Interface Changes. What s New. User Interface Themes IN THIS CHAPTER

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Iterface Chages 3 IN THIS CHAPTER What s New This chapter touches o some of the ew iterface chages ad features i Widows Server 2003. Just as Widows NT Server 4.

1 Iterface Chages 3 IN THIS CHAPTER What s New This chapter touches o some of the ew iterface chages ad features i Widows Server Just as Widows NT Server 4.0 shares a user iterface with Widows 95 ad Widows NT Workstatio 4.0, ad just as Widows 2000 Server shares a iterface with Widows 2000 Professioal, the Widows Server 2003 iterface is the same as that of Widows XP s Widows Classic theme (although differet from Widows XP s default theme). All the features i this chapter were first itroduced i Widows XP; Widows Server 2003 ow brigs features such as ew visual themes, the Compressed Folders feature, CD burig, ad the remote desktop/remote assistace techologies to the server platform. If you are already familiar with Widows XP, you might wat to briefly skim this chapter. Most of these features provide ehaced fuctioality previously available oly through third-party products. Overall, these features provide a more pleasat look ad feel ad ehace the overall user experiece.. A cool ew look, without all the fluff 35. Savig disk space 36. Creatig your ow CDs 38. Gettig support 41 User Iterface Themes Oe ew feature i the user experiece provided by Widows Server 2003 is i the themes available for the user desktop. What is a theme? A theme is a collectio of user eviromet cofiguratio settigs (wallpaper, desktop icos, meu styles, souds, ad so o) used to give a cohesive desktop appearace. It is a collectio of all the idividual settigs you could maually chage yourself, but it puts all those settig i oe place. All the settigs have the same theme, makig it much easier to give your desktop a complete overhaul yet maitai a

2 36 CHAPTER 3 Iterface Chages cosistet appearace. Widows Server 2003, however, does t really have ay themes. For the logest time, admiistrators have bee admoished ot to ru resource-itesive desktops ad screesavers, such as OpeGL (those are the facy screesavers like Pipes that use up a lot of processor power). May times the admiistrators respose was, If we re ot supposed to use it, why is it a optio? Well, ow it s ot at least ot by default. Although Widows Server 2003 supports themes, oly oe theme, Widows Classic, is actually icluded i the product. Also, oly three screesavers (Blak, Marquee, ad Widows) are icluded oe of which are resource itesive. There are, however, a few ew desktop wallpapers the same visually stimulatig wallpapers available i Widows XP. Although Widows Server 2003 icludes oly oe theme, it does have a ew method for makig it easier to obtai ad istall your ow themes. It has a optio to coect to Microsoft s Web site to dowload themes olie. However, the oly curretly available themes o Microsoft s site are those icluded with Microsoft Plus! for Widows XP. Compressed Folders The ext ew iterface feature we ll look at is compressig files ad folders. This provides the utilitaria fuctio of savig disk space by reducig the amout of physical disk space occupied by files. Widows NT has always had a mechaism for savig disk space by compressig files: the NTFS file compressio attribute feature. With Widows Server 2003, Microsoft itroduces aother method for compressig files the Compressed (zipped) Folders feature. The followig sectios discuss these two mechaisms ad how they differ. NTFS Folder Compressio NTFS file ad folder compressio is implemeted as a file-level attribute. A check box i the properties of a volume, folder, or file desigates it as compressed. If this attribute is eabled, the operatig system hadles the compressig ad ucompressig of the file without ay user itervetio. Wheever a file or folder with the compressed attribute eabled is opeed, the operatig system automatically ucompresses it. Whe the file is saved, the operatig system automatically compresses it agai, completely trasparetly to the user. However, all this compressig ad ucompressig of files adds extra processig overhead because the operatig system has to costatly ucompress ad recompress files wheever they re opeed ad closed. Whe determiig whether to use NTFS compressio, you eed to balace the beefits of freeig up disk space ad ease of use for the user must agaist the extra processig load. Aother drawback of NTFS compressio is that, because it is a file system attribute, the compressio occurs oly o the file system. The implicatio of this is that if you access the file across the etwork, it is first ucompressed by the operatig system ad the set across the etwork i a ucompressed format. Thus, o etwork badwidth improvemet occurs because the file is set across the etwork as if it were ever compressed. I actuality, degradatio i the file trasfer occurs because of the extra processig required to ucompress the file.

