Do you allow desktop saving?

[TomStanley]

Hi everyone,

 

We don't allow saving to the dsktop, but some staff are saying they would like it.

We don't use roaming profiles, and have explained how roaming profiles take ages to log on, etc. What does everyone here do regarding saving to the desktop?

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[sparkeh]

Nope, desktop is locked and everything is saved to the server.

Why do they want to be able to save to the desktop?

[EvLPhenom]

We use mandatory profiles here and they have no write access to the desktop, only place they can write to is shared areas and home directory.

[elsiegee40]

Mandatory profiles for students. Roaming for staff, but no desktop saving - the profiles get far too big.

 

use the excuse of "slowing the network" and "slow login times"

[ajs]

I was given a system where the suppliers had just used normal roaming profiles with very little lockdown (except for disabling Student desktops) and when I asked about making them mandatory or locking down staff desktops, was told that it was better to educate the staff.

 

After a few years, and a few members of staff repeatedly saving things to their desktop and making their logons take at least 10 minutes, I ended up redirecting the desktop to a folder on their home area and since very few of them ever deleted anything once they'd saved it, problems vanished :-)

 

If I was doing it from scratch though I would give them mandatory profiles and make them save everything to their home area.

[TomStanley]

The reason they say they want to save is for links to the internet. I'm glad people on here think the same as we do (i.e longer saving times etc).

[ajs]

The reason they say they want to save is for links to the internet. I'm glad people on here think the same as we do (i.e longer saving times etc).

 

Surely that's what IE Favourites are for?

[strawberry]

You could redirect there desktops, but ultimately they are being lazy. They just want what they're used to at home and have little idea/caring that what they are doing is bad practice. These are people that will tend to buy a new machine when things get a little slow.

[elsiegee40]

We DO have a "Today's Lesson" Folder shotcut in the middle of the student desktop. The folder is located on Public$ which can be accessed by everybody

 

The teachers manage this themselves and use it to drop documents or website shortcuts they want students to use in their lesson. I made it quite clear that it was up to them to manage it and clear it after their lesson... and amazingly they do!

[jsnetman]

We allow it on staff laptops but it is a reall pain GB's of cr*ap on them, pupils no way and mandatory profiles.

[plexer]

Roaming profiles for staff with their desktop redirected to a folder called desktop in their my documents.

 

Ben

[srochford]

You could redirect there desktops, but ultimately they are being lazy. They just want what they're used to at home and have little idea/caring that what they are doing is bad practice. These are people that will tend to buy a new machine when things get a little slow.

 

I'm sorry, but this is the sort of thing that gives IT Support such a bad reputation!

 

It's not "bad practice" on their part to use a computer in a way which is convenient for them. It's bad practice on your part to not make the effort to set up redirected desktops. In that case, "desktop" just becomes a folder in the user's home directory and causes no logon slow down etc.

[AngryTechnician]

I redirect the Desktop folder to a subfolder of their network My Documents. Same for Favourites, actually. Trying to tell people not to save there is like talking to a brick wall, so I just solve the technical problem and let them deal with their own disorganisation.

[TimH]

We have mandatory profiles but redirect "Desktop" beside "My Documents" within their space on the network. i.e.

\\ourschool\..\jsmith\My Documents

\\ourschool\..\jsmith\Desktop

 

Likewise favourites and for staff appdata.

 

No issues with copying at logon etc. the only problem being that icon locations aren't maintained between logons.

 

tim

[PiqueABoo]

Absolutely not.. it's in everyone's (mine & their) interest if all their junk is kept in My Docs.

 

I want to minimise logon overheads and I endeavour to accommodate as seamless as possible offline use, so my desktops are redirected to a one of a set of local read-only folders replicated from server at comp startup. The desktop may or may not have some 'managed' shortcuts on it and different group's desktops get directed to different local desktop folders.

[kili]

Roaming profiles for staff with redirected desktop to \\server\Teachers Desktop$ read only desktop stops them saving to it. I place shortcuts to resources that they need to get to on the desktop "because it's a pain having to open explore".

 

Students no profiles mandatory or otherwise just a locally created profile when they logon.

[TechSupp]

Is it easy to set up saving teachers (don't want kids sving to desktop) desktop to a folder in their own area? Anything to look out for permissions wise etc. Their My Documents is redirected already but I didn't set it up. Teachers have roaming profiles but pupils are mandatory with a redirected desktop.

[strawberry]

I'm sorry, but this is the sort of thing that gives IT Support such a bad reputation!

 

It's not "bad practice" on their part to use a computer in a way which is convenient for them. It's bad practice on your part to not make the effort to set up redirected desktops. In that case, "desktop" just becomes a folder in the user's home directory and causes no logon slow down etc.

 

Your quite right. Untill they take said laptop away from the server, which of course can be worked around using offline files but thats just going to cause more inconvenience when they lose control of it.

 

Point is their percieved convenience isn't always going to give them the results they expect/desire sometimes they just need to be educated to make the best of what they have.

[maniac]

For staff their Desktop is redirected to a subfolder of their my documents, so it makes no difference where they save stuff then. It's quite easy to do, and works a treat and keeps profile sizes tiny.

 

Only problem is gives us is sometimes when syncronising it complains that files are open, as to windows it looks like this folder is being browsed by a user when it's displaying its contents on the desktop, but apart from that it works really reliably.

 

Students have a locked desktop as part of their mandatory profile which they can't save to.

 

Mike.

[sted]

I'm sorry, but this is the sort of thing that gives IT Support such a bad reputation!

 

It's not "bad practice" on their part to use a computer in a way which is convenient for them. It's bad practice on your part to not make the effort to set up redirected desktops. In that case, "desktop" just becomes a folder in the user's home directory and causes no logon slow down etc.

 

meh tbh id say using the desktop for anything other than short lived junk is or why have a documents folder why not put all work of the desktop? Same as you wouldnt put all your actual paperwork on your actual desk you put in in a file cab and only have what you need nowish on the actual desktop

 

Roaming profiles for staff with their desktop redirected to a folder called desktop in their my documents.

 

Ben

 

 

same here. I dont make use of the desktop much myself as anything other than a temp dump so in a school probably has drivers/patches etc that i need now but will be deleted in a day or two at home a few shortcuts and odd pdf file i keep looking at