Problem:
Older, "Dictaphone Walkabout Write" software, and subsequent hardware, will not run and is not supported in a remote desktop environment.
Expectations:
-SD cards must be read/writeable from the local session to the remote environment (integrated card readers & ensuring the drives were shared easily allowed for this).
-Local serial port (com0) foot pedals must control dictation software.
-Software must be able to be ran simultaneously by multiple users.
Environment:
Thin "User" client (replaced shell) Win 7 x64
Server 2008 R2 x64 as a RDP Terminal Server (software host)
-Individual User Accounts
Serial Port based foot pedal
1/8 audio jack, microphone & headset
Solution:
Install dictaphone software
Open the software's .cfg file in notepad and change the data path to be an obscure (non used) drive letter (like, w:\)
close & save the file. Change the .cfg file's properties to read only.
Create a .bat file with the following command
subst %userprofile%\dictation w:\
include it as a startup script for those users that will be working with the dictation software. This will create a 'temporary' drive letter that points to a dictation folder in their %userprofile% folder -- you may need to create the dictation folder for each user.
Other issues:
Getting the foot pedals to work: In my instance the foot pedal was serial and went through a component of the dictation device. Simple allowing for remotefx on the remote server, local machine, and ensuring the correct settings of the serial port in both the local machine and the the remote desktop (mstsc.exe) options, toallow the serial port to come through. Guide to enabling remotefx- hint, look for the global policy
You may need to edit the cfg file of the dictation software to point to \\tsclient instead of com0, but com0 may come through appropriately.
We had to purchase several serial cards as most computers didn't have them. We used cards that advertised no software to install, to minimize headache.
There was an issue where the IRQ had been reserved by something else and so com0 became com1. In order for the single .cfg to work, it must be correct for all users, so if the foot pedals aren't working, check out the serial card on the local side to ensure it is set to use com0.
Showing posts with label Server 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Server 2008. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Terminal Server CD Burning
Project:
Enable CD burning from a remote desktop to a local machine. Where The terminal client is the main mode for the user.
Edited: January 28, 2014
Environment
Client: Windows, a full client. Should be applicable xp-7.
Solution 1:
To enable cd burning without any extra software,
I simply shared of the local CD burning drive so that they could access it via their remote session.. This can be achieved by sharing the cd burning folder located at %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\CD Burning or by sharing the local C drive with the remote client and making a shortcut to //tsclient/c/users/%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\CD Burning"
A shortcut should be mapped or linked to the users remote desktop.
users then drop the files they wish to burn into this folder, insert a blank disc and the local side autoplay would handle the rest.
Keep in mind:
-the differences between local OS's (users vs documents and settings, ect.).
-The user must also remember to remove the old files after they have burned their final copy.
-May be helpful to remind users that this is on the local side, as clicking it behind the desktop is sometimes confusing.
Should the users accidently click on their remote desktop, hiding the autoplay, simply ejecting and reinserting the disc will have it pop back up.
Solution 2:
To enable cd burning WITH extra software.
In my case, we had replaced the shell of a specific user account with a simple script to launch their remote desktop client. The cd burning software would not launch because explorer.exe was not loading.
CD burning in this instance was a bit of a hassle, especially since most modern network cd burning software won't run without admin privileges and that wasn't something we could provide our terminal users.
So, we created a very simple website that would load instead, with links pointing to bat files which would then load the programs from the local machine. This would launch either remote desktop or the cd burning software depending on the choice the user made, which was configured to point to their user folder, so they could place items on the server in a folder, then switch.
edit 7/9/2013:
In other words, create a .html that has links to whatever software you want to use. I also created simple .bat scripts to launch various programs and services. I put all this on the sever.
Then, I would make a login script which loads this html file.
In my instance, I changed the shell from the terminal services script I had created, to this html file. I also set it up so that if a user were to close this html file, windows would log out. (The original script called for a logout when remote desktop was closed.)
This allowed users to access an advanced CD burning tool while being less complicated than using Windows.
I could easily add more programs and features to the html launcher.
Example:
>Root Folder
>> login.bat
>>> @echo off
start /wait "title" "C:\scripts\logon\HTML\Launch.html"
shutdown /l
>>Logon/Html Folder
>>> Contains a webpage.html with two image/links, one to "launch remote desktop", the other "Launch CD burn"
these links point toward two bat files which look like:
>>cdburn.bat
>>>echo "Starting CD BURN XP"
echo @off
"C:\Program Files\CDBurnerXP\cdbxpp.exe"
del "%userprofile%\downloads\cdburn.bat"
Enable CD burning from a remote desktop to a local machine. Where The terminal client is the main mode for the user.
Edited: January 28, 2014
Environment
Client: Windows, a full client. Should be applicable xp-7.
Solution 1:
To enable cd burning without any extra software,
I simply shared of the local CD burning drive so that they could access it via their remote session.. This can be achieved by sharing the cd burning folder located at %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\CD Burning or by sharing the local C drive with the remote client and making a shortcut to //tsclient/c/users/%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\CD Burning"
A shortcut should be mapped or linked to the users remote desktop.
users then drop the files they wish to burn into this folder, insert a blank disc and the local side autoplay would handle the rest.
Keep in mind:
-the differences between local OS's (users vs documents and settings, ect.).
-The user must also remember to remove the old files after they have burned their final copy.
-May be helpful to remind users that this is on the local side, as clicking it behind the desktop is sometimes confusing.
Should the users accidently click on their remote desktop, hiding the autoplay, simply ejecting and reinserting the disc will have it pop back up.
Solution 2:
To enable cd burning WITH extra software.
In my case, we had replaced the shell of a specific user account with a simple script to launch their remote desktop client. The cd burning software would not launch because explorer.exe was not loading.
CD burning in this instance was a bit of a hassle, especially since most modern network cd burning software won't run without admin privileges and that wasn't something we could provide our terminal users.
So, we created a very simple website that would load instead, with links pointing to bat files which would then load the programs from the local machine. This would launch either remote desktop or the cd burning software depending on the choice the user made, which was configured to point to their user folder, so they could place items on the server in a folder, then switch.
edit 7/9/2013:
In other words, create a .html that has links to whatever software you want to use. I also created simple .bat scripts to launch various programs and services. I put all this on the sever.
Then, I would make a login script which loads this html file.
In my instance, I changed the shell from the terminal services script I had created, to this html file. I also set it up so that if a user were to close this html file, windows would log out. (The original script called for a logout when remote desktop was closed.)
This allowed users to access an advanced CD burning tool while being less complicated than using Windows.
I could easily add more programs and features to the html launcher.
Example:
>Root Folder
>> login.bat
>>> @echo off
start /wait "title" "C:\scripts\logon\HTML\Launch.html"
shutdown /l
>>Logon/Html Folder
>>> Contains a webpage.html with two image/links, one to "launch remote desktop", the other "Launch CD burn"
these links point toward two bat files which look like:
>>cdburn.bat
>>>echo "Starting CD BURN XP"
echo @off
"C:\Program Files\CDBurnerXP\cdbxpp.exe"
del "%userprofile%\downloads\cdburn.bat"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)