Dial-Up Magic is an essential add-on to Windows 95/98 and Windows NT Dial-Up Networking that greatly simplifies the configuration and setup of new connections. Dial-Up Magic gives you the ability to export, import, and clone Windows 95/98 and Windows NT Dial-Up Networking connections between systems or on your own system. This allows you to preconfigure dial-up parameters, including DNS, login scripts, and dialing locations, and create a master configuration file that all of your users can import. Excellent utility for companies that have to configure a lot of systems identically. Also great for ISPs to make it easier for users to configure their systems to connect. Single user, site, and redistribute licenses are available.
Exporting allows you to save all of the configuration information required by a connection to a file. You can then import the file on a different system to quickly create an identical connection. The settings stored in the export file include the phone number, networking protocols selected, IP address settings, logon scripts, and dialing locations. Basically, every setting you can modify via a connection’s properties is copied to the export file. When this connection is imported, all the user has to do is open the connection and fill in their user name and password and connect. If desired, you can even include the user name and password in the export file so the user only needs to open the connection and click connect.
There are two types of export files. The first type exports all of the connection’s settings to an ASCII file. This file can then be imported onto any system that has the Dial-Up Magic software installed. The benefits to this file format are that the export file is usually quite small. This export type is useful if all of your users have Dial-Up Magic installed (for example, if you purchased a site license). The second export format creates a standalone program that contains all of the connection settings. This program can be run on any system whether Dial-Up Magic is installed or not. This is a terrific way to distribute a properly configured connection without hassling the user to enter a lot of confusing data. The user simple runs the export executable program and a new connection icon appears in their Dial-Up Networking folder. (Please note that a Redistribute License is required to distribute export executables to users.)
The phone numbers list option allows you to add a list of phone numbers to the export file. When the user imports this connection, the list of phone numbers is displayed to allow the user to select the most appropriate number for his location.
The cloning feature allows you to quickly duplicate an existing connection. A new connection, "Copy of …" is created in your Dial-Up Networking folder ready for you to use. This feature is useful if you need to experiment with different connection settings or create a new connection with settings similar to an existing connection.
Various options are provided to control how Dial-Up Magic treats an import file. These options give you control over how much user interaction is required and how the system should be modified when the connection is imported. The options provided are described in more detail below.
This option allows control over what Dial-Up Magic should do if a connection with the same name as the one being imported already exists in the user’s Dial-Up Networking folder. You can (1)choose to prompt the user to indicate if the current connection settings should be updated, (2) have a new name automatically created (ex: "My Connection (1)"), or (3) update the current connection settings without prompting the user.
A connection entry needs to have the modem set to indicate which modem device to use when dialing. You can indicate that a list of the modems installed on the user’s system should be displayed. If the user has more than one modem, he can then select which modem to use for the connection. The other option is to have Dial-Up Magic select the first modem device found and not prompt the user.
This option is very similar to the option above concerning connections except it applies to the login script associated with the connection. With this option you can (1) have the user enter a new name for the script file under, (2) have a new script file automatically generated, or (3) indicate that the connection should not use a script file when imported.
Windows 95 allows the user to select a Dial-Up Networking connection to automatically be used when accessing the network. For example, the system can be setup to automatically dial out to the Internet when Internet Explorer or Netscape is started. This option allows you to indicate that the Windows 95 autodial feature should be set to use the connection being imported as the new autodial connection.
If the user has never sucessfully created a new connection in the Dial-up Networking folder, the Make New Connection wizard is displayed every time the folder is opened. This import option will deactivate the wizard if the connection is successfully imported.
This option only applies when the Save as file type is set to executable. When that executable program is run, it displays a welcome screen informing the user what is about to happen. This welcome screen can be disabled by turning on this option. (NOTE: This option is only activated if you have purchased a Site License for the product.)
Please visit our download page to download an evaluation copy of the software.
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Modified 08/30/01
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