This tutorial will show you how to query and modify object information, how to generate reports on the fly, and how to execute configuration tasks on an object.

1. Start WMIX by selecting the WMIX shortcut from the Windows Start Up menu. The WMIX program starts in a disconnected state.

2. Click on the Connect button located in the main toolbar of WMIX. In theConnect to window, enter the NetBIOS name, the DNS name or the IP address of the remote machine to query and click on the OK button.

Once connected, the Browse View displays the generic set of objects which can be queried on the remote computer. The list of root objects which is displayed is fully configurable, see Modifying the list of Root Objects.

Querying and reporting simple information

1. To view information on any of these objects, double-click on it. For instance, double-click on the Computer System Identity object. This object returns the identity information of the remote machine, such as the machine serial number and machine make. A new entry is displayed underneath the Computer System Identity object which corresponds to the actual instance of this object. To view the detailed information of this instance, select it and either:> Click on Object Properties in the Information panel > Right click on the mouse and select Properties from the context-sensitive menu > Select View >> Object Properties from the main menu

2. If you want to export this information in order to print it, click on the Report button located at the top right corner of the property window. A report action always generates an HTML report in the default report directory which is configured in Options.

See Find out more

In this example, only one instance resulted from the Computer System Identity category. However, many root objects will result in one or more instances. For example, a computer may have one or more shares, network adapters or installed software products. The next example shows you how to query and report such information. Close the previous property window, and let's query the currently installed software products on the remote machine.

3. Double click on the Product information root object. The Product information object reports all installed software products as registered by MSI. Depending on how many software products the remote machine has, this action may take a moment to complete. Once completed, the list of products are displayed underneath the Product object.

4. To create a report of all installed software products, make sure that the Product object category is selected and either:> Click on Report Instances in the Information panel > Right click on the mouse and select Report Instances from the context-sensitive menu > Select Report >> Report Selection from the main menu HTML report is then generated and opened. This report contains the summary and detailed information of all installed software products on the remote machine. As previously demonstrated, you can also select any individual product, open its properties window and report the information on that item alone.

Querying Information through Associations

The Browser view includes a large set of root objects which provides you with information about the remote machine. Not all information which can be reported from that machine is included. Having a root object for every data element that exists on a computer would be unrealistic. Instead, WMIX discloses the remaining information through associations.

Every object queried may have one or more associations with other system objects. For instance, a logical disk is associated with a partition, a volume quota, and a root directory. A disk partition is associated with a disk drive which is associated with a motherboard controller. Let us demonstrate how to discover information through associations.

1. Double click on the Logical Disk item. The configured instances of the logical disks on the remote machine are displayed.

2. To find the associations of a logical disk, double-click on it. Let's double-click on the 'C:' logical disk. The existing associations with the 'C:' logical disk are displayed with the actual role it plays with this instance.

We can see that this C: drive has a root directory associated with it, as well as partitions and some disk quota. The items shown here are the associations available for this object. To actually see the objects associated with the C: drive, select and double-click on any of its associations. For instance, let's double-click on the Logical Disk to Partition association to disclose the available partition for this C: logical disk. Once the partition instances are displayed, you can continue to discover further associations by double-clicking on the partition instance, then by double clicking on the associations found, and so on and so forth.

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Modifying configuration settings

You can modify any setting which is configurable on an object. For this tutorial, we will modify the remote machine's OS Recovery options so that it automatically reboots in the event of a crash. We will also configure the remote machine to send an admin alert.

1. Double click on the OS Recovery Configuration item to disclose the only OS recovery configuration object. Select the resulting item and open its properties window.

2. Whenever an object has configurable properties, they are displayed in blue in a separate category called Properties (read/write). Let's set the 'Auto Reboot' and the 'Send Admin Alert' properties to TRUE. You will notice that as soon as you do this, the Apply button is enabled. Click on the Apply button to save your changes. Then click on the OK button to close this window.

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Executing Tasks

Not only can you modify configuration settings but you can also execute available configuration tasks. When you select an object in the Browser view, the Information Panel shows the available tasks for the selection. Configuration tasks may exist for objects or for the resulting instances of an object.

If you select one of the software products queried in the previous example, the Information panel displays the following available tasks for that product:

• Configure...
• Reinstall...
• Uninstall...
• Upgrade...

Clicking on any of these tasks will execute the selected action. If you select the parent Product item, a new set of available tasks appears in the Information panel. These tasks do not apply to any particular instance of a product but to the product category itself.

• Admin...
• Advertise...
• Install...

For this tutorial, we will execute a 'Print Test Page' task on the remote machine's configured printer.

1. Double click on the Printer item to disclose the configured printers on the remote machine.
2. Select any of the printers configured on the remote machine and notice how the Information panel updates itself to show the available tasks for a printer, including the 'Print Test Page...' task.
3. To start the execution of a task, either: > Click on the task in the Information panel > Right click on the mouse and select the task from the context sensitive menuStart the execution of the 'Print Test Page' task.
4. The Task execution window appears:

This window displays the information about the selected task as well as the expected values to be returned. If any parameters were needed for the execution of a task, you will be prompted for them at this time. However, for the task at hand, no parameters are required.Click on the Execute button, and then click on OK when the confirmation prompt appears.

After the execution, the result is displayed.

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