How do I set the Defaults for All Users?

MrMoke · **How do I set the Defaults for All Users? -** 10-01-2007, 05:22 PM

I use Deep Freeze and LanSchool in my classroom to minimize mis-configuration issues. Students can save work to individual network shares, but their local folders disappear when the workstations are rebooted.

I would like to set pre-determined settings (like Java color coded) as the default for all users, so that when a student logs in after a reboot they don't have to remember to reset all Alice settings.

I guess I need to know which file to modify, and where to place it so that all students get the same profile.

Thanks

Mike

10-02-2007, 12:32 AM

my high school used to use deepfreeze, i believe in order to allow program settings to stay you have to either set the local folder as a subdirect in the students actual folder, or set the folder in which local is in not part of the deep freeze program. *NOT A GUARANTEED ANSWER* just a suggestion.

MrMoke · **Not Exactly what I wanted. -** 10-02-2007, 08:49 PM

I'm good with Deep Freeze. Students login and get network assignments, and we do maintenance updates during nighttime hours. If the machine has been rebooted, the users userid folder is merely re-created.
The first execution of Alice creates a .alice subfolder with a AlicePreferences.xml file.

It has a keyword set for Alice Style.

<key visibility="open">
<name>resourceFile</name>
<value>Alice Style.py</value>
</key>

I want it instead to default to the Java color style:

<key visibility="open">
<name>resourceFile</name>
<value>Java Style.py</value>
</key>

This facilitates Student recognition of Java style code when we eventually switch over to Eclipse.

The Web library subfolder also gets loaded into the .alice folder as webGalleryCache.

What I need is for Alice to start each new user with the defaults that I want, not the ones Alice wants.

MrMoke · **Dirty Solution -** 10-06-2007, 10:23 AM

OK- I found the Chicken's way out of my delimma. My goal was to force Alice to use the "Java with Color coding" option when loading for a user the first time, as I really wanted for my students to get used to seeing Java-style syntax rather than Alice. I assume that ver. 3.0 will move to a more Java-like presentation also.

The simple solution was to rename the Alice Style.py and Java Style.py files by swapping the names. It was quick, and dirty, but did fix the problem without resorting to researching and recompiling the entire package. New students still get the .alice folder, but default to Java Style.