SystemTools 'ToolNews' - December 15, 2011 - Hyena v8.8 Updates and More

1. Hyena v8.8 Released
2. Other News
• Upcoming Hyena v9.0 Features
• New Product - SystemTools Commander
• Customer References Needed
3. Tips
• Displaying CR/LF characters in Active Directory data
• Rearranging display columns
4. Hyena Maintenance
5. Resources
• SystemTools' Discussion Board
• Help Us Keep You Informed
6. Contact Information

Hyena v8.8 has been released ! The primary new feature in Hyena v8.8 is support for the new Windows 2.0 Task Scheduler used by Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. Options include viewing all scheduled tasks on one or more computers, viewing tasks by folder location, showing running tasks, task termination and more.

Viewing Tasks on Multiple Computers

Viewing tasks on a single computer is one thing.  But trying to see if the same task is scheduled on multiple computers can be a challenge even for Microsoft's own tools.  Just as with the Windows Task Scheduler 1.0 interface in Hyena's previous versions, you can also view all scheduled tasks, and sort appropriately, for all computers accessible by Hyena.

View Tasks by Folder or by Computer: It's your choice

Tasks with the new Task Scheduler are folder-based, which is great for organizing tasks into different management areas.  But what if you don't know which folder the task is in? Hyena does not force anyone to know what folder a task might be in.  You can choose to either see all tasks on a computer (ie a 'flat view'), or if you know the folder location, you can navigate the task folder structure and go right to it.  

And More...

Viewing the running tasks on a computer, setting properties, and starting and stopping tasks are all standard features supported by Hyena's support for Task Scheduler 2.0.

Due to the extreme complexity of the new Windows task scheduler, Hyena may be the only system management product on the market right now that supports the new task scheduler interfaces.

Update Information

To receive a free update to Hyena v8.8, your maintenance expiration date must be after November 15, 2011. See the 'Hyena Maintenance' topic below for information on updating and how to check the maintenance expiration date. Anyone who purchased a Hyena v8.6 license is eligible for a free upgrade to v8.8.

Hyena v8.8 can be downloaded from http://www.systemtools.com/hyena/download.htm. The downloads for x86 and x64 are available in English, French, German, and Spanish.

The current revision level of Hyena v8.8 is rev 'C'. The problems addressed in revisions 'B' and 'C' were all related to the new Windows Task Scheduler interfaces and functions.

Upcoming Hyena v9.0 Features

We don't often discuss upcoming product features, but this time we'll make an exception. Work has already started on Hyena v9.0 which should be available in the first quarter of 2012. The primary feature in Hyena v9.0 will be support for the EVTX event log format, (a.k.a. the 'Crimson' log format). We have a number of improvements in event log management in store. But if there is a particular feature or just a simple request that would make your administration job easier, please let us know.

SystemTools has an active beta program for Hyena users. To join the beta list send an email to hyenabeta@systools.com. You will be subscribed to the beta list and get an email notification when a new beta version of Hyena is available.

New Product - SystemTools Commander

SystemTools has determined that the time is right to release our 'SystemTools Commander' product, which we plan to have available in early 2012. SystemTools Commander is an interactive bulk import and update utility. Features include:

• Creating new Active Directory objects
• Modifying any Active Directory attribute
• User and group membership modification
• Computer and local user/group bulk management

The Active Directory capabilities of SystemTools Commander support a number of advanced features, including adding and removing portions of multi-valued attributes, updating Terminal Server attributes, and even importing user photo files.

SystemTools Commander takes its input from delimited text files, providing for an extremely flexible method of providing information from external sources. For example, if your HR system has employee information, such as employee ID and phone numbers, it can easily be placed into an external file and be quickly merged into Active Directory.

In the upcoming month, SystemTools Commander will be provided as a public beta in order to fully test the import engine, with a full release to follow shortly after.

Customer References Needed

We are in need of customer references again for our periodic renewal of our Microsoft Partner Network membership. If your company is interested in serving as a reference, please reply back to news2@systemtools.com. All that is required is to complete a 5-minute questionnaire with your company contact information. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Displaying CR/LF characters in Active Directory data

Some Active Directory attributes, for example notes and comments fields, can contain carriage return/line feed (CR/LF) characters. By default, these are generally not displayed in the Windows list control which is used for Hyena's right window displays. Hyena v8.8 will now by default replace all CR/LF characters in Active Directory data with a <Cr/Lf> symbol in order to better reflect the underlying information.

However, this can be changed by using the advanced setting 'AdCrLfReplacementString' found under Tools > Settings > Advanced. This option can be set to any string such as the ^ character, or even a blank if desired.

Rearranging display columns

Column rearranging is an often overlooked feature built into the standard Windows list control which Hyena uses for its right window displays. To temporarily move an entire column, simply click on the column header and drag it to the new location. Windows will place a small colored indicator showing where the new column will be positioned. Release the mouse button when you have the new column where you want it.

All Hyena licenses have a built-in maintenance expiration date, which can be displayed under the Tools > Settings > Licensing dialog. The maintenance expiration date determines whether new releases can be installed with the active license. If your maintenance has recently expired or about to expire, it can be renewed now. For maintenance information and renewal options, visit:

http://www.systemtools.com/hyena/maint_main.htm

If you prefer to get an email quotation on maintenance renewal, send your current license information to sales@systemtools.com and request a maintenance renewal quote. You can easily get the current license information under Hyena's Tools > Settings > Licensing menu.

If your maintenance expiration date is before November 15, 2011, the upgrade cost is only 50% of the licensing cost, which includes one year of maintenance.
Maintenance expirations on or after November 15, 2011 can be renewed now.

SystemTools' Discussion Board

Our online discussion board, with thousands of postings, is a great online resource for all Hyena users. Our discussion board can be both a source for solutions to frequently encountered problems, but also a place to learn how others use many of Hyena's features. To access our discussion board, visit:

http://www.systemtools.com/discussionboard

There is also a link on Hyena's Help menu (Help > Online Discussion Board) to go directly to our discussion board.

Help Us Keep You Informed

Help us keep you and other users in your organization informed of updates and releases of SystemTools products.

Any Hyena user can register for this newsletter (ToolNews) by selecting "Newsletter Signup" on Hyena's Help menu. You can also go directly to
http://www.systemtools.com/news.htm as well. We could also use the help of our existing customers by passing along this newsletter to other Hyena users within your company. To register, they can either use the 'Newsletter Signup' procedure on the help menu, or regardless of what version they are using, simply send an email to subscribe-toolnews@lyris.dundee.net.

We use an automated email list server to handle sending this newsletter, including subscribing and unsubscribing. All new subscriptions require confirmation, and we will never share our newsletter email list with anyone.

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SystemTools Software Inc.
P.O. Box 1209
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