Summary

This article describes the User Interaction settings available for adTempus jobs.

More Information

Each job has a User Interaction option (set on the General page of the job's properties) that controls the kinds of Windows logon session that this job is allowed to use. The session that a job runs in determines whether it will be visible to interactive users at the computer, and to which users.

Each job runs in one of the following sessions:

  • Console. The console session is the keyboard and monitor that are physically connected to the computer. A program running in the console session is visible only to a user logged in to the console session. If you are connected to the computer through a Terminal Services/Remote Desktop session that is not the console session, you will not be able to see the program's user interface. This option is of limited use on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and later; see article K00000369 for more information.

  • User's Session. If the user whose account is used to run the job is logged on interactively at the computer, adTempus will run the job in that logon session. The user will be able to see the user interface for any programs run by the job. If the user has more than one interactive logon session, the program will run in the logon session that was created first. Note: if the user logs off while the job is running, Windows will terminate any processes being run by the job, because they are associated with a logon session that is ending.

  • Hidden. The job will be run in a hidden session. If the programs run by the job display a user interface, no user will be able to see them.

If none of the programs run by your job display windows or other output that you need to be able to see as the job runs, you should set the User Interaction to "Hidden".

Explanation of Options

The User Interaction selection list specifies which session types the job is allowed to use, and in what order of preference.

The following options are available in the User Interaction selection list:

Setting

Meaning

Console, User's Session, Hidden

  • If there is a console session for the computer, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, if there is an interactive session for the job's user, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will run in a hidden session.

Console, User's Session

  • If there is a console session for the computer, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, if there is an interactive session for the job's user, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will fail.

 

Console, Hidden

  • If there is a console session for the computer, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will run in a hidden session.

 

Console

  • If there is a console session for the computer, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will fail.

 

User's Session, Console, Hidden

  • If there is an interactive session for the job's user, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, if there is a console session for the computer, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will run in a hidden session.

 

User's Session, Console

  • If there is an interactive session for the job's user, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, if there is a console session for the computer, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will fail.

 

User's Session, Hidden

  • If there is an interactive session for the job's user, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will run in a hidden session.

 

User's Session

  • If there is an interactive session for the job's user, the job will run in that session.

  • Otherwise, the job will fail.

 

Hidden

The job will run in a hidden session.

Guidelines for Selecting the Interaction Level

A program that is properly designed for "batch" execution should not rely on direct interaction with users, and therefore should not need to display a user interface. For such programs, use the "Hidden" session whenever possible. This provides more security, and eliminates the annoyance of program windows popping up while a user is logged in to the computer.

If you need to be able to see or interact with programs run in the job, choose one of the interactive options (Console or User's Session) depending on your needs.

For an interactive program, also consider what adTempus should do if no interactive session is available (i.e., no user logged in).

  • If it is imperative that a user be able to see/interact with the programs, choose a User Interaction option that does not include the "Hidden" option. This will cause the job to fail if no interactive session is available.

  • If it is more important that the job be run at its scheduled time, be sure to include a User  Interaction option that does include the "Hidden" option. Since a hidden session is always available, this will ensure that your job is run even if no interactive session is available.

 

Regardless of what interaction level is selected, if you run the job manually while logged in to the computer, you can choose to have the job executed in your current logon session. This is useful if you need to be able to see the user interfaces of the job's programs during job debugging.

Console Limitations for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Later

If you are running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or a later version of Windows, see article K00000369 for information on limitations with the "Console" setting.

References

The information above is based on the help topic for the General page of the job properties window.