The argument selector window is used to configure conditions, set properties and specify method parameters.
Some arguments may have been allocated a default value, while others show with a <no value> entry. You need to configure every argument which is in the list, even if the value is irrelevant or is blank.
If multiple arguments are displayed, selecting an argument from the list updates the Description panel at the bottom of the Argument Selector window. If only one argument is displayed, the description is placed in the Task Panel on the left. Pay special attention to the description of each argument since it will provide you with the necessary information to configure the value.
Tip: When setting the value of a string, you can generally include Substitution Variables (see below).
To enter the value, click on its value field. Refer to the argument's description for information about the value expected by Goverlan.
Example: Referring to the figure above, we see that the Argument Selector has been opened for the execute action named Shutdown. The Shutdown action requires 5 arguments. As shown, the Action Type argument is selected. The Action Type is an argument of type = Number. To find out what the actual number value should be, we look at the description panel which tells you that the Action Type must either be 0, 1 or 2 depending on the desired action: Shutdown, Power Off or Reboot. Since we want to Power Off the computer, we set this value to 1.
Substitution Variables are keywords which are automatically substituted at runtime with the value they represent. Substitution Variables can only be used for string arguments.
The available substitution variables are:
%DOMAINNAME% - is automatically substituted with the NetBIOS domain name of the target object
%USERNAME% - is automatically substituted with the user name of the target user object
%COMPUTERNAME% - is automatically substituted with the computer name of the target computer object
%GROUPNAME% - is automatically substituted with the group name of the target group object
For example, you could apply the following Set Action to the users of a selected scope:
User.Account Information.Roaming Profile Path = "\\SERVERNAME\%USERNAME%"
User.Account Information.Description = "This user belongs to the %DOMAINNAME% domain"
During the execution of the scope action, the variables are automatically replaced by the focused object's user id and domain.
Note: Conditions do not process substitution variables. Substitution variables can only be set for Set or Execute Actions.
Dynamic Values allow you to set a parameter to a value based on other object attributes and calculated during the execution of the scope action. A dynamic value is a string which defines how the final value should be compiled. You can configure a dynamic value definition for every type of value: String, Number, Date & Time and Boolean.
Select the argument from the list.
Click on the Set Dynamic Value Definition link in the task panel. Note: The currently configured value for that argument will be removed.
Configure the dynamic value definition and click on OK.
The Argument Window displays arguments configured as dynamic with a pale blue background
Once a dynamic value has been configured, click on the Expand [...] button to open the Dynamic Value Definition window. From there you can either modify the definition or click on the Remove Dynamic Value link to reset the argument as a static value.
A Dynamic String Definition may contain any combination of static text and value of other attributes.
To Insert Static Text : Type it at the desired location.
To Insert the Value of Another Attribute : Place the text caret at the point of insertion and click on the [Insert] key. Then, select the attribute from the menu. You can select any type of attribute (even numbers and dates) except for array attributes.
The attribute selection menu also includes special pre-defined items:
Current Date & Time
The current date and time value during execution.
Incrementor
A numerical value which starts at 1 and is increased for each instance in your scope.
Example: You want to populate the active directory Description field of your computer objects with statistics about the password age of the account.
Under the Action Module configuration, select Add/Remove > Set Computer Property > Computer Account Information > Description
In the Argument Selection window, select the Description argument and click on the Set Dynamic Value Definition link
Configure the dynamic value definition to be the following combination of text and attributes:
Running this scope action would result in the description field of computer accounts to display something similar to: On December 20th 2009, MACHINE_123 's password age was 124 day.
A Dynamic Numerical Definition may contain any combination of numerical operators and number value of other attributes.
To Insert numerical operators: Type it at the desired location.
The following operators are allowed: + - * / ( ) [ ]
To Insert the value of another attribute : Place the text caret at the point of insertion and click on the [Insert] key. Then, select the attribute from the menu.
You can only select attributes of the following types: Number
The attribute selection menu also includes special pre-defined items:
Current Date & Time
The current date and time value during execution.
Incrementor
A numerical value which starts at 1 and is increased for each instance in your scope.
Example: You need to set a numerical value to the percentage of physical memory available
Configure the dynamic value definition to: ( {Memory Information:Available Physical RAM (KB)}/ {Memory Information:Total Physical RAM (KB)}) *100
A Dynamic Boolean Definition may contain any combination of Boolean operators and Boolean or Integer values of other attributes.
To Insert the boolean operator : Type it at the desired location.
The following operators are allowed: AND , OR , NOT , < , <= , > , >= , = , <> , + , - , * , / , ( , ) , [ , ]
To Insert the value of another attribute : Place the text caret at the point for insertion and click on the [Insert] key. Then, select the attribute from the menu.
You can only select attributes of the following types: Boolean, Number
The attribute selection menu also includes special pre-defined items:
Current Date & Time
The current date and time value during execution.
Incrementor
A numerical value which starts at 1 and is increased for each instance in your scope.
Example:
{Account Statistics:Password Age} > 60 AND NOT({User Account Information:User Cannot Change Password} OR {User Account Information:Password Never Expires})
Results in TRUE if the user’s password age is greater than 60 days, and the user is allowed to change their password, and if the password expires.
A Dynamic Date & Time Definition may contain any combination of numerical operators and date & time value of other attributes.
To Insert numerical operator : Type it at the desired location.
The following operators are allowed: + , - , * , / , ( , ) , [ , ]
To Insert the value of another attribute : Place the text caret at the point for insertion and click on the [Insert] key. Then select the attribute from the menu.
You can only select attributes of the following types: Date & Time
The attribute selection menu also includes special pre-defined items:
Current Date & Time
The current date and time value during execution.
Incrementor
A numerical value which starts at 1 and is increased for each instance in your scope.
Time Span – 1 Min:
A 1 minute time stamp which can be used in date operations.
Time Span – 1 Hour:
A 1 hour time stamp which can be used in date operations.
Time Span – 1 Day:
A 1 day time stamp which can be used in date operations.
Example:
{Current Date and Time}+ 60 * {Time Span: 1 Day}
Would result in 60 days from the current date & time.