Windows Desktop Shortcut Organiser.

[Guest]

Hi

 

I'm wanting some advice!

 

I want to restrict the use of the start menu when students login, they should only have access to various software for their lessons.

So have been hunting all over the internet for desktop organizers and seen a few, one i like is called "Fences" by Stardock but its aimed at end users only. i cant see a way of centrally managing this.

 

my question is this

 

how do you lot manage your software for your students?

and is there any program that you would recommend that is like Fences but can be managed centrally!?

 

im running windows 7 x64 throughout school

[6Foot2]

Why not redirect their Start Menus with Active Directory and put what you want in the redirected target folder? [if on a client-server network]

[mattyboy711]

Agree with Dave...we have the redirection folders stored in a central location which are copied to each machine at start-up (only if there are changes), C:\Redirects

 

We then set the redirect via GP

[LeMarchand]

Due to never/not yet being able to get the actual Start Menu to redirect or work via XML, the pupils here have a redirected desktop:

 

 

Makes it easy when something new is added to just drop the shortcut into the folder on the network.

[6Foot2]

...the pupils here have a redirected desktop...

 

Staff and students have a redirected desktop here too. However, there are only two icons on the desktop: Documents [shortcut to the users' network documents share] and a Notepad icon where the name tells the user [and us] which AD security group they belong to. Sometimes useful when assisting over a remote connection.

[vladker]

I use a combination. We redirect both desktops and start menus, but with a twist.

 

On every image I place all the locally installed software shortcuts into a folder called local. There is also a network folder containing networked resource shortcuts which is copied down at boot. I then have a script that merges the two. Therefore the user only gets the software I want them to see, without dead links, and all organised lovely .

 

This approach allows me the flexibility to do whatever I need (add shortcut for a few days, special case one install machines etc) with ease. Script was a pain though. I have further differentiated between staff and students. Add in App-V, its been a fair while since I last actually installed something manually..

 

Redirecting the desktop to a read only source also prevents people saving to the desktop.

[Guest]

I think i really need to sit down and really think about all this. was hoping not to go down the redirected folders route! been there before and hated the sync center.

 

might end going with what @vladker said above. sound really good

thanks to all with your advice!

[Davit2005]

+1 for Redirected Start Menu and Redirected Shared Desktop.

 

You can turn of the Sync if not needed.

[Guest]

Hi @LeMarchand

 

Where did you get your desktop wallpaper from? I'm loving it. would like something similar for my students

or do you know any where that will do similar wallpapers or themes?

[LeMarchand]

Hi @LeMarchand

 

Where did you get your desktop wallpaper from? I'm loving it. would like something similar for my students

or do you know any where that will do similar wallpapers or themes?

 

It's something the LEA team created, so I'm not sure about sharing it directly. That said, it's just a 125x50 pixel tile. IIRC the hard part was deciding how to cut the tile so that it would all fit together regularly. I'm thinking it might be possible to create a stamp with the text centred, then create a larger picture spaced the way you want and finally cut a tile out of that picture. Ours has the word at top left, the next line down and a bit of free colour below.

 

Mind you, at my other schools I just use the school logo on a "school colour" background. The school colour here is red, which is a bit strong for wallpaper IMHO.