntax

GetAllClients (list)

Argument	 Description

GetAllClients	Returns a list of all known Clients.

List	Required. The list of currently known Clients.

Example

Dim Clientlist

   Dim client

   GetAllClients ( Clientlist )

Print " The list of known clients is: "

For each client in Clientlist

Print client

Next

See Also

Known Clients Window


GetGroups

Description

Returns a list of defined Groups.  The list of group names and the contents in the groups can be found in the Groups Window.

Syntax

GetGroups (list)

Argument	 Description

GetClientsInGroup	Returns a list of defined Groups.

List	Required. Returns a list of currently defined groups.

Example

Dim GroupList

   Dim Group

   GetGroups( GroupList )

Print " The list of known groups is: "

For each Group in GroupList

Print Group

Next

See Also

Groups Window


GetClientsInGroup

Description

Returns a list of Clients in the specified Group.

Syntax

GetClientsInGroup (GroupName, list)

Argument	 	Description

GroupName	Required. Specify which group to return the list on.

List	Required. The list of current members of the specified group.

Example

Dim GroupList

   Dim Group

   Dim GroupMemberlist

   Dim GroupMember

   GetGroups( GroupList )

Print " The list of known groups is: "

For each Group in GroupList

Print Group

Getclientsingroup(group, groupmemberlist)

For each groupmember in groupmemberlist

Print groupmember

next

Next

See Also

GetGroups


Open

Description

Opens a file for reading/writing.

Syntax

H = Open (path, mode)

Argument	 Description

H	The File handle.  To be used for further references to the file.

Path	Required. The full path of the file (including “ClientName> at beginning)

Mode	Required. The Open Mode. 0=read, 2=overwrite

Note:

Returns a handle that should be used for subsequent files is on that file or null if error.

Identifier	Value	Description
FILE_READ	0	Open the file Read Only.  Fails if the file does not exist.
FILE_CREATE	1	Create the file.  Fails if the file already exists.
FILE_OVERWRITE	2	If the file exists delete it and create a new file.  If the file does not exist create the file.
Example

Dim file

Dim filename

Filename = ">c:\temp\testfile.txt"

File = Open( filename , FILE_READ )

If File == NULL then

Print " Error opening file: ", filename

Else

Print "Opened ", filename, " with no problems"

Endif

See Also

Close, Writeline, Readline, Write, Read, EOF


Close

Description

Closes a previously opened file.

Syntax

Success = Close (h)

Argument	 Description

H	Required. The file to be closed.

Success	The success (TRUE or FALSE) of closing the file.

Example

Dim file

Dim filename

filename = ">c:\temp\testfile.txt"

file = Open( filename , FILE_READ )

…..

if Close( file ) then

Print " The file ", filename, "was closed successfully "

else

Print " Problems closing file ", filename

endif

See Also

Writeline, Readline, Write, Read, EOF, Open


ReadLine

Description

Reads a line of a file (upto a cr/lf) and returns it.

Syntax

Line = ReadLine (h)

Argument	 Description

Line	The line to be read.

H	Required. The file to be read.

Example

Dim file

Dim filename

Dim line

Filename = ">c:\temp\testfile.txt"

File = Open( filename , FILE_READ )

Line = ReadLine( file )

Print line

See Also

Close, Writeline, Write, Read, EOF, Open


WriteLine

Description

Writes a string to a file and appends cr/lf.

Syntax

WriteLine h, line

Argument	 Description

H	File Handle

Line	Required. An expression to write to the file. ( can be null )

Note:

Parameters act like those of print: The name of the Client is “, ClientName, “.”

Example

Dim file

Dim filename

Dim line

Filename = ">c:\temp\testfile.txt"

File = Open ( filename , FILE_OVERWRITE )

Line = "A line to write to a file "

Writeline  file, line

Writeline  file,  1234

Writeline  file, "Some more text to write to a file"

See Also

Close, Readline, Write, Read, EOF, Open


Read

Description

Reads ’bytes’ number of bytes from the file and returns them.

Syntax

Buffer = Read (h, bytes)

Argument	 Description

Buffer	The Bytes number of bytes from the file.

H	Required. The file handle from which the bytes will be read.

Bytes	Required. The number of  bytes/characters to read from the file.

Example

Dim file

Dim filename

Dim output

Filename = ">c:\temp\testfile.txt"

File = Open( filename , FILE_READ )

output = Read( file,  20 )

print output ; prints out the first 20 bytes/characters from the file

See Also

Close, Writeline, Readline, Write, EOF, Open


Write

Description

Writes ‘bytes’ bytes of buffer to file.

Syntax

Write (h, buffer, bytes)

Argument	 Description

H	Required. The file to be written to.

Buffer	Required. Writing from string.

Bytes	Required. Number of characters in the string that you wish to write.

Example

Dim file

Dim filename

Dim String

Filename = ">c:\temp\testfile.txt"

String = "Write this text to the file"

File = Open( filename , FILE_OVERWRITE )

Write file, string, len(string)

See Also

Close, Writeline, Readline, Read, EOF, Open


EOF

Description

Returns TRUE if the end of the file for file ‘h’ has been reached. FALSE if not.

Syntax

EOF (h)

Argument	 Description

H	Required. The file being analysed.

Example

dim ClientList // Read all unprocessed Clients from the list.

HFile = Open ("c:\uclients.txt", FILE_READ)

If hFile then

Do while !eof (hFile)

     Additem (ClientList, readline (hfile))

Loop

Close (hFile)

endif

See Also

Close, Writeline, Readline, Write, Read, Open


Input

Description

Displays an input box on the control’s screen.

Syntax

Input (Prompt,Variable)

Argument	 Description

Prompt	Required. The message displayed to the screen, asking for input.

Variable	Required. The variable to hold the response.

Notes:

The return value will be a string by default.  Use IsNumeric and Cint to convert it to a number

Example

Dim Name

Input ("Please enter your name", Name)

Print " Your name is: " Name

See Also

IsNumeric, Cint, Message


Exec

Description

Automatically executes/runs a specified application at a Clients workstation. The full path and filename of the application to be executed must be specified.

Syntax

Exec("ClientName>Application Name")

Example

Exec("TEST1>c:\notepad")

Exec(">" + chr(34) + "c:\winnt\copy of notepad.exe" + chr(34))

Exec(">notepad.exe " + chr(34) + "c:\program files\netsupport manager\whatsnew.txt" + chr(34))


LoadFields

This function is redundant.  Please use the file I/O functions: Open, Close, Writeline, Readline, Write, Read, EOF


Stop

Description

Stops the script from executing any further commands.

Syntax

Stop

This command has no arguments

Example

This example shows where you might use the Stop command:

Dim clientlist

If (  Lookup("", clientlist) == 0 ) then

Print " No Clients found "

Stop

Else

……


Watch

Description

Opens a view  window to the client in the Watch Mode

Syntax

Watch ()

This command has no arguments

Example

This example shows where you might use the Watch command:

If Connect ("Client1")  then

Watch ()

WaitEndView ()

Else

Print " Couldn’t connect to Client1 "

Endif

See Also

Watch Mode, Share, Control , WaitEndView


Share

Description

Opens a view  window to the client in the Share Mode

Syntax

Share ()

This command has no arguments

Example

This example shows where you might use the Share command:

If Connect ("Client1")  then

Share ()

WaitEndView ()

Else

Print " Couldn’t connect to Client1 "

Endif

See Also

Share Mode, Watch, Control, WaitEndView


WaitEndView

Description

Used when viewing in scripting to cause the script to wait until the view window is closed before executing any further commands.

Syntax

WaitEndView ()

This command has no arguments

Example

This example shows where you might use the Watch command:

If Connect ("Client1")  then

Watch ()

WaitEndView ()

Else

Print " Couldn’t connect to Client1. ", LASTERRORSTRING

Endif

See Also

Watch, Share, Control


Control

Description

Opens a view  window to the client in the Watch Mode

Syntax

Control()

This command has no arguments

Example

This example shows where you might use the Watch command:

If Connect ("Client1")  then

Control ()

WaitEndView ()

Else

Print " Couldn’t connect to Client1 ", LASTERRORSTRING

Endif

See Also

Control mode, Watch, Share, WaitEndView


Scripting - Compare

Description

Compares two strings and returns one of three results depending on the difference between the two strings.

Syntax

Compare(string1, string2)

Description	Value Returned
String 1 is bigger than String 2	A positive value of 1 or greater.
String 2 is bigger than String 1	A negative value of –1 or greater
The two strings are the same	0

Example

Dim result

Result = Compare("AAA","BBB")

Print result

Result = Compare("AAA","CCC")

Print result

Result = Compare("AAA","AAA")

Print result

Result = Compare("BBB","AAA")

Print result

Result = Compare("4","1")

Print result

Output

-1

-2

 0

 1

 3


Scripting - Wake Up Client

Description

Used to Power On the workstation of a Known Client. The Client Name or MAC Address can be used.

WU_CLIENTNAME requires you to have a Known Client.

Syntax

1.	If Client Name is known

WakeUpClient ("Client name",WU_CLIENTNAME)

2.	If Mac Address is known

WakeUpClient ("Mac Address",WU_MAC_ADDRESS)

Example

SetTransport(T_TCPIP)

WakeUpClient (“Test1”,WU_CLIENTNAME)

WakeUpClient ("00508b95c1c3",WU_MAC_ADDRESS)


Scripting-SetWindowMode

Description

Opens a display window for the currently connected client. Can open in one of three modes.

FullScreen	0	Client screen fills entire screen and has a Floating toolbar.
Windowed	1	Client screen is in a window that can be sized but has no toolbar.
Control_View	2	Client screen opens in normal control view.

Syntax

SetWindowMode (windowmode)

Example

SetTransport(T_TCPIP)

Connect(“example1”)

SetWindowMode(FullScreen)                       //Full Screen Floating Toolbar

Watch()

WaitEndView()

Output

The currently connected clients screen is displayed.


Abort

Description

Aborts the currently running script and returns a specified exit code.

Syntax

Abort(Exit Code)


HexToInt

Description

Converts a string representation of a Hexadecimal value into an integer value.

Syntax

integer = HexToInt (Expression)

Argument	 Description

String	Required. This is a string representation of a Hexadecimal number

Expression	The returned integer value that corresponds to the Hexadecimal value.

Example

Dim num as integer

num = HexToInt("4d")

Print "4d in Hex = ", num

Expected output

4d in Hex = 77


MsgBox

Description

Displays a message in a dialog box, waits for the user to click a button, and returns an Integer indicating which button the user clicked.

Syntax

Result = MsgBox ( Prompt , Type)

Argument	 Description

Prompt	Required. String expression displayed as the message in the dialog box

Type	Defines the type of dialog box to be displayed, this can be one of the predefined constants or the sum of one of the MsgBox Type Constants and one of the MsgBox Icon Constants.

Result	The value that is returned when the user presses a button on the displayed dialog.

MsgBox Type Constants

Type Constant	Type of dialog displayed
MB_OK	Displays A dialog box with only an OK button
MB_OKCANCEL	Displays a dialog box with OK and CANCEL buttons
MB_ABORTRETRYIGNORE	Displays a dialog box with ABORT, RETRY and IGNORE Buttons.
MB_YESNOCANCEL	Displays a dialog box with YES, NO and CANCEL buttons.
MB_YESNO	Displays a dialog with YES and NO buttons

MsgBox Icon Constants

Type Constant	Type of dialog Icon displayed
MB_ICONSTOP	Display Critical Message icon.
MB_ICONQUESTION	Display Warning Query icon
MB_ICONEXCLAMATION	Display Warning Message icon.
MB_ICONINFORMATION	Display Information Message icon

MsgBox return Constants

Return Value Constant	Button Pressed by user
IDOK	Ok
IDCANCEL	Cancel
IDABORT	Abort
IDRETRY	Retry
IDIGNORE	Ignore
IDYES	Yes
IDNO	No
Example

Dim MsgReturn as integer

// Display a Yes/No dialog box

MsgReturn = MsgBox("Do you want to continue", MB_YESNO+ MB_ICONQUESTION)

// Check if the user pressed No if so then quit.

if MsgReturn=IDNO then

Print "Quitting . . . "

Stop

Endif


XCopy

Description

Copy files and directories between local and remote machines. The XCopy dialog will prompt you to:

1.	Specify the Name of the Client PC to copy items from, along with the relevant path and filename(s). The Client Name can be left blank if the script already contains a ‘Connect’ instruction to the Client machine.

2.	Specify the Name of the Target Client machine and Destination Folder. Again, the Client Name can be left blank if it is already contained within the script.

Syntax

XCopy("SOURCEPC>c:\temp\*.*", "TARGETPC>c:\temp")


Error nnn writing captured print output to xxx.

Meaning

The Control cannot send captured print data to the printer.

Suggestions

Check that the printer is online and configured correctly (from Settings, Printers in the Start menu).

You can display the printer currently being used for Print Capture, along with a list of printers installed, in the Capture option in the Configuration Settings dialog.


Using printer xxx for print capture on Client xxx

Meaning

This message reports the print driver in use at the Client when Print Capture is in effect.  Captured data must be sent to this type of printer (or a model with compatible control codes) in order to print correctly.

For more details, see the Capture option in the Configuration Settings dialog.


Do you want to check IPX network numbers?

Meaning

The IPX transport has been detected successfully and you can now interrogate the network for IPX network numbers.  If you press Yes, the nearest NetWare or NT server is contacted and all of the IPX network numbers it knows about are retrieved.

On some (typically, larger) networks the list returned contains some network numbers that don't respond.  We recommend telling NetSupport to ignore these because they cause delays when browsing for IPX Clients.


Done. See log file for results

Meaning

Your modem has been interrogated and the information returned is in file MODEM.LOG in the NSM directory.  You can view this file from the NSM DIALIN BRIDGE option in the Configuration Settings dialog.


Error nnn reading file xxx on xxx

Meaning

There was a problem reading the specified file.

Suggestions

Check that the file exists, and that you have permission to access it.  Check also for media errors, especially on floppy disks and CD's, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


Are you sure you want to reboot/logout the members of group 'xxx'?

Meaning

You must confirm the Reboot or Logout action for the Clients in the selected Group.  Any applications running on the Client machines may lose unsaved information because of this action.


Are you sure you want to reboot/logout the selected Clients?

Meaning

You must confirm the Reboot or Logout action for the selected Clients.  Any applications running on the Client machines may lose unsaved information because of this action.


Unable to receive 2KByte buffer from Bridge

Explanation:

A test of the flow control settings required by NetSupport failed indicating potential connection and/or performance problems.

Possible Causes:

The Bridge modem does not have RTS/CTS hardware flow control enabled resulting in buffer overrun.
The Bridge's PC to modem baud rate is too high causing data loss.

Poor cable connection between modem and PC.

Poor phone connection resulting in frequent retries.

Recommended Action:

Make sure RTS/CTS (hardware) flow control is enabled at both modems.

Set the PC to modem baud rate to one setting above the maximum connection speed.

Ensure both modems are using good quality, correctly wired serial cables.

Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


Client xxx rejected the link

Meaning

The Client you connected to rejected the connection attempt.  Either the user at the Client rejected the connection or you tried to connect to a Client using an invalid Security Key.

Suggestions

Remove User Acknowledgement from the Client machine if you regularly connect when there is no one at this machine, or ask the user at this machine to press Accept when the request is displayed.


You do not have sufficient rights to modify the Remote Networks List

Meaning

The Named Configuration you are currently using has the Remote Networks List set as read-only.  This means that you cannot modify the contents of this list.

Suggestions

Ask your  administrator to enable this feature for you, or ask them to make the necessary changes to the Remote Network list.


Are you sure you want to delete nnn selected Clients?

Meaning

You have selected one or more Clients from a list view and are about to delete them.  To prevent accidental deletion you must confirm the attempt by pressing Yes in this dialog box.

Suggestions

Make sure you really want to delete these Clients before continuing.


Are you sure you want to delete the group 'xxx'?

Meaning

If you proceed and delete the selected group, the members themselves are not deleted.  They remain in the  Known Client list so you can continue using them.  Only the Group 'container' is deleted.


Are you sure you want to delete Remote Network xxx?

Meaning

You are about to delete a Remote Network object and must confirm this action before continuing.  If you are currently dialed into the network, the connection will be hung up before the network is deleted.


Error nnn: Unable to remove directory xxx from xxx.  xxx

Meaning

You are trying to delete a directory on the local or a Client machine, and either the directory or drive is read-only.  The  numerical error code is displayed in the error message along with an interpretation of the error.

Suggestions

The directory may not be empty, or contain files that are read-only or op[en in another application.  Check also that you have sufficient access rights to the directory and the directory in which it resides, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


Error nnn renaming xxx to xxx on xxx

Meaning

An attempt to rename a file failed.  This can also occur when copying a file - the file is copied to a file called tempfile.$$$ and then renamed (to preserve the original file if the copy fails).

Suggestions

Check that you have sufficient access rights to the target file and directory, and that the file is not open in another application.


A file with this name already exists, please use a different name.

Meaning

You are trying to Rename a file and have supplied the name of an existing file.  This may also occur if you are copying a file from a long filename machine to a short filename machine, and the new short filename already exists.

Suggestions

Choose another filename that doesn’t already exist, or rename the long filename before copying it to the short filename system.


Reset list to default columns?

Meaning

This will restore columns displayed in the list, and their widths, to the default setting.


Cannot do xxx while the File Transfer window is open.

Meaning

The NetSupport Control cannot perform the requested action while the File Transfer window for the Client in question is open.  To proceed, cancel any file copy in progress and close the File transfer window.

