 MakeAlias v1.10
Table of Contents
MakeAlias License Agreement:
Distribution of this software: MakeAlias is Shareware. You are hereby licensed to make any number of backup copies of this software and documentation. You can give the copy of the software to anyone or distribute the unlicenced version of the software providing that no additional fee is charged and the package files are not modified in any way.
Disclaimer of Warranty: This software and the accompanying files are supplied as is and without warranties as to performance or merchantability or any other warranties whether expressed or implied. Because of the various configuration options and purposes for which this tool may be used, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered. Any liability of the seller will be limited exclusively to product replacement.
Acceptance of Terms: Installing and using MakeAlias means the acceptance of these terms and conditions of the license. If you do not agree with the terms of this license you must remove MakeAlias files from your storage devices and cease to use the product.
September 2003
What Is MakeAlias?
MakeAlias is a RAD application. MakeAlias allows you to select objects such as Folders, Conferences, Calendars and even Documents and Messages, and alias them to selected users desktops.
Requirements
MakeAlias requires:
- FirstClass Server version 7.1 or higher
- RAD 2.50 Build 2376 or higher
- UserBase 1.30 or higher
FirstClass Server version 7.5 SP3 and UserBase 2.50 are recommended.
What Is Userbase?
UserBase is a server RAD application. There is no user interaction with the application directly, although the various features and options can be configured using the UserBase Monitor tool, which is installed in the Monitors folder (FirstClass Services folder on pre-FC7.0 servers).
What Does Userbase Do?
Every time a user account is created or changed, every piece of information contained on the user profile form is extracted out and recorded in an Access database.
When a user logs in, a check is made to see if they already have a record in the database; if not they are added. When a user is deleted, they are removed from the database. MakeAlias pulls the information about which groups users belong to out of the UserBase database. Userbase is available free from www.myaddons.com
Installing MakeAlias
Follow the steps outlined below to install MakeAlias:
1. Check the above requirements section to ensure you met them.
2. Stop your FirstClass Server
3. Run (double-click) on the MakeAlias Setup.exe application program and follow the on-screen prompts.
4. When prompted for the location to install the application, select the root of the volume containing the primary FirstClass Post Office folder (FCPO). \FCPO\ will automatically be appended to the installation path by the installer.
5. When the installation process has completed, restart your FirstClass Server. Several batch files will be processed. A short-cut to the MakeAlias application will be created in the FirstClass RAD\Built Applications folder, and this manual created in the Online Books area of the Online Help. Online help is also added to the Forms section of the Online Help.
Registering MakeAlias
The unregistered version of MakeAlias will display a maximum of 10 users in each list. The registered version can display up to a maximum of 1,100 users in each list. A registration key can be purchased from www.myaddons.com.
Configuring MakeAlias
Once installed, MakeAlias can be customised. You might want to set the starting path for a group of users, or display fewer users in a list. You can also customise several of the descriptive titles in the application itself. The Registration Key also gets added to the configuration (.ini) file.
When you installed MakeAlias, a document called "MakeAlias.ini" was created in the "FirstClass RAD\Settings Files" folder. By default, the "FirstClass RAD" folder is on the Admins Desktop.
The .ini file is separated into three sections - [Setup], [Groups] and [Labels]. If an .ini file cannot be found, the default (application set) value is used.
[Setup]
The following keywords are supported in the [Setup] section:
Keyword: MembersOnly
Possible Values: 0 or 1
Default: 0
Description: Controls the list of groups available for selection. If set to 0, then all the groups on the server will be available. If set to 1, only the groups that the person running the application is a member of will be available. This setting works in conjunction with the [Groups] section of the .ini file.
Keyword: MaxListSize
Possible Values: 1 - 1,100
Default: 1,100
Description: The maximum number of names that can be displayed in each list. If the application is not registered, this setting is ignored.
Keyword: Registration
Possible Values: Valid Registration Key
Default: 0 (Unregistered)
Description: Activates the application an enables larger numbers of user accounts to be configured at the same time.
Keyword: LogLevel
Possible Values: 0 - 3
Default: 1
Description: The level of detail to display on the Server Console.
Keyword: WriteToLogs
Possible Values: 0 or 1
Default: 0
Description: If set to 1, the logging is also written to the Statics Log files; otherwise it is just written to the server console.
Keyword: UserBasePath
Possible Values: A valid path to the UserBase database
Default: FCPO\FCRAD\DATA\USERBASEDB.MDB
Description: If you have installed the UserBase database in an alternative path, you need to supply the full path to the database, enclosed in quotes e.g.
"E:\Userbase\UserBasedb.mdb"
Keyword: ProtectAttributes
Possible Values: 0 or 1
Default: 0
Description: If set to 1, the object attributes will be set to read only - making them unchangeable by the users. If EnableAttributes is not set to 1 by default, then the attributes options will be unavailable. When both ProtectAttributes and EnableAttributes are set to 1 by default, the object attributes are viewable but not changeable.
Keyword: EnableAttributes
Possible Values: 0 or 1
Default: 0
Description: If set to 1, the "Use Attributes" option is ticked by default. When "Use Attributes" is ticked, object attributes such as the Horizontal and Vertical positions are used when creating the aliased object on the selected users desktops.
Keyword: Path
Possible Values: Any valid path relative to the Admin Desktop
Default: ""
Description: By default MakeAlias starts at the Admin Desktop. You are not always going to want to give users access to all objects on the Admin Desktop. The Path attribute can be used to set a specific (more targeted) starting point. When used in conjunction with multiple .ini files (see below) Path can be used to provide specific solutions to different groups of users. Refer to the Variables section below for more options with the Path attribute.
[Groups]
The [Groups] section can be used to control the list of Privilege Groups the user has access to. Put the names of the groups you want to include and/or exclude under the [Groups] heading, one group to a line. A + in front of the group name means you want the group included, while a - means you want the group excluded e.g.
[Groups]
+WebMasters
-All Users
The above list would include the WebMasters group, but exclude the All Users group.
The Groups section works in conjunction with the MembersOnly setting above. If MembersOnly = 1 groups with a + sign in front of them will be added to the list of available groups, even if the user isn't a member of the group.
[Labels]
The following keywords are supported in the [Labels] section:
Keyword: Title
Default: MakeAlias
Possible Values: Anything
Description: Changes the title window and application title displayed while running the application
Keyword: Search
Default: S E A R C H I N G
Possible Values: Anything
Description: The text displayed while the list of users is being loaded.
Multiple .ini Files
Multiple .ini files can be created. This is particularly useful for giving different users access to different Privilege Groups to manage.
To specify a different .ini file to the default, you need to add a startup switch in the application stationary item that you use to launch the application.
Unprotect the stationary item and double-click on it to open it. In the "Application Name" field, you should see MakeAlias. At the end of this, enter a space, followed by +I:"<.ini file name goes here>" e.g. if you've created a new document called "Jimmys Setup" MakeAlias becomes MakeAlias +I:"Jimmys Setup"
The new .ini file needs to be created in the "FirstClass RAD\Settings Files" folder.
Path Variables
The Path attribute supports two variables - <USERID> and <USERNAME>. If <USERID> is contained in a Path string then it is replaced with the FirstClass userid of the user running the application. Likewise, if <USERNAME> is in the Path string, it is replaced with the users full FirstClass name e.g.
Say you want to give your users their own folder in which they can place objects to alias to other users. You create a folder for each user based on their userid, under Private Conferences. The full path to the folder for a user with a userid Jimmy from the Admin Desktop would be "Private Conferences\Jimmy". The Path string "Private Conferences\<USERID>" would be translated to this when the user runs the application. This becomes the default root folder for the user i.e. they can't navigate up to a higher level - only down.
| 