Sharing Settings and Configuration Information

To make Hyena easier to use between many administrators or available for use from a centralized location, several different options are available to support sharing settings and configurations:

• Most of Hyena's settings that are set under the Tools->Settings menu option can be saved to an external file and then referenced by other users.  Hyena also supports a command line switch for retrieving configuration information from this file.

• All of Hyena's configuration information, including domain and other objects added through Object Manager, including Active Directory and WMI queries, and other configuration information can be shared with other users.
   

Sharing Settings and Options

To enable Hyena to use a shared settings file, enter the full directory path to the shared settings file on the Tools->Settings->General->Shared Settings (.INI) File Name field.  In general, you should use a unc or network path.  To create the shared settings file, check the Save all of these settings into the shared settings .INI file checkbox on the Tools->Settings->General dialog.  After clicking OK, the settings will be written to the designated file.  Hyena uses a standard Windows .INI file format.

Other users who want to use these settings need to oly enter in the file's path and name into their Shared Settings file setting.  (Tools->Settings->General->Shared Settings (.INI) File Name)

Please note the following:

• Hyena will permit multiple users to share the same file, however, only one user should ideally be permitted to make changes to the file.  The checkbox to save to the settings file is OFF by default.

• About 95% of Hyena's settings are written to the shared settings file, including home directory template information.

• If a shared settings file is being used, but the settings are changed in Hyena and NOT saved to the settings file, the settings will be written to the local user's registry only.

• Hyena only reads most shared settings during program startup.   Therefore, a user will need to exit and restart Hyena to enable any new shared settings.  However, home directory template information is read each time they are used from the shared settings file.

• To prevent unauthorized users from modifying the shared settings file, place the shared settings file on an NTFS partition and set the file permissions appropriately.

• If only a file name is entered for the settings file (no directory path), Hyena will store/read the shared settings file from the <profile directory>\SystemTools\Hyena directory.  If a profile directory cannot be determined, the file will be stored in the installation directory.   If a full directory path is entered, Hyena will store the settings file in the specified directory.

Sharing Configuration Files

Hyena will attempt to store and read all configuration information from the user's default profile directory.  Unless specified otherwise for the user account, this directory location is typically in "C:\documents and settings\<username>\application data\".  Hyena will create a \SystemTools\Hyena folder, and store all Object Manager files, licensing (Register_key.dat), and optionally, shared settings, in the profile area.  This "Roaming Profile" feature is enabled automatically, as it is a requirement for Windows 2000/XP certified software.

However, the location of these files can be specified and changed under Tools->Settings->General->Path to Object Manager and other shared configuration files, permitting others to share the same configuration information, or if storage of configuration information in the default profile directory is not desirable.  Note that changing the default file location will NOT copy the files to the new location.  The files to be shared must be copied by the user.  To determine which files to copy and their names, see below.

Hyena Configuration File Search Criteria

Hyena determines where to look for a given configuration file by first looking in the location specified under Tools->Settings->General->Path to Object Manager and other shared configuration files.  If the file cannot be found at that location, then Hyena will look in the user's profile directory (C:\documents and settings\<username>\application data\systemtools\hyena).  If this directory cannot be determined, then Hyena will default to using the installation directory.

Note that the file location information is determined on a file-by-file basis, allowing selection over which files are to be shared for maximum flexibility.

Hyena Configuration Files

Object Manager Files - The object manager files are managed through File->Manage Object View. For more information on the specific purpose of each of Hyena's Object Manager configuration files, see the Hyena Configuration File Storage Information topic.

tool_cmds.dat - Contains the list of custom tool commands as configured under Tools->Settings->Tools.

Sharing Other Files

Other Hyena configuration files can be shared as follows:

register_key.dat - This file contains the Hyena licensing information, which is also stored in the registry.  Hyena will look for this file in the user's profile directory, and if not found there, then in the Hyena installation directory.  If the file cannot be found in either location, then the registry locations will be searched.  If still not found, then Hyena will prompt for licensing information.

Wake-On-Lan (WOL) - The network card addresses used for all WOL functionality can be specified under Tools->Settings->WOL.  For more information on sharing the WOL configuration file, see the WOL topic.

Remote Control Manager (STRCM) - The SystemTools Remote Control Manager utility (STRCM), which is used on all Remote Control functions, stores its settings in one or more .RCM files.  These files by default are stored in Hyena's installation directory, but the location can be changed under Tools->Settings->Remote Control.  See the Remote Control Settings topic for more information.

Exporter Pro Configurations - The location of the configuration files used for Exporter Pro can be specified under Tools->Settings->Reporting.  These files by default will be stored in Hyena's installation directory.  See the Exporting topic for more information about Exporter Pro.

Microsoft Access-based Reporting - The location of the .MDB file used for all Access-based reporting can be changed under Tools->Settings->Reporting.  The Hyena installation directory is used by default.  The path and location of msaccess.exe can also be changed as well; by default Hyena will look in the directory specified in the registry for Microsoft Access.

Specifying a Shared Settings File on the Command Line

Hyena can be run with the name and path to a settings file on the command line, such as:

Hyena \\server\share\dir\config.ini

If the settings file is modified while Hyena is running, it can be re-loaded without exiting Hyena by simply accessing and closing the Tools->Settings dialog and clicking OK.