Suggestions

Pre-V4.00 Clients cannot perform View and File Transfer operations concurrently.  Ensure that an up-to-date version of the NetSupport Client is installed on the Client machine.  OS/2 and DOS Clients cannot perform View and File Transfer operations concurrently.


Cannot do xxx on Client xxx while you are Showing to it

Meaning

The NetSupport Control cannot perform the requested action while a Show is in progress or suspended.  To proceed, select Tools, Show from the menu and end the Show.


Cannot do xxx on Client xxx while you are Viewing it.

Meaning

The NetSupport Control cannot perform the requested action while the View  window for the Client in question is open.  To proceed, cancel any file copy in progress and close the View  window.

Suggestions

Pre-V4.00 Clients cannot perform View and File Transfer operations concurrently.  Ensure that an up-to-date version of the NetSupport Client is installed on the Client machine.  OS/2 and DOS Clients cannot perform View and File Transfer operations concurrently.


xxx is in use by another program or window

Meaning

The Control is unable to use the specified communications port as another application is currently using it.  This may also occur if you are running another copy of the NetSupport Control that has dialled a Remote Network , or if the NetSupport Bridge is running on this machine.

Suggestions

Shut down any applications or NT services that may be taking control of the communications port.  If you are running the NetSupport Bridge, you can unload it from the Bridge's (or Client's) Command menu.


xxx is not a valid serial port (use com1 - com4); dial up support not available.

Meaning

An invalid serial port has been specified in the  NSM Dialin Bridge settings.

Suggestions

Select Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Manager from the Start menu to check the valid ports on your machine.


Sorry, Dialup is not available on xxx; please use RAS instead
Sorry, Dialup is not available on TCP/IP; please use RAS instead

Meaning

NetSupport does not support dialup over TCP/IP.  This problem will be rectified in a future release.

Suggestions

Use another protocol, or, if dialling into a machine running Windows NT, set it up as a RAS server (by installing the Remote Access Service from Settings, Control Panel, Networks from the Start menu).


Unable to send 2KByte buffer to Bridge

Explanation:

A test of the flow control settings required by NetSupport failed indicating potential connection and/or performance
problems.

Possible Causes:

1.	The Control modem does not have RTS/CTS hardware flow control enabled resulting in buffer overrun.

2.	The Control's PC to modem baud rate is too high causing data loss.

3.	Poor cable connection between modem and PC.

4.	Poor phone connection resulting in frequent retries.

Recommended Action:

1.	Make sure RTS/CTS (hardware) flow control is enabled at both modems.

2.	Set the PC to modem baud rate to one setting above the maximum connection speed.

3.	Ensure both modems are using good quality, correctly wired serial cables.

4.	Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


There was no response from the Bridge!

Explanation

The modems were able to negotiate a connection but NetSupport was not able to establish a software connection.

Possible Causes

1.	A NetSupport Bridge isn't running on the remote computer.- The Control's PC to modem baud rate is too high causing data loss.

2.	Wrong modem type selected at Control or Client computer.

3.	Modems incorrectly configured or incompatible - refer to modem manuals for further help

Recommended Action

1.	Make sure the Bridge is running on the remote computer.

2.	Set the PC to modem baud rate to one setting above the maximum connection speed.

3.	Check that the correct modems are selected.

4.	Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


Sent nnn x nnn byte packets in nnn msec = nnn bytes/sec

Meaning

This message is displayed on completion of the 'Test Network' command.  It gives an indication of the network performance obtained when communicating with the Client.  Figures below 100k bytes per second for the Send test and 50k bytes per second for the Echo test will adversely affect NetSupport's performance.


Sequence error receiving data from Client; expected: nnn, actual nnn

Meaning

While testing the connection to a Client, data was received in a different order to that in which is was sent.  NetSupport caters for this under NetBIOS, but if you see this error under TCP/IP you need to find out what is causing it and correct it.


Sequence error sending data to Client; expected: nnn, actual nnn

Meaning

While testing the connection to a Client, data was received in a different order to that in which is was sent.  NetSupport caters for this under NetBIOS, but if you see this error under TCP/IP you need to find out what is causing it and correct it.


Cannot read file xxx (nnn).  Please check this file exists and is valid.

Meaning

Your license file (NSM.LIC) is missing or invalid.

Suggestions

If you have a valid file available, copy it to your NSM directory.  If not, and you have a valid authorisation certificate or wish to run the software for a 30-day evaluation period, reinstall NetSupport, taking care to enter the information on the authorisation certificate exactly as supplied.  You obtain an authorisation certificate when you purchase the software.


Error nnn: Unable to set attributes for file 'xxx' on xxx
Error nnn: Unable to set attributes for file 'xxx’ on xxx

Meaning

An attempt to set the attributes for the file failed.

Suggestions

Check that the target file exists, that you have sufficient access rights to file and directory in which it resides, and that the file is not open in another application.


The time for the Bridge to respond seems excessive

Explanation:

Analysis of the NetSupport Bridge response times indicates that this connection will NOT achieve the expected throughput.

Possible Causes:

1.	Data compression maybe enabled in the modems.- Modems incorrectly configured or incompatible - refer to modem manuals for further help

2.	Poor phone connection resulting in frequent retries.

3.	This is an international (Satellite) phone line

Recommended Action:

1.	Make sure data compression is disabled for both modems.

2.	Check that the correct modems are selected.

3.	Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


The Connection speed is greater than the PC to Modem baud rate

Explanation:

The effective throughput is being reduced by the PC to modem baud rate. It may also cause loss of data and/or connection if the modems run out of buffer space.

Possible Causes:

You have selected a baud rate lower than the rate of which these modems can connect

The modems are not configured to restrict the modem to modem speed to be less than or equal to the PC to modem baud rate.

Recommended Action:

Make sure that the baud rate set at the Control and Bridge is one setting higher than the maximum modem connection speed.

Restrict DCE speed to less than or equal to DTE speed. Refer to your modems manual.

NOTE: This also applies to the NetSupport Bridge but cannot be checked at this end.


Error in file xxx, line nnn

Meaning

There is an error in your control.mdm file.  This may occur if you hand-edit the file.

Suggestions

Edit the file to fix the problem  (the file itself contains a description if its internal format), or restore the file from the NSM release disk, using the EXPAND utility supplied, e.g.:

cd \NSM

expand a:\control.md_ control.mdm


Warning: xxx is too long to display it all.

Meaning

The file you are trying to view is too long to be displayed.  NetSupport can handle a maximum of 30k bytes.

Suggestions

Transfer the file to a working directory the Control machine and view it with notepad or wordpad.


Client xxx unavailable (in graphics mode or logged off)

Meaning

You are trying to send a Show to a Client that is running a full-screen DOS graphics application, or an NT Client that is not logged in.

Suggestions

Either exclude this Client from the Show or (if the Client is an NT Client) ask the user at the Client machine to log it on (or take Control of the machine and log it on yourself).


Error nnn writing file xxx on xxx

Meaning

The specified file could not be written.

Suggestions

Make sure the file is not read only or opened by another application and you have sufficient rights to write to files.  Check also for media errors, especially on floppy disks and CD's, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


xxx has wrong version of CLIENT installed

Meaning

The version of the NetSupport Client installed on the target machine is not compatible with this version of the NetSupport Control.

Suggestions

Update the Client on the target machine or try running the corresponding (older) version of the NetSupport Control on this machine.


Are you sure you want to send Ctrl+Alt+Delete to Clients xxx?

Meaning

Only Windows NT Clients respond to this command (by displaying the Windows NT Security dialog).


You cannot connect to a Client while Show is running or Suspended.

Meaning

The NetSupport Control cannot connect to a Client while a Show is in progress or suspended.  To proceed, select Tools, Show from the menu and end the Show.


Error nnn: Unable to delete file xxx from xxx.

Meaning

There was an error deleting the file from the specified machine.

Suggestion

Make sure the file is not read only or open in another application, that the diskette is not write-protected,  and that you have sufficient rights to delete files.


Dial another Remote Network?

Meaning

Your attempt to dial a remote network failed.  You can opt to dial again, or to switch to working on the local network.


Dial Remote Network xxx and connect to Client xxx?

Meaning

The Client to which you wish to connect resides on a remote network, which requires NetSupport to dial the Bridge at that site in order to make the connection.  You will lose your connections to Clients on the local network if you opt to do this.


Application xxx ran successfully at Client xxx

Meaning

The application you ran at the Client was executed successfully.   Note that this does not necessarily mean that the application completed successfully - just that it started up OK.


Enter the directory to go to!

Meaning

You can type a directory name in this box to position the directory tree in the left-hand pane to the directory in question.


You are currently connected to Remote Network xxx. Do you want to Hang-up? and connect to local Client xxx?

Meaning

The Client to which you wish to connect resides on the local network, but you are currently dialled into a  Remote Network .  NetSupport needs to hang-up the phone (and disconnect from the currently connected Client) to connect to Clients on the local network.

Note: All Remote connections will be lost.


All Connections will be lost on Remote Network xxx. Are you sure you want to Hang-up?

Meaning

You are trying to disconnect from a Remote Network and you are being asked for confirmation before this is done.  Any Clients that you are connected to on the Remote Network will be disconnected.


Configuration xxx not found.

Meaning

The  Named Configuration you have specified when creating a Control icon does not exist (or no longer exists).

Suggestions

Select Configure from the Network menu, choose startup, and open the  Icons dialog.  Then drag the offending icon from the desktop to this dialog to edit it.


There is no disk in drive xxx on xxx.

Meaning

You have tried to access a floppy drive or CD-ROM drive that does not have a disk in it.

Suggestions

Insert the relevant media into the specified drive and try the operation again.


You cannot perform a Scan while Show is suspended. End the Show and try again.

Meaning

The NetSupport Control cannot perform a Scan  while a Show is in progress or suspended.  To proceed, select Tools, Show from the menu and end the Show.


You cannot perform a Show while a Scan is running. Close down the Scan and try again.

Meaning

The NetSupport Control cannot perform a Show while the Scan window is open.  Close the Scan window and try again.


Not a valid NetSupport Replay File

Meaning

The file you have selected is not a valid Replay file.  The file either has become corrupted or is not a NetSupport Replay file.

Suggestions

Check the file and location to make sure that it is a valid NetSupport Replay file.


You cannot modify a Clients status during Show. End the Show and try again.

Meaning

The NetSupport Control cannot include or exclude a Client while a Show is in progress or suspended.  To proceed, select Tools, Show from the menu and end the Show.


Warning: xxx is not a text file. Edit it anyway - data will be lost?

Meaning

The file you are about to edit does not appear to be a plain text file.  If you proceed and edit this file, the contents may be unreadable and the result will be a truncated file.

Suggestions

Transfer the file to a working directory the Control machine and open it with it’s associated application.


The NetSupport Bridge is using the modem. Do you want to unload it while making this call?

Meaning

You are trying to dial a Remote Network whilst running a  NetSupport Bridge on this machine.  Only one program can use the modem connection at a time.  If you want to proceed NetSupport can unload the Bridge whilst you make the call.  The Bridge is then loaded again after the call is complete.

Suggestions

You can unload the NetSupport Bridge if it is not being used.


Connection Failed. Do you want to remain connected to Remote Network xxx?

Meaning

This Named Configuration dials a Remote Network at start up and connects to a Client.  This Client was not available on the Remote Network and you have the option to remain dialled up or hang-up the phone.

Suggestions

You can alter the Startup settings to specify a different Client name to connect to.  You can browse for Clients on the Remote Network while you are connected it.


There is another Remote Network called xxx. Please choose a different name.

Meaning

You are attempting to create or rename a Remote Network object and have supplied the name of an existing Remote Network.  You cannot proceed using the name supplied.

Suggestions

You must supply a different Remote Network name, or cancel the operation.


Are you sure you want to send Ctrl+Alt+Delete to the selected Clients?

Meaning

Only Windows NT Clients respond to this command (by displaying the Windows NT Security dialog).


Warning: xxx is too long, edit is anyway - data will be lost?

Meaning

The file you are about to edit is too large (more than 30K bytes) for the internal editor.  If you proceed with this action, the file will be truncated and data will be lost.

Suggestions

Transfer the file to a working directory on the Control machine and view it with notepad or wordpad.


One of the directories for Synchronisation is a root directory. Are you sure you want to Synchronise xxx and xxx?

Meaning

You are about to synchronise a root directory, which is a potentially destructive operation, as it will overwrite any files / subdirectories which are newer on one machine than on the other (and vice-versa).  You have been warned!


Drive xx on xxx is write protected.

Meaning

The specified drive at the specified location is write protected and cannot be written to.

Suggestions

Make sure that the drive is write-enabled if it is a floppy disk.  Also, make sure you have sufficient access rights to write to a shared network drive.


Error opening File xxx.

Meaning

The file specified cannot be found, or cannot be opened.

Suggestions

Check that the file exists, that you have sufficient rights to access it, and that it is not open in another application.  If the file is on a file server, the network connection may have failed.


No Files specified! You must specify at least one File to import.

Meaning

Please select one or more files from the list.


Import Complete!

Meaning

This message provides a summary of the results of importing the file(s) specified.  The figures displayed should correspond to the contents of the file(s).


Specify the Transport for the Client List File xxx.

Meaning

NetSupport needs to know the transport protocol being used by the Clients in the specified file.  You can change individual Client icons by hand after the import completes, if required.


Directory xxx does not contain a NetSupport WCONTROL.ini File.

Meaning

NetSupport reads the wcontrol.ini file to obtain a list of CLF/GLF files to import.  This file resides in your WINDOWS directory.

If you no longer have this file, leave the box blank and NetSupport will build a list of files in the specified directory.  You will then have to enter the transport protocol for each file you elect to import.


Bad Audio Format

Meaning

You have selected an Audio Format that is either unsupported or not available on your workstation.

Solution.

Select a different format from the {Settings}{Audio}{Transmission Format}.. Note that NetSupport will only support 8 bit data transmission rates.


Audio Error

Meaning

A problem has occurred with your Audio system.

Solution

Check that audio support is installed in Windows.

Check that your Audio settings in {Settings}{Audio}{Transmission Format}.. Note that NetSupport will only support 8 bit data transmission rates.


Audio Hardware Error

Meaning

An unknown problem has occurred with your audio hardware.

Solution

Check that your audio hardware is properly installed and running.


Audio already in Use

Meaning

You are trying to use the audio functions in NetSupport but your audio system is already in use by another system.

Solution

End the other application and try again.


Invalid Background

Meaning

You are trying to save a background for use with a saved layout but the file you have chosen is not in the correct format.

Solution

Choose a different file for the background making sure that it is a BMP file of less than 24 bits.


Invalid Directory

Meaning

The directory you have chosen in the path is invalid.

Solution

Choose a valid directory or use Browse.


Invalid name

Meaning

The name you have chosen for a description is invalid or contains invalid characters such * ? etc.

Solution

Choose a valid name.


File Transfer NOT available.

Meaning

You are trying to use File transfer but it is not available, either because it has been disabled at the Client or is not in your Profile.

Solution.

Enable File Transfer


Cannot include/exclude a Client during a Show/Scan

Meaning

You are trying to change the include/exclude status of a Client whilst you are showing or scanning it.

Solution

End the show or scan, then make the change.


Error Creating File

Meaning

You are trying to create a File, but do not have sufficient rights.

Solution

Login as a user with the required access rights and try again.


Wrong Product

Meaning.

You are trying to connect to a NetSupport School Client from a NetSupport Manager Control. You can not do this.

Solution

Install full NetSupport Manager Clients.

Note: You can run a NetSupport School Control with NetSupport Manager Clients.


Client not installed on this Machine

Meaning

You are running the Client Configurator, but have not installed a Client on this workstation.

Solution

Install a NetSupport Manager Client.


Waiting for User Acknowledgement

Meaning

The Control is trying to connect to a Client that has been configured for User Acknowledgement.

Solution

The User at the Client must either accept or reject the link, before access is granted.


There was an error executing the User Defined Tool

Meaning

You have been unsuccessful in launching selected Defined Tool.

Suggestions

1.	Check that the path of your defined tool is correct.

2.	Check that the tool you are attempting to launch is available.

3.	Check that you have sufficient security rights to launch this tool.


The User Defined Tool was not found

Meaning

The Defined Tool you have chosen to launch, could not be found.

Suggestions

Check that the launch path of the Defined Tool is correct and that the tool you are attempting to launch is available.


User has run a User Defined Tool and wishes to terminate it.

Meaning

You are currently running a Defined Tool, but want to terminate it before completion.

Suggestion

1.	Choose Yes, if you wish to stop the application before it completes. Note: This could result in data loss.

2.	Choose No, to continue and complete the application.

3.	If you wish to run the application and be able to utilise your workstation, uncheck the ‘Wait for Program to Finish’ box.


The Configurator was unable to write some information to the Registry.

Meaning

The current Control Profile was unable to write some information to the Registry.

Suggestion

Check the Controls profile settings, does it have sufficient security rights?

1.	Choose {Tools}{Configurations- select the correct Profile}{Settings}

2.	Adjust the necessary settings. For example: Check the box Act as an Administrator in the User Interface settings.

3.	Choose OK, then close, to save all changes made to that Profile.


Valid Usernames for xx Profile
Valid Usernames for xxx Profile

This is a list of Usernames associated with this profile.

When a Control connects it will be prompted for a Username and Password. The Client will search through its profiles until it finds a matching Username. It will then apply all the settings for that profile to the subsequent Control session.

Both the Username and its encrypted password are displayed. The User at the Control must enter the unencrypted password.

