C H A P T E R
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Reflection Settings Files
Reflection settings files generally contain information your users need for connecting to your host. They can also include any customizations you’ve made to the display, toolbars, menus, macros, keyboard, or mouse setup. By default Reflection saves settings to a complete settings file. Double-clicking a complete settings file launches Reflection with the configurations specified in that file. You can also create partial settings files that include a group of related Reflection settings. Opening a partial settings file affects only that group of settings.
Administrators can make settings files available to users in a number of ways, including:
· Use the Reflection Deployment Manager to add settings files to your Reflection installation. You can use this utility to have the files installed on user machines with Reflection or to create shortcuts to files in a shared network location. Information about deploying files this way is available in the Reflection Installation and Quick Start Guide.
· If you are using Active Directory, you can use Reflection Links to create access to settings files. Users will have quick access to settings files through icons that appear in the Reflection Links client viewer. Information about deploying files this way is available in the Reflection
Installation and Quick Start Guide.
· Copy a settings file to a shared network location and provide users with a shortcut that points to this file. Use a restricted location to ensure that users cannot change the file. If you use mapped drives to point to these files, you need to ensure that all users have access to the same mapped drive letter.
This chapter describes some advanced features for working with settings files.
File Extensions Used by Reflection Products
Complete settings files are product-specific, meaning they belong only to the Reflection product that created them. For example, if you open a complete settings file in Reflection for UNIX and Digital that was created in Reflection for HP with NS/VT, this will start a session of Reflection for HP with NS/VT using those settings (provided you have both products installed).
You identify a complete settings file and the product it belongs to by its file name extension:
Note: Windows Explorer does not display file extensions by default.
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Unlike a complete settings file, a partial settings file does not belong to a specific Reflection for Windows product. You can use a partial settings file created in one product to change the settings for another Reflection product. For example, a color settings file created in Reflection for ReGIS Graphics can be used by Reflection for HP with NS/VT.
You can identify a partial settings file by its file name extension:
Note: If you’re accustomed to starting Reflection by clicking on a settings file name in Windows Explorer, note that Windows Explorer does not display file extensions by default.
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Reflection Product Name File Extension
Reflection for HP with NS/VT .r1w Reflection for UNIX and Digital .r2w Reflection for ReGIS Graphics .r4w
Reflection FTP Client .rfw
Reflection for IBM .rsf
Reflection Suite for X .rxc
Type of Partial Settings File Extension
Keyboard map .rkm Mouse map .rkm Toolbar .rtb Colors .rcr Menus .rmu Hotspots .rhs Connection .rco
Reflection Settings Files
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Linking Settings Files
Note: This is equivalent to using Connection Directory entries in earlier versions of Reflection. à
Reflection gives you expanded control over partial settings files with an advanced feature that lets you link partial settings files to complete settings files. This is useful if you want to: · Share a partial settings file, such as a toolbar, among users of a variety of complete settings
files. This way when you update the toolbar, the changes are automatically distributed to the linked complete settings files.
· Distribute some special settings, such as a customized colors or mouse mappings, to a group of users.
· Keep partial settings files on a shared network drive so that users can link to them from their complete settings files stored on their local drives. Again, changes made to the partial settings file are automatically updated and distributed via the link.
Caution: If you distribute linked settings files over a shared networked environment, changing file locations or names, or deleting files, will disrupt those links.
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As an example, if your users connect to a variety of UNIX hosts, they could use one complete settings file that contains the information about their UNIX terminal emulation, file transfer, and keyboard mapping settings. Then, to connect to the various UNIX hosts, they could simply open connection partial settings files representing each of those host
connections.
Showing the Link to File Check Box
Since linking is an option typically reserved for advanced users, the Link to file check box is hidden for convenience. To show this option, in the View Settings dialog box, select the setting Show Link to File Check Box and change the value in the Setting details box to Yes. Now, when you use the Open Settings dialog box to load a partial settings file, you’ll see the
Link to file check box.
To link a partial settings file to a complete settings file: 1. On the File menu, click Open.
2. In the Open Settings dialog box, click a complete settings file, then click Open. All of Reflection’s settings are now governed by that complete settings file.
3. Click Open on the File menu again.
4. In the Open Settings dialog box, use the Files of type list to select the type of partial settings file you want to use, then click the name of the partial settings file.
5. Select the Link to file check box. 6. Click Open.
The partial settings file you selected is now linked to the complete settings file currently loaded. This link is only temporary; save your complete settings file to make the link permanent.
Breaking a Link Between Settings Files
If you want to unlink a partial settings file from a complete settings file, you can open the partial settings file and clear the Link to file check box: this will break the link between the files. Or you can make a change to the partial settings file.
When you make a change to a partial settings file, Reflection asks if this change also means you want to remove the linked relation between the files. The following example shows how a change can unlink a color partial settings file from a complete settings file:
1. Load the complete settings file: the linked color partial settings file automatically opens. 2. On the Setup menu, click Display, then click the Colors tab.
3. Make a change to the color settings, then click OK. Reflection displays a dialog box similar to this: