{"id":2189,"date":"2013-03-15T14:28:26","date_gmt":"2013-03-15T14:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/?p=2189"},"modified":"2014-09-15T09:03:19","modified_gmt":"2014-09-15T13:03:19","slug":"tmug-2013-developers-roundtable-transcript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/?p=2189","title":{"rendered":"TMUG 2013 Developers Roundtable Transcript"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0This year at the TMUG Conference, end users got the opportunity to ask Tim Caine (Chief Technology Officer) and Randy Cannady (Director of Engineering)\u00a0about some of the new features in the works for the ThinManager Platform 7 release later this year, offer suggestions\u00a0to improve functionality\u00a0from an end user perspective , and discuss future features and options. \u00a0Questions were also fielded online from various ThinManager users around the world. \u00a0The following is a list of those questions and the responses provided at the Developers Roundtable.<\/p>\n

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1)\u00a0Employees oftentimes lose their badges and must obtain new ones.\u00a0 When this occurs, the Plant Engineer would like the right to change their badge number.\u00a0 This requires a long process of contacting \u201cthe keepers of the servers\u201d to make the change.\u00a0 The request is to provide a function via the TermMon ActiveX Control to programmatically change the badge numbers of non-administrative Term Secure users and to automatically log the date\/time when that user\u2019s badge number has changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis is part of a series of suggestions that all have to do with updating TermSecure<\/a> users via various different means.\u00a0 Currently, this fix can’t be implemented because there is no active directory integration. \u00a0Once we have that, maybe this requirement would change a little bit, but I would think we could allow that to happen through the ActiveX control in some manner. \u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n

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2) What I see lacking in ThinManager is the ability to assign privileges for the various functions within ThinManager for various groups of terminals, display devices, servers, etc.\u00a0 Our facilities are segmented into different areas with different individuals responsible for those areas.\u00a0 Ideally, we would like to create an organizational tree within TM that mirrors our facilities\/responsibilities and use Active Directory groups to manage access to ThinManager functions for the various parts of the organizational tree.\u00a0 Just like a directory tree, you should be able to select inheritance, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, we\u2019ve been tossing around the idea of making it more discrete in terms of your security settings within the tree.\u00a0 Right now, when you run ThinManager it inherits the Windows user you are currently logged in your PC as it applies security to what you can do in ThinManager.\u00a0 But if you can modify one terminal you can modify every terminal.\u00a0 If you can modify one display client, you can modify them all.\u00a0 There is no way to make that more fine grained and we have been talking about various ways of doing this but it is an implementation problem with the database, not a problem with the idea.\u00a0 We have to figure out how to get around that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>And up to this point, this would be a condition when you had multiple ThinServers.\u00a0 If this requirement existed now each person would have their own ThinServer and be responsible for administering their own ThinServer. This looks like more of a request to say we want to have one ThinServer but have two separate groups be able to use it so each can edit their own things so the way you would accomplish this now is each person would install their own version of ThinServer and ThinManager, and this is kind of combining that together.\u00a0 It is something we\u2019ve have talked about numerous times, and there was a way to accomplish it by having separate ThinServers but it has been requested in the past and I think this, along with some of the Active Directory integration, that this would be a logical thing to try to accomplish.\u00a0 It might not be in the next version, but in a version after that it could be an extension of the Active Directory functionality we are going to have in ThinManager 7.0.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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3) I know you currently have no plans for a Windows 8 WinTMC<\/a> application.\u00a0 However, is it on your road map as an option?\u00a0 Also, what about other Tablet OS besides Apple?\u00a0 And have you considered a generic Browser based client ability?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe are planning on releasing it for the Android Platform as a client base, not actually ThinManager, though we would consider it if there was enough interest.\u00a0 When Windows comes out with the new Non RT Surface Tablets you will be able to use them.\u00a0 But if you want to use a Windows 8 Tablet you\u2019ll have to get the \u201cnon RT\u201d version.\u00a0 As far as having a local browser on the terminal we have discussed it but one of the problems is the expectation of a browser.\u00a0 Can it run Active X?\u00a0 Can it run Flash?\u00a0 All of these plugins people use now in a browser have become an expectation, which might not be realistic.\u00a0 We can, however, implement a Microsoft Active X with RDP but only with Internet Explorer.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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4) Can I run ThinManager on a virtual machine?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer –\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 Also, there is a Virtual Client ability (Virtual Terminal) under VMware or HyperV you can set up a virtual machine with the smallest hard drive you can give it and the most minimal settings and PXE Boot so if you are doing testing you can run a virtual terminal on a tablet or laptop and it will behave exactly like a terminal on the floor.