An Asterisk denotes a wildcard, so a Control User can enter any Username.

Note: If this is an NT workstation and you have elected to use the NT Security option to validate the Control Users ID and password then you do not need to specify the Username and Password. However, you may still wish to set this option to provide an additional filter when using NT Security validation to restrict access to particular NT Users and determine which Client profile they will use.


Valid NT Groups for Profile

These are the NT Groups Known to this workstation. Select the ones that you require NetSupport to authenticate that the Control User is a member of, before allowing the connection.

You can manually add a Group if you know the full path.


Reset Send/Collect Log

This will clear the log of the details of when the task was last run.


Password on Bridge

This dialog displays the Passwords and Dialback numbers setup for this Bridge. Press Edit to change an existing entry, or Add to create a new one.


Send/Collect Work - File with that name has already been added.

Meaning

The Send/Collect Work feature already contains a file with this name.

Suggestion

Rename the file and try again.


The Transport DLL(s) are older than the NetSupport Control version.

Meaning

The Transport DLL(s) (ipctl32.dll, tcctl32.dll and nbctlax.dll) are older than the installed NetSupport Control version.

Suggestion

Reinstall NetSupport or contact your vendor for an update solution.


Send/Collect Work - Tried to create a new Send/Collect Work operation, but the description has already been used.

Meaning

Tried to create a new Send/Collect Work operation, but the description is already in used by another Send/Collect Work operation.

Suggestion

Rename your new Send/Collect Work operation, or delete the old operation and try again.


The Control is not responding.

Meaning

The Control workstation you are trying to connect to is either not on or refusing your connection attempt.

Suggestion

Attempt to connect to another Control workstation or contact the User(s) of the Control workstation, using Request Help, and advise them of your need to connect.


Print Capture has been disabled at the Client workstation.

Meaning

Your attempt to capture the print cycle of the Client workstation has failed as Print Capture is disabled in the Clients Configurator.

Suggestion

Enable Print Capture at the Client.


Client xxx cannot be powered on as there is no valid MAC address stored.

Meaning

You cannot Power On a Client workstation unless their MAC address is stored.

Suggestion

1.	Click No, this will cancel the Power On command. Manually set the MAC address in the Client Properties dialog by right clicking on the Client icon in the Control Window List View and selecting Properties – Details tab.

2.	Click No, this will cancel the Power On command. Choose {School}{Modify Known List} from the Control Window drop down menu. Enter a prefix for the Computer Names of the Client workstations you want to connect to in the text box and click Browse. NetSupport will browse for all Available Clients, dynamically finding their MAC addresses and storing it in the Client Properties – Details tab.

3.	Click Yes to continue Powering On the remaining Client workstations.


There are no Clients stored to Wake Up.

Meaning

You cannot Power On a Client workstation unless their MAC address is stored.

Suggestion

Choose {School}{Modify Known List} from the Control Window drop down menu. Enter a prefix for the Computer Names of the Client workstations you want to connect to in the text box and click Browse. NetSupport will browse for all Available Clients, dynamically finding their MAC addresses and storing it in the Client Properties – Details tab.


There are no machines defined.

Meaning

At Startup, the Control could not find any Client machines in the Known Client List.

Suggestion

To Add a Client to the Known List, click Yes. Enter a prefix for the Computer Names of the Client workstations you want to connect to in the text box and click Browse. NetSupport will browse for all Available Clients and display their icons in the Available Students List. Select the Client icons and click Add. The selected Client icons will appear in the Known List.


Define a list of Students that are connected to at startup.

Meaning

At Startup you are configured to Browse and Connect to Clients, therefore you do not have a list of Known Clients. Having a list of Known Clients will simplify future Client connections.

Suggestion

To define a Known Client List, click Yes. The Modify Known List dialog will appear. Enter a prefix for the Computer Names of the Client workstations you want to connect to at Startup in the text box and click Browse. NetSupport will browse for all Available Clients and display their icons in the Available Students List. Select the Client icons and click Add. The selected Client icons will appear in the Known List. At Startup, all Known Clients will be automatically connected to.


The file SYSINFO.SCP is missing

Meaning

You have selected Update in order to retrieve a Hardware and Software Inventory for the connected Client. The file SYSINFO.SCP is called in order to interrogate the Client machine and return the information.

The error has been returned because NetSupport has been unable to run SYSINFO.SCP.

Suggestion

Check the Program Files folder where NetSupport is installed to see if the file is there. It may have been renamed, moved or deleted.

If the file cannot be found, reinstall NetSupport.


There are no Clients stored to Wake Up

Meaning

You cannot Power On a Client workstation unless their MAC address is stored.

Suggestion

Choose {School}{Modify Known List} from the Control Window drop down menu. Enter a prefix for the Computer Names of the Client workstations you want to connect to in the text box and click Browse. NetSupport will browse for all Available Clients, dynamically finding their MAC addresses and storing it in the Client Properties – Details tab.


Student Is Already A Group Leader

Meaning

A Client can only be leader of one group at a time.

Suggestion

Click Yes to make them Leader of this Group.

Click No to cancel this action. The Client will remain Leader of the other Group.


Group Already Has A Leader

Meaning

A Group can only have one Leader.

Suggestion

Click Yes to make this Client the new Group Leader.

Click No to cancel this action. The current Group leader will remain in place.


Required Group Leader Files Are Missing

Meaning

You have tried to make this Client a Group Leader but the required Group Leader files are not available.

If you are running a pre Version 5 NetSupport School Student program, the files which support the Group Leader feature will not have been installed or an error has occurred while installing the Student program.

Suggestion

To ensure the correct files are available, install/re-install the Version 5 Student program.


Cannot Add An Existing Group Leader To Another Group

Meaning

Although Clients can be a member of more than one group, you cannot add them while they are Group Leader of another group.

Suggestion

If you still want to add them to this group, you must first of all remove them as Group Leader from their existing group.

To Remove Group Leader Rights

1.	Select the group that the Client is currently leading.

2.	Right click on the Client icon and choose Group Leader.

or,

Choose {Client}{Group Leader} from the Control Window drop down menu.

You can now add the Client to the required group, and if still required, you can reinstate them as Group Leader of the other group by following the process above.


Cannot View Client While Show In Progress

Meaning

The Client you are trying to View is currently performing a Show to the Group it is leading. You cannot continue until the Show has ended.

Suggestion

To be able to View the Client, choose Yes to temporarily suspend the Show that is being performed. When you stop Viewing, the Group Leader rights will be automatically reinstated.


Cannot Change Group Members When Group Leader Is Present

Meaning

A group that has a Group Leader cannot have Clients added or removed.

Suggestion

To be able to add or delete Clients you must first of all remove the Group Leader rights.

To Remove Group Leader Rights

1.	Select the group containing the Group Leader.

2.	Right click on the Group Leaders icon and choose Group Leader.

or,

Choose {Client}{Group Leader} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Change the group members as required. To reinstate the Group Leader, follow the process above.


Group Already Has Leader

Meaning

You cannot make this Client Group Leader because the group is already being led.

Suggestion

Click Yes to change the Group Leader.

Click No to leave the existing Group Leader in place.


NetSupport Client Not Installed

Meaning

A ‘Class’ cannot be created if the NetSupport Client component is not installed on the Tutor machine.

Suggestion

Install the NetSupport Client component.


Must Specify Gateway Address

By checking the Use HTTP box, you have indicated that connections to and from this Client will be made via a NetSupport Gateway. In order to proceed you must specify:

1.	The IP address of the workstation where the Gateway is installed.

2.	A Gateway Key for added protection against unwanted connection attempts. The same key must be specified at the Control, and gateway end.


There are no Remote Networks setup at the moment.  Would you like to set one up now?
There are no Remote Networks set-up at the moment. Would you like to set one up now?

Meaning

You can not dial a NetSupport Bridge until you have created a Remote Network Object.  Use the Remote Network Wizard to do this.

To invoke the Remote Network Wizard, use one of these three methods: -

1.	Select New from the Network, Remote menu

2.	Press the New icon on the Control Toolbar and select Remote Networks from the menu that appears

3.	Double click the New Network icon in the List View for the Remote Networks Folder.

Now follow the simple steps in the Remote Networks Wizard.


Client xxx already connected to Control xxx

Meaning

The Client you are trying to establish a connection to is already connected to another Control.  This situation can sometimes occur if the Control machine was previously connected to the Client, but was turned off without first disconnecting.  The Client should notice this after 30 seconds or so and relinquish the connection unless it has been configured to disable Tickle packets.

Suggestions

Wait for 30 seconds or so and see if the Client responds

Contact the user at the other Control and ask them to release control of the Client


Dialup Link In Use
Already Dialled

Meaning

You have tried to dial a Remote Network while you are dialled into another Remote Network.  You can only connect to one Remote Network at a time.

To hang up from the existing Remote Network and dial this Remote Network press Yes.

To remain connected to the existing Remote Network and abort the operation press No.


File 'xxx' already exists.  Overwrite (click No to append)?
File ‘xxx’ already exists.  Overwrite (click No to append)?

Meaning

The file you are about to write to already exists.  You can elect to overwrite it, or press No to append data to the end of the existing file.


While Script is performing File Operations

Meaning

You are running a script which is copying a file (or performing some other file operation) on the Client.  If you wish to proceed, you can either stop the script or wait for it to finish the file operation in progress.


xxx is wrongly configured (no modem specified)

Meaning

The NetSupport Bridge you are attempting to connect to does not have a modem configured correctly.  Configure a modem on the Bridge machine using the NetSupport Configurator and try again.


Versions of xxx and xxx do not match

Meaning

The version of the NetSupport Bridge software you are attempting to connect to is too old.  Update the NetSupport Bridge software to the latest version and try again.


Changing the Print Capture settings will discard print data captured from xxx.  Proceed?

Meaning

There are print jobs captured from the Client waiting to print.  If you change the Print Capture settings now these outstanding print jobs will be deleted.

Press Yes to proceed with the changes and delete the outstanding print jobs, press No to Cancel the operation and leave the outstanding print jobs to print.


If you uncheck 'Permit a user of this Configuration to xxx', you will be unable to change certain settings from this Configuration
If you uncheck 'Permit a user of this Configuration to xxx', you will be unable to change certain settings from this Configuration in future.  Is this what you want to do?

Meaning

Disabling certain features in a Configuration will prevent you from re-enabling them unless you use an Administrator Configuration.  Of course, this implies that you must have such a configuration set up, and know the password.

You will receive this message if you uncheck any of the following in a Configuration:

Change Settings

If you remove this option you will not be able to access any of this Configurations settings, this includes Network, Startup, View and File Transfer.

Configure User Interface

Without this option a user cannot change user interface settings such as hiding or protecting Client/Group/Remote Network lists and removing features from the toolbar and menu.

Act as an Administrator

An administrator user is able to create, delete and modify other configurations.

To re-enable any of these options you have to use another Configuration that has Administrator rights.

Press Yes to proceed, No to leave the setting unchanged.


xxx is in use.  Please select a different configuration and try again.

Meaning

You are trying to delete the Configuration that is currently in use.  The operation will be aborted.

Suggestions

If you really want to delete this configuration, select another configuration (creating it if necessary) to be the current one and then try deleting this configuration again.


Sorry, you do not have sufficient privileges to do this.

Meaning

You cannot perform certain operations if the current Configuration does not have the required privileges.

Notes

•	To create a New configuration or edit an existing one you must have ‘Change User Interface’ privileges.

•	To Reset or Create Icons you must be allowed to ‘Switch Configurations’.


The name is invalid (must start with a letter)

Meaning

You have attempted to create a new Configuration, but the name you supplied was invalid.  The name must begin with a letter.

Suggestions

Check to make sure you didn’t accidentally enter a leading space or other non-printing character.


Checksum error receiving data from Client; expected: nnn, actual nnn

Meaning

While testing the connection to a Client incorrect data was received.  During a Receive Echo test, data is sent and then echoed back by the Client.  If the data received does not match the data sent this error occurs.

Suggestions

Check the physical connection between Control and Client including the Network Interface Card.

Check networking resources on both machines.

If going through a Router or Bridge device check they are not filtering out packets.

If dialling into a router, try disabling PPP compression.


Checksum error sending data to Client; expected: nnn, actual nnn

Meaning

While testing the connection to a Client incorrect data was sent.  During a ReceiveEcho test data is received and then echoed back to the Client.  If the data sent does not match the data received this error occurs.

Suggestions

Check the physical connection between Control and Client including the Network Interface Card.

Check networking resources on both machines.

If going through a Router or Bridge device check they are not filtering out packets.

If dialling into a router, try disabling PPP compression.


xxx failed to run at Client. Error Code nnn

Meaning

You attempted to run an application on the selected Client machine that could not be executed successfully.  The error code supplied is the DOS error Code of the failed operation.  If you do not specify a path to the file, the Client will attempt to find the application in the path environment on the Client machine, and the operating system directories.

Suggestions

Check to make sure that the application name you entered is valid.  Try supplying the full path to the application filename if you haven’t already done so.


xxx ran successfully at Client

Meaning

The application you ran at the Client was executed successfully.  Note that this does not necessarily mean that the application completed successfully - just that it started up OK.


Reboot/Logout this Client?

Meaning

You must confirm the Reboot or Logout action.  The user at the Client machine may lose unsaved work because of this action.


You do not have sufficient rights to modify the Client List.

Meaning

The Named Configuration you are currently using has the Client List set as read-only.  This means that you cannot modify the contents of this list.

Suggestions

Ask your NetSupport Administrator to enable this feature for you, or ask them to make the necessary changes to the Client list.


Client xxx has disconnected

Meaning

The specified Client has disconnected.  This will happen if the Client machine is shut down or rebooted, if the user at the Client elects to disconnect you, or if an Inactivity Timeout expires at the Client.

Suggestions

The Client machine has been turned off, has hung or the Client has been unloaded.

The network has failed or excessive traffic has been generated to interfere with tickle packets.

The Client has timed out.

There were insufficient network resources to keep the connection alive.

Tips

Check to make sure that the Client machine is reliable and applications that run on this machine do not utilise all the processor time.

Contact your network manager and see if anything can be done to remove bottlenecks or improve overall network performance.

Increase or disable the Inactivity Timeout on the Client machine.

Try configuring your network drivers to provide more resources for running applications.


Client xxx is about to disconnect due to inactivity. Click OK to remain Connected or Cancel to ignore.

Meaning

The Inactivity timeout configured at the Client is about to expire.  You must respond if you still want to remain connected to this Client.  If you do not respond to this message, the Client will disconnect.

Suggestions

If the period of inactivity is too short for your purposes, you can Inactivity Timeout


Wrong version of NSM Client installed on Client machine

Meaning

Despite what it says, this message means that the version of the NetSupport Client installed on the *this* machine does not match the version of the NetSupport Control.

Suggestions

Reinstall NetSupport on this machine.


Changing the Print Capture settings may truncate print data captured from xxx.  Proceed?

Meaning

There are print jobs waiting to print from the Client.  If you change the Print Capture settings these outstanding jobs will be deleted.

Press Yes to proceed with the changes and delete the outstanding print jobs, press No to Cancel the operation and leave the outstanding print jobs to print.


Error nnn: Unable to copy file 'xxx' to 'xxx'.  xxx
Error nnn: Unable to copy file ‘<SourceFile>’ to ‘<Destination>’.  <Error Message>

Meaning

An error occurred trying to copy a file.  <SourceFile> is the source path of the file, <Destination> is the target machine.  <Error Message> describes the nature of the problem and should give you sufficient information to sort it out.

Suggestions

A common cause of this problem is if the file on the target machine is opened by another application.  Close this application and try again.


Copy the selected files/directories to the Clients?

Meaning

You have performed an operation that will Copy the selected files and/or directories to the available Clients.

This message can be suppressed by unchecking the Confirm Directory Copy box in the File Transfer option of the settings dialog.


Error nnn: Unable to create directory 'xxx' on 'xxx'.  xxx
Error nnn: Unable to create directory ‘xxx’ on ‘xxx’.  xxx

Meaning

An attempt to create a directory has failed on the specified machine (Control or Client).

Suggestions

Make sure that the destination drive or network share is not write-protected.  Also, make sure you are not trying to create the directory on a CD-ROM drive, and that you have sufficient access rights in the parent directory.


Cannot load 'xxx'
Cannot load ‘xxx’

Meaning

This error occurs if a Transport DLL cannot be loaded when the Control is started or if the control DLL cannot be loaded when the API is started.

Suggestions

Make sure the file is present in the NSM directory and you have sufficient rights to load it.


Demonstration Client 'xxx' has been deactivated
Demonstration Client ‘xxx’ has been deactivated

Meaning

The Client you were connected to is a demonstration Client and has been deactivated.  You must restart the Client to continue using it.  The Client will again timeout after 5 minutes.

Suggestion

You should upgrade your demonstration Client license for a time expiry Client license or purchase a full copy.


Error nnn deleting 'xxx' on 'xxx'
Error nnn deleting ‘xxx’ on ‘xxx’

Meaning

There was an error deleting the file from the specified machine.

Suggestions

Make sure the file is not read only or open in another application, that the diskette is not write-protected, and that you have sufficient rights to delete files.


xxx is a demonstration Client.  It will deactivate after 5 minutes use

Meaning

You are connecting to a demonstration Client instead of a full or evaluation Client.  Demonstration Clients time-out after 5 minutes use and must be restarted.

Suggestions

You should upgrade your demonstration Client for a time expiry Client license or purchase a full copy.


Directory 'xxx' does not exist on xxx.
Directory ‘xxx’ does not exist on xxx.