37 Compressed Folders Yet aother drawback of NTFS compressio is that it is icompatible with the Ecryptig File System (EFS) NTFS attribute itroduced i Widows 2000.

3 37 Compressed Folders Yet aother drawback of NTFS compressio is that it is icompatible with the Ecryptig File System (EFS) NTFS attribute itroduced i Widows You ca eable either the file compressio attribute or the file ecryptio attribute, but ot both.. For more iformatio about EFS, see Ecryptig File System, p FILE COMPRESSION To compress a file, you eed to have available at least as much disk space as the ucompressed file requires. For example, if you attempt to copy a 100MB file to a compressed locatio with 80MB free, eve if the file ca be compressed to 50MB, you will be uable to copy the file because it must be copied first ad the compressed. The Compressed (Zipped) Folders Feature Widows Server 2003 still has the NTFS file compressio attribute, just like previous versios do. However, it ow also has the Compressed Folders feature. This feature is aki to thirdparty compressio utilities such as WiZip or its earlier cousi PKZIP. As show i Figure 3.1, Compressed Folders is implemeted as a pop-up meu optio. You just select the files or folders you wat to compress, right-click, select Sed To, ad the select Compressed (Zipped) Folder. FIGURE 3.1 You ca right-click a file or folder to create a Zip file with the ew Compressed Folders feature. This creates a separate (Zip) file cotaiig all the files ad folders you selected. You ca use this ew feature to idividually compress files ad folders for archival purposes. Ulike NTFS file compressio, though, user itervetio is required to compress ad ucompress the files

4 38 CHAPTER 3 Iterface Chages with this method. Compressed Folders really creates compressed copies of the file(s), whereas NTFS compressio compresses the origial file. I additio, because a utility is doig the compressio rather tha a file-level attribute causig compressio, you ca compress ay file or folder eve those o FAT partitios. The true beefit of the Compressed Folders feature is the ability to move the Zip archive that is created elsewhere, such as across the etwork. This meas you have the capability to trasport files i a compressed format. You ca therefore miimize your etwork traffic whe copyig a archive to aother locatio or make it small eough to fit o some other archival medium, such as CD-ROM, zip, or floppy disk, for trasport elsewhere. These are just a couple examples of the uses of Compressed Files. Aother commo use is to compress multiple files ad wrap them up i a sigle package, which is particularly useful for ig large documets or pictures to frieds or support persoel. WORKING WITH ZIP FILES I additio to providig you the ability to create ad read your ow Zip files, the Compressed Folders feature eables you to extract Zip archives eve those created with other Zip applicatios. WEB RESOURCE For a compariso of the Compressed Folders feature ad third-party compressio utilities such as WiZip, go to ad search for article ID A COMPRESSED FOLDERS ON 64-BIT WINDOWS SERVER 2003 The Compressed Folders feature is ot available o 64-bit versios of Widows Server CD Burig Widows XP ad Widows Server 2003 provide built-i support for CD burers. Not oly do they recogize CD drives ad have a built-i database of CD-R ad CD-RW drivers, but they also provide built-i methods for writig to the CD drives. Widows Server 2003 has drag-ad-drop support for burig CDs, which meas you ca create data CDs simply by draggig the files to the drive letter of your CD burer. A balloo pops up i the Notificatio Area to let you kow you have files waitig to be writte to the CD. Clickig the balloo brigs up the view of the CD drive, as show i Figure 3.2.

Whe you ve arraged all your files ad are ready to bur the files to CD, simply click Write These Files to CD uder CD Writig Tasks o the left.

5 39 CD Burig FIGURE 3.2 You ca create a data CD by draggig files to the CD burer. You ca add ad remove files to this list. To remove all pedig files, click Delete Temporary Files uder the CD Writig Tasks sectio. Whe you ve arraged all your files ad are ready to bur the files to CD, simply click Write These Files to CD uder CD Writig Tasks o the left. This lauches the CD Writig Wizard, which allows you to choose a CD label to ame your CD ad the physically writes the files to a blak CD i your CD-R or CD-RW drive. As you ca see i Figure 3.3, whe the wizard is fiished writig the files, you ca choose to make aother copy of the CD. Also, otice that the CD burig software was developed uder licese from Roxio, Ic., the makers of Easy CD ad DVD Creator. FIGURE 3.3 already doe. Choosig to make aother copy o this scree saves time because the iitial preparatio is

40 CHAPTER 3 Iterface Chages WEB RESOURCE For a compariso of the CD burig feature ad third-party utilities such as Nero Burig ROM ad Easy CD ad DVD Creator, go to www.deltaguideseries.

