[WEB4LIB] Netscape profiles vs. logon ID

[mike]

The currents are swift. Just weeks ago, to customize Netscape preferences
across a network required either an approximate $1,500 investment in a
Netscape browser management tool or going it alone and working directly with
prefs.js.

Prefs.js is a JavaScript file on the workstation where Netscape 4.x saves
many, if not all, of its user-set preferences. You can set up a set of
prefs.js files to match groups of users. Preferences could be assigned to a
user when he or she logs in using login scripts.  (I'm assuming that NT allows
user-level control. I'd be surprised if it did not.) When a user logins, the
prefs.js is downloaded to the workstation with the appropriate settings. This
would allow you to handle the desktop and access to the browser, network-wide.

On the Windows 95 and, I imagine also the NT, desktop, Netscape 3.x is handled
through the registry. You can handle settings network-wide using System
Policies and writing a *.adm file for the registry settings that control many
of the Netscape's user-set preferences.

But because of the competition with IE and the easy availability of the
Administrative Kits for handling user preferences over a network, Netscape is
reoffering  its Client Customization Kit for Netscape 4.x. and at first glance
it appears free! Take a look at it.

http://home.netscape.com/partners/distribution/index.html#custom.


Mike Nyerges
http://www.canandaigua.k12.ny.us/academy/library/



James Klock wrote:

> I have a set of NT 4.0 workstations from which we allow limited access to
> several subscribed online databases (but NOT to the Internet in general--
> the filter is based on Netscape's "Manual Proxy Configuration" settings,
> per Andy Mutch's advice).
> For reasons having to do with the ADA, we want to allow full internet
> access to a certain pool of users.  I would think it should be possible to
> create multiple Netscape user profiles, and to force Netscape to choose a
> particular profile, without user interaction, based either on a command
> line variable, or based directly on what account is logged on.
>
> Anybody know any way of doing either of these?  Frankly, if I can get
> Netscape to choose it's profile based on a command line arguement, I can
> find a workaround from there easily enough...
>
> Thanks!
>
> James