Meaning

The specified directory could not be found on the specified machine (Control or Client).

Suggestions

Make sure the directory name entered is valid, or create the specified directory and try again.


Disk xxx full on xxx

Meaning

The disk on the target machine is full, and the current operation could not be completed.

Suggestions

Delete some files on the drive in question and retry the operation.


Error nnn reading drive xxx on xxx

Meaning

An error occurred when reading from the specified drive on the local or Client machine.

Suggestions

If the device is a floppy drive or CD-ROM drive make sure there is diskette/CD present, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


The Bridge modem has XON/XOFF flow control enabled!

Explanation:

This causes a conflict with characters sent by NetSupport and MUST be disabled. RTS/CTS hardware flow control should be enabled.

Possible Causes:

1.	The Bridge modem has XON/XOFF (software) flow control enabled.

2.	Wrong modem type selected at Control or Client computer.

3.	Modems incorrectly configured or incompatible - refer to modem manuals for further help

Recommended Action:

1.	Disable XON/XOFF flow control and enable RTS/CTS flow control.

2.	Check that the correct modems are selected.

3.	Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


The Control AND Bridge modems have XON/XOFF flow control enabled!

Explanation:

This causes a conflict with characters sent by NetSupport and MUST be disabled. RTS/CTS hardware flow control should be enabled.

Possible Causes:

The Control and Bridge modems have XON/XOFF (software) flow control enabled."

Wrong modem type selected at Control or Client computer.

Modems incorrectly configured or incompatible - refer to modem manuals for further help

Recommended Action:

Disable XON/XOFF flow control and enable RTS/CTS flow control.

Check that the correct modems are selected.

Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


The Control modem has XON/XOFF flow control enabled!

Explanation:

This causes a conflict with characters sent by NetSupport and MUST be disabled. RTS/CTS hardware flow control should be enabled.

Possible Causes:

1.	The Control modem has XON/XOFF (software) flow control enabled.

2.	Wrong modem type selected at Control or Client computer.

3.	Modems incorrectly configured or incompatible - refer to modem manuals for further help

Recommended Action:

1.	Disable XON/XOFF flow control and enable RTS/CTS flow control.

2.	Check that the correct modems are selected.

3.	Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


Unable to exchange 2KByte buffer with Bridge

Explanation:

A test of the flow control settings required by NetSupport failed indicating potential connection and/or performance problems.

Possible Causes:

1.	The Control and Bridge modems do not have RTS/CTS hardware flow control enabled resulting in buffer overrun.

2.	The Control and/or Bridge's PC to modem baud rate are too high causing data loss.

3.	Poor cable connection between modem and PC.

4.	Poor phone connection resulting in frequent retries.

Recommended Action:

1.	Make sure RTS/CTS (hardware) flow control is enabled at both modems.

2.	Set the PC to modem baud rate to one setting above the maximum connection speed.

3.	Ensure both modems are using good quality, correctly wired serial cables.

4.	Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


Error Code nnn
Error Code nnn <error message>

Meaning

The application you tried to execute on the specified machine (Control or Client) failed to run.

Suggestions

Check the error message, rectify the problem and try again.


You are currently performing a Scan.  Are you sure you want to exit?

Meaning

You are in the process of Scanning one or more Clients and are about to close the Control program down.  You are being asked to confirm this action before continuing.


You are currently performing a Show.  Are you sure you want to exit?

Meaning

You are in the process of performing a Show to a number of Clients and are about to close the Control program down.  You are being asked to confirm this action before continuing.

Exiting will stop the Show and release the Clients.


Your demonstration period has expired (dd/mm/yyyy).

Meaning

The evaluation license for this copy of NetSupport Manager has expired.  Evaluation copies generally run for 30 days from the date of installation.

Suggestions

If you intend to continue using NetSupport Manager you should contact your supplier and purchase a fully licensed copy (you know it makes sense).


You do not have sufficient rights to modify the Group List

Meaning

The Named Configuration you are currently using has the Group List set as read-only.  This means that you cannot modify the contents of this list.

Suggestions

Ask your Administrator to enable this feature for you, or ask them to make the necessary changes to the Group list.


There is already a group called 'xxx'. Please choose a different name

Meaning

You are trying to create a new Group that has the same name as an existing Group.  You must supply a new Group name before you can continue.

Suggestions

Choose a different Group name, or delete the existing Group and try again.


This license has not been activated.  Run 'winstall /a' to activate.

Meaning

Under certain circumstances you must activate NetSupport before you can use it.  This is usually done at install time.  If you manually copy a license file without going through the activation process first you will get this error.

Suggestions

Re-install NetSupport or run “winstall /a” to activate the license (winstall is located in the NSM directory).


You have reached the License limit for the number of concurrent connections.  Contact your vendor for details on increasing you
You have reached the License limit for the number of concurrent connections.

Meaning

Your license entitles you to establish a certain number of concurrent connections; you have reached this limit.  No further connections can be made unless you disconnect from other Clients first.

Suggestions

Disconnect from other Clients first.

Contact your vendor and inquire about upgrading your license.

If this is an evaluation copy of NetSupport contact your vendor for details of turning this into a full version.


Error loading transport 'xxx' (adapter nnn), operation: nnn, code: nnn
Error loading transport ‘xxx’ (adapter nnn), operation: nnn, code: nnn

Meaning

There was an error loading the network transport protocol detailed in the message.

If this is the first time you have run NetSupport you may need to configure your Network Transports.

If you have run NetSupport successfully before go to the Network Configure dialog and test each transport you have enabled.  If you are using NetBIOS you may need to change the adapter number(s) if you have changed your machines networking configuration.

See Also

Configuring Network Transports


Client 'xxx' is running on this machine
Client ‘xxx’ is running on this machine

Meaning

The Client that you are trying to connect to is running on this machine.  For obvious reasons, you can not do this.  Also, beware of creating a situation where you start a Control on a Client that you are controlling and then try to Control your machine from there.  This will cause unpredictable results

Suggestions

Check to make sure the name of the Client you are trying to Connect to is correct.  If you are using Quick Connect to connect to the Client, try performing a Browse (if possible) and connect from there.


All local connections will be lost!  Are you sure you want to dial Remote Network 'xxx'?
All local connections will be lost!  Are you sure you want to dial Remote Network ‘xxx’?

Meaning

You are about to dial a Remote Network and all your local Client connections will be lost.  You have the option to abort the dialup connection and remain connected to your local Clients, or disconnect from them and dial the remote site.


The actual throughput is low compared to the Connection Speed

Explanation:

Analysis of the actual throughput against the potential throughput (based on the Connection speed) shows it to be less than 90%% of optimum indicating a modem configuration or line problem.

Possible Causes:

1.	The Control and/or Bridge's PC to modem baud rate are too high causing data loss.

2.	Data compression is enabled and the resulting overhead is slowing NetSupport down.

3.	Flow control is incorrectly configured.

4.	Poor phone connection resulting in frequent retries.

Recommended Action:

1.	Set the PC to modem baud rate to one setting above the maximum connection speed.

2.	Make sure data compression is disabled for both modems

3.	Make sure RTS/CTS (hardware) flow control is enabled at both modems.

4.	Correct any problems and redial the Bridge.


Cannot connect to more than nnn Clients

Meaning

You have reached the maximum number of concurrent connections for this network.  For Local LAN’s this is 255; when dialling into a NetSupport Bridge, this is 1.

Note: Network and machine resources may be exceeded before the 255 connection limit is reached on a Local LAN.

Suggestions

Disconnect from other Clients and try again.


Cannot execute 'xxx'
Cannot execute ‘xxx’

Meaning

NetSupport was unable to execute the MultiMedia player application.  Make sure the program is available and you have sufficient execute rights.


Cannot find window 'xxx', class 'xxx'
Cannot find window ‘xxx’, class ‘xxx’

Meaning

NetSupport was unable to locate the MultiMedia Window.  NetSupport uses this to communicate with the MultiMedia player.


MMPLAYER terminated unexpectedly

Meaning

The MultiMedia player closed down unexpectedly.  Check for any errors and try again.


Error opening modem log file 'xxx'
Error opening modem log file ‘xxx’

Meaning

This normally means that the Modem log file (modem.log in the NetSupport directory) does not exist; it will be created when you dial into a NetSupport Bridge with logging enabled.

Suggestions

If the file does in fact exist, check that you have sufficient rights to open and read this file and that it is not open in another application.


Name 'xxx' already in use (on NetBIOS adapter #nnn)

Meaning

When using NetBIOS, each Client and Control must use unique a name (but the same name can be used for both a Client and a Control).  If another machine is using the name you are trying to use on this machine, you will see this message on this machine.

Alternatively the NetSupport Control or Client may have previously shut down unexpectedly shut down, try restarting you computer to clear the error.

Suggestions

We recommend using the computer's ‘Machine Name’ (as set in Control Panel, Network, Identification) as the Control or Client name.


'xxx' is not configured correctly (xxx).
‘xxx’ is not configured correctly (xxx).

Meaning

There was a problem initialising the specified Network transport.

Suggestions

Use Control Panel, Network to check that the transport protocol in question is installed and configured correctly.


IPX network nnn is not responding

Meaning

There was an error communicating with the specified IPX network. The Control normally obtains a list of network numbers from the nearest NetWare file server or bridge.  On some networks, the list it returns is unreliable.  NetSupport reports the problem because, if left unresolved, it causes delays when browsing for IPX Clients.

Suggestions

You can tell the Control to ignore such network numbers by entering them in the Ignore Networks field in the Transport settings of the Configuration dialog; you can access this from the Network, Configure menu.

If a NetWare server on your LAN has been shut down recently try restarting the Control machine.


'xxx' error (adapter nnn), operation: nnnxH, code: nnnxH
‘xxx’ error (adapter nnn), operation: nnnxH, code: nnnxH

Meaning

An unexpected Network error has occurred.

Suggestions

Use Control Panel, Network to check that your machine's networking support is configured correctly.


Cannot contact 'xxx'
Cannot contact ‘xxx’

Meaning

There was no response from the NetSupport Bridge at the specified number. Make sure the Bridge is loaded on this machine and that you have the correct phone number.


'xxx' has disconnected, is not responding or has timed out
‘xxx’ has disconnected, is not responding or has timed out

Meaning

The specified Client has either disconnected, stopped responding or has timed out.  If there was a period of inactivity that exceeded the timeout specified on the Client machine, you should increase this value.

Suggestions

The Client machine has been turned off, has hung or the Client has been unloaded

The network has failed or excessive traffic has been generated to interfere with tickle packets

The Client has timed out

There was insufficient network resources to keep the connection alive

Tips

Check to make sure that the Client machine is reliable and applications that run on this machine do not utilise all the processor time.

Contact your network manager and see if anything can be done to remove bottlenecks or improve overall network performance.

Check the Inactivity Timeout on the Client machine to make sure that it is not disconnecting too soon after detecting the Control is missing.

Try configuring your network drivers to provide more resources for running applications.


Error deleting 'xxx'
Error deleting ‘xxx’

Meaning

The modem log file or modem definition file could not be deleted.

Suggestions

Make sure the file is not read only or open in another application, that the diskette is not write-protected,  and that you have sufficient rights to delete files.


Cannot load 'xxx'
Cannot load ‘xxx’

Meaning

There was an error loading the specified Transport DLL.

Suggestions

Make sure the file is in the NSM directory and you have sufficient rights to read it.


Cannot open 'xxx'
Cannot open ‘xxx’

Meaning

The specified file could not be opened.

Suggestions

Check that the file exists, and that you have permission to access it.  Check also for media errors, especially on floppy disks and CD's, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


File transfer disabled at Client 'xxx'
File transfer disabled at Client ‘xxx’

Meaning

The Client you are trying to perform a File Transfer operation on has been configured to reject any such operation.  This is done for security reasons and it can only be enabled at the Client machine.

Suggestions

Configure the Client to permit File Transfer Operations


Cannot communicate with the modem

Meaning

When NetSupport tried to communicate with the modem, one of the following happened:-

The modem is not turned on or has stopped responding

The modem is not connected to the correct communications port or is incorrectly cabled

The command strings for the currently selected modem do not correspond to the modem connected to your machine

The machine you are dialling did not answer


There are no printers installed on 'xxx' matching 'xxx'
There are no printers installed on ‘xxx’ matching 'xxx'

Meaning

In order to capture print output from the Client, the Client must have a printer driver installed that matches that requested by the Control.

For more details, see the Capture option in the configuration settings dialog.


Error reading file 'xxx'
Error reading file ‘xxx’

Meaning

The specified file could not be read.

Suggestions

Check that the file exists, and that you have permission to access it.  Check also for media errors, especially on floppy disks and CD's, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


Error renaming xxx to xxx

Meaning

The specified file could not be renamed; this also happens when updating files - they are saved to a temporary file first and then renamed in case the copy fails.

Suggestions

Check that the target file is not read-only and that you have sufficient rights to rename files. Check also for media errors, especially on floppy disks and CD's, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


You cannot save as 'xxx'; please choose another name.

Meaning

To avoid potential confusion, the settings for modem 'Hayes Compatible' cannot be changed.  Please save under a different name.


Client xxx does not respond

Meaning

The specified Client could not be connected to as it didn’t respond.

Suggestions

Check the Client machine is switched on and the NetSupport Client is loaded.

Make sure you are using the correct Network transport and address for the Client.

If the Client is using NetBIOS make sure you are using the same NetBIOS adapter on the Control.

If the Client is located over a Router or Bridge device make sure these are not filtering out packets or blocking ports.


Unable to connect to Client xxx

Meaning

You have tried to connect to a Client and the specified Client name could not be found on the Network.

Suggestions

Confirm the name of the Client machine you are connecting to, or perform a Browse to find the machine on the network.


Directory xxx not found

Meaning

You have specified a directory that could not be found.

Suggestions

Make sure you entered the directory name correctly and that you have the necessary access rights to it.


Error Reading Disk

Meaning

There was an error reading the specified disk.

Suggestions

Make sure there is media (diskette/CD) in the specified device or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


No Dialup Link Established

Meaning

An attempt to hang up the modem was made when it is not dialled.


Sorry, 'xxx' must be configured by editing CONTROL.MDM

Meaning

The settings for this modem cannot be edited from this dialog. Instead, you will have to modify them by editing the control.mdm file manually (this resides in the NSM directory).  See the contents of this file for more information.


Transport xxx is not enabled; to enable it, select 'Configure' from the 'Network' menu

Meaning

The Client you are trying to connect to is using a transport that is not enabled in the Control.

Suggestions

To enable the transport in the Control, select Configure from the Network Menu and check the transport boxes in the Transport settings.

Alternatively, reconfigure the Client and select a transport that is enabled in the Control.  Then perform a Browse to update the Controls icon for this Client.


Error writing file xxx

Meaning

The specified file could not be written.

Suggestions

Make sure the file is not read only or opened by another application and you have sufficient rights to write to files.  Check also for media errors, especially on floppy disks and CD's, or a network connection to a file server may have failed.


Sorry, this is not supported on versions of Windows NT before 4.0.  Please refer to the help file for details on how to do this
Sorry, this is not supported on versions of Windows NT before 4.0.  Please refer to the help file for details on how to do this in Program Manager.

Meaning

You cannot create shortcuts using drag and drop on versions of NT older than 4.

To create Control Icons with different parameters manually see Creating Icons


Error nnn opening file xxx on xxx

Meaning

The file specified cannot be found, or cannot be opened.

Suggestions

Check that the file exists (unless you are writing to it), that you have sufficient rights to access it, and that it is not open in another application.  If the file is on a file server, the network connection may have failed.


The directory xxx on xxx already contains a file called xxx.

Meaning

You are about to overwrite a file that already exists.

This message can be suppressed by unchecking the Confirm File Overwrite box in the File Transfer option of the configuration settings dialog.

Checking the Overwrite All checkbox in this dialog will overwrite subsequent files without further prompting for this file transfer operation only.

System, hidden and read only files cannot be overwritten without confirming for each file. To copy a large number of such files, change the target files' attributes first, which you can do in a single operation.


Wrong Password

Meaning

You have supplied an incorrect password to a Client during the connection attempt.  The Client will reject your connection attempt until you supply the correct password.

Suggestions

Check to make sure you have spelt the password correctly.  NetSupport passwords are not case sensitive, so upper and lower case characters are treated the same.  Spaces are significant, however.


Another Program is currently using the specified communication device.

Meaning

Another program on this workstation is currently using the specified communication device.

Suggestion

Close all other programs and try again.


TCP/IP is not enabled, run the Configurator to enable it.

Meaning

TCP/IP is not enabled.

Suggestion

Edit the Advanced Client Configurator and enable it.


No Valid TAPI device Configured.

Meaning

No Valid TAPI device configured.

Suggestion

Configure the TAPI device in the {Settings - Dialin Bridge}.


TAPI Error

Meaning

An unexpected error has occurred with the TAPI device.

Suggestion

If this error message occurs please report the circumstances to your vendor.


Transferring Files

NetSupport includes sophisticated File Transfer functionality that enables you to transfer files to and from a Control and Client.

See

The File Transfer Window

To copy files and Directories from a Control to a Client

To copy files and Directories from a Client to a Control

To transfer files between Clients

Deleting files and Directories

To create Directories

To rename a file

Changing file Attributes

Synchronising Directories

Print File Transfer List

Arranging multiple File Transfer Windows


To copy files and Directories from a Control to a Client

1.	Select the required Client in the List View.

2.	Choose {Client}{File Transfer} from the Control drop down menu.

Or,

Select the File Transfer icon on the Control Toolbar.