4, if you move the mouse over Sed To, the meu exteds ad you ca select CD-RW Drive (E:), where CD-RW Drive (E:) is the ame ad drive letter of your CD-R or CD-RW drive.

6 40 CHAPTER 3 Iterface Chages WEB RESOURCE For a compariso of the CD burig feature ad third-party utilities such as Nero Burig ROM ad Easy CD ad DVD Creator, go to ad search for olie article ID A Aother method for burig CDs is to simply select the files ad right-click, which brigs up a pop-up meu. As show i Figure 3.4, if you move the mouse over Sed To, the meu exteds ad you ca select CD-RW Drive (E:), where CD-RW Drive (E:) is the ame ad drive letter of your CD-R or CD-RW drive. This brigs up the view of the files temporarily copied to CD as before, allowig you to add ad remove files ad the lauch the CD Writig Wizard as before, whe you are ready to create the CD. FIGURE 3.4 You ca right-click to choose to sed files to the CD burer. INSERTING A BLANK CD Whe a blak CD is iserted i the CD-R or CD-RW drive, Widows Server 2003 automatically gives you the choice to start creatig a CD (provided that autoru is eabled). I additio to eablig you to create your ow data CDs, Widows Server 2003 provides built-i support for creatig audio CDs. You ca use Widows Media Player to create your ow audio CDs by doig the followig: 1. Ope Widows Media Player. 2. Create a ew playlist. 3. Ope ad select MP3 files to add to your playlist, ad the rearrage them as ecessary.

7 41 Remote Desktop ad Remote Assistace 4. Click Copy to CD or Device. 5. Select your playlist ad perform ay last-miute reorgaizatios, as ecessary. 6. Click the Copy Music butto i the upper-right corer. I most cases, I would t recommed usig your servers for creatig music CDs, uless you have a server dedicated to the task, because the overhead affects other processes, but it s there if you eed it. Remote Desktop ad Remote Assistace Other ew features itroduced by Widows XP that are ow icorporated i Widows Server 2003 iclude two features for remotely cotrollig users workstatios: Remote Desktop ad Remote Assistace. Both Remote Desktop ad Remote Assistace use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for commuicatig betwee local ad remote systems. Remote Desktop The ame Remote Desktop is somewhat deceptive ad ca be cofusig. There are actually two compoets to Remote Desktop the cliet-side compoet (Remote Desktop Coectio) ad the server-side compoet (Remote Desktop for Admiistratio). These two pieces are just ew ames for the previous Termial Services cliet ad Termial Services server from previous versios of Widows.. For more iformatio about Remote Desktop, see Remote Desktop for Admiistratio, p With Remote Desktop for Admiistratio eabled, you ca remotely coect to your Widows Server 2003 (or Widows XP) machies by usig the Remote Desktop Coectio (or ay other Termial Services cliet) ad obtai a graphical iterface as if you were physically at the server. This ca be doe whether ayoe is at the server or ot. I fact, oe cool ew feature of Remote Desktop is that it supports VNC- or pcaywhere-style coectios right to the server s actual, physical cosole just as if you were stadig i frot of the server. This is i additio to the two virtual desktops that have bee provided sice Widows 2000 s Remote Admiistratio mode of Termial Services. Remote Assistace Remote Assistace is similar to Remote Desktop, but it is desiged primarily for helpig someoe who is physically at the box. Therefore, it has some sigificat differeces from Remote Desktop. First, ad probably most importatly, Remote Assistace is totally user (cliet-side) drive. The sessios are iitiated by the user, ad the decisio to allow someoe

