Application object to change color depth 1

[Bandjelek]

Dear ZEN experts,

in our environment (a university), we restrict the students from changing the display properties.

However, to run certain application, a lecturer wants us to allow the students to change the color depth from the default 24-bit (true color) to 8-bit (256 colors). He has this one app that requires 256 colors mode. After finish running this app, he wants to revert back to 24-bit. The resolution remains the same - only the color depth needs to be changed.

At the moment, that lecturer has to login as himself (no restriction to the display properties), change the color depth, then logout and let the student logs in. Then after they finish, he'd login as himself again and revert the color depth back to true colors.
The problem is he has to do that for all the PCs in the classroom!!

Initially I think I could create two application objects that can be run by the students. One to set it to 256 colors, one to revert it back to true color. But capturing the changes using Snapshot doesn't seem to work... Couldn't use AutoIT to capture keystrokes/mouseclicks either as the restriction prevents the display properties window to be displayed.

We're using Zenworks 3.2 SP1, Win2k Pro with Novell Client 4.83SP1 on workstations.
On WinXP, we can specify to run a program using 256 colors mode, but not in Win2k.

I don't really want to remove the restriction to display properties from the policy, because only students in certain classrooms need to run that app.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
-Bandjelek

 

[Provogeek]

I don't know of any setting with in ZENWorks 3.2 that would allow you to do this directly with ZENWroks.

I have simmilar issues with almost all of my clients. I want to lock down the display adaptor settings, but when I do, it also locks down the color and resolution settings. My users wanted to be able to adjust this when they wanted to. A workaround I gave them was to use the Powertoys Res utility that placed an icon in the task bar. from this icon, users could change the color depth and screen resolution. There are other freeware tools you can use for WinNT, 2K and XP. You would be leaving this open to students to change, but it will still lock down the control panel.

You can also write a script to do this. If you deliver the application using ZEN, you can place a script into the app object to run before the program runs. This script will change the settings to what is needed for the program. When the program closes, you can have the app object change the settings back.

This link will help you develop a script to change this

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...net/scriptcenter/scrguide/sagsas_overview.asp

You can also try asking members in this forum forum329