Or,

If you are Viewing the Client, choose {Tools}{File Transfer} from the View Window drop down menu.

3.	The File Transfer Window to that Client will open.

4.	From the Client Tree View, select the destination drive or directory into which the items will be copied.

5.	From the Control List select the item(s) to be copied to the Client

6.	Click on the toolbar Copy File button

7.	A confirmation dialog will be displayed, click Yes.

Notes:

•	The selected item(s) can also be ‘dragged’ from the Control List and ‘dropped’ into the destination drive or directory in the Client View.

•	To help improve performance, NetSupport Manger uses Delta File Transfer technology meaning that only the changed parts of a file that may already exist in the destination directory are transferred. This can prove most useful when updating database files between two locations where either bandwidth usage or availability is an issue.

See

To copy files and directories from a Client to a Control

The File Transfer Window


To copy files and Directories from a Client to a Control

To copy files and Directories from a Client to a Control

1.	Select the required Client in the List View.

2.	Choose {Client}{File Transfer} from the Control drop down menu.

Or,

Select the File Transfer icon on the Control Toolbar.

Or,

If you are Viewing the Client, choose {Tools}{File Transfer} from the View Window drop down menu.

3.	The File Transfer Window to that Client will open.

4.	From the Control Tree View, select the destination drive or directory into which the items will be copied.

5.	From the Client List View, select the item(s) to be copied to the Control.

6.	Click on the toolbar Copy File button.

7.	A confirmation dialog will be displayed, click Yes.

Note:

•	The selected item(s) can also be ‘dragged’ from the Client List and ‘dropped’ into the destination drive or directory in the Control View.

•	To help improve performance, NetSupport Manager uses Delta File Transfer technology meaning that only the changed parts of a file that may already exist in the destination directory are transferred. This can prove most useful when updating database files between two locations where either bandwidth usage or availability is an issue.

See

To copy files and directories from a Control to a Client

The File Transfer Window


Deleting files and directories

Deleting files and Directories

You can delete files and directories from either a Control or Client machine using the File Transfer Window.

To delete a file

1.	Select the file you wish to delete.

2.	Click on the toolbar Delete button.

3.	A confirmation dialog will be displayed, click Yes.

To delete a Directory

1.	Select the Directory you wish to delete.

2.	Click on the toolbar Delete button.

3.	The Remove Directory dialog will be displayed.

4.	Select the Include Contents check box.

5.	Click Yes.

Note: You cannot remove more than one Directory at a time. If you have several directories selected in the List View when performing the Delete operation, only the last selected Directory will be removed.

See

Changing file attributes

Synchronising Directories

To copy files and Directories from a Control to a Client

To copy files and Directories from a Client to a Control

To transfer files between Clients

The File Transfer Window


To create Directories

To create Directories

1.	Select the Client or Control Tree View.

2.	Select the drive or directory in which the directory you want to create will appear.

3.	Click on the toolbar Create button.

4.	The Create Directory dialog will be displayed.

5.	Enter a name for the directory, click OK.

See

Deleting files and directories

Synchronising directories

The File Transfer Window


To rename a file

To rename a file

1.	Select either the Control or Client pane List View

2.	Select the file to be renamed

3.	Click on the toolbar Rename button

4.	Enter the new name for the file in the black boarder next the file icon

5.	Press the Enter key when finished

See

Changing file attributes

To copy files and Directories from a Control to a Client

To copy files and Directories from a Client to a Control

To transfer files between Clients

The File Transfer Window


Changing file attributes

Changing file Attributes

You may want to change the attributes of file, for example to read only.

To change a files attribute

1.	Open a File Transfer session to the desired Client.

2.	Select the File whose attributes you want to view or change.

3.	Right click and choose Properties.

Or,

From the drop down menu bar, choose {File}{Properties}

4.	The File Properties dialog will appear.

5.	Check or uncheck the attributes you wish to set.

See

To copy files and Directories from a Control to a Client

To copy files and Directories from a Client to a Control

To transfer files between Clients

The File Transfer Window


Synchronising Directories

Synchronising Directories

You can synchronise the contents of selected directories on the Control and Client. When you synchronise two directories, any new or updated files in either directory will be automatically copied to the other directory.

To synchronise Directories

1.	Select the Control Directory from the Control Tree View to be synchronised with the Client.

2.	Select the Client Directory from the Client Tree View to be synchronised with the Control.

3.	Click on the toolbar Synchronise button.

4.	The Synchronise Directories dialog will be displayed.

5.	Check the displayed paths of the two selected Directories.

6.	Choose to include the subdirectories by selecting the Include Subdirectories check box.

7.	Choose OK.

8.	A confirmation dialog will be displayed, click Yes.

9.	The Directory Synchronisation Progress dialog will be displayed.

10.	When completed, the result will be displayed in the Directory Synchronisation Results dialog box.

11.	Read, click OK.

See

To copy files and Directories from a Control to a Client

To copy files and Directories from a Client to a Control

To transfer files between Clients

Deleting files and Directories

The File Transfer Window


Applying a filter to files in the File Transfer List View

You can specify a filter to the contents of a Control or Client’s List View, so that only file names which met a certain criteria will be displayed. To do this, use the Filter text boxes located above both panes’ List Views.

Any filter settings applied to the Control Panel will not affect the display of the Client pane and vice versa.

Filter settings will remain applied to a Control or Client pane until you reset them or close the File Transfer Window.

To apply a filter to files in the List View

1.	Click in the Filter text box above the pane whose List View you wish to filter.

2.	Replace the default filter (*.*) with your own, for example, if you wanted to view all file names beginning with the letter MKT, then you would type MKT*.* in the Filter text box.

3.	Press the Enter key to apply the filter

To reset the filter to files in the List View

1.	Click in the Filter text box above the pane whose List View you wish to reset.

2.	Replace the contents of the Filter text box with (*.*), this is the default filter and means no filter will be applied to the files in the current List View.

3.	Press the Enter key to apply the filter

See

The File Transfer Window

Changing the View Format in the File Transfer Window

Changing the sort orders in the File Transfer Window


Changing the View format in the File Transfer Window

The contents of the List Views of the Control pane and Client pane can be displayed in different formats. You can also sort the contents of the List Views in order to make them easier to navigate.

There are two types of view which you can display the contents of the List View in a File Transfer Window:

Name Only view	Displays only the file and directory names

Details view 	Displays the file and directory names, along with related details which are displayed in adjacent columns.

To change the Name Only view

1.	Click on Name Only button on the far right of the File Transfer Window

To change the Details View

2.	Click the Detail button on the far right of the File Transfer Window

Note: You can also change the view type, choose {View}{Show Details} from the File Transfer Window drop down menus.

See

The File Transfer Window

Changing the sort orders in the File Transfer Window

Applying a filter to files in the File Transfer Window


Changing the sort orders in a File Transfer Window

Typically, the contents of List Views in a File Transfer Window can be sorted into the following orders:

Sort Order	Description

By Name	The contents will be sorted alphanumerically by file name.

By Type	The contents will be sorted alphanumerically by file extension. This is not applicable to drives and directories in the List View.

By Modified Date	The contents will be sorted according to the date they were last modified.

By Size	The contents will be sorted according to the size of the file. This is not applicable to drives and directories in the List View.

By Short Name	The contents will be sorted alphanumerically using the shortened versions of their names.

Note: You can also specify whether the contents are to be sorted in ascending or descending order.

To change the sort order

1.	Select the appropriate pane (Control or Client).

2.	Click the Sort Order button on the right hand side of the File Transfer Window.

3.	A drop down menu will be displayed.

4.	Select a Sort Order command.

Note: When the List View will be displayed in Details View, you can click on the Columns headings, such as Name and Description, to sort the order by an appropriate column heading. Clicking on a column heading the second time will toggle the order direction. The current order direction will be indicated by a small arrow on the right of the column heading, by which the List View is sorted, for example, an arrow pointing up indicates the List is sorted in ascending order.

See

The File Transfer Window

Applying a filter to files in the File Transfer Window

Changing the View format in the File Transfer WIndow


To Distribute Files to a defined Group of Clients

1.	Select the Group of Clients you wish to distribute files to from the Group Folder in the Tree View.

2.	Choose {Group}{File Distribution} from the Control Window drop down menu.

3.	The File Distribution Window will appear.

4.	From the Local Pane Tree View, select the item(s) to be copied to the Clients.

5.	The location on the Client workstations where the files/directories are copied to is called the Destination Directory. Unless otherwise specified, the Client Destination Directory will be the same as the item(s) location on the Control workstation. If the Client does not have the same Directory available, the item(s) will be copied to the C Drive by default and the folders automatically created.

Or,

To set a specific Destination Directory on the Client workstation, right click on the Client icon in the Remote Pane and choose Set Destination. Specify a destination, click OK.

6.	Click Copy.

See

To distribute file to an ad hoc Group of Clients

The File Distribution Window


To Distribute Files to an Ad Hoc Group of Clients

1.	Open the Clients, Browse or Connected Folder in the Tree View.

2.	Choose {Tools}{File Distribution} from the Control Window drop down menu.

3.	The File Distribution Window will appear.

4.	In the Remote Pane indicate which Clients you wish to copy files to by checking the tick box beside the Client name.

5.	From the Local Pane Tree View, select the item(s) to be copied to the Clients.

6.	The location on the Client workstations where the files/directories are copied to is called the Destination Directory. Unless otherwise specified, the Client Destination Directory will be the same as the item(s) location on the Control workstation. If the Client does not have the same Directory available, the item(s) will be copied to the C Drive by default and the folders automatically created.

Or,

To set a specific Destination Directory on the Client workstation, right click on the Client icon in the Remote Pane and choose Set Destination. Specify a destination, click OK.

7.	Click Copy.

See

To distribute files to a defined Group of Clients

The File Distribution Window


Distributing Files

As well as enabling you to Transfer Files to and from individual Clients, NetSupport also allows you to Distribute Files to multiple Clients simultaneously.

You can Distribute Files to:

•	All connected Clients;

•	Selected Clients;

•	A pre-defined Group of Clients.

See

To Distribute Files to a defined Group of Clients

To Distribute Files to an Ad Hoc Group of Clients

The File Distribution Window


Remotely Launching applications on Client Workstations

This feature allows you to launch (execute) an application on an individual Client workstation or a Group of Client workstation’s without the need to Remote Control them. For example, you might want to run a Set-up program as part of a script or a file or software distribution exercise.

Note: The application itself must be installed on or available to the Client workstation/s.

See

Executing an application at a Client workstation

Executing an application at a group of Clients

Saving the details of an executed application

Editing a saved executable application

Removing a saved executable application


Executing an application at a Client workstation

To Execute an application at a Client workstation

1.	Open the Connected or Browse Folder in the Tree View, select the required Client.

2.	Choose {Client}{Execute at Client} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Right click on the desired Client(s) in the List View and choose Execute at Client.

3.	The Execute Application dialog will appear.

4.	Select the Execute Tab.

5.	Enter the name and path of the application to execute at the Client.

Or,

Click on Local Browse button and select an executable application on the Control workstation.

Note:	Check that Client applications are stored in the same location as the Control to ensure successful execution.

6.	Check the box Add to List, to save it for future use in the Saved List Tab.

7.	Confirm the description and path.

8.	Click Execute.

The application will now be launched at all selected Clients and the result of the operation displayed in the Results Box.

See

Executing an application at a group of Client workstations

Saving the details of an executed application

Editing a saved executable application

Removing a saved executable application


Executing an application at a group of Client workstations

To Execute an application at a Group of Client workstations

1.	Open the Group Folder and right Click on the desired Group.

2.	Choose Execute at Client.

Or,

1.	Open the Group Folder, select the required Client.

2.	Choose {Group}{Execute at Client} from the Control Window drop down menu.

3.	The Execute Application dialog will appear.

4.	Enter the full path of the application you want to run, click OK.

The application will now be launched at all selected Clients in the Group and the result of the operation displayed in the Results Box.

See

Executing an application at a Client workstation

Saving the details of an executed application

Editing a saved executable application

Removing a saved executable application


Saving the details of an executed application

To Save the details of your executed application for future use

1.	Open the Execute Application dialog.

2.	Select the Execute Tab.

3.	Enter the name and path of the executable application.

4.	Click Add to List button.

5.	The Add/Edit Program details dialog will appear.

6.	Confirm the description and path of the executable application.

7.	Click OK.

8.	Select the Saved List Tab.

9.	Check the Show Toolbar box to execute from the Control Window toolbar.

10.	Click Close.

A short cut button for easy launching of an application will appear on the Quick Execute toolbar.

See

Executing an application at a Client workstation

Executing an application at a group of Client workstations

Editing a saved executable application

Removing a saved executable application


Editing and removing a saved executable application

To edit a saved Executable application

1.	Open the Execute Application dialog.

2.	Select the Saved List Tab.

3.	Select the Application to edit.

4.	Click Edit.

5.	The Add/Edit Program details dialog will appear.

6.	When finished, click OK.

To remove a saved Executable application

1.	Open the Execute Application dialog.

2.	Select the Saved List Tab.

3.	Select the Application to remove.

4.	Click Remove.

5.	A confirmation dialog is displayed, click Yes.

See

Executing an application at a Client workstation

Executing an application at a group of Client workstations

Saving the details of an executed application


Power Management

Power consumption equates largely with heat generation, which is a primary enemy in achieving increased performance. Newer processors are larger and faster, and keeping them cool can be a major concern. With millions of workstations in use, and sometimes hundreds located in the same company, the desire to conserve energy has grown from a non-issue to a real issue in the last five years.

Power Management is a technique that enables hardware and software to minimise system power consumption. It works by shutting down portions of the hardware during periods of low or no use, meaning that the workstation is ready to work when you are and conserve energy when you are not.

See below for special considerations on Windows NT 4.0.

See

Client Power On

Client Power Off

Rebooting or Logging out Client workstations


Client Power On

To Power on a NetSupport Client the workstation must have a Wake-on-LAN network adapter and a BIOS that will support it (consult your network adapter documentation for more information), the Client must also be Known to the Control. The Control sends a Wake-on-LAN packet to the Client network adapter which instructs the workstation to Power On.

To Power On a NetSupport Client

1.	Select the icon(s) of the Clients you wish to Power On.

2.	Choose {Client}{Power On} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Right click and choose Power On.

3.	The Client workstations will now Power On.

To Power On a Group Of Clients

1.	Open the Group Folder in the Tree View and select the required Group.

2.	Choose {Group}{Power On} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Right click on the Group and choose Power On.

3.	The Client workstations will now Power On.

See also

Client Power Off

Power Management

Rebooting or Logging out Client workstations


Client Power Off

NetSupport uses the Advanced Power Management (APM) features of the Windows operating system (where supported), to provide Client power down capabilities. APM relies on the Client workstation having an ATX motherboard and ATX power supply.

A Control can remotely Power Off a Client workstation using the NetSupport Power Management function.

To Power Off a NetSupport Client

1.	Ensure all open applications at the Client workstations are closed.

2.	Select the icon(s) of the Clients you wish to Power Off.

3.	Choose {Client}{Power Off} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Right click and choose Power Off

4.	The Client workstations will now Power Off.

To Power Off a Group Of Clients

1.	Ensure all open applications at the Client workstations are closed.

2.	Open the Group Folder in the Tree View and select the required Group.

3.	Choose {Group}{Power Off} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Right click on the Group and choose Power Off.

4.	The Client workstations will now Power Off.

Special Considerations on Windows NT 4.0.

The Windows NT 4.0 operating system does not by default provide APM support and it will be necessary to update the Windows NT 4.0 Hardware Abstraction layer (HAL.DLL) to provide this functionality. Microsoft provide an updated HAL which adds APM support for many systems, for details of how to obtain this please refer to the support area of the NetSupport web site or contact your computer manufacturer to establish if APM can be provided for your system on Windows NT 4.0.

See also

Client Power On

Power Management

Rebooting or Logging out Client workstations


Scanning multiple Client screens

Multiple Client screens can be scanned simultaneously in one Scan Window.

To Scan multiple screens simultaneously

1.	Choose {Tools}{Scan} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	The Scan dialog will appear.

3.	Specify which Clients to Scan by removing or including the check mark next to the Client name.

4.	Select Display multiple Clients at a time.

5.	Select number of Client screens to be displayed in the Scan Window.

6.	If scanning more than four Client screens, select a Scan interval.

7.	Click Scan.

8.	The Scan Window will appear.

To End the Scan

1.	Choose {Scan}{Close} from the Scan Window drop down menu.

See also

Viewing multiple Clients simultaneously

Scanning Clients


Connecting to Clients/Controls via a NetSupport Gateway

The primary role of a NetSupport Gateway is to facilitate seamless remote control between PCs that may both be located behind different Firewalls. The Gateway provides a stable and secure method for locating and connecting Clients/Controls via HTTP delivering web based remote control without the need for modifications to existing Firewall configurations.

Typically, companies protect their internal network by using a Firewall, only allowing connections if specific TCP/IP ports have been opened. On occasions you may find that a direct connection between a NetSupport Control and Client is blocked because the Firewall’s they are protected by are configured to prevent outgoing connections on all but the standard TCP/IP ports.

A NetSupport Gateway solves this problem by acting as a third party that sits between the Control and Client, the HTTP protocol, rather than TCP/IP, being used for communications.

Note: Client and Control configurations can have both TCP/IP and HTTP enabled simultaneously thus ensuring that local connections are still valid.

Gateway Installation and Configuration

The Gateway is designed to run on a machine that is accessible from both the Client and Control. It must therefore have a fixed or static IP address.

