Introduction to StreetTalk Explorer
StreetTalk Explorer is Banyan's network management tool that allows you to manage StreetTalk resources on VINES and StreetTalk for Windows NT servers. StreetTalk Explorer operates on Windows 95 and Windows NT systems.
StreetTalk Explorer looks and operates much like Windows Explorer. But instead of displaying and managing files and folders, you display and manage StreetTalk users, groups, services, and other network resources.
StreetTalk Explorer's management tasks include creating and maintaining StreetTalk organizations, groups, users, lists, nicknames, and services. Refer to StreetTalk Explorer Management Functions for complete details.
On Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 systems, select Programs from the Start menu and point to StreetTalk Explorer. Its location in the Start menu depends on where you install it.
On Windows NT 3.51, click the StreetTalk Explorer icon in the StreetTalk Explorer program group.
Here are the main elements of the StreetTalk Explorer desktop.
StreetTalk Patterns - Enter or perform searches for StreetTalk names.
StreetTalk Servers - Enter or perform searches for StreetTalk servers and the group servername@Servers.
Browse Icons - Select a browse icon to display that object type in the StreetTalk objects pane.
Create Icons - Click an icon to create a new StreetTalk object.
Interrupt Button - Click this button to cancel the current processing task.
Left Pane - View StreetTalk organizations and groups. Expand or collapse organizations by clicking the plus or minus sign to the left of the organization name.
Right Pane - View the StreetTalk objects belonging to the current group.
To add search patterns to StreetTalk Patterns or StreetTalk Servers, from the StreetTalk menu, select Search Patterns, or right-click the StreetTalk Patterns or the StreetTalk Servers in the left pane and select Search patterns. Enter the search pattern in the text box. You can add custom search patterns to provide quick navigation to objects that you frequently manage or to view all objects with similar names.You can use wildcards for items and to include groups with similar names.
StreetTalk Explorer Management Functions
The following picture shows you the management tasks you can perform on a StreetTalk object.
Just as there are many ways to find a file using Windows Explorer, there are many ways to find StreetTalk objects using StreetTalk Explorer. The basic procedure is to (1) enter a StreetTalk name or pattern and (2) set the browse type. You do this by right-clicking the StreetTalk Patterns or the StreetTalk Servers in the left pane, selecting Search patterns, and entering a StreetTalk name or pattern in the text window.
By Complete StreetTalk Name
Type the three-part StreetTalk item name, click Add, and click Done.
The name appears in the left pane. Click the plus sign (+) next to the name and the StreetTalk object appears in the right pane.
By Group Name
Type the two-part StreetTalk group name, click Add, and click Done. The organization and group appear in the left pane. Click the plus sign (+) next to the name and the group's StreetTalk objects appear in the right pane depending on what Browse icon you select.
By Organization Name
Type the StreetTalk organization name, click Add, and click Done. The organization appears in the left pane. Click the plus sign (+) next to the organization name and the organization expands showing the groups belonging to the organization in the left pane. You can then select a group and a Browse icon and see the items belonging to the group in the right pane.
By a Previous Search
All your search patterns appear in the left pane. Click the plus sign (+) next to the search pattern and the StreetTalk objects appear in the right pane depending on what Browse icon you select.
Search Pattern Function Note
Only objects of the current Browse type display in the right pane. If the current Browse type is User, then Lists, Nicknames, Services are not displayed.
Note: The Search Pattern selection (*) displays all StreetTalk object types.
For the StreetTalk Servers search pattern, enter servername with and asterisk (servername*) and all groups on the server appear in the right pane. Enter a partial servername with an asterisk and all servers with that pattern appear in the right pane under that pattern.
To create a new StreetTalk object, click the icon for the object type on the Create Toolbar:
StreetTalk Explorer begins a wizard that guides you through the procedure - the procedure is different depending on the type of object and kind of server (VINES or StreetTalk for Windows NT).
To manage a StreetTalk object, right-click it on the desktop and select an option from the shortcut menu.
As shown above, the primary option is Properties. It displays the object's property sheet which consists of tabbed property pages. To view a property page, click its Tab.
Right click an object and select Attributes to view and manage a StreetTalk object's attributes. Attributes are managed with a program called the Attribute Editor. Below, the Attribute Editor displays the attributes of user admin@INFOPROD-NT-05@Servers.
The upper window displays the attribute collections defined in the object's AVD file.You can click the plus sign next to a collection to view the attributes it contains. You can scan for attributes of the current object that contain data.
Customizing the StreetTalk Explorer Desktop
You can configure the StreetTalk Explorer desktop according to your personal preferences. Experiment to find the presentation you prefer.
Using STDA to Find StreetTalk Names
StreetTalk Explorer uses the StreetTalk database to search for groups and organizations. However, it uses an STDA service to retrieve item-level StreetTalk names. You may designate a specific STDA service, use a default service, or turn off this option and use the StreetTalk database for all searches. You access this in the View menu under Options.
Using STDA increases searching speed, but may result in fewer names found. For complete technical details, see "Using STDA for Searching" in the StreetTalk Explorer help system.
Use the View menu to arrange how toolbars, the status bar, files, and icons display, and to set options.
Change the size of panes or columns on the desktop by dragging the bar that separates them to the desired position.
Move a toolbar by clicking on a toolbar border and dragging it to the desired location.
StreetTalk Explorer uses Z:/MESSAGES/STANDARD.AVD to store the attribute collection sets and types for the different StreetTalk objects. If desired, you may use another AVD file.
To Specify the Default AVD File
1. From the View menu, select Options.
2. In the AVD File Settings box, enter the path and filename of the AVD file or click Browse to search for and select it.
Getting Help While Using StreetTalk Explorer
You can access the StreetTalk Explorer help system in several ways:
Select Help Topics from the Help menu. Then use the table of contents or index to locate the topic you want.
Click the Help icon and then click the page tab label.
Activate "What's This?" help by right-clicking the field or button. Or click the Help button in the top-right corner then click the field or button.