To connect to a remote machine with WMIX, EV Reach's WMI explorer, use one of the following methods:

• Click on the Connect button in the main toolbar or open the main command menu and select Connect.
• Open the  main command menu and select a computer object within theRecent Connections entries.
• Double-click on an entry in the Favorites panel.

During a connection, WMIX first tests proper connectivity to the remote machine by pinging it and fails the connection if the remote machine does not answer. If the remote machine is behind a firewall which doesn't allow pings to go through, you will need to un-check the Always test connectivity before querying a machine setting in the Network Settings category of WMIX Options.

Once the connection is established, the Browser View displays the configured root object categories.

WMI Explorer: Connecting to another machine

Once you are connected to a machine, you can change the focus of the Browser by clicking on the Connect button in the main toolbar, or selectingBrowser >> Connect from the main menu, or by double-clicking on a new entry in the Favorites panel. The current connection is then closed and a new connection is established.

WMI Explorer: Connecting to two or more machines

You can simultaneously connect to many remote machines. To do so, select theOpen in new window option as described below:

• Using the Favorites Panel, select an entry, right click on the mouse and select Open in new window from the context sensitive menu.
• Using the Connect command, check the Open in new window box before clicking on OK.
• Click on the Add Tab button in the ribbon bar or right-click on an existing Browser tab and select New Browser from the context sensitive menu, then use a standard connect method.

Any of these options will create a Browser window as a new tab in the main view. Each tab can be connected to a different machine.

Managing the Browser tabs

If you have multiple machine tabs opened, you can re-arrange them in your workspace according to your preference.

• To change the position of a tab within its group, select it and drag it right or left to the desired location.
• To move a tab from one group to another, select it and drag it to the desired group.

Managing a remote machine

Once you have connected to a remote machine with WMIX, EV Reach's free WMI explorer, you will be presented with three ways to explore a machine's objects. If you are familiar with WMI, the description of these options will be easy to understand. If you are not familiar with WMI, the Browser view requires no knowledge of WMI technology. Again, you do not need to know WMI to use WMIX.

• The primary way to explore a machine's information is the Browser View (WMI GUI Tools) . This view allows you to organize a set of root object categories which are the starting points to query information from. The root objects in the Browser view can be WMI classes, WMI associations or WMI queries. WMIX comes with a default, pre-defined set of root objects which encompasses the most common information you may need. You can modify the list of root objects to include your own WMI objects and queries.
• The second way to explore a machine's information is by using the View by Namespace & Class section. This view is more specific to WMI as it displays the full set of namespaces and their child objects which exist on the remote machine. A WMI namespace is like a file folder. It is a container which groups child objects that relate to one another in some way. A namespace contains a hierarchy of classes and associations which define either a machine's object or the relationship between two or more objects. The most commonly used namespace is CIMV2 (Common Information Model Version 2.)
• The third and final way is the Query WMI View. Again, this view is specific to WMI as it requires the knowledge of WQL (WMI Query Language). WQL allows you to specify a query string which describes the type of information you need. A WQL query can be very sophisticated because it can include conditions which makes it a very powerful way to retrieve information from a remote machine.

To switch from one view to the other, click on their respective tabs at the bottom of the main window. You can switch from one view to another at any time since they are independent of one another.

Closing Browser windows

If you have two or more WMI Browser tabs opened, you can choose to close them individually or all at once.

• To close the active browser window click on the Close Tab button in the ribbon bar.
• To close all the browser windows click on the Close all Tabs button in the ribbon bar.