The Gateway can be installed as a standalone component on the machine you wish to use, or along with other NetSupport components.

To install the Gateway component you must select Custom when choosing the type of NetSupport Installation to perform. You will also need to configure the properties for the Gateway, primarily the Port to use in communications and the encrypted Key for verifying connections from a Control or Client.

Once installed, the NetSupport Gateway icon will appear in the system tray of the workstation. Double-clicking the icon will display a status window listing any current activity through the Gateway. You can also access the Gateway Configuration Utility by right-clicking the icon and selecting Configure Gateway.

Note:	You will need to note the IP address of the Gateway machine as this will be required when configuring the Control and Client machines.

Client Configuration

The Client machine needs to be configured to use the HTTP protocol and be given the appropriate Gateway access details.

1.	From the Basic or Advanced Client Configurator select {Connectivity-HTTP}.

2.	Check the Use HTTP box.

3.	NetSupport uses Port 3085 for HTTP communications and this will be configured by default.

4.	Confirm which Gateway to use by entering the IP address of the Gateway machine.

5.	Enter the appropriate Gateway Key as set at the Gateway machine.

Control Configuration

The Control works in a similar way to the Client in that it uses the HTTP protocol to communicate through Gateways.

1.	From the Control Window drop down menu select {Network}{Configure}{Connectivity-HTTP}.

or

To apply the setting to a specific profile, choose {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu. Select the required profile and choose Connectivity and Startup Settings.

2.	Check the Use HTTP box.

3.	NetSupport’s default HTTP Port, 3085, is configured by default.

Add Gateways

The Control can communicate with multiple Gateways and the details of each need to be added at the Control end.

1.	From the Control Window Tree View select the Gateway folder.

or

Select New from the Control Window toolbar.

2.	Choose Add Gateway. The Add a Gateway wizard will appear.

3.	Enter a Name and Description for the Gateway. Click Next.

4.	Enter the IP Address of the machine where the Gateway is installed and confirm the Port number to use, 3085 will be specified by default.  Click Next.

5.	Enter the Gateway Key. This must match the Key set at the Gateway and Client end. Click Finish.

6.	The new Gateway will be added to the list view.

7.	Repeat the above process for any other Gateways that the Control needs to use.

Control-Gateway-Client Communications

Now that all the elements are in place, you are ready to attempt connections through the Gateway. The Gateway serves 3 basic purposes:

To receive and store Client registrations

For a Client to be available to a Control it must connect and stay connected to the Gateway. The Client indicates its readiness by periodically polling the Gateway that it has been configured to use. The Gateway stores the Client details in an internal table.

Respond to Browse commands from the Control

Once the Control has added the required Gateways it can Browse them for Clients. The Gateway responds by scanning through its list of available Clients and returning those that match the Browse criteria.

Note:	Unlike a standard network Browse, where Known Client details are stored for future use, Gateway Client details are lost when the Control closes. This is because the details are maintained at the Gateway end. Although the Client is permanently connected to the Gateway, the Control is not and therefore needs to Browse the Gateway each time it wants to find Clients.

1.	From the Gateways folder in the Control Window Tree View select the required Gateway and double-click Browse Gateway. The Browse Gateway dialog will appear. Enter a partial Client name or leave blank to search for all available Clients.

or

Right-click on the Gateway name in the Tree View and select Open. This will automatically Browse for all available Clients.

2.	Found Clients will appear in the List View and you can now connect and remote control them in the usual way.

Note:	You can ask for a combined Network and Gateway Browse by selecting Browse from the Control Window Toolbar and checking the Include Gateway Clients box. All found Clients will appear in the Browse folder in the Tree View, the Gateway Clients will not be added to the Gateway folder.

Pass all data between connected Controls and Clients

Although data is transferred between the connected Control and Client via the Gateway this will appear seamless and performance will not be affected.


Integration With Explorer

NetSupport Manager integrates directly with Windows explorer, allowing you to launch key functionality direct from your system without needing to first start the NetSupport Control.

By selecting a PC icon from within Network Places/Neighborhood you can establish a remote session and perform a range of common tasks.

Notes:

•	The functionality is only available if the NetSupport Control component is installed.

•	A Remote Control session will only be established if the target machine is running a NetSupport Client and the Client Name is set to the default Machine Name.

To use NetSupport Functionality from within Explorer

1.	Open Explorer from your desktop and navigate to Network Places/Neighborhood to find the list of available PCs.

2.	Right-click on the required PC.

3.	Select the appropriate NetSupport function. You can choose:

Remote Control 	To view the selected Client screen.

Chat 	To open a Chat session with the selected Client.

Inventory Report 	To retrieve a full Hardware/Software Inventory of the selected PC.

To disable NetSupport Functionality

If required, NetSupport Explorer functionality can be disabled in the Control Configurator.

1.	Select {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu.

2.	Select the Control Profile to apply the changes to.

3.	Choose Settings.

4.	From the Configuration Settings dialog, choose {Control Interface – Settings}.

5.	Check the Disable Shell Extension box.


Print File Transfer List

The File Transfer Window provides an option to print a list of files from either the local or remote pane. This can be useful if a record of file transfer operations is required.

You can print a complete directory tree or file list or a selected area.

To Print a Directory or File List

1.	Select the required Client in the List View.

2.	Choose {Client}{File Transfer} from the Control Window drop down menu.

Or,

Select the File Transfer icon on the Control Toolbar.

Or,

Right click and select File Transfer.

Or,

If you are Viewing the Client, choose {Tools}{File Transfer} from the View Window drop down menu.

3.	The File Transfer Window to that Client will open.

4.	In either the local or remote pane, select the directory tree or individual file list to be printed.

5.	Select {View}{Print} from the File Transfer Window drop down menu. The Print Options dialog will appear.

6.	Confirm whether you are printing a directory tree or file list and if it is the full list or selected area. You can also choose to include the application icon appropriate to each file by checking the Print Images box.

7.	Click OK to print.


Connecting to a MAC Based System

Using the NetSupport Control you can connect to and remote control a system that has a previously installed VNC Client. NetSupport Manager does not install anything onto these systems itself and only requires the existing VNC Client to be in place.

Note:	NetSupport’s standard Browse facility will not find the VNC Client, you must use the Add New Client option.

To Connect to a MAC System

1.	Select {Client}{New} from the Control Window drop down menu. The Add a new Client wizard will appear.

2.	Enter a Name for the Client. In the Location field, use the default option, Local. In the Client Type field choose VNC Client from the drop down list. Click Next.

3.	Enter the address details of the machine you wish to connect to. NetSupport’s default port for VNC connections is 5900. Click Next.

4.	Choose the appropriate Video Encoding. Click Next.

5.	If required, enter any additional Client properties.

6.	Click Finish. The new Client icon will be added to the Control Window List View.

You can now connect to and view the Client.

See also:

Connecting to Clients


Disable Chat Sessions

The Chat feature can be disabled in a Client’s Configuration, preventing either the Client or Control from initiating a Chat session.

To Prevent the Control from Initiating a Chat Session

1.	At the required Client workstaion(s), choose NetSupport Configurator from the NetSupport Program Group. The NetSupport Client Configurator will appear.

2.	Choose the Advanced Configurator option and select the profile to amend.

3.	From the list of Configuration options select Security-Access Privileges.

4.	Check the Disable Chat option.

5.	Click OK.

6.	Save the Profile and Restart the Client.

If the Control attempts to open a Chat session they will be advised that they do not have access rights to perform the task at that Client.

Note:	To prevent the Control from Chatting to all Clients, disable the feature in the Control Configuration. Select Tools-Configurations-Settings from the Control Window drop down menu. From the list of Configurator options choose Control Interface-Functions and check the Disable Chat option.

To Prevent the Client from Initiating a Chat Session

1.	At the required Client workstaion(s), choose NetSupport Configurator from the NetSupport Program Group. The NetSupport Client Configurator will appear.

2.	Choose the Advanced Configurator option and select the profile to amend.

3.	From the list of Configuration options select Client Interface-Client Settings.

4.	Check the Disable Chat option.

5.	Click OK.

6.	Save the Profile and Restart the Client.

The Chat option will be unavailable at the Client.

See also

Chatting to Clients

Chatting to a Control


Recording Local Activity

Activity at the local machine can be recorded and played back. If required, the Replay File can also be ‘shown’ to remote Clients.

1.	Choose {Tools}{Record} from the Control Window drop down menu. The Record Local Activity dialog will appear.

See Also

Watching Replay Files

Showing Replay Files to Clients


Recording Replay Files At Client PCs

Activity at remote PCs is recorded when a Control ‘Views’ a Client that is configured to Record Replay Files. The option can be enabled at individual Client level or set globally.

Record Replay Files For All Viewed Clients

This procedure enables the Control to create a Replay File each time it ‘views’ a Client PC. The settings can be applied to the current control configuration or to a ‘named’ configuration.

1.	To amend the current configuration choose {View}{Settings for current configuration} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or

Click Settings on the toolbar.

or

To apply the changes to a named configuration, choose {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu. Select the named configuration and click Settings.

2.	The Settings for Configuration dialog will appear.

3.	Choose Security - Replay Files and enable the appropriate options.

Record Replay Files for Individual Clients

This procedure enables Replay Files to be created at machines where the Client Configuration has the Record Replay Files option enabled.

1.	Run the Advanced Client Configurator at the required PCs.

2.	Select the profile to amend.

3.	Select Security - Replay Files and enable the appropriate options.

See also

Watching Replay Files

Showing Replay Files to Clients


Thumbnail View / Monitor Mode

Thumbnail View or Monitor Mode, similar to the Scan feature, enables the Control to view multiple Client screens simultaneously.

A convenient thumbnail view of each connected Client screen is displayed at the Control providing a quick and easy method for monitoring Client activity. While in Monitor mode the Control still has access to the full range of NetSupport features such as View, Chat and File Transfer.

1.	Display the required Client List by selecting the appropriate folder in the Control Window Tree View. You would generally want to limit the number of displayed Thumbnails to Connected Clients only.

2.	Choose {View}{Thumbnail} from the Control Window drop down menu.

or

Right-click on a clear area of the List View and select Thumbnail.

The List View will display each Client thumbnail. Double-clicking a thumbnail will open a view session to that Client, right-click and you can select from the full range of available Client features. For example, by selecting multiple thumbnails you can invite those Clients into a Chat session.

Thumbnails can be re-sized to suit and the frequency at which the displayed data is refreshed can be adjusted in the Control Configuration.

1.	Choose {Tools}{Configurations} from the Control Window drop down menu and select the configuration to update.

or

To adjust the currently loaded configuration, choose {View}{Settings for current configuration} or click Settings on the toolbar.

2.	Select Control Interface – Settings.

3.	Amend the Thumbnail properties as required.


Scripting - Introduction to Database Support

NetSupport’s scripting language contains a series of commands designed to enable you to interrogate an external database of information.

For example, you may hold Client information in a FoxPro database. Using NetSupport’s database scripting commands, you can run automated routines to examine the Client data.

Before using the commands, you firstly create the database. You then need to set up an ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) connection to it.

To set up an ODBC connection

1.	From Control Panel, select ODBC Data Sources.

2.	Click on the System DSN tab.

3.	Click Add and select the type of driver you wish to use.

4.	A dialog for your driver will be displayed. Enter the name, location and any other required information and click OK.

With the connection to the database in place, you are now ready to prepare scripts using the NetSupport Database Scripting commands.

See

Starting the Script Editor


Scripting - dbOpen

Description

Opens a connection to an ODBC datasource. Requires the datasource name and Username/Password if applicable.

Note:	If an Access database has been protected by a Master Security password, this will have to be removed before using dbOpen

Syntax

dbOpen(“Datasource name”)

dbOpen(“Datasource name”, “Username”,”Password”)

Example

dim TableList

dbOpen("TestDbase")

dbTables(TableList)

for each Table in TableList

    print table

next

dbClose()


Scripting - dbClose

Description

When performing operations on an open ODBC data source, closes the open data source.

Syntax

DbClose()

Example

See dbOpen


Scripting - dbColumns

Description

Returns a list of column names within an open ODBC Data Source.

Syntax

DbColumns(“TableName”,ListName)

Example

dbOpen("contacts")

dim columnlist

dbColumns("calls",columnlist)

  for each column in columnlist

print column

next

Output

List of column names held in the ODBC Data Source, Contacts.


Scripting - dbDataSources

Description

Returns a list of available ODBC Data Source Names (DSN)

Syntax

DbDataSources()

Example

dim dsn

dbDataSources(dsn)

 print "Data Sources"

for each buffer in dsn

   print "", buffer

next


Scripting - dbDelete

Description

Deletes a row(s) of data, matching a specified condition, within an open ODBC Data Source.

Syntax

DbDelete(“Table Name”,”Condition”)

Example

DbOpen(“Clients”)

DbDelete(“Clients”,”clientname=Test1”)

Output

Deletes data where Client Name = Test1 in data source Clients.


Scripting - dbDrivers

Description

Returns a list of available ODBC drivers on a system.

Syntax

DbDrivers()

Example

dim drivers

dbDrivers(drivers)

print "ODBC Drivers"

for each buffer in drivers

 print buffer

next


Scripting - dbExecute

Description

Runs a standard SQL command against an open ODBC data source and returns a handle to it that can be used in dbFetch and dbFetchList.

Syntax

DbExecute “SQL Statement”

Example

DbOpen(“Scriptingdbase”)

Dim h

H=dbExecute “Select * from Clients // Select everything from Clients

Dim namelist as list

Dim iplist as list

Dim platformlist as list

Dim verlist as list

DbFetchList h, 2, iplist, 1 namelist, 3 platformlist, 4,Verlist

For each platform, ip, name, ver in platformlist, iplist, namelist, Verlist

Print platform, ip,name,ver

Next

DbClose()


Scripting - dbFetchList

Description

Retrieves the data specified in the Select statement. DbFetchList must match the Columns selected otherwise an error will be returned.

The order in which you specify the lists must match the columns in the database otherwise the data returned may not match. If the available columns are not known, dbColumns will return a list of columns in a table.

Syntax

DbFetchlist handle,column,list, column, list……..

Example

DbOpen(“Scriptingdbase”)

H=dbExecute “Select * from Clients” // Select everything from Clients

Dim namelist as list

Dim iplist as list

Dim platformlist as list

Dim Verlist as list

DbFetchList h, 1,iplist, 2, namelist, 3, platformlist, 4, Verlist	//Place the values

//Returned into the

//Different lists

for each platform, ip,name, verin platformlist,iplist,namelist,verlist

print platform,ip,name,ver

next

dbclose()


Scripting - dbGetData

Description

Retrieves data from a specified column within an open ODBC data source using the dbFetch command.

Syntax

DbGetData (handle,”column”)

Example

Dim h as integer

Dim clientlist as list

Dim clientname as string

SetTransport(T_TCPIP)

DbOpen(“Scriptingdbase”)          // Open the datasource

H=dbExecute “Select Clientname, IPAddress From Clients”

Dim clientname as string

Dim clientaddress as string

Do while dbFetch (h)

Clientname = dbGetData(h,1)

Clientaddress = dbGetData (h,2)

Print “Client=”, clientname, “IP Address”, clientaddress

Loop

DbRelease (h)

DbClose()


Scripting - dbInsert

Description

Inserts an entry into an open ODBC data source. Can insert into mulitiple fields.

Syntax

DbInsert “Table Name”,”Column Name”,”Column Data”

Example

DbInsert “Clients”, “Client Name” , “Test1”

Output

data “Test1” is inserted into the column “Client Name” in the Clients table.


Scripting - dbRelease

Description

When executing a dbExecute or a dbSelect statement a handle is returned. Once you have finished with it you must do a dbRelease(handle) to release it.

Syntax

DbRelease(handle)

Example

DbOpen(“Scriptingdbase”)

Dim h

H=dbExecute “Select * From Clients”

Dim namelist as list

Dim iplist as list

Dim platformlist as list

Dim Verlist as list

DbFetchList h, 1,iplist, 2, namelist, 3, platformlist, 4, Verlist

For each platform, ip,name, ver in platformlist,iplist,namelist,Verlist

  Print platform,ip,name,ver

Next

DbRelease (h)

DbClose()


Scripting - dbSelect

Description

Selects columns from a specified table and orders them by a specific criteria. Used in association with dbFetchlist.

Syntax

dbSelect ("Tables","Columns","Where","Order by")

Example

DbOpen(“Scriptingdbase”)

Dim h

H=dbSelect( “Clients”,”Clientname,IPAddress,ID,Platform”,””,”ClientName”)

Dim namelist as list

Dim iplist as list

Dim platformlist as list

Dim Verlist as list

DbFetchList h, 2,iplist, 1, namelist, 3, platformlist, 4, Verlist

For each platform, ip,name, ver in platformlist,iplist,namelist,Verlist

  Print platform,ip,name,ver

Next

DbRelease (h)

DbClose()


Scripting - dbTables

Description

Returns a list of available tables in a given datasource.

Syntax

DbTables(List Name)

Example

Dim tablelist as list

DbOpen(“TestDatabase”)

DbTables(Tablelist)

For each table in tablelist

  Print table

Next

DbClose()


Scripting - dbUpdate

Description

Updates a column with the specified data, where it meets the “where” condition. To put new data into the table use dbInsert.

