List workstations with Dentrix open
We have 53 computers in our office and when I need to close the month or run a rebuild with Dentrix that requires every computer to be out of Dentrix it can be a long process of getting everyone out. If there was a way on the server to list which computers by network name that have a module open it would speed up this process not only for us but for everyone with multiple computers.
Ricky Dominguez
shared this idea
This feature has been implemented in Dentrix G5, which is now shipping. Since G5 utilizes a true server-workstation relationship, you can now use the “Dentrix Server Administration Utility” (the program file is called “_ServerAdmin.exe”, and is located inside the Dentrix program folder), to view a list of all computers in the office that have a Dentrix module open (this is shown on the “Maintenance Tasks” tab of the utility).
Another added benefit of the new database architecture in G5 is that database rebuilds should no longer need to be run. In fact, starting with the G5 release, if running a rebuild EVER fixes an issue in Dentrix, we want to know about it.
17 comments
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Anonymous
commented
YEA!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hillaryvanb
commented
That would be awesome. This happens to me every time I try to run month end. It takes so much longer then it needs to because you need to find out who still has a module open.
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Claudio owner @ c-datausa.com
commented
On your server, right click 'My Computer' > manage > shared folders > sessions.
This will show you who is connected and the IP of the machine they are using. In there you will have an option to disconnect all connected sessions. -
James McLane, DDS
commented
The "net session" suggestion from Dr. Anderson's Office appears to work for us.
Also, on our version of Windows Server 2008, viewing open Share sessions is done through "Share and Storage Management" under Administrative tools. This will show not only open sessions (under "Manage Sessions") but also specific open files (under "Manage Open Files"). This still requires knowing which IP belongs to which computer, or having unique logins for each computer.
It would still be nice if Dentrix could do this for us, though. -
Dr Chris Anderson's Office
commented
This may not work in all cases, but a cmd prompt "Net Session" will show you which PC's are accessing shares on the server. If you use nailed IP's on the PC's, then this will easily tell you which PC's are still connected. If you know that the PC is idle, a "Net Session \\Computername /Delete" will drop the connection.
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Darla
commented
When I run month end from the server, I can go to the 'my computer' icon, right click, select shared folders, then select open files. It lets me know each and every computer that has a dentrix module still up and I just hilight the open sessions and close them. It has been such a time saver!
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Carol Bailey
commented
Seems like if you are going through the server to close down all open computers to do your monthend, you might be closing out someone who is in the middle of entering data. That could be a problem! However, I do agree that it is a pain to have to run around the office and close out each computer and tell the operator they can't use it for a period of time and then have to run around again and let them know when they can log back on. There must be a better way.
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Anonymous
commented
just go into my computer, my network connections and disable the network connection. This makes your computer stand alone and you can close out. Just remember to enable network connection when you are done.
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richmandental
commented
As long as you're going this far, why not have a button in Dentrix to shut down all the other open Dentrix modules from one station?
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Nancy Dee
commented
YES! GREAT IDEA.
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Michelle Mask commented
Yes Please do this. It would save lots of time!
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Ramsey Amin, DDS
commented
This would be a huge help for our 14 workstations. Running around from room to room to find that one that is still on is really frustrating!
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Patrick Baker
commented
While the script works, it would be better if Dentrix just fixed the problem. I suspect that when the SQL database wish is finally implemented, it will be relatively easy to just lock the database and run the closing procedure without having to disconnect all the client connections.
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Patrick Baker
commented
I have a Tcl script to close all the connections:
set stream [open "|psfile"]
set fileids [list]
while {[gets $stream line] != -1} {
regsub {^\[([0-9]*)\].*$} $line {\1} fileid
if [string is integer $fileid] {
lappend fileids $fileid
}
}#close $stream
foreach fileid $fileids {
puts $fileid
catch {
exec psfile $fileid -c
}
}You'll need Tcl (www.tcl.tk) and psfile.exe (www.sysinternals.com) to run this. The script finds all the remote connections to the server, then closes them. Takes about 2 seconds.
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Chris Anderson
commented
YES!!!!! That is so frustrating!
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Cheran Bee
commented
Jo's solution does work work very well, I do that also. However, sometimes I have a "Ghost" session that hangs the system up and at that point, I do have to restart the server. Good Luck!
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Jo Lizotte
commented
You should be able to do this from your server very simply! I do it all the time, I have 35 computers and know exactly what you mean, you can even close them out remotely, as I have had to do this when doing month end from home! Just right click on My Computer from the server desktop, then Manage, then Shared Folders, then Open Files. This will show you to the right which workstations are open. From there you can right click on each station and close out the session. Hope this helps!
