Discussion on:

Customize logon scripts with KiXtart 2001

You can further enhance KixTart by using ScriptLogic (www.scriptlogic.com). This provides a GUI for KixTart and sends Login problems to the Recycle Bin. Using the predefined functions of ScriptLogic with a carefully prepared custom KixTart script, we have automated every aspect of the login procedure (Outlook profiles, Screensaver, wallpaper, mapped drives etc.) which has been running for well over a year on our network. As a bonus, if you use roaming NT profiles, and suffer from extended logintimes/constant errors, this utility reduces the time to a few seconds and I cannot remember the last time that I saw a "The domain controller cannot be..." type error!!
Definately worth checking out!!

All right, it may appear at first glance that Kix is a bit dated, but when I started using it a few years ago, it cut the support calls by half, and made log-on related errors easier to handle.

If someone doesn't get kix flash up on the screen (and I usually leave it on screen for about 10 seconds) then the user immediately knows there's a problem.

Also, if the user has got a problem and doesn't have some of their shares mapped (for example they became disconnected for some reason, or after a server reboot) a simple link to \\\netlogon\kix32.exe will sort it out.

And last but not least, it's easy to write the script, and there's plenty of documentation on it.

There's more than enough good things about this little program to excuse the old fashioned image

I found a more powerful and configurable solution than kixstart. Perl.

Perl scripts can be ran at login,as a service, or on trigger-events (at) and can be easily configured to self-update from a central script server in your company. I use a perl script to migrate new login scripts to all workstations automatically, delete undesirable applications (realplayer,winamp,elf-bowling....) migrate new versions of apps to the workstations, automatcially mount user-specific network shares, add new printers to user profiles and more...

Active-state perl is a great package and offer's huge flexibility over kixstart.

As I'm open minded (or is that a hole in my head?) I'd like to look at what you've suggested. Could you supply some resource links similar to those in the article to get me going?

Cheers

Here is a menu I use on a citrix server so I can publish just the script and not all 13 programs.

CLS
use J: \\Funds\rewin
;
Dim $Program[14], $choice
$choice = ""
;
; Load array with programs
;
$Program[1] = "N:\Rewin\reconfig.exe"
$Program[2] = "N:\Rewin\Refilemn.exe"
$Program[3] = "N:\Rewin\Rememscn.exe"
$Program[4] = "N:\Rewin\Reexport.exe"
$Program[5] = "N:\Rewin\Refast.exe"
$Program[6] = "N:\Rewin\Remail.exe"
$Program[7] = "N:\Rewin\M_center.exe"
$Program[8] = "N:\Rewin\Reprofil.exe"
$Program[9] = "N:\Rewin\Requery.exe"
$Program[10] = "N:\Rewin\Research.exe"
$Program[11] = "N:\Rewin\Reports.exe"
$Program[12] = "N:\Rewin\Reevents.exe"
$Program[13] = "M:\Wtsrv\Winhelp.exe N:\REWIN\rewin.hlp"
;
; Change drive and directory
;
GO N:
CD "\REWIN"
;
; Change color and draw box
;
color c/n
BOX(0,0,24,79,grid)
;
; Change text color and enter data in box
;
COLOR b+/w
AT (2,27) "Raiser's Edge"
COLOR w+/n
AT (4,3) "1"
AT (6,3) "2"
AT (8,3) "3"
AT (10,3) "4"
AT (12,3) "5"
AT (14,3) "6"
AT (16,3) "7"
AT (5,33) "8"
AT (7,33) "9"
AT (9,32) "10"
AT (11,32) "11"
AT (13,32) "12"
AT (15,32) "13"
AT (17,33) "X"
color w/n
AT (4,5) "Configuration"
AT (6,5) "Constituent Management"
AT (8,5) "Membership Scanning"
AT (10,5) "RE_Export"
AT (12,5) "RE_Fast!"
AT (14,5) "RE_Mail"
AT (16,5) "RE_MailCenter"
AT (5,35) "RE_Profiles"
AT (7,35) "RE_Query"
AT (9,35) "RE_Search"
AT (11,35) "Reports"
AT (13,35) "Special Events"
AT (15,35) "The Raiser's Edge for Windows"
AT (17,35) "Exit"
at (22,27) " "
;
; Get input from keyboard
;
:get_choice
at (22,57) " "
at (22,57)

GETS $choice
if Ucase($choice)="X"
goto "END"
endif

$choice=Val($choice)

if $choice 13
goto "get_choice"
endif
SHELL $Program[$Choice]
GOTO "get_choice"
:END

Sorry to say that the link to the site for download brings: page not available.

Author, can you please check the link.

Dr. O. Szpiro

Like dos boxes, I suppose? But wake up, VBscript is around and can do anything that Kix32 can, and more. And support is all over the www.