Syntax

dbUpdate("Update Table", "Column Name", "Where")

Example

Dim clientlist as list

Dim clientname as string

Dim deleted as int

Dim major as integer

Dim minor as integer

Dim version as integer

DbOpen(“scriptingdbase”)

SetTransport(T_TCPIP)

Lookup(“PCI”,clientlist)

Dim platform

For each clientname in clientlist

   If dbFind “Clients”,”IPAddress = “” +GetClientAddress(clientname) + “” then

        Print “Adding client”, clientname

DbInsert “Clients”, “ClientName”, GetClientName(clientname),”IPAddress”,

GetClientAddress(clientname),”Platform”,GetClientPlatform(clientname)

   Else

     Platform=GetClientPlatform(clientname)

     DbUpdate(“Clients”,”Platform=’platform”,”Clientname=clientname”)

Endif

Next

DbClose()


Scripting - dbFind

Description

Finds records within an open ODBC data source matching specified conditions. Multiple conditions can be specified. The command returns the number of items matching the condition(s). The data cannot be manipulated.

Syntax

Dbfind(“Table”,”Condition1”)

Example

DbFind(“Clients”,”Clientname=Test1”

Output

Indicates how many times the client name test 1 appears in the data source.


dbFetch

Description

This takes a handle as a parameter, this can be from a dbSelect or dbExecute command.  It then fetches the data from the database a row at a time.  You need to use dbGetData in conjuction with this.

Syntax

dbFetch(handle)

Example

dim h as integer

dim clientlist as list

dim clientname as string

SetTransport(T_TCPIP)

dbOpen("Scriptingdbase")   // Open the datasource

h = dbExecute "SELECT ClientName, IPAddress FROM Clients"

dim clientname as string

dim clientaddress as string

do while dbFetch(h)

    clientname = dbGetData(h, 1)

    clientaddress = dbGetData(h, 2)

    print "Client=", clientname, " IP Address ", clientaddress

loop

dbRelease(h)

dbClose()


NetSupport Deploy - Enter Deploy Properties In Advance

There may be occasions when you want to defer a deployment until a more convenient time of the day. With NetSupport Deploy you can prepare the settings in advance and choose when to perform the deployment.

Note:	You select the workstations to deploy to when you are ready to run the deployment.

To pre-define the Deploy settings, select the required item from the Deploy List dialog and click Properties.

For more information about each option and how to run the pre-defined deployment when you are ready, see:

Entering Deploy Settings In Advance

Deploy a NetSupport Package

Deploy a Client Configuration

Deploy a NetSupport License File

Deploy - Remote Uninstall


Deploy Client Configuration - Properties General Tab

To deploy a Client Configuration

1.	Click Browse to specify the folder containing the Client Configuration file that is to be deployed. The default configuration file is CLIENT32.INI and is stored in the NetSupport Manager installation directory.

2.	Click Edit to access the Advanced Client Configurator in order to make changes to the Configuration file. You can specify additional Client parameters if required. For example, this may be the location of an additional Configuration file to which you want to add specific user credentials (Name and password).

3.	Choose {File}{Save}  from the NSM Client Configurator Drop Down Menu to save the new settings.

Note:	You will be prompted to Restart The Client. As you only want the changes to take effect at the remote workstation when you run the deployment, click No. If you click Yes, the Client will immediately restart at your workstation.

4.	For the new settings to take effect immediately, by default the Client Service will be automatically restarted after the deployment. If not required, uncheck the Restart the NetSupport Client service box.

5.	Click OK to return to the Summary dialog. You can view the contents of the configuration file by clicking on the file name.


Deploy a NetSupport Package - Install Properties General Tab

Specify the NetSupport package to deploy and which components are to be installed.

1.	Enter a description for the package being deployed. If left blank, the package name/version will be used.

2.	Click Browse and select the folder containing the NetSupport package to install. Ideally, this will be a folder containing a distribution copy of NetSupport.

3.	Click Edit to specify the components to install. The Install Configuration Options dialog will appear.

Note:	Because of the way NetSupport Deploy handles restarting workstations, leave the Restart Machine box un-checked. This is only relevant when performing a Silent Install where The Install Configuration Options dialog is also used for specifying the options to install.

When you have completed this dialog choose{File}{Save}.

Choose {File}{Exit} to return to the Install Properties dialog.


Deploy a NetSupport Package - Install Properties Message Tab

Specify a custom message to be displayed at each workstation while the installation is in progress.


Deploy a NetSupport Package - Install Properties Options Tab

These options are only applicable if the target PCs require a forced restart to complete the installation.

1.	Ignore them by checking the Skip machines already running NetSupport box.

2.	Update the machines with the latest version by checking the Update new or older systems to current version box.

3.	After deploying the package, you can confirm that the Client is running by checking the Verify Client running after restarting box. Ensure that workstations are restarted automatically after the deploy for this option to work. See Restart tab.


Deploy a NetSupport Package - Install Properties Restart Tab

Note:	If you have asked for verification that the Client is running, see Options Tab, you must choose an option that will force the workstations to be restarted immediately.

1.	Advise user to restart machine. At the completion of the deployment, a message will be displayed at workstations asking the user to restart the PC at the next convenient opportunity. Do not choose if above Note applies.

2.	Insist user restarts machine. A message will be displayed at workstations, advising the user to restart the PC to complete the installation.

3.	Force restart. At the end of the deployment, a message is displayed advising users that the workstation will be restarted. A time bar is displayed indicating how many seconds it is before the restart commences.

4.	Automatic restart if not logged on. If the workstation being deployed to is not logged on, restart will commence automatically.


Deploy a NetSupport Package - Install Properties Acknowledgement Tab

Consider whether the workstations will be in use when commencing the deploy. You can choose to:

1.	Install NetSupport Immediately. No prompt will be received at the workstations being deployed to.

2.	Warn user before installing NetSupport. The user will receive a prompt and needs to click OK for the install to commence. Users cannot cancel this.

3.	User can postpone NetSupport installation. You can specify the number of times a user can postpone the installation. If the user does choose to postpone, they will be re-prompted at hourly intervals or the next time they restart the workstation whichever comes earlier.


NetSupport Deploy - Summary Dialog

This dialog provides a summary of the options you have selected for the deployment.  If a first time deployment, the text will appear in red to indicate that required information has not been entered. To enter or amend the information for the deployment, Click Properties.

When the properties have been set, Click Deploy to commence deploying the chosen option.


Uninstall NetSupport - General Tab

Provides a description of the package being uninstalled.


Uninstall NetSupport - Message Tab

Specify a custom message to be displayed at each workstation while the uninstall is in progress.


Uninstall NetSupport - Restart Tab

To completely remove all NetSupport files, the workstations must be restarted.

1.	Insist user restarts machine. A message will be displayed at workstations, advising the user to restart the PC to complete the process.

2.	Force restart. At the end of the deployment, a message is displayed advising users that the workstation will be restarted. A time bar is displayed indicating how many seconds it is before the restart commences.

3.	Automatic restart if not logged in. If the workstation being deployed to is not logged in, restart will commence automatically.


Uninstall NetSupport - Acknowledgement Tab

Consider whether the workstations will be in use when commencing the deploy. You can choose to:

1.	Uninstall NetSupport Immediately. No prompt will be received at the workstations being deployed to.

2.	Warn user before uninstalling NetSupport. The user will receive a prompt and needs to click OK for the uninstall to commence. Users cannot cancel this.

3.	User can postpone uninstall of NetSupport. You can specify the number of times a user can postpone the uninstall. If the user does choose to postpone, they will be prompted the next time they restart the workstation.


Deploy NetSupport License File - General Tab

1.	Click Browse to specify the folder containing the license file that is to be deployed. The default file is NSM.LIC.

2.	For the new settings to take effect immediately, by default the Client Service will be automatically restarted after the deployment. If not required, uncheck the Restart the NetSupport Client service box.

3.	Click OK to return to the Summary dialog. You can view the contents of the license file by clicking on the file name.


About NetSupport Deploy

The NetSupport Deploy Utility provides Network Administrators with the facility to install and configure NetSupport Manager on multiple workstations without the need to visit the machines individually.

You are provided with a view of your Network, allowing you to pick and choose which workstations you want to deploy to.

Note:	NetSupport Deploy is currently only supported on Windows XP, 2000 or NT workstations.

*Specific information on how to deploy to machines running XP, can be found on our website at:  www.netsupportsoftware.com/support/search_kb.htm

With NetSupport Deploy you can:

•	Remotely Install a NetSupport package on multiple workstations simultaneously.

•	Create and download specific Client Configurations to multiple workstations.

•	Remotely update NetSupport License details on multiple workstations.

•	Remotely Uninstall a NetSupport package from multiple workstations simultaneously.

•	Enter the settings in advance and Deploy when it is convenient.

Log Files

When using NetSupport Deploy, information about each deployment, whether a package install, license update, configuration download or uninstall, is recorded. This provides a useful reminder each time you use the utility of what you have previously deployed. The information is stored in a Log File.

See also

Planning and preparing a deployment

NetSupport Deploy Main Window


This value indicates the number of client errors that occurred whilst your script was executing


This value indicates the number of fatal errors that your script generated


Indicates the date that this file was last opened


Displays the date that the file was created


Indicates the date that the information in this was last changed


Shows where the file is located on your computer


Displays the name of this file


Displays the size of the file


This displays the amount of time it took for your script to execute


This displays the way in which your script terminated


If this is checked, the output window is cleared every time you execute or check the syntax of a script.


Select this radio button to insert spaces every time you press the TAB key.  Use the edit control to the left to specify the number of spaces to insert.


Select this radio button to use tab characters rather than spaces


Specify the number of spaces to insert when you do not want to keep tabs


Supply optional program arguments here


Displays a browse window to search for the required executable file


Specify the window style of the application to execute


Enter the filepath of an executable file to run.  This can be a Windows Application, DOS batch file or any other registered file type.


Run the task at this specific time


Displays a browse window to allow you to locate the required script


Click to check the syntax of the specified script


Clears the associated log file before the task is run


Select the day on which to run


Specify which day of the month to run on


Enter a description for this task


Disable this script, preventing it from being run


Click to launch the scripting editor, allowing you to edit this script


Specifies that the task is run on a specific day every month


Run the task every day


Run this task every x minutes


Run this task on every weekday, Monday to Friday


Select the constraint for the time at which to run.  These items may require values in the fields to the right


Run on Fridays


Enter the upper constraint time


Enter the lower constraint time


Enter the period between executions in minutes


Run on Mondays


Select the month in which to run


Run this task on the hour


Check this item to execute an application when this task has completed successfully


Run on Saturdays


Run on Sundays


Only run the task on the days specified in the checkboxes to the right


Specify the date on which to run the task


Enter the time at which to run the task


Run on Thursdays


Run on Tuesdays


Run on Wednesdays


Specify the year in which to run


Enter the filepath of the script to execute


Planning an Installation

Installing NetSupport is exceptionally easy. If you follow a few simple rules you should be up and running within a very short time.

The first step is to decide what functions you want to install on each workstation.

Do you want it to be a Control or a Client ?

Control	To be able to control other workstations, install a Control, sometimes called a Viewer.

Client	To be controlled by another workstation, install a Client, sometimes called a Host.

Will you want to run more advanced NetSupport features from the workstation such as Scripting and Deploy or use the machine as a Gateway? You can further customise your installation by including a full working copy of NetSupport’s training tool, NetSupport School.

What network protocol do you use?

Decide what networking protocol you have available on the workstation. NetSupport supports TCP/IP, IPX, NetBIOS and HTTP.

While NetSupport is multi-protocol, which means that the same Control can connect to Clients running on different protocols, you must choose a default. You can change this later.

Note:	By default, the Control will be configured to use TCP/IP. If you are using a different protocol, you must configure this the first time you start a Control.

You are now ready to install NetSupport Control and Client programs.

For details of how to install on:

Windows CE compatible devices refer to Installing a NetSupport Client on Pocket PC Devices.

Linux machines, refer to Installing a NetSupport Client on Linux Platforms


Creating an administrative (network) installation

An administrative installation (distribution copy) of NetSupport Manager is designed to assist administrators to install NetSupport on Networked PCs where the installation media or License details may not be readily available and it is anticipated that a number of installs will be performed either at once or over a period of time.

This type of installation can also be preconfigured to setup NetSupport Manager with certain options, therefore ensuring that all NetSupport installations are configured the same.

Once created, the distribution copy can be used when performing a Silent Installation or as part of a NetSupport Deploy routine.

To Setup a distribution copy of NetSupport on a Server

1.	Create a folder on the network that is accessible to all PCs that you may want to install on.

2.	Copy, from your original source media (CD or download) the file SETUP.EXE.

3.	Create and copy a valid NSM.LIC file to this folder. If a License file is not present in the folder when running the install, NetSupport will be installed using the default Evaluation license.

4.	Create and copy a CLIENT32.INI file to this folder.

Note:	You can make the network folder ‘read only’ to avoid the configuration being altered by unauthorised users.

To Install NetSupport from a Server onto individual workstations

1.	At the required workstation, navigate to the network folder containing the NetSupport Manager setup files.

2.	Run Setup.exe.

3.	Follow instructions on Starting the Installation.


Silent Installation

On Windows XP, 2000 and NT, NetSupport Deploy enables you to pre-configure a NetSupport installation and remotely deploy it to multiple workstations. For Windows Me/98/95, and if required XP, 2000 and NT, you can perform a similar ‘Silent’ Installation by editing and running the relevant files manually.

To perform a silent install

1.	Create a distribution copy of NetSupport containing the required NetSupport Installation files.

2.	To determine the properties for the Installation, run INSTCFG.EXE from the NetSupport program folder. The Install Configuration Options dialog will appear. The selected properties are stored in a parameter file, default name Values.TXT.

3.	Choose {File}{Save} and save the ‘Values.TXT’ file to the folder containing the distribution copy of NetSupport.

Note: For the purpose of a Silent Install, you can save this file with a name of your choosing.

4.	To perform the Silent Install at the required workstation, from the folder containing the distribution copy, run:

Setup.exe /s /m=values.txt. (where Values.TXT = the filename created in 3)

See

Running a Silent Uninstall


Silent Uninstall

Note:	Although the following instructions can be used, if the workstations are running Windows XP, 2000 or NT, the NetSupport Deploy Uninstall utility provides a quick and efficient uninstall process .

In order to complete a Silent Uninstall of NetSupport, open a Command Prompt Windows Me/98/95 or Windows Command Interpreter (CMD.EXE) Windows NT/2000/XP and run the following Command.

NT/95/98/2000/Me/XP

Eg: C:\Program Files\Netsupport Manager\Remove.Exe /S

See also

NetSupport Deploy

Deploy a NetSupport Package

Deploy - Remote Uninstall

Silent/Unattended Installation


Installing NetSupport Manager

This Section will guide you through installing NetSupport Manager. It covers installing both the Control and the Clients and various options available.

Planning an Installation

Starting the Installation

Unattended/Silent Install

From a Server

NetSupport Deploy

Installing a NetSupport Client on Pocket PC Devices

Installing a NetSupport Client on Linux Platforms


Starting the Installation

Insert the NetSupport CD.

The NetSupport welcome menu will automatically appear when you insert the CD. (If it does not, access the CD-ROM drive from your workstation and run SETUP.EXE.)

Notes:

•	If you are upgrading Windows NT to Windows 2000/XP or 2000 to XP you must ensure that you de-install NetSupport Manager prior to upgrading the operating system. NetSupport Manager can then be re-installed once the operating system upgrade has been completed.

•	If you are installing to an NT/2000/XP workstation or server, make sure that you are logged in as an Administrator.

•	While performing the installation, Help can be accessed at various stages of the process if required.

Selecting a Set-up Type

Choose NetSupport Manager for the required language variant. This will start the install program.

Next Step

Installing NetSupport Manager


Installing NetSupport Manager

NetSupport Manager Setup Program

The Setup program Welcome screen will appear.

Please read the information on the screen carefully, before proceeding with the installation.

Click Next to continue.

NetSupport Licence Agreement

The NetSupport Licence Agreement will be displayed. Please read the Licence Agreement carefully and select I Agree and click Next to continue.

If you reject the Licence Agreement, (I Disagree) click Cancel. NetSupport Manager will not be installed and you will be directed to Exit from the install program.

Licence Information

Enter your NetSupport Licence details as supplied with the product and click Next.

Existing Installation Detected

Select Installation Type


Existing Installation Detected

This screen will appear if a copy of NetSupport is already installed on the workstation.

You can choose to:

•	Overwrite the existing installation.

Overwrites the existing version of NetSupport, in the folder specified at the top of the screen. Existing configuration files, *.ini, *.nsm and *.scp, for example, containing details of Known Clients, Groups and Scripts, will be retained for continued use.

•	Install in a new folder and keep your existing settings.

You may prefer to keep the existing installation in the folder specified at the top of the screen, and choose a different folder for the new installation. The existing configuration files will be copied to the new location.

•	Create a new installation.

Installs the new version of NetSupport in the required folder but does not retain existing configuration files. If installing in a different folder, the existing version will remain on the workstation, you may want to manually delete these files after the workstation has restarted.

Select the required option and click Next.

Select Installation Type


Select Installation Type

Determine the components to install on each workstation by selecting one of the three available installation types.

•	Typical Installation

Installs all the components that a Control User would generally need. Excludes the Gateway and NetSupport School components.

•	Client Only

Enables the workstation to be remote controlled.

•	Custom

Enables you to individually select the mix of components that are appropriate for the workstation. Control and Client are selected by default but you can de-select either component if it is not required.

Destination Folder

By default, NetSupport will be installed in the folder C:\Program Files\NetSupport Manager.

Note:	If an existing installation was detected, you may have chosen to install in a different folder. Click Browse to choose the required location.

Click Next to continue.

Completing the Installation


Completing The Installation

Start Installation

To start the installation, click Next. To change any of the previous selections, click Back. To quit the installation, click Cancel.

