Adding Student Computers in the Console
To be able to monitor the student computers, you must first add them to the console. You can add computers in four ways:
- Add computers manually
- Add computers from Cloud
- Scan network for installed agents
- Add group of LAN computers
Use File menu to add computers:
Add Computers Manually
Select "Add computer..." from File menu:
The dialog has two tabs:
- Basic Options
- Advanced Options
Basic Options
Parameters:
Remote computer (host or IP):
Enter the network hostname or the IP of the student computer. When using DHCP on the local network you must enter the computer name.
Nickname:
Enter the name that you want to be displayed to easily identify the student computer.
Agent’ password:
In this field, enter the same password used when installing the agent.
Connection Type:
Direct Connection
It uses a direct TCP/IP connection between the admin console and the agents. The console acts as a client and the agent as a server. Direct connection works, e.g., if all computers are on the same network or proper routing is configured between subnetworks. The used port (default TCP 5444) must be enabled for communication.
Reverse Connection
It uses a direct TCP/IP connection between the admin console and the agents. The console acts like a server, and the agent as a client. Reverse connection works, e.g., if all computers are on the same network or proper routing is configured between subnetworks. You need to enable "Console Reverse connection Server" in the console. You need to specify console(s) host-name or IP to which agent will connect. The used port (default TCP 444) must be enabled for communication.
Cloud Connection
You can choose to make this computer accessible also via a Cloud connection by selecting "Use Cloud connection" which allows you to monitor the computer over the Internet.
Cloud license is subscription based. Read more about installation to the Cloud.
Advanced Options
Parameters:
TCP Port:
In this field, enter the same port used when installing the agent. The default port is 4495.
Connect automatically:
Mark this checkbox if the student computer should be automatically connected when the “Classroom Spy Professional Console” starts.
Monitor :
Select which monitor will be displayed as thumbnail.
Multisession - terminal (TS, RDP) options :
Select if your computer is RDP, TS server. This will allow you to see all remote sessions.
Account filter
Open the Account filter tab to choose which Windows user accounts on this computer are monitored.
Choose "Monitor all accounts except selected" to monitor every account except the ones you list (e.g. exclude "Administrator"), or "Monitor only selected accounts" to monitor only the accounts you list. Type an account name and click Add to add it to the list, select an entry and click Remove to remove it.
The filter is applied per session, so it also works correctly when the computer is a terminal server (TS, RDP) with several students logged in at the same time - each session's account is checked against the filter independently, and non-monitored accounts simply don't appear in the console.
Add Computers from Cloud
If you installed the agent on student computers using Cloud Connection type, then you can now add those computers to the console.
Please make sure that you created Cloud account. Cloud account can be created during agent installation or by using menu " Cloud / Create cloud account...".
Click here to read more about Monitoring using Cloud connection.
If you already created Cloud account then you can enter this Cloud account login information to the console using menu " Cloud / Configure cloud connection":
After that, you can use menu " Cloud / Add computers from Cloud" to add the computers that were already added to the Cloud.
When adding computers from the Cloud, you need to enter agent password (the password that was entered using agent installation on the student computer)
Scan Network for Installed Agents
If you already installed agents on student computers, you can scan the network and add them automatically.
Add Group of LAN Computers
You can automatically add computers on your LAN. Agent can be installed remotely if your LAN permits this (e.g. if you are NT DOMAIN Administrator).
Student Computers List
The Student Computers List displays all computers added. The computer icon displays the state of the student computer.
Several system commands can be easily accessed using the Object Menu, which can be invoked using a right mouse click.
Computers can be organized in groups - use " Add computer group..." from File menu.
Right-click a computer group and select "Filter by this group on Remote Screens" from the Object Menu to instantly filter the Remote Screens tab to that group - this is the same filter you can also set using the group filter drop-down on the Remote Screens tab.
By default, all computer groups are expanded when the console starts. You can change this using " Configuration..." from File menu, tab General, by unchecking " Expand groups when console starts".
Import and Export Computers (CSV, Tab-Delimited, Excel)
Computers and groups can be bulk-exported to a CSV, tab-delimited text, or Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) file, and imported back. Choose "Export Computers to File..." and "Import Computers from File..." from the File menu, or right-click a computer group (or an empty area of the list to include everything) and choose the same commands from the Object Menu. Files are read and written as UTF-8.
When exporting, pick the file type directly in the Save dialog: CSV (Comma delimited), CSV (Semicolon delimited), Tab Delimited Text, or Microsoft Excel. On import, the delimiter of a CSV or tab-delimited file is detected automatically.
The exported file uses the column order below. Columns can be reordered on import as long as the header row keeps the same column names; unrecognized columns are ignored, and a column left empty uses the default shown below - only host is required:
| Column | Description | Default when empty |
|---|---|---|
| group | Group path of the computer, e.g. /Lab1/RoomA. Missing groups are created automatically on import. | Root (/) |
| name | Display name (nickname) shown in the console. | Falls back to host |
| host | IP address or hostname of the remote computer. | Required - row is skipped if empty |
| port | Agent connection port. | Default agent port |
| password | Agent connection password. | See note below - never exported |
| connection_type | Direct, Reverse, Cloud, or a comma-separated combination. | Direct |
| auto_connect | Yes or No - whether the console connects automatically at startup. | Yes |
| multisession | Automatic, Single, or Multi. | Automatic |
| hwid | Hardware ID of the agent’s Cloud registration. | Required to auto-connect a Cloud entry; see note below |
The password column is always left empty on export - passwords are never written to the file. On import, a common password can be entered once and is used for every row whose password column is empty; a row with its own password value uses that value instead.
For a computer whose connection_type includes Cloud, hwid should also be provided - it identifies the agent’s Cloud registration. If it is left empty, open the imported computer’s Properties and re-enable Use Cloud connection to select the matching computer from your Cloud account and reconnect it.