Modifying WIN.SRC to Customize Windows Network Setup

• Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Windows, you can use a text editor such as Notepad to edit the WIN.SRC file and define custom settings for the Windows environment for multiple workstations.

MORE INFORMATION

When Windows is set up on a network workstation with the SETUP /N command, a WIN.INI file is built with default settings. When SETUP.EXE is run, it uses WIN.SRC as the source file for building the WIN.INI file. This file contains information that defines your Windows environment and is used by both Windows and Windows-based applications.

The following are examples of methods you can use to customize the WIN.SRC file when setting up Windows on a network.

NOTE: The read-only attribute must be cleared before modifying the file. This can be done by using Windows File Manager, or with MS-DOS by using the ATTRIB command. When you are done modifying the WIN.SRC file, reset the read-only attribute.

Loading an Application Automatically

To have all workstations load a Windows-based application automatically during startup, do the following:

1. Open WIN.SRC in Notepad.

2. In the [windows] section of the WIN.SRC file, find the "load=" line.

3. Add the filename of the program to be executed. For example, to have all installations of Windows load the Clock application, add CLOCK.EXE to the "load=" line:

         load=clock.exe
   

4. Save WIN.SRC.

Loading Wallpaper Automatically

To have all workstations use a standard wallpaper on startup, do the following:

1. Open WIN.SRC in Notepad.

2. In the [Desktop] section, find the Wallpaper=(None) line.

3. Replace "(None)" with the bitmap filename you would like as the desktop background. For example, to have the Paper bitmap display automatically during startup, replace "(None)" with "PAPER.BMP":

         Wallpaper=PAPER.BMP
   

   Note: You will want to have the bitmap file in the shared Windows directory.

4. Save WIN.SRC.

Associating a File Extension with an Application

To have all workstations associate a file extension with a particular application, do the following:

1. Open WIN.SRC in Notepad.

2. Find the [Extensions] section of the WIN.SRC file.

3. Add the following line

         extension=command-line
   

   where "extension" is the filename extension of one to three characters and "command-line" is the application filename followed by a caret (^) and the document extension. For example, to associate calendar files with the calendar program, add the following line:

         cal=calendar.exe ^.cal
   

4. Save WIN.SRC.

Changing the Color Scheme for All Workstations

To have all workstations come up in a color scheme other than the Windows default color scheme, do the following:

1. On an existing installation of Windows, select the desired color scheme.

2. From this installation, use Notepad to view the WIN.INI file, and find the [colors] section.

3. Select the entire section, then choose Copy from the Edit menu in Notepad to copy this text to the Windows Clipboard.

4. In Notepad, open WIN.SRC from the shared Windows directory.

5. From the Edit menu, choose Paste and paste the [colors] section to the end of the WIN.SRC file.

Under Windows 3.1, there is also the automated setup command, SETUP /H, which allows you to customize the setup of workstations automatically. For more information on this topic, see pages 75-82 of the "Microsoft Windows Resource Kit" (WRK) guide for Windows version 3.1.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Windows User's Guide," version 3.0, pages 543-556 "Getting Started with Microsoft Windows," version 3.1, pages 6-9