Auto start server/program
Auto start server/program
- Subject: Auto start server/program
- From: "Ray Boaz" <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 15:48:55 -0700
I am a Tech. Support person at a middle school supporting a staff of 70
with 900+ students and 300+ computers (mostly Macs). We use a commercial
grading/attendance program district wide that teachers must use to report
daily attendance and grades (at least) at the end of a grading period.
The high/middle schools have on site servers (some kind of pc running some
version of Windows but it works) and all elementary schools networked to
the district office servers (1 each for 5 schools). All computers are set
to automatically log on to the correct server at start up/reset. Server
logon is as a registered user requiring an ID but no password (unique ID
and PW to access the program is the protection (?)). If the server is
mounted, a teacher starts the application, enters ID and P/W and does the
g/a things. If the server icon is not on the Desktop or is lost for
whatever reason (we now have a major reconstruction going on) an error
dialog reports a configuration problem (see dialog box below). After a
full school year of this, I still get calls about the program is broke
and would like for the new year to go better.
This is my first try at AppleScript and do not plan on any further use of
it. Sooooooooo here is what I am doing in a highly imperfect way:
tell application "Finder"
try
with timeout of 30 seconds
open location "afp://userID:@IP#/volumename"
end timeout
end try
try
mount volume "afp://userID:@IP#/volumename"
end try
activate
end tell
tell application "Finder"
activate
Select file "filename" of folder "foldername" of startup disk
open selection
end tell
It works like I want it to buuuuuuut only under good conditions (if only
the world was perfect). If the server is mounted it just zips to open the
application - which I would like for it to do in all cases. If the server
is not mounted but available, the "Connect" dialog box opens and you must
click the "Connect" button to continue. Neat that it does not give an
error dialog that the server is already mounted!!! The big problem is if
the server REALLY is NOT available (on line) takes a long time (30
seconds or longer) to time out and is no help/misleading when it gives the
following error message -
[Image:File0.pct]
I need help on how to solve these problems:
1. Test for network connection (access to server) maybe it really takes
30 seconds to check?
2. Report status Server Unavailable and halt OR continue script want
to put in MY message
3. Automatically log on server (no hold up at Connect) dialog box
4. Anything to make it better!!!
If you have done or are doing this kind of script and are willing to share
I WILL TAKE IT!
I want the teachers to always use this script to take them to the program
and not worry about the server unless the physically connection really is
NOT made!
Ray Boaz, Technology Consultant
John Muir Middle School
408-314-3702
So far its been a battle of wits - but my time will come!
[demime 0.98b removed an attachment of type image/X-macpict which had a name of File0.pct"; x-mac-type="50494354"; x-mac-creator="74747874]
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