September 29 2011
RES Software has released an update for RES Workspace Manager, in this update ( Service Release 2 ) it is clear that they like to make Workspace Manager more accessible for new and existing customers. Workspace Manager has always been a product that is very intuitive to use, however by adding more and more functionality into this great product, it becomes less obvious where to find all of these functions in the console. In this SR2 release it once again makes it very easy for a first time user of the console to get started with examples, watch videos and its still an amazing help function.
This article is one where I will show just a few new and cool features witch can make work a whole lot better for anyone using the console in Workspace Manager.
First of all the interface, when you open up the Management Console, you will find a graphical interface of the Workspace Manager functionalities, as they also show you when you ever seen a presentation from myself or one of the RES Software guys. The great thing about this picture is that it shows how a user workspace is compiled and is interactive.
Example:
Click on Desktop Content, Applications will link to Composition, Managed Applications
Click on User Context Locations will link to Context, Locations and devices
Here is the whole list of shortcuts:
|
Navigation map |
Links to |
|
Desktop Content Applications |
Composition Managed Applications |
|
Adaptive Security Applications
Data |
Security Applications > Managed Applications Data |
|
User Context Identity |
Context Directory Services |
|
Workspace Composer |
Setup > Agents |
|
User Workspace |
Diagnostics > Workspace Analysis |
Yet another great new feature to make things even easier is the Configuration Wizard. This will allow you to create examples for you to have a look at, plus, find out how you can use Workspace Manager to create, combine, secure, and many more for a very simple wizard. You will find this wizard under Help -> Configuration Wizard.
Just select one or more options and this will create items in your environment in disabled mode, so you don’t have to worry about it actually rolling this out to production.
Example:
By selecting the Location-based printing, the wizard will create Two Zones based on IP address of the TS Client and Two printers based on these zones.
Note: You must be a Technical Manager in the Console in order to run the wizard!
And the last feature I'd like to discuss is the possibility to view online tutorials right from the console help file!
Maybe not everybody is using the famous F1 button and Techie guys will usually NOT RFTM 
, BUT… In the Management Console of any RES Software product, the development team has always put in a lot of effort to create a much extended help file. This is actually a great feature in the product and will bring you straight to the topic you like help on from anywhere in the console.
Now they've even gone one step further… On some of the items in the help there is now a link to actual video tutorials, this is great stuff, as you now can view how this feature is explained and get even more knowledge and confidence on how to use this function. Once again RES Software makes it easier and more intuitive for everyone to use their software!
Example:
if you like to know more on how to use location and devises, simply press F1. And if you like to see examples online in a video you can click the View tutorial link right from the help file linking to YouTube
Note:
Not all functionality is covered on YouTube, and RES Software is constantly updating this. Here is the Link to the Tutorial video channel
Of course they have done much more in this release, like more new features, enhancements and improvements and just a few fixes. But you can read all of them in the Release Notes.