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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5) I would like to know if there is a way to use the MultiMonitor<\/a> feature of the latest MS RDP version on Thin Manager terminals. We have applications that run over two screens that we are unable to run in two distinct RDP sessions.<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCurrently we can span two monitors in a single session or two different sessions on two monitors.\u00a0 When you span a single session across two monitors and you maximize the application it goes across both monitors.\u00a0 The way Microsoft implemented this is when maximizing an application in a dual monitor configuration it maximizes on one monitor, allowing two maximized applications on two monitors.\u00a0 We have discussed adding the Microsoft support for multiple monitors to our RDP client.\u00a0 There are two components to this, and both will require manually resizing one or the other.\u00a0 Depending on the application, when you restart the session, it might or might not have to be manually resized.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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6) Can we rotate the large, wide screen monitor to take advantage of a 90 degree rotation 1050×1680 resolution that would nicely tile two panels vertically using all of the screen real-estate?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere is definitely something we can do there to create a setting allowing the user to choose between landscape or portrait mode in a single display mode.\u00a0 However, it will create an issue when you combine that with MultiMonitor and that gets a lot more difficult to allow for multiple configurations.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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7) Touchscreen technology and LCD technology changes so rapidly – how I can always be sure that the touchscreens I’m buying will be compatible through ACP ThinManager?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe one way to always be certain is to send it to us and we will test it. \u00a0Part of the challenge we face is that touchscreen manufacturers are not very good about specifying what controller is in their unit.\u00a0 The manufacturer of the actual product isn\u2019t nearly as important as the touch controller that is in it.\u00a0\u00a0 Most manufacturers don\u2019t make their own controllers, so finding out which controller is actually being used in the unit is the difficult part.\u00a0 That is why we have hardware partners, because we know what is being used in every model they produce and certify as ThinManager Ready.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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8] Can you add a feature to easily copy\/duplicate a display client, so we can create new\/similar display clients for troubleshooting purposes?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe have discussed adding convenience features like this.\u00a0 We have generally stayed away from things like Drag and Drop because of the inherent risk via operator error.\u00a0 However, we can add a feature to copy settings and allow for it to be populated elsewhere.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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9) Can you add TermMon access groups to ThinManager tree to make them easier to see and manage?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe certainly could.\u00a0 The 7.0 version of ThinManager will have a different user interface that looks completely different so you will have many more options for what you can see in the tree.\u00a0 You are going to be able to add or remove nodes from the tree to personalize your view depending on what is important for you to see.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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10) Can you include the ability to add descriptions to cameras (like with thin clients) and allow terminal\/camera descriptions to be visible in tool tip when hovering over in tree?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRecently we added descriptions to terminals and we can add them to any piece of the tree.\u00a0 And I like the tool tip idea.\u00a0 After all, what good is a description if you can\u2019t get to it easily.\u00a0 We could also add it to Terminal Servers.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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11) Can you add to iTMC<\/a> functionality by adding support to terminal shadow display clients and the ability to use the integrated iPad camera as barcode scanner (the scanned barcode would wedge to app with focus)?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe are already working on adding iTMC support to terminal shadow display clients.\u00a0 As far as using the iPad camera for iTMC applications, we have had that request a few times just to be able to see what someone else is seeing at a different location from another terminal or in the control room and it is something we are looking at.\u00a0 The scanner would be difficult because it would have to be integrated as a keyboard wedge, but we are looking into different ways to integrate barcode scanners.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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12) Can you include “Idle Time” and “Log On Time” to User Sessions in the ThinManager tabs?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t looked at this in four or five years, but I remember not being able to add this feature.\u00a0 It may be available now, but my first impression is that I would have added this if I could have.\u00a0 We will check to see if it is something we can integrate into the newer ThinManager versions.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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13) Can you add the ability to disable a display client instead of the whole terminal server?