Scripting

The problem here is, how do you know that the user wants the document saved? If you overwrite someone's 400-page ouevre with an older version which they'd opened for reference only, you wouldn't exactly be top of their Christmas card list.

Most shops would take the view that if, after being warned, users still leave documents open, they really can't complain if the content is lost after a system resart. Maybe your script could record the log-in IDs of the users in question: you can then be forearmed on the level of flak to expect?

VBScab thanks for the reply. Point well taken.

Your network has the same view, "that you have been warned that weekly restarts have been scheduled and your work will be lost if not saved." I am just attempting to minimize some end user grief. Since over time it seems that some end users forget about the restart policy.

Good thought on recording the log-in ID's and approaching it from that angle.

At one client, we built a black-list of users, who were then targeted with an Outlook reminder, 'x' hours before the restart. After that, what excuse is there left?

Needless to say, there were still some complainers LOL

I guess it was a good, thought, just real no way around the human factor as usual.

It's like sending an email with all good information, and come to find out that majority of the recipients only read like the first line or ten words and ignore the rest.

I guess I will put this adventure to rest for now.

Thanks for the help.

Microsoft Office has "AutoRecover" built-in which saves the open documents every 10 mins (if left on the default time).  Therefore when users logon they *should* be able to open recovered docs when they open Word on its own which will display a list of documents to recover (if 2007/2010) or re-open the recovered docs for you (2003).  You can force the AutoRecovery by editing a document, wait 10mins, open Task Manager, select the WINWORD process and click & hold the End Process button and then release.  See Method 3 on http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827099

If users are provided this AutoRecovery there should be fewer complaints.

Most medium/enterprise clients I've dealt with that use Citrix or Terminal Server have servers rebooted at 3:00-4:00am, and almost all of them send a pop-up to each user 15mins before the reboot with a warning and asks them to save and logoff or risk losing their work.

Darwinism thanks for the reply.

Since my orginial post we have moved from XP to Windows 7 x64 Pro, and moved everyone to Office 2007.

The "auto recover" is in place and being used. We current are in the process of deploying Office 2010 to our remote sites (in the last 6 months). Part of the deployment I have set the "auto save" to 2 minutes.

The issue is most end users aren't sure what to do when the dialogue comes up about a document has been recovered, and what to do with the list of recovered documents/versions. Some just start the document over.

We have a weekly restart routine that is triggered by ZCM, and my goal is/was to enhance this routine to end the end user confusion on which document/version to use/recover. This is for the people who leave at 5pm when the restart happens at 2 am. Plus there is a message that come up about the restart/save your work for those who work 3rd shift.

So, I've been at times still trying to write a script that will verify the running process from Office, and then detect the "save the changes" dialogue box and select the save option in the background, and then allow the pc to complete the restart process.

Still no success.