Notes:

•	If you have changed your Windows 2000 Local Security Policy Settings for unsigned driver installation behaviour, you may experience problems when running a NetSupport Client.

•	If you have elected to install a Client, Set-up will make the required amendments to your System.INI and or registry, to load the Client as Windows initialises.  NetSupport will not replace any of your existing Drivers.

Installation Complete

This final screen confirms that the installation has been successful.You can choose to create a desktop icon for the Control.

Run Client Configurator

At the end of the installation process, you will have the opportunity to run the Client Configurator. This enables you to set basic Client information and security. If the Configurator is being installed as one of the selected components, you will be able to access more advanced configuration options.

Note	NetSupport can be fully integrated with Microsoft’s Systems Management Server. If the NetSupport installation process detects the presence of the SMS Administration Console, you can decide whether to include the integration. If you select Yes, please refer to the README file ‘SMS Integration.TXT’ after the installation has completed for more information. The file can be found in the NetSupport Manager program folder.

Click Finish to exit the Setup program. Remove the CD and restart the workstation.

Note:	If you chose to install the Gateway component, the Gateway Configuration dialog will appear. This primarily allows you to create a security key for the Gateway.

See also

Installing Remotely on multiple workstations

Uninstalling


Installation Components

If you have selected Typical Installation, all components excluding Gateway and NetSupport School are installed. If you have selected Custom, you can choose the components individually to suit the requirements of each workstation.

Client	Install this component on workstations you want to remote control.
Control	Install this component on workstations that will be taking control of Client workstations. It is recommended that the Client component is also installed in order to use the full range of NetSupport functions, for example Show.
Scripting	Install NetSupports integrated Scripting and Scheduling suite. Create scripts to automate manual tasks and schedule them to run at specific times. Ideal for overnight updates.
HelpFiles	Install on-line Helpfiles, providing information and guidance on all NetSupport functions and features.
Configurator	Client settings and security are established using the Client Configurator. Basic settings can be entered at the end of the installation process but to set more advanced options, install the Configurator component.
Remote Deployment Utilities (Supported on XP/NT/2000 only)	The Deploy Utility enables you to perform multiple NetSupport Manager installations without the need to visit each individual workstation.
Gateway	NetSupport’s Gateway feature provides a means of connecting Clients and Controls across the Internet, thus delivering web based remote control without the need for modifications to existing Firewall configurations. There is no direct connection between the Client and Control, all data is passed via the Gateway. The Gateway component can therefore be installed independently of the Control and Client. If you choose to install the Gateway component, the Gateway Configuration dialog will appear after the installation has finished.
School Components	Installs a full working copy of NetSupport’s training tool NetSupport School.
Note:	NetSupport provides exceptional multimedia support. The NetSupport Video Player enables you to run video files on Client workstations, enhancing training sessions and demonstrations. This component is installed by default.

If you do not want icons to be created for the selected components,  un-check the Create Icons For Selected Components box.

See also

Select Installation Type


NetSupport Deploy

The NetSupport Deploy Utility provides Network Administrators with the facility to install and configure NetSupport on multiple workstations without the need to visit the machines individually.

You are provided with a view of your Network, allowing you to pick and choose which workstations you want to deploy to.

Note:	NetSupport Deploy is currently only supported on Windows XP*, 2000 or NT workstations.

*Specific information on how to deploy to machines running XP, can be found on our website at:  www.netsupportsoftware.com/support/search_kb.htm

With NetSupport Deploy you can:

•	Remotely Install a NetSupport package on multiple workstations simultaneously.

•	Create and download specific Client Configurations to multiple workstations.

•	Remotely update NetSupport License details on multiple workstations.

•	Remotely Uninstall a NetSupport package from multiple workstations simultaneously.

See

NetSupport Deploy - Getting Started

Pre-define settings for a future deployment.


NetSupport Deploy - Getting Started

Installing the Deploy Utility

When installing NetSupport, select Typical Installation to install the Deploy Utility automatically. Alternatively, you can also choose it as part of a Custom installation.

Note:	NetSupport Deploy is currently only supported on Windows XP*, 2000 or NT workstations.

*Specific information on how to deploy to machines running XP, can be found on our website at:  www.netsupportsoftware.com/support/search_kb.htm

Planning

NetSupport Deploy is a powerful utility that makes installing NetSupport packages on multiple workstations a quick and easy process. However, while we endeavour to ensure that there are no limitations or incompatibility issues in the use of the software, it is recommended that a trial deploy is performed on a small number of workstations to ensure there are no conflicts with other similar products such as remote control or desktop security packages. In addition, for added security and protection you must have appropriate administrator rights for the machines you are deploying to.

Starting NetSupport Deploy

1.	Select NetSupport Deploy from your NetSupport Program Group.

2.	The NetSupport Deploy Main Window will appear.

See

Preparing a deployment


NetSupport Deploy Main Window

The Deploy Main Window is divided into the following sections:

Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains a series of drop down menus that can be used to access the various tools and configuration utilities for the deploy process.

Left Hand Pane

Contains three tabs, Network, Log Files and Security.

Network and Security Tabs

List, in a Tree View, the available Networks, Domains and Workgroups that can be selected for a deploy routine.

Log Files Tab

Lists, in a Tree View, a history of previous deployments.

Right Hand Pane

With the Network Tab selected, you are provided with a range of general information, machine name and platform for example, about the workstations located on the selected Network/Domain.

The Log Files Tab provides a breakdown of past deployments categorised by type.

The Security Tab also lists information specific to each individual workstation located on the chosen Network/Domain. In addition to the machine name, you will be able to identify the IP Address, determine if the machine already has a NetSupport Client installed and which version is running, whether the Client is password protected or has User Acknowledgement set. With this information to hand you can decide in advance which machines to include or exclude from the forthcoming deployment. For example, if a current NetSupport Client is already installed at some of the workstations you might choose to ignore it.

See also

NetSupport Deploy

NetSupport Deploy - Getting Started

Deploy - Preparing a deployment


Deploy - Preparing a deployment

Choosing Who To Deploy To:

1.	From the Main Window select the Network or Security tab.

2.	A list of available Networks, Domains and Workgroups will appear in the left hand pane. Expand or reduce the tree list by clicking on + or -.

Note: 	You can also deploy to specific IP Ranges by adding the appropriate address range to the tree. Select {Tools}{Add IP Domain} from the Menu Bar.

3.	Highlight the required group.

4.	Details of the workstations belonging to the selected group will appear in the right hand pane. Click between the Network and Security tabs to view specific information about each machine. You can change the appearance of the list view by selecting {View} from the Menu Bar.

5.	Select the workstations to include in the deploy routine. (You can use CTRL-Click or SHIFT-Click). Before deciding to include or exclude a workstation, you can view its properties by right clicking on the machine name.

Choosing What To Deploy:

You can choose:

 NetSupport Package.

 Client Configuration.

 NetSupport License File.

 Uninstall NetSupport.

See also

NetSupport Deploy - Main Window

NetSupport Deploy - Getting Started

Pre-define settings for a future deployment.


Deploy a NetSupport Package

With the required workstations selected:

1.	Choose {Deploy}{NetSupport Package} from the Deploy Main Window Drop Down Menu.

or,

Right click on the selected workstations and choose Deploy - NetSupport Package.

2.	The Deploy Summary dialog will appear.

This dialog provides a summary of the options you have selected for the deployment.  If a first time deployment, the text will appear in red to indicate that required information has not been entered. To enter or amend the information for the deployment, Click Properties.

3.	The Install Properties dialog will appear. Enter the properties for the deployment by selecting the five tabs in turn.

General tab

Options Tab

Acknowledgement Tab

Message Tab

Restart Tab

4.	When you have completed all five tabs, click OK to return to the Deploy Summary dialog. You can review your selections and edit if required.

5.	Click Deploy to commence the installation. A progress dialog will appear, enabling you to monitor the deployment as it installs on each workstation. The dialog has two tabs:

Log tab enables you to monitor the deployment as it reaches each workstation.

Status tab lists the stage the deployment has reached on each workstation. For example, the installation may be complete on one machine but still in progress on another.

6. 	Click Close to return to the Deploy Main Window when the installation is complete.

Note:	If you Close while the deployment is in progress, the installation will continue but the Log will not be updated.

See also

Deploy - Preparing a deployment

Deploy a Client Configuration

Deploy a NetSupport License File

Deploy - Remote Uninstall

Deploy - Log Files

Pre-define settings for a future deployment.


Deploy a Client Configuration

Using NetSupport Deploy, you can remotely deploy a Client Configuration file containing specific Client settings.

1.	Select the required workstations.

2.	Choose {Deploy}{Client Configuration} from the Deploy Main Window Drop Down Menu.

or,

Right click on the selected workstations and choose Deploy-Client Configuration.

3.	The Deploy Summary dialog will appear.

4.	Click Properties to enter the details for the deployment.

5.	Click Browse to specify the folder containing the Client Configuration file that is to be deployed. The default configuration file is CLIENT32.INI and is stored in the NetSupport installation directory.

6.	Click Edit to access the Advanced Client Configurator in order to make changes to the Configuration file. You can specify additional Client parameters if required. For example, this may be the location of an additional Configuration file to which you want to add specific user credentials (Name and password).

7.	For the new settings to take effect immediately, by default the Client Service will be automatically restarted after the deployment. If not required, uncheck the Restart the NetSupport Client service box.

8.	Click OK to return to the Summary dialog. You can view the contents of the configuration file by clicking on the file name.

9.	Click Deploy. A progress dialog will appear enabling you to monitor the status of the deployment.

10.	Click Close when complete.

See also

Deploy - Preparing a deployment

Deploy a NetSupport Package

Deploy a NetSupport License File

Deploy - Remote Uninstall

Configuring Clients

Deploy - Log Files

Pre-define settings for a future deployment.


Deploy a NetSupport License File

When installing a NetSupport package, a license file is sent to each workstation. However, there may be occasions when the license information needs updating. For example, you have purchased additional licenses and the license file needs updating to reflect this. By using NetSupport Deploy you can remotely update the file on user workstations.

1.	Select the required workstations.

2.	Choose {Deploy}{NetSupport License file} from the Deploy Main Window Drop Down Menu.

or,

Right click on the selected workstations and choose Deploy-NetSupport License file.

3.	The Deploy Summary dialog will appear.

4.	Click Properties to enter the details for the deployment.

5.	Click Browse to specify the folder containing the license file that is to be deployed. The default file is NSM.LIC.

6.	For the new settings to take effect immediately, by default the Client Service will be automatically restarted after the deployment. If not required, uncheck the Restart the NetSupport Client service box.

7.	Click OK to return to the Summary dialog. You can view the contents of the license file by clicking on the file name.

8.	Click Deploy. A progress dialog will appear enabling you to monitor the status of the deployment.

9.	Click Close when complete.

See also

NetSupport Licensing

Deploy - Preparing a deployment

Deploy a NetSupport Package

Deploy a Client Configuration

Deploy - Remote Uninstall

Deploy - Log Files

Pre-define settings for a future deployment.


Deploy - Remote Uninstall

Using NetSupport Deploy you can remotely uninstall a NetSupport package.

1.	Select the required workstations.

2.	Choose {Deploy}{Uninstall NetSupport} from the Deploy Main Window Drop Down Menu.

or,

Right click on the selected workstations and choose Deploy-Uninstall NetSupport.

3.	The Deploy Summary dialog will appear.

4.	Click Properties to enter the details for the deployment. The Uninstall NetSupport dialog will appear.

5.	Enter the properties for the deployment by selecting the four tabs in turn.

General tab

Acknowledgement Tab

Message Tab

Restart Tab

6.	When you have completed all four tabs, click OK to return to the Deploy Summary dialog. You can review your selections and edit if required.

7.	Click Deploy to commence the uninstall. A progress dialog will appear, enabling you to monitor the deployment as it uninstalls each workstation.

8.	Click Close when complete.

See also

Deploy - Preparing a deployment

Deploy a NetSupport Package

Deploy a Client Configuration

Deploy a NetSupport License File

Deploy - Log Files

Pre-define settings for a future deployment.


Deploy - Log Files

Log Files

When using NetSupport Deploy, information about each deployment, whether a package install, license update, configuration download or uninstall, is recorded. This provides a useful reminder each time you use the utility of what you have previously deployed. The information is stored in a Log File.

To view Log Files

1.	From the NetSupport Deploy Main Window, select the Log Files tab.

2.	In the left hand pane of the Main Window, increase or decrease the Tree View to see a description of each type of deployment, the date and time the deployment took place and the workstations that were deployed to.

3.	As you select an item from the left hand pane, itemised information about that deployment will appear in the right hand pane.

Printing a Log File

To print a Log File:

1.	Select the required Log File in the Tree View.

2.	Choose {Log}{Print} from the Deploy Main Window Drop Down Menu.

Deleting a Log File

To delete old or unwanted Log Files:

1.	Select the required Log File in the Tree View.

2.	Choose {Log}{Delete} from the Deploy Main Window Drop Down Menu.


Entering Deploy Settings In Advance

There may be occasions when you want to defer a deployment until a more convenient time of the day. With NetSupport Deploy you can prepare the settings in advance and choose when to perform the deployment.

Note:	You select the workstations to deploy to when you are ready to run the deployment.

To Prepare The Settings For A Future Deployment

1.	Choose {Deploy}{Configuration} from the Deploy Main Window drop down Menu.

2.	The Deploy List dialog will appear. Select the required Deploy Option. (Package, Client Configuration, License File or Uninstall)

3.	Click Properties and enter the required settings.

4.	When all settings are entered, click Close to return to the Deploy Main Window.

To Run The Deployment

1.	Select the workstations to Deploy to. See Preparing a Deployment.

2.	Choose {Deploy} from the Main Window Drop Down Menu.

or

Right click on the selected workstations and choose Deploy.

3.	Select the required Deploy option.

4.	The Deploy Summary dialog will appear, showing your pre defined selections. You can edit these if required.

5.	Click Deploy to start the deployment.

See also

Deploy a NetSupport Package

Deploy Client Configuration

Deploy NetSupport License File

Remotely Uninstall NetSupport


Deploy A NetSupport Package - Properties General Tab

Used to specify the NetSupport package to deploy and which components are to be installed.

•	Enter a description for the package being deployed. If left blank, the package name/version number will be used.

•	Click Browse and select the folder containing the NetSupport package to install. Ideally, this will be a folder containing a distribution copy of NetSupport.

•	Click Edit to specify the components to install. The Install Configuration Options dialog will appear.

When you have completed this dialog choose{File}{Save}.

Choose {File}{Exit} to return to the Install Properties dialog.


Deploy A NetSupport Package - Properties Options Tab

Use the information supplied in the Network and Security tabs to identify which machines may already have NetSupport installed, you can then choose to:

•	Ignore them by checking the Skip machines already running NetSupport box.

•	Update the machines with the latest version by checking the Update new or older systems to current version box.

•	After deploying the package, you can confirm that the Client is running by checking the Verify Client running after restarting box. Ensure that workstations are restarted automatically after the deploy for this option to work. See Restart tab.


Deploy A NetSupport Package - Properties Acknowledgement Tab

Consider whether the workstations will be in use when commencing the deploy. You can choose to:

•	Install NetSupport Immediately. No prompt will be received at the workstations being deployed to.

•	Warn user before installing NetSupport. The user will receive a prompt and needs to click OK for the install to commence. Users cannot cancel this.

•	User can postpone NetSupport installation. You can specify the number of times a user can postpone the installation. If the user does choose to postpone, they will be re-prompted at hourly intervals or the next time they restart the workstation whichever comes earlier.


Deploy A NetSupport Package - Properties Message Tab

You can specify a custom message to be displayed at each workstation while the installation is in progress.


Deploy A NetSupport Package - Properties Restart Tab

These options are only applicable if the target PCs require a forced restart to complete the installation.

•	Advise user to restart machine. At the completion of the deployment, a message will be displayed at workstations asking the user to restart the PC at the next convenient opportunity. Do not choose if above Note applies.

•	Insist user restarts machine. A message will be displayed at workstations, advising the user to restart the PC to complete the installation.

•	Force restart. At the end of the deployment, a message is displayed advising users that the workstation will be restarted. A time bar is displayed indicating how many seconds it is before the restart commences.

•	Automatic restart if not logged on. If the workstation being deployed to is not logged on, restart will commence automatically.


Remote Uninstall - Properties General Tab

Provides a description of the package being uninstalled.


Remote Uninstall - Properties Acknowledgement Tab

Consider whether the workstations will be in use when commencing the deploy. You can choose to:

•	Uninstall NetSupport Immediately. No prompt will be received at the workstations being deployed to.

•	Warn user before uninstalling NetSupport. The user will receive a prompt and needs to click OK for the uninstall to commence. Users cannot cancel this.

•	User can postpone uninstall of NetSupport. You can specify the number of times a user can postpone the uninstall. If the user does choose to postpone, they will be prompted the next time they restart the workstation.


Remote Uninstall - Properties Message Tab

You can specify a custom message to be displayed at each workstation while the uninstall is in progress.


Remote Uninstall - Properties Restart Tab

To completely remove all NetSupport files, the workstations must be restarted.

•	Insist user restarts machine. A message will be displayed at workstations, advising the user to restart the PC to complete the process.

•	Force restart. At the end of the deployment, a message is displayed advising users that the workstation will be restarted. A time bar is displayed indicating how many seconds it is before the restart commences.

•	Automatic restart if not logged in. If the workstation being deployed to is not logged in, restart will commence automatically.