Start Backstage with specified apps
First I would like to express my gratitude for the unbelievable awesomeness of the Backstage feature. I am greatly looking forward to the next release that will allow a session to start directly in Backstage mode. Anyone who is not yet using Backstage is missing out on the greatest efficiency/ productivity enhancement of an already great product.
We already have over 100 tools in the toolbox, broken into several folders, of which about 80% operate partially or fully in Backstage mode. The amount of work that can be done without bothering the client by taking over their login session is astonishing.
What I would like to see would be the ability to identify certain tools to be launched automatically when Backstage is opened up. The Powershell and CMD windows are well and good, but other tools are used frequently enough to merit being on auto-launch. A file manager is an obvious choice. (I use "JustManager", a free portable file manager that works really well in Backstage and is a real upgrade over File Explorer.)
If I'm going to push my luck on this request, I will say it would be nice to have different Backstage modes that auto-launch different sets of tools for different purposes. For example in addition to standard Backstage that launches the bare minimum, I might have one called Backstage Cleanup that launches certain cleanup tools, one called Backstage New Computer that auto launches certain installers that we run on all new computer setups, one called Backstage Updater that loads up tools used for doing Windows updates, etc. These are just examples, but if we could have say 5 [Backstage] entries where currently there is only one, and we could identify the name and which tools in the toolbox to auto-launch, it would be awesome.
Thanks for your consideration and for your great work.
Customer support service by UserEcho
I'm curious, why not use the Toolbox to push and start your tools? It's two or three extra clicks, but you're already so far ahead with your time management by having backstage available.
Of course, that is exactly what I do. But for example if I go to Backstage 10 times a day and virtually every time I want my file manager, that's at least 10 clicks I can eliminate. Every time I jump into Backstage on a server, I pretty much always want to see Active Directory and Group Policy Manager. There are many such examples of common sequences. Multiply this times our entire staff and the efficiency improvement adds up.
Look at it this way. The same argument could be made for launching CMD and Powershell with Backstage. Somebody on the SC team made the decision to do that although that could have been left as subsequent steps for us to do. Truthfully I use my file manager more often than I do Powershell. Why not let me decide which tools from my toolbox to auto-launch?
Hope that makes sense.
"The amount of work that can be done without bothering the client by taking over their login session is astonishing." I'm with you 100% all the way.
I got this scenario now: I did add 14 PCs today and I've got to have control bothering the user because it was needed (user account, etc), and I forgot to force windows update since this pcs have never been maintenance.
Now, I'm wondering here (maybe someone knows the answer)
I did try to start windows update on backstage:
from CMD I found (google) wuauclt.exe /updatenow but I believe that might call the GUI side of it, so IDK if worked or not. No message at all.
I also follow thru Powershell (several steps: Install Module PSWindowsUpdate , Get-WindowsUpdate, Install-WindowsUpdate...) but no way to know either. 'Chinese' answer (PS gave a red error I rather won't ask).
I do really appreciate any comments on this, since IDK anymore where to put this. Before we got FORUM, now, IDK where to add this. Thanks !