8 42 CHAPTER 3 Iterface Chages to remotely take cotrol is determied by the user. Secod, to protect the user, Remote Assistace imposes time restrictios o the legth of the remote cotrol sessio. Just like Remote Desktop, Remote Assistace eeds to be eabled before it ca be used. You eable Remote Assistace from the Remote tab of the System Properties dialog box. You simply select Tur o Remote Assistace ad Allow Ivitatios to be Set from This Computer. Remote Assistace is part of the Help ad Support Ceter. To access it, you select Help ad Support from the Start meu. I the Help ad Support Ceter, you click Support. Next, you select Get Remote Assistace. To iitiate the Remote Assistace process, the user (or the ovice, as the Remote Assistace user iterface says) must select Ivite Someoe to Help You. The followig are three methods by which a user ca sed the ivitatio: Istat message This method uses Widows Messeger to sed the ivitatio to the helper. Ulike i Widows XP, Widows Messeger is ot istalled by default i Widows Server To sed a ivitatio via Widows Messeger, Iteret access is required. This method seds the ivitatio to the helper (that s the expert referred to i the Remote Assistace iterface) via . The user fills i the address of the helper ad seds the . Whe the helper receives the , he or she simply clicks the lik to ope a sessio. To sed by , some type of applicatio (such as Outlook or Outlook Express) eeds to be istalled. Outlook Express is istalled by default. File This method specifies a file locatio to save the ivitatio file. The file locatio must be accessible to both the user (to create the ivitatio) ad the helper (to ope ad use it). No matter which method is used to create the ivitatio, the user also specifies the duratio (i hours) of how log the ivitatio is good. The helper the uses the ivitatio to coect to the user s machie. After the iterval for the ivitatio expires, it is o loger good for accessig the machie. The user ca provide further protectio of the ivitatio by specifyig a password. Of course, the password must be commuicated to the helper somehow so he or she ca ope the ivitatio. The process works like this: 1. The user cofigures ad seds a ivitatio to the helper. 2. The helper receives the ivitatio ad clicks the URL or opes the file to respod. 3. As show i Figure 3.5, the user is prompted to allow the helper to coect. 4. After the user accepts, the helper ca see the user s desktop ad sed ad receive chat messages, as show i Figure 3.6.

43 Remote Desktop ad Remote Assistace FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 3.6 A Remote Assistace sessio has bee iitiated. 5.

9 43 Remote Desktop ad Remote Assistace FIGURE 3.5 This dialog box shows the helper attemptig to coect to a Remote Assistace sessio. FIGURE 3.6 A Remote Assistace sessio has bee iitiated. 5. Oce coected, the user ad helper ca exchage files, but the process is still user drive. If the helper iitiates sedig a file, the user must accept it ad desigate where to store it. 6. The helper ca request to take cotrol of the user s desktop (see Figure 3.7). FIGURE 3.7 The helper ca oly request to take cotrol.

10 44 CHAPTER 3 Iterface Chages 7. If desired, the user ca allow the helper to take cotrol. This the gives the helper access to the user s desktop, but the user ca still see what the helper is doig. Cosistet with givig the user full power over the Remote Assistace sessio, the user ca cacel the sessio at ay time simply by pressig the Esc key. It s sort of a fail-safe to give the user a warm fuzzy. If the helper starts doig somethig the user does t like, the user ca just press Esc. CONTROLLING REMOTE ASSISTANCE A group policy eables helpers to solicit users for Remote Assistace sessios. This just eables the helper to prompt a user; the user still iitiates a sessio, ad it is still totally user drive. Quite frakly, the Remote Assistace model is desiged primarily for ed-user desktops. Therefore, i most eviromets, it will probably be used more i Widows XP tha i Widows Server Chaces are that the user ad the help desk support persoel will be ruig Widows XP istead of Widows Server You would t ordiarily have ayoe logged i ad sittig at the server cosole to sed ad respod to Remote Assistace messages. Remote Desktop for Admiistratio is the more viable remote cotrol cosole for Widows Server 2003 because it eables admiistrators to coect to the server without ayoe beig there just like Termial Services. Other Iterface Chages Traditioally, Microsoft has icreasigly added ew features to ehace the desktop user s experiece, ad Widows Server 2003 is o exceptio. A umber of ew display settigs ad effects are available for customizig the look ad feel of the desktop i Widows Server Historically, settigs that ehace the user experiece have had the potetial to degrade performace ad therefore have ot bee appropriate o a server platform. I Widows Server 2003, although these settigs exist, a lot of them are either disabled by default or ca be disabled relatively easily. For example, the default desktop is blak there is o flashy backgroud wallpaper, just the stadard blue Widows desktop. The Desktop Oe of the first thigs you will probably otice whe you log o to Widows Server 2003 is that there is othig o the desktop (except the Recycle Bi). Where did everythig go? All the icos formerly o the desktop have bee moved to the Start meu, although you ca adjust the display settigs to put some of them back o the desktop.

