Many organizations use Microsoft Group Policies to centrally manage settings for the users. With the Group Policies of Microsoft you can centrally manage the Desktop Viewer settings. PADS4 has implemented group policies for the Desktop Viewer application to allow the administrator to specify the settings from a central location and push these settings towards 1 or more users or user groups. The policies set by the administrator are automatically detected by the Desktop Viewer options window and those options are disabled in the user interface. This way it is possible to push a set of predefined settings towards users, and still give them the opportunity to change some settings locally. The pushed settings are stored in the registry under: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Net Display Systems\PADS4 The ‘normal settings’ are stored in the registry under: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Net Display Systems\PADS4 To configure the usage of Group Policies for PADS4 Desktop Viewers Installation PADS4 Server First Install PADS4 Server (or more components, but the policy files are installed along with the Server installation). Install Group Policy Template file Copy PADS4.admx from C:\Program Files\Net Display Systems\PADS4\PolicyDefinitions to the Domain Policy Definitions directory on the domain server (usually: \FQDN\SYSVOL\FQDN\Policies\PolicyDefinitions) Policy Translation File Copy PADS4.adml from C:\Program Files\Net Display Systems\PADS4\PolicyDefinitions to the Domain Policy Definitions Language directory on the domain server (usually: \FQDN\SYSVOL<FQDN>\Policies\PolicyDefinitions\en-US) Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) Open the Group Policy Management Console application and next open the Group Policy Editor. Select User configuration / Policies / Administrative Templates: Policy definition / Net Display Systems / PADS4 / Desktop Viewer PADS4 Property Table for the Desktop Viewer:Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pads4.com/llms.txt
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| Setting | Options | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PADS4 Backup Server | Backup Server Address | String | Name/IP address of the Backup PADS4 Server. |
| Port Number | Number | Portnumber on which the PADS4 Server listens for incoming calls (default is 7237). | |
| PADS4 Domain | Domain | String | Custom Domain (default is PADS). |
| Enable PADS4 Screensaver on startup | Screensaver timeout | Number | Interval in milliseconds after which the screensaver is started when the user did not hit the keyboard or mouse. |
| Show logon screen on resume | Boolean | After the screensaver is active and the user moves the mouse or hits the keyboard, the logon screen can be shown. | |
| PADS4 Hostpath | Hostpath | String | The hostpath as specified in the PADS4 Server settings (default PADS4) which is used for the http synchronisation. |
| Http portnumber | HTTP port number | Number | Portnumber used for synchronisation and specified in the PADS4 Server settings (default is 8080). |
| Identification mode | Identification mode | Selection | Identification mode when connecting to the PADS4 Server. |
| User permissions | User can view messages | Boolean | User can open the messages window. |
| User can open options window | Boolean | User can open the options window to change settings (not recommended with group policies). | |
| User can exit application | Boolean | User can exit the application. | |
| User can check for software updates | Boolean | User can check for software updates (not recommended with group policies). | |
| User can start screensaver | Boolean | User can change the screen saver settings. | |
| Scale presentations to fit into the destination window | Scale presentations to fit into the destination window | Boolean | Resize the content to the window size. |
| Maintain aspect ratio | Boolean | Preserve the aspect ratio. | |
| PADS4 Server | Server Connection | Selection | Configures how the clients connect to the Server. When set to automatic the Server Address must be left empty. |
| Server Address | String | Name/IP address of the PADS4 Server. | |
| Port Number | Number | Portnumber on which the PADS4 Server listens for incoming calls (default is 7237). | |
| Content Library Synchronization | Synchronization Mode | Selection | When automatic is selected, the content is synchronized. |
| Content Library storage folder | Mode | Selection | When set to Manual specify the destination. Use variables like %APPDATA% to change the location to user specific folders. |
| Content library folder | String | folder location where the PADS4 content library is located. | |
| Tray icon appearance | Appearance | Selection | The way the Desktop Viewer is visible in the windows tray. |
| Use local timezone for scheduled presentations | Use local timezone for scheduled presentations | Boolean | Use the timezone of the local system for determining when to show a message. |