RasConnect for Windows NT Release Notes

This version of RasConnect is pretty much a complete rewrite from the original release. New features include:

	Rather than having a single set of options for each phonebook entry, RasConnect now works with Profiles. You can have as many profiles as you want,  each with its own settings.
	Execute as many commands after connecting as you want. Options for each command include whether or not to close the program when RasConnect exits,plus the ability to pause for a user-specified number of seconds before continuing.
	Tray icon has modem lights, a la Win98/RasMon.
	Status dialog shows connection time and total bytes sent and received.
	Logfile support: successful connections, unsuccessful connections, and dropped connections can each optionally be logged to a text file.
	New option for a pause between redials.
	RasKill command. RasKill is a separate program that can be run from the command line to tell RasConnect to hang-up and exit. Might be useful for scheduling purposes.
	About box to show complete version information.
	All known bugs in version 1 have been fixed.

Overview

This screen allows you to create and edit profiles, which contain information about how to establish a RAS connection. The connection parameters are pretty self explanatory. The Commands section allows you to set up commands that RasConnect will execute after a connection is made (See section below for more information). The Options section allows you to configure the settings RasConnect will use for this profile. These settings are described below:

	Save Password - If checked, RasConnect will save the password for this connection to the registry along with the other information. If you're worried about security on a machine that other people have access to, you might not want to use this.
	Exit After Connection - The default behavior of RasConnect is to minimize to the system tray after a connection is established. If this option is checked, RasConnect will exit instead. NOTE: If you check this option and don’t check ‘Run RASMon After Connecting’, you’ll have to manually launch RAS Monitor to hang up the connection.
	Run RASMon After Connecting – When this option is checked, NT’s built-in RAS Monitor will be launched after successfully connecting.

	Minimize After Connecting – Do I really need to explain this?
	Minimize to System Tray - Instead of minimizing to the taskbar like a regular application, RASConnect will place an icon in the system tray area that can be used to access the program.
	Reconnect After Link Failure – This is the same as NT’s RedialOnLinkFailure, except that it doesn’t depend on the AutoDial service for its functionality. I don’t use AutoDial because I don’t need it and I’ve had problems with it dialing my ISP for no reason when I didn’t want it to, so this is an alternative way to keep your connection up.

The logging options allow you to log certain events to a log file, which can be useful if RasConnect is running unattended and you want to check for success, failure, or line problems.

	Description - This is just a user-friendly description of the command that will be displayed in the commands listbox on the main screen.
	Command - This is the command line of the program you want to run. If you have 'Close this program when RasConnect Exits' checked, this setting must be the path to a executable file (i.e. EXE BAT CMD COM). If you do not have 'Close this Progam When RasConnect Exits' checked, you can put any command here that would work from the Run dialog available from the Windows Start Menu.
	Parameters - Any command-line parameters for the program, such as a file name. Be sure to put parameters here, not at the end of the command itself.
	Pause - If you enter a positive value here, RasConnect will pause for the specified number of seconds befure executing this command. This could be useful if you have to execute a command that requires a previous command to have completed. For instance, if you have one command that retrieves your IP number to a file or web page and another command that uses the IP number, you could use a pause to make sure that the first command finishes before the second one starts.
	Execute this Program Again After Reconnecting - If you have RasConnect configured to reconnect after a line failure, only commands with this option checked will get executed again in the case of a line failure.
	Run Minimized - Runs the command minimized.

If you find any bugs, please send me email. There are a few things you should know about the way RasConnect works:

	Command Execution: If you have the 'Close Program When RasConnect Exits' option enabled, the command you specify must be an actual program. On the other hand, if you don't use that option, any command that would work from the Run command on the Start Menu should work.
	Multilink Support: MLPP support remains unchanged from version 1.0, which means unless your device supports it transparently (ie ISDN) RasConnect won't get you MLPP.
	Password encryption: I looked into this, and it was just too much trouble. If someone has access to your registry, they probably have access to RasConnect, so encrypting the password wouldn't solve anything.
	If you have the Redial on Link Failure feature enabled, you should use the Hang Up button on the status dialog to terminate the connection. If you hang up the connection from RAS Monitor, RASConnect will think the connection has failed and attempt to redial.

RAS Scripts - I don't know of any way to get this functionality, so if you ISP requires a script, RasConnect won't work for you. Since almost all providers use PPP now, this should really be an issue.

Future Enhancements