SVS Multi Tool v1.5

Excellent, Starf0x! This is the first SVS tool from outside Altiris that I've installed permanently on my main laptop. Nice job!!

Scott Jones
Product Manager
Altiris, Inc.

:-)

'nuff said! :-)

During a multi-import operation
(7 layers) only 4 were imported and shown in admin tool.

In the multi-import progress bar the layers not imported were visible during the import/decompress operation and, at the end of multi-import, multitools reports successfully.

I suspect that the multi-import operation works but registration in the admin windows is not correct: layers imported but hidden !!

Although this, the Multi Tool 1.0 is so useful that deserves to be incoporated into the next standard svs distribution.

Compliments to Starf0x!!

The layer Enable/disable feature of SVS Multi Tool is using a deprecated registry setting. Using this feature can make your layers unusable. If you find layers in SVS admin with italicized lettering which you can no longer activate or deactivate, you need to go into the layers registry area under HKLM\SYSTEM\Altiris\FSL and change the Enable values back to 1.

Hi Starf0x,
Nice toolbox, thanks for sharing.

I'm new to SVS, but I noticed that in the new file direct help text it isn't mentioned that the new path should not contain spaces. I read it somewhere on this domain. If you would add this info, this info might help other new users to avoid this pitfall.

I also read somewhere that you can change the time-out period from the default 30 seconds for autoclosing an app. Maybe this would qualify for a new feature for the gui.

Another nice feature would be to be able add apps to the ignore list, e.g. AV software.

Just my two cents.

BTW: What software did you use to create the gui?

Keep up the good work. Thanks.
Ciao
toralf

Dear Starf0x,

Thinking of it, another idea came to my mind. When creating a new layer for an application or data the official SVS admin gui is a bit clumsy. Too many pop up windows.

Would it be possible to add a new page in your app that allows typing the path, selecting the path via dialog AND drag&drop of a file/path to specify a file (or maybe multiple files to be installed in one layer) to be captured or a path for a data layer?

Variables for paths of the data layer could be set automatically when the environment variables get compared to the selected paths.

If it isn't in the scope of your app, disregard this comment.

Ciao
toralf

Dear Starf0x,

Sorry for posting another brain dump, I hope you don't mind.

I work on my PC with a not-admin user.

To de-/activate a layer with such an user two key permissions need to be changed in the registry (or even created), see post by Wm Jesse Foster. Maybe this could be added to your gui, too?

Thank you for your consideration.

@Scott Jones: Thanks for the clarification. I must have read an old post.

Ciao
toralf

... and another one:

To ease the use of Launch an Application or Run a Script when a Layer's State Changes it would be great if your gui would provide an easy interface to insert an command line for these registry values. I guess more people would use it if it is easier to access.

Ciao
toralf

Great Tool, is there any Commnad Line Function to it?

That's a great update. Thanks for considering my suggestions. But as Scott Jones replied spaces are allowed in FileRedirect path the latest hotfix in 2.0. Sorry for the trouble.

Tool is really good and UI is a lot better with new functionalities.
The tool is flawless, still i would like to make a suggestion, Click on SVS settings > from right side frame select Choose:
'Choose Ignore Applications:' page will open, can we have a back button here. i think its more friendly, rather than clicking close button.
As my first impression was, it might close the application.

StarFox, I just had the ocassion to use the GUID Change feature of this today and discovered that it only changes the GUID for the read-only sublayer. The writable sublayer GUID gets left unchanged.

So you still have conflict with another layer when trying to use the layer with both of the original GUIDs -- you just don't see the "Layer Already exists" error on Import; it comes up as a 1049 on activate instead.

Jarde Payne's "GUIDer" utility does both if you want to take a look.

I missed this update until today... I find the add comment feature in the layer very useful, I think I'll use it a lot.

Thanks and many compiments to Starf0x.
PM

WOW ! Its a good one !
Keep up the good work.
Thanks a lot for sharing it !

Now, I'm more curious to have merging 2 or more layers in to one.
For example, if I like a media player (example AVS DVD player) and already I had KMPlayer in another layer, merging both into 1 layer and call them as media players.
This will remove the pain of reinstalling it in a new layer and name it as media player : )

The example I have taken is small, so we may go ahead and create a new layer, but there are some complex software like .NET or SAP which will take several hours to do the installation. There it makes perfect sense to have this feature.