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Chapter 8 Administering Client Computers 97
Remote Desktop keeps track of three kinds of task progress: active, Task Server, and
completed. Active tasks are those which are currently being processed by the client
computers, and the client computers have not all reported back to the administrator
console. Some tasks are so short that they only briefly appear in the list of current tasks;
other tasks may take a long time and remain there long enough to return to the task
and view the progress as it happens. The Active Tasks list is located in the left side of
the Remote Desktop window, and has a disclosure triangle to expand or hide the list.
Task Server tasks are those which have been assigned to the task server (either the one
running on the administrator’s computer, or a remote one) which have not yet
completed for all the task participants.
Completed tasks are those which have received a task status for all participating client
computers. The task description and computer list then moves to the task history list.
The task history list is located in the left side of the Remote Desktop window, and has a
disclosure triangle for expanding or hiding the list.
In addition to the task status and notification features of Remote Desktop, you can set a
task notification shell script to run when any task has completed. This script is for all
tasks, but it can be as complex as your needs require.
Enabling a Task Notification Script
When a task completes, Remote Desktop can run a script that you create. This script is
for all completed tasks, and it must be a shell script. There is a default notification script
provided, which you can customize for your needs. The script must be a shell script, but
you can use various other scripting environments like AppleScripts with the osascript
command.
To enable a task notification script:
1 Make sure you are logged in as an administrator user.
2 Open Remote Desktop.
3 Choose Remote Desktop > Preferences.
4 Click the Tasks button.
5 Select “Enable task notification script.”
6 Choose the location of the script.
The default notification script is located at /Library/Application Support/Apple/Remote
Desktop/Notify.
7 Close the Preferences window.