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INSTALLATION | EVALUATION | MANUALS Help Manuals For CyberTime
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CyberTime 6 Customer Monitor
Type : Workstation Application
What does it do? Why would you use it?
The Customer Monitor is the second of the two main applications of CyberTime (The other being the Accounts Manager). This is the application that will monitor and control workstation usage. After it is installed, you can have it start up automatically in one of two ways. The first way is to place a shortcut of the Customer Monitor (located under the C:\CT6\Workstation subfolder) and place it in the Windows STARTUP folder. The other option is to place an entry for the file in the windows WIN.INI file. In the WIN.INI file, you will need to place a reference to CyberTime under the 'run=' command. The line will look like this: run=C:\CT6\Workstation\Customer_Monitor.exe .
When the Customer Monitor starts up, it will begin an initialize procedure. Several diagnostic and procedural operations will occur. A visual readout will display what operations are currently being processed.
The first operation to be performed will be to determine if there are any records in the ONLINE database that still exist as a result of a workstation crash. If there are any entries, they will be removed.
The next operation will check your user license information and see if a valid license code exists. A series of encryption key routines are run to double and triple check validity. If the code is valid, the evaluation notifications on the Customer Monitor are removed.
Next, if the Accounts Manger has ANY applications listed in the Workstation Menu, the Customer Monitor will search the entire set of drive letters available to the workstation to locate it. If it finds it, it will place a line for the application on the user's menu when he or she logs in. If it can not find the application, CyberTime will not place an entry for it in the user's menu. A warning will be placed on the screen to alert the system administrator that the application entered in the Workstation Menu section of the Accounts Manager does not exist.
The next operation involves the advertisement HTML files. In order for CyberTime to display these files to the workstation and to help network performance, the files are not read from the server when needed each time, but rather are copied to the local workstation. This will ultimately decrease network traffic, as then files will need to be send through the network only one.
IMPORTANT! ALL Ad files must be stored in the server's C:\CT6\Server\Ads folder.
IMPORTANT! The HTML code used for the ads must utilize path entries that are local to the subfolder. When the Customer Monitor runs, it will copy these files FROM the server TO the local workstation. Therefor, any explicit references to files or links OUTSIDE the storage folder on the server will result in incorrect display of the HTML file. (Example : A reference to a graphic, such as the one with the default ad included with the package should appear as '<IMG SRC="graphic.gif">'. An incorrect reference, such as <IMG SRC="C:\MyAds\graphic.gif"> WILL NOT WORK.
Once all the files are copied for the advertisements, a similar copy operation occurs for the workstation's login screen background and disclaimer features.
Next, the Customer Monitor will load the list (if any exist) of applications that have been specified for tracking. Once this has been completed, workstation security will be set up. It is at this point that a Windows 95/98 system will have CTRL-ALT-DEL, ALT-F4 and ALT-TAB disabled, in addition to the task bar being removed from the desktop. The advertisements HTML files will be displayed and the rotation of the ads will start. A button will appear over various parts of the screen asking the user to "Click Here To Login". This messages moves to help prevent screen burns from prolonged exposure to the same message.
If a user clicks the message, the advertisements are disabled and a new login screen appears. The user must enter a valid user name and password, issued by the Accounts Manager application.
NOTE! CyberTime DOES NOT utilize the Windows user account system. Cyber-Time uses its own user account system to maintain users. Thus, the workstation user name and password asked for by the workstation when it boots up IS NOT what is entered into CyberTime
Once the user has entered a valid user name and password and clicks Login, the account information will be processed. If the disclaimer option has been specified, the disclaimer will appear to the user. A button at the bottom must be clicked in order to proceed. If the disclaimer option is not set, the application will proceed to the timer window and the workstation menu (if applicable).
The timer window will appear slightly different with each user depending on the account type. But the basic elements of the timer window will remain the same. The timer window will display who is loged in, what account type he or she has, what current rate per minute is being charged (is applicable), how much time has elapsed loged in, time remaining until the account expires (is applicable), and any changes incurred. If the CyberTime package is not register, a red banner will be visible indicating that the copy running is not registered. This will disappear if the software is registered.
When a user wants to logoff, he or she simply clicks the Logoff button. This will present the user with a message indicating that the account is being loged off and any necessary notifications of charges will be printed. This will include time charges and any printing charges ( if applicable) The system will then return to the advertisement screen.
The Hide button will only be visible if the task bar is visible, as specified with the System Administrator. If the Hide button is visible, users can minimize the timer window to the task bar, where it can then be reactivated by double-clicking on it.
In addition to the Timer window, a menu window may appear if it has been specified with the System Administrator and the Accounts Manager. The items visible on the windows will depend on what applications the Accounts Manager has specified AND what applications of those specified the Customer Monitor was able to find when the Customer Monitor was executed.