[THIN] Re: Office apps show my user having documents locked
- From: "Rick Mack" <Rick.Mack@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 18:04:51 +1000
Hi Nick,
You've got a few alternatives:
1) Don't do anything and watch for interesting changes to appear in your
environment. Since interesting means helpdesk calls by annoyed users, this
isn't a good option.
2) Manage the shadow key. Your idea of using the shadow key and propagating it
isn't a bad one, but you have to make a point of making sure you know what's
being propagated or you're back to option 1. There are 2 utilities (RDT/SDT
read date time, set date time from
http://www.brianmadden.com/attachments/rdt-sdt.zip) available to help you query
and set shadow key timestamps.
3) Delete the shadow key and manage application settings some other way. This
is really the preferred path. It takes a bit more work, but you then know
exactly what you're dealing with. You can use scripting, group policies (with
custom policy templates) or desktop management software from Appsense,
Triceart, Scriptlogic etc.
Scripting includes:
- using the legacy application compatibility scripts that come with TS
- applying reg files or using regini on logon or custom Kix or VB scripts. This
lets you manage settings basd on groups etc
The "easiest" way to manage application settings is with a produc like Appsense
Environment Manager (or the Tricerat etc equivalent). Sorry if I've missed
anyone but there are quite a few good products out there.
If you can't go that way, then custom group policies are a good alternative.
Use regtoadm (NUTS http://vizhar.mvps.org/files/nuts.exe, freeware) to get a
basic skeleton of the custom policy just by exporting and converting a registry
key. Then use regshot (http:// <http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadload965.html>
www.majorgeeks.com/downloadload965.html, freeware) to find out what really
matters (find out what you can keep and more importantly delete) and if you're
serious about improving on the custom policy, get a copy of the ADM template
editor (http://www.sysprosoft.com, costs about $60).
regards,
Rick
Ulrich Mack
Volante Systems
________________________________
From: thin-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of Nick Smith
Sent: Sat 25/03/2006 17:31
To: thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [THIN] Re: Office apps show my user having documents locked
Rick,
Thanks for this very clear explanation. I've got away recently with single
servers but am now planning for multiple TSes. Presumably I therefore need to
export the Shadow Key to any new servers. How does the time-stamp on this work?
Presumably it takes the time of the import of the key and compares it to the
user (roaming profile) settings? How do I prevent the Shadow key overwriting
user settings in this scenario?
Nick
If a software installation is done in "install" mode and it updates any keys
under HKCU\Software, the values will be copied to
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal
Server\Install\Software (otherwise known as the shadow key). If an admin
session is in "install" mode when the admin runs up an changes any app
settings, these settings will also be copied to the shadow key.
When a user runs up an application, if the appropriate registry values
aren't already there or they are older than the values in the shadow key,
they'll get populated from the shadow key. In single server scenarios, this is
can be a really usefull way to propagate application settings. However if the
shadow key isn't identical on all your servers and has a different timestamp on
each server, then things can get interesting.
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