45 Other Iterface Chages I additio, several settigs are available for ehacig the behavior of meus ad widows that ca uecessarily affect performace, such as aimatig widows whe maximizig ad miimizig,

11 45 Other Iterface Chages I additio, several settigs are available for ehacig the behavior of meus ad widows that ca uecessarily affect performace, such as aimatig widows whe maximizig ad miimizig, fadig meus ito view, ad so o. Fortuately for Widows Server 2003, where miimizig such performace degradatios is of cocer, a sigle locatio is provided to modify these settigs based o their impact to server performace. O the Advaced tab of the Cotrol Pael applet is a Performace sectio. Clickig the Settigs butto brigs up the Performace Optios widow show i Figure 3.8. FIGURE 3.8 You ca customize the desktop appearace to optimize performace. As you ca see, you have the optio to maually eable or disable each of the various display settigs, or you ca choose a sigle optio to optimize for performace. The Start Meu At first glace, it looks like the etire Start meu has bee rearraged i Widows Server I actuality, as you ca see i Figure 3.9, the Start meu has bee broke dow ito the followig sectios: Pied Programs This sectio allows you to pi shortcuts for easy access right off the Start meu. By default, it cotais shortcuts for the Maage Your Server Wizard ad Widows Explorer. You ca also add the special desktop shortcuts for Iteret or applicatios, such as Iteret Explorer or Outlook, or ay other shortcuts you wat. Recetly Used Programs This sectio is similar to the former Documets sectio, except it cotais a list of all recetly used programs, such as Commad Prompt, Active Directory Users ad Computers, ad the like, as show i Figure 3.9. You ca specify how may recetly used items appear here by modifyig the Start meu properties.

12 46 CHAPTER 3 Iterface Chages FIGURE 3.9 The Start meu has bee broke dow ito several sectios. All Programs Meu This sectio at the root of the Start meu cotais the items that were formerly o the Programs meu, icludig Widows Update ad ay istalled programs, as well as user-added shortcuts. Stadard Folders This sectio cotais the items that were formerly o the desktop, such as My Computer, My Documets, My Network Places, ad My Recet Documets, if eabled. By default, oly My Computer is displayed. Cotrol Pael This sectio cotais the Cotrol Pael applet, Admiistrative Tools, Priters ad Faxes, ad potetially other Cotrol Pael items (such as Network Coectios). Default Utilities This sectio cotais most of the former Start meu items, icludig Ru, Search, ad Help (ow called Help ad Support). You ca modify these sectios by customizig the Start meu ad taskbar properties. Follow these steps: 1. Right-click aywhere o the taskbar or Start meu ad the select Properties. 2. Select the Start Meu tab. The click the Customize butto ext to the Start Meu radio butto. 3. O the Geeral tab of the Customize Start Meu dialog box, modify the umber of programs that appear i the Recetly Used Programs sectio ad select the Iteret ad applicatio to display i the Pied Programs sectio.

13 47 Other Iterface Chages 4. Select the Advaced tab, where you ca choose which items to display i each of the other sectios for example, whether to show Admiistrative Tools ad Network Coectios. You ca also specify to display recetly opeed documets, such as the former Documets Start Meu item. Oe fial settig o this tab is the optio labeled Highlight Newly Istalled Programs. This settig causes a balloo to pop up over the Start meu, otifyig you whe a ew applicatio has bee istalled. The pop-up balloo ca be somewhat aoyig, but this optio also highlights the ew applicatio i a differet color o the Start meu, makig it easier to fid. CUSTOM SHORTCUTS You ca add your ow shortcuts oly to the Pied Programs ad All Programs Meu sectios; the other sectios of the Start meu do ot allow the creatio of shortcuts.

INTERFACE CHANGES. In This Chapter

INTERFACE CHANGES. In This Chapter 3 INTERFACE CHANGES In This Chapter A cool new look, without all the fluff, page 32. Save disk space, page 32. Create your own CDs, page 34. Getting Support, page 37. What s New This chapter touches on