Given this blog is new, and the actual development work on v1.7 is well under way, this first progress update does include everything we've changed so far. Further updates will be posted as we progress.
Interface
The interface has completely changed. It's now styled on the EIS standard for Windows software. In addition, the contents can be resized to suit your needs.
Site structure and objects
We have implemented a station/user list which sits next to the site structure. This is adaptable and can show both users and computers at the same time. This allows for a brand new search feature to be available on the main window. All this has been completed already. The search has an 'instant' feature which can be enabled and will perform live searching whilst you type.
On the subject of the user list, we have moved completely away from showing anything other than the users and computers structure in the treeview. Those items which have been made redundant are now in their own respective toolbar buttons.
Shared Folders
The entire Shared Folders feature has been completely renovated. You can now create, edit, rename and delete shared folders from directly within manager. Everything is handled backend so when you rename the folder, it updates the network as well.
Drive Mappings
Drive Mappings have been severely updated. Inheritance is now supported and the drives show its parent. Drives can be edited, changed and deleted and when created, you get the option of selecting a Shared Folder you have created in manager or you can enter your own UNC paths.
Printers
This is possibly the biggest update of the Manager tools. It has been completely re-written from ground up. Inheritance is now fully implemented. This means when you setup a printer, you can see where it is allocated to. In addition, Printers now supports Active Directory, which means you no longer have to know the UNC path of the device itself. Setting the default printer is now highly reliable and can be changed very easily. You no longer need to edit the configuration files manually.
Application Status
We have implemented a better Application Status dialog which gives you an overview of success or failures immediately. You no longer need to scroll through all stations to see if any have failed. Instead if a single device has failed to install a package, the room will show you an error has occured.
Online Help
The help system is moving to a online version which is always the latest version. It's integrated into the main form still, but can be resized as needed.
Alerts and Messages
All alerts and messages whilst you use the application are done in a collapsable alerts pane. For important or error type messages, a normal message box will be shown, but where success has occured it will tell you this in the alerts pane. The easiest way of describing this is to imagine the Windows event log, in Manager, but the messages only relate to the tasks you are doing.
Profiles management
The profiles management has been rewritten to now support roaming profiles. Users profiles can be changed quickly and easily to either mandatory or roaming.
Groups and Membership
The groups manager has been updated to allow creating, editing and deleting of groups. In addition, users and other groups (called group nesting) can be added and removed as required. This is all done on the fly with immediate effect.
Progress is underway to allow users to be added to groups in the users properties window. This part is not complete yet, but the fundamentals are there.
Importing Users
The import engine is also being re-written and is in development now. Currently you can import from CSV with any structure of your chosing. The Import Wizard allows you to assign the required fields to your data. Once you decide on what to import, you can then decide how to make up the username and password for the user based on the information you import.
Not only that, but we are planning on implementing a feature to import directly from SIMS. The Import Wizard shows this as an option but will be disabled until it is written. This part is planned for v1.8.
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