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat has been requested in the past and we are working on adding some more disable functionality from within the tree, and not only display clients but possibly disabling other items that are in there.\u00a0\u00a0 There are many nodes in the tree where we can add this. With the new MultiStation features it is much more likely that you will want to disable a particular station as opposed to the whole client.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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14) Terminals are most easily viewed in \u201cTerminals\u201d part of tree, but the default for this is a hierarchy of inherited features. \u00a0A Terminal \u201cArea Model\u201d would be a really convenient way to organize\/view clients based on area or geography within a single facility or across multiple sites. \u00a0Is this change possible?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can organize the tree based on location or department as opposed to inheritance.\u00a0 And then you can also make an organization flow for part of the list before it drops into inheritance but that is the only thing I can think of under the current configuration.\u00a0 Perhaps we could add a location or description tag to a terminal and then be able to search or filter the tree based on the tag.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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15) Can you add the ability to \u201cbulk edit\u201d everything as an alternative to the GUI?\u00a0Most useful for me would be Users, Terminals, and Access Groups. \u00a0Perhaps you could add some sort of an Excel\/CSV export\/import tool.<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve had various requests similar to this.\u00a0 Our biggest problem with this is that the settings are fairly interconnected and it is pretty hard to manually edit a configuration and end up with a valid configuration and we don\u2019t want the end user to end up with a big mess.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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16) Can you add the ability to shadow multiple display clients simultaneously and tile view a multiple terminal shadow session? \u00a0I often need to reboot multiple terminals, but want to check to make sure the terminals are not in use\u00a0first. \u00a0Currently, I have to individually shadow each terminal, then reboot\/restart\u00a0all\/selected terminals.<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen we release ThinManager 7.0 later this year, you will be able to \u201ctear off\u201d a Shadowed tab and tie it to the specific thin client in the tree.\u00a0 So as you move around the tree it will stay on the terminal as you move it around.\u00a0 If you tear away multiple shadows, we can allow you to put them together and tile them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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17) To minimize predefined display clients, I often have one display client and use the override settings to make minor customizations, however I can only have one instance of the display client per terminal. Could multiple instances of a display client be included on the same Terminal?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 We have talked about it and we have yet to find a way to make this a simple implementation.\u00a0 But we will continue to look at it after the ThinManager 7.0 release.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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18) Can you add the ability to query the ThinManager database to create custom reports?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can do that.\u00a0 Right now there is a report tab that takes an html file and either an SQL query or a tickle script to create a custom report to enhance or customize the report tab feature.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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19) What is the status of support for Windows 8 and Windows 2012 Server?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt works fine with both.\u00a0 The only hiccup in that is the install program that we are using is InstallShield and the version we are using doesn\u2019t play nice with either so you have to run it in compatibility mode to get it installed but that problem should be fixed in the next Service Pack update (ThinManager 6.0 SP3).\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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20) I understand it may be not possible to enable PXE boot over a wireless connection, but would it be possible to arrange some support for wireless terminals without the need for a local wired connection to a router?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer-\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can PXE Boot over a wireless connection, but the device has to have PXE support via the manufacturer.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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__________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n

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To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0This year at the TMUG Conference, end users got the opportunity to ask Tim Caine (Chief Technology Officer) and Randy Cannady (Director of Engineering)\u00a0about some of the new features in the works for the ThinManager Platform 7 release later this year, offer suggestions\u00a0to improve functionality\u00a0from an end user perspective , and discuss future features and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,66,59,57],"tags":[179,125,149,109,108,3,77,30,106],"class_list":["post-2189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-news","category-real-world-thinmanager","category-release","tag-developers-roundtable","tag-multimonitor","tag-pxe","tag-remote-desktop-services","tag-terminal-services","tag-thin-client","tag-thin-client-management","tag-thinmanager","tag-windows-server"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2189"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2757,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions\/2757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}