Autologon with Remote Desktop

General Macro Scheduler discussion

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zeiddev
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:37 pm

Autologon with Remote Desktop

Post by zeiddev » Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:45 pm

Hi,

I have a Macro Scheduler installed on a Windows 2008 server. A script is due to run and I have switched on the Autologon feature. I am connecting to the server with remote desktop. I have tried logging off hoping that the autologon feature will log the script back in. I have also just tried disconnecting from the remote desktop but neither methods seem to work. The script does not start.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

David

zeiddev
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:37 pm

Post by zeiddev » Fri Jul 23, 2010 9:07 am

So I managed to get the Autologon to work but realise that I am having the same issues as highlighted in the FAQ entry: Why do UI macros fail when I disconnect or minimize the Remote Desktop/Terminal Services session?

I am trying to get the macro scheduler to open up notepad and write a timestamp entry, save and close. It then runs another program and goes to certain areas of the program using keyboard shortcuts. After a process has run it shuts the program down again using keyboard shortcuts.

Clearly using keyboard shortcuts does not work in this scenario.

Does anybody have a workaround for this problem. I could write a program (I am a software developer) that edits the text file and saves it but it would not be possible to do the same with the other program.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

David

gdyvig
Automation Wizard
Posts: 447
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:57 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by gdyvig » Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:08 pm

Hi David,

When you minimize or close a RDP session the OS thinks now one is watching so why bother displaying the desktop UI. It also does this for security reasons. No UI based automation tool will work - the keyboard, mouse, windows controls, and display do not exist.Try doing a screencapture - it will capture a totally black image.

There are few workarounds. One is to reduce the size of your RDP window and move it out of the way on our desktop. Another is to RDP using the /console or /admin switch so Macro Scheduler and the application are running under the console session.

Gale

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