How do I customize the Account and Resource Management Win32 console? (NETIQKB36330)

Goal
How do I customize the Account and Resource Management Win32 console?
How do I save settings for the ARM console?
What is the purpose and function of the .arm file?

Fact
Directory and Resource Administrator 7.x
Directory and Resource Administrator 8.0

Fix

The Account and Resource management console can be customized and shared wth Assistant Admins.  The Delegation and Configuration console can be customized but cannot be saved and shared by Assistant Admins.

The following are some of the fields and properties which can be customized\configured in the Accounts and Resource Manangement console:

• The Name of the DRA server to connect to.
  
• The Specific DC for each domain so that all password resets for users are performed on a specific domain controller.
  
• The Search criteria.
  
• The column set, order, and widths for lists in the console result pane.
  
• The Selected Node in the console tree.
  
• The Visible state of the search pane, console tree, and other UI elements that can be toggled between shown and hidden.
  
• The Console Size and Position.

To configure the Account and Resource Management console to disribute to all Assistant Admins, please perform the following steps:

1. Launch the Account and Resource Management console.
   
2. Select Connect to DRA server option from the File menu.
   
3. Select the Connect to this DRA server radio button.
   
4. Make any other configuration changes desired such as Show\Hide the console tree, the search pane, or the details pane.
   
5. Select Save As... option from the File menu.
   
6. Specify a file name for the DRA Console File (*.arm) in the File name: field.
   
7. Click Save.
   

The saved file can then be distributed to all Assistant Admins.  Assistant Admins can  double-click this file, which will connect them to the desired DRA server specified in step 4.

Note

The Account and Resource Management console saves its configuration information to the following two files:

User Preferences file
One per user, hidden from user
Filename = AdminConsole.arm or UserConsole.arm
Dir = C:\Documents and Settings\<UserID>\
Local Settings\Application Data\NetIQ\DRA\

Console file
Name and location chosen by user (can create many)
Used only by Accounts & Resource Management console.
Can be shared/reused by other users and contains a subset of info in user preferences file.
Overrides the user preferences file

Note
The saved ARM file can only be launched on machines where the Account and Resource Management console has been installed.

Note

The following settings are not saved to the ARM file and thus will be ignored if changed.

• Dialog window settings, such as position and size (object pick dialog boxes)
• Wizard settings, such as hiding the welcome page
• Last search criteria from object pickers

Formerly known as NETIQKB36330