Useful task scripts

Tasks are actions that Gizmo runs on a client PC automatically: when a guest logs in or out, when the PC starts, at different stages of a game launch. This article has ready-made scripts for common cases.

How to add a script

  1. Open Hosts → Tasks and create a task of the Script type.

  2. Choose the Script Type: Batch — for the commands in this article, Registry Script — for .reg scripts.

  3. Paste the script and turn on Hidden Task Execution.

  4. Assign the task:

    • to a gaming station event (User Login, User Logout, Computer Startup) — on the Task Activations tab;

    • to a game launch stage (Tasks Before Deployment, Tasks Before Executable Launch and others) — on the Tasks tab of the executable, see Executable card.

All task fields are described in Tasks.

These scripts delete files and change Windows settings. Check the paths against your PCs and run the task on one PC first.

Delete a folder

rd /s /q "C:\Path\to\folder"

For example, before a game launches you can delete the folder with its temporary files.

Delete a file

del /q /f "D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\appmanifest_550.acf"

Close a program

taskkill /im "programname.exe" /f

Replace programname.exe with the process name — you can see it in Task Manager on the Details tab.

Block a website

The script redirects website addresses to the PC itself through the hosts file, so the browser cannot open them. Assign the task to the User Login or Computer Startup event.

set "HOSTS=%windir%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts"
findstr /x /c:"127.0.0.1 www.example.com" "%HOSTS%" >nul || echo 127.0.0.1 www.example.com>>"%HOSTS%"
findstr /x /c:"127.0.0.1 example.com" "%HOSTS%" >nul || echo 127.0.0.1 example.com>>"%HOSTS%"

Replace example.com with the sites you need — one line per address. The findstr check keeps the same line from being added at every run. If the last line of the hosts file does not end with a line break, the first entry gets glued to it — open hosts in Notepad and check it once.

Hide the taskbar

In a security profile you can lock the taskbar against changes, but not hide it completely — see the question about the Start menu in the FAQ. You can hide it with the free NirCmd utility:

  1. Download NirCmd (64-bit) and on every client PC run nircmd.exe → Copy To Windows Directory — the utility is copied to the Windows folder.

  2. Create a script task and assign it to the User Login event:

timeout 3
nircmd.exe win hide class Shell_TrayWnd
nircmd.exe win normal title gizmo
nircmd.exe win max title gizmo

The first command hides the taskbar; the last two maximize the shell window to full screen.

Disable Windows Explorer

The strictest option: without Explorer the guest has neither a desktop nor a taskbar.

  1. In the security profile, add a File Name restriction — explorer.exe. For details, see Security profiles.

  2. Create a script task and assign it to the User Login event:

taskkill /im "explorer.exe" /f

Without Explorer, maintenance mode does not work properly: there is no Windows desktop. Also, tasks and profiles that disable Explorer are a common cause of a black screen when the shell starts — see Black screen or slow Gizmo Client startup.

Disable User Account Control (UAC)

Windows User Account Control (UAC) limits program permissions until an administrator approves them. Gizmo Server, which runs as a service, and Gizmo Client need administrator rights for some features, so we recommend turning UAC off on all PCs with Gizmo — both on the server and on client PCs.

Registry script (script type Registry Script):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"EnableLUA"=dword:00000000

By hand: press Win + R, type regedit, back up the registry (File → Export), open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System key and set the EnableLUA value to 0.

Restart the PC after the change. To turn UAC back on, set EnableLUA to 1.

Change how long pop-up notifications stay on screen

How many seconds Windows shows notifications (including the Gizmo notification that time is running out):

REG add "HKCU\Control Panel\Accessibility" /v "MessageDuration" /t REG_DWORD /d "10" /f

Replace 10 with the number of seconds you need.

More scripts