Readme/Pre-Book WinClient

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Pre-Book Client for Windows



Copyright © 2007, Userful Corporation. All rights reserved.


Contents

Intended Audience

System and network administrators for a Windows-based local area network.

Summary

Pre-Book Client for Windows is the client software for use with Userful's Pre-Book Server software on the Microsoft Windows platform. It is the program that sits between the user and the operating system on Windows workstations and controls the user's access to computing resources.

The Pre-Book Client for Windows needs to connect to a Pre-Book Server for authentication and for loading system configurations. The location for the Pre-Book Server is specified during the setup process. The settings can then be modified afterwards using the prebooksetup.exe setup tool which is accessible from the Start Menu.

Requirements

The program is designed to take advantage of the security offered by the underlying operating system. Thus it needs at least a recent NT-based Windows to function properly. This includes Windows 2000/XP/Vista.

Old Windows 9x-based version are not supported and may fail to work. This includes Windows 95, 98, and ME.

Installation and Administration

  1. While logged as an administrator you need to create a user account for the Pre-Book Client. This will be the default account in which your customers will be accessing the controlled computing environment provided by the Pre-Book Client for Windows. The account should not be a member of the administrator group. Preferably, you should set it up as a restricted or standard user account.
  2. Server identification page.
    Server identification page.
    Double-click on the installation file prebook-winclient-2.0.exe to begin installation. Follow the instructions on the screen carefully.
  3. When you reach the setup page where the installer asks you to configure the location of the Pre-Book Server, fill the following values correctly:
    • Pre-Book Server: The host or IP address of your local Pre-Book Server.
    • Port: The port of your local Pre-Book Server. If the Pre-Book Server is running within a Web server, you should set this value as 80 (default HTTP Web server port).
    • URI: If the Pre-Book Server process is running within a Web server, you should set this to the path of the Pre-Book Server script.
    • System ID: The unique name of this workstation. See Pre-Book documentation for details.
    So, for example: If your Pre-Book Server is accessible from http://rhn.userful.ca/userful-pcres/XMLRPC then the settings should be:
      • Pre-Book Server: rhn.userful.ca
      • Port: 80
      • URI: /userful-pcres/XMLRPC
  4. Client information page.
    Client information page.
    The next page will be the client information page. It will prompt you for the account information you created in Step 1. Enter these values correctly. The OpenKiosk client needs this information for the auto-login feature in Windows. Auto-login bypasses the standard Windows login dialog and drops the user straight to the OpenKiosk client dialog running in the account created in Step 1.
  5. Some establishments may choose access numbers to authenticate the clients while others may prefer membership accounts. Or you could enable both methods for authentication. A library may choose the name "barcode" or "library ID" for the access number. In this page, the OpenKiosk client login dialog can be customized to match the setup of your establishment. The login and password labels can be changed to whatever names you may call the login/password combination. To force your users to use anonymous access numbers, or if you do not want membership accounts, you may chose to disable the password field by un-checking Enable password.
  6. Click Install and reboot the machine if the installer instructs you to do so.

Customer Usage

The login interface should be self-explanatory. When the client is unlocked, the customer can view their remaining time on the timer-box located just slightly above the system clock on the taskbar. Right clicking the Pre-Book system tray icon, which is shaped like an hourglass, can hide the timer-box. To log-off from their Pre-Book accounts, users either use the standard Windows log-off on the start menu or use the log-off menu from the Pre-Book system tray icon.

Uninstallation

Steps:

  1. While logged in as a Windows administrator, navigate to the uninstall option of the pre-book client program group using the Start menu: Start > Programs > Prebook Windows Client 2.0 > Uninstall.
  2. Follow the instructions on-screen and reboot the computer if prompted to do so.

Getting Help and Reporting Bugs

Please e-mail project author abdiel [at] userful.com

Disclaimer


THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR HOLDERS INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, OR ANY SPECIAL INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY. THE ENTIRE RISK IS ASSUMED BY YOU. WE HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CLAIMS BY A THIRD PARTY. OUR MAXIMUM LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR THE PRODUCT.





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