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Batch User Creation - Before You Start

Batch User Creation HOW-TO -- Before You Start

Instructions

  1. Get information on all your students.
    1. Format a 3.5" floppy disk.
    2. Label your disk "Student Data from SIS".
    3. Go to the main office and logon to the Student Information System.
    4. Dump the Accelerated Reader user database to your floppy disk.
    5. Name the file "students.csv".
  2. Set up a network share to hold your work.
    1. On the PDC, create a directory called LoginProject.
    2. Share the new directory.
    3. Set the share access permissions to Full for Administrator, None for other users.
    4. Inside the new directory, create the following directories:
      • Data
      • Batch
    5. Inside Data and Batch, create the directories:
      • Students
      • Teachers
  3. Copy the Accelerated Reader users file to LoginProject\Data\Students.
  4. Open your web browser and go to http://cuip.net/tech/logins/programs/nt4/expanded-copy-to-winntsys32..
  5. Download the items there to C:\WINNT\SYS32:

Explanation

The point of this HOWTO is to use formulas in Excel to create DOS batches that will save a lot of time in creating user accounts for all the students in your school. However, if you had to enter every student by hand, the whole project would be beside the point. Luckily, there's already a place to get a file that Excel will understand that includes all the students in your school. It's the user database for Accelerated Reader, which you can get from the Student Information System, accessible from the main office. You'll have to get one of the office staff to get you access, but once you're logged in, you can dump the database to a blank floppy.

Once you have the file on the floppy, you'll want to create a place to store it on the network. Since the user accounts will be created on the PDC, it makes good sense to store it there. You don't absolutely have to your work there; you can do everything in this article from any WinNT or Win2K workstation that's connected to the domain. In fact, most schools' MDF room are small and hot, this probably a good idea. Nevertheless, if you store everything this HOWTO helps you make on that computer, you'll never forget where it is. So go the PDC, create a new directory called something like "LoginProject." None of the names we use in this HOWTO have to be what's written here, but it might make it easier to follow along if they are.

From here on, the HOWTO assumes you are using the same names it is.

Now make this directory a network share that only the Domain Administrator group has access to. To do this, right click on LoginProject and select the "Sharing" tab. Select "Share As..." and enter a name for the share. Now click the "Permissions" button, remove everyone listed in the box, and click "Add". Find the Domain Administrators group, and add it click. Now click "OK". Back on the Permissions screen, give the Domain Administrators group Full access.

Inside this new directory, create a folder called Data, where you'll store all the spreadsheets we create in Excel, and one called Batch, where you'll keep all the batch files that you produce. Inside Data, create Students and Teachers; we'll only be working with Students in this HOWTO, but this will help you keep everything separate later if and when you move on to do the teachers. Copy the student data file, "students.csv" into \LoginProject\Data\Students.

In order for the batch files you'll be creating to do their job, you'll need to have a handful of programs that aren't necessarily on your machine already. While you're still at the PDC, download the programs from the website above to C:\WINNT\SYS32. If you'll be following this HOWTO from a workstation not in the MDF, make sure that computer also has all the programs the website in C:\WINNT\SYS32.

Once everything is in place, make sure you can get to the new share from the network. Go to "Network Neighborhood," open the domain, find the PDC, open it and try to access the new share. Also, test to make the programs you downloaded from the CUIP website will work from the command line. Click "Start", click "Run", and enter

rmtshare

If you get a screen explainig how to use rmtshare.exe, then it worked. Repeat this process for addusers and xcacls. If everything checks out, you're good to move onto the next section.

Next: Batch User Creation - ADDUSERS
Previous: Batch User Creation - Introduction
Up: Batch User Creation - Table of Contents
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This page is: http://tech.cuip.net/topics/logins/start.html
Author: Ben Buckley, benb@cuip.net
Last updated at 09:11 2005n June 17, 2005.
It has had 777919 visitors.