Use the Image Explorer utility at a Windows workstation to view or modify workstation images, create add-on images, compress image files, and split images.
Although ZENworks Imaging Explorer looks and functions like Microsoft Windows Explorer in most situations, some functionality differences exist between the two programs. The following describes the key differences between how ZENworks Image Explorer and Microsoft Windows Explorer function:
Replacing Files in an Image: During the life cycle of an image, files might be deleted or updated using Image Explorer. When you replace an existing file in an image by using Image Explorer, the original file is not deleted from the image. Image Explorer purges only deleted files; it does not purge files that have been updated.
When files are added to an image where the file already exists, Image Explorer appends the entry to the end of the image. When images are restored, all files that have been previously updated are sequentially restored.
To avoid performance problems, you should manually delete and purge each instance of a duplicate file in order to have the duplicates purged from the image. In Windows Explorer, replaced files are automatically deleted.
Dragging Files from Image Explorer: You cannot drag files from Image Explorer in order to extract them, which you can do in Windows Explorer. However, you can drag and drop files and folders into an image using Image Explorer.
IMPORTANT:When editing a base image, do not exclude BPB files from it or the device won’t be able to boot the new operating system after receiving the image.
The following sections describe the tasks that you can perform using the Image Explorer:
Section D.1.5, Excluding a File or Folder from a File Set in the Open Image
Section D.1.6, Marking a File or Folder for Deletion in the Open Image
Section D.1.7, Purging Files and Folders Marked for Deletion from the Open Image
Section D.1.8, Extracting a File or Directory from the Open Image to a Folder
Section D.1.9, Extracting a File or Directory from the Open Image As an Add-On Image
Section D.1.10, Viewing a File from the Open Image in its Associated Application
The Image Explorer utility must be run on a Windows device. You need Samba running on the Linux imaging server where the utility file is located in order for the Windows device to have access to it.
There are no command line parameters for the Image Explorer utility.
To start Image Explorer, run the following file:
/opt/novell/zenworks/zdm/imaging/winutils/imgexp.exe
Start Image Explorer.
Click on the toolbar, browse for and select the image (.zmg) file, then click .
Large image files might take a few moments to open.
Start Image Explorer.
In the left pane, browse to the partition or directory where you want to add the file or folder.
Click or on the toolbar, browse to the file or folder, then click
or .Start Image Explorer.
In the left pane, browse to the partition or folder where you want to create the folder, click , type the name of the folder, then click
.Start Image Explorer.
Select the file or folder, click
, click , then select the file sets that you want the file or folder to be excluded from.This image has 10 possible file sets, labeled Set 1, Set 2, and so on. The files and/or folders that you selected in the main window is excluded only from the file sets that you select in this dialog box.
Start Image Explorer.
Select the file or folder, click
, then click .IMPORTANT:Deleting a file in the Image Explorer merely marks it for deletion; it can still be retrieved. A file marked as deleted is not removed from the image until the image is purged; files and folders marked as deleted are not restored during imaging.
Start Image Explorer.
Ensure that the open image has been saved, click
, then click .Browse to the image filename or specify a new image filename, then click
.Start Image Explorer.
Click the file or directory, click
> > , browse to and select a folder, then click .Start Image Explorer.
Click the file or directory, click
> > , type the name of the new add-on image, then click .Start Image Explorer.
Click the file, then click
> .Start Image Explorer.
Click on the toolbar.
Start Image Explorer.
Click on the toolbar, open Windows Explorer, browse to the files and folders you want the add-on image to contain, drag the files and folders into the right pane from Windows Explorer, then click
.Start Image Explorer.
Click on the toolbar, click the root of the image, click
, then click .You cannot add a partition to an existing add-on image or to any base image.
You can set compression options so that it takes less time to restore the image file and less space to store the file on your imaging server. You can compress an uncompressed image (including images created by previous versions of ZENworks) by 40 to 60 percent of the original file size.
The ZENworks Linux Management Image Explorer provides the following types of image compression:
Start Image Explorer.
Browse for the image (.zmg) file, then click .
Large image files might take a few moments to open.
Click
> .Browse to a folder, specify a new image filename, then select a compression option:
Optimize for Speed: Takes the least amount of time to compress, but creates the largest compressed image file.
Balanced (Recommended): Represents a compromise between compression time and image file size. This option is used by default when an image is created.
Optimize for Space: Creates the smallest image file, but takes longer to compress.
Click
.Files marked for deletion in the image are removed during the compression operation.
You can set compression options to quickly compress an image file without waiting for the file to fully load into Image Explorer.
To use QuickCompress:
Start Image Explorer.
Click
> click .Browse to the image file, browse to a folder, specify a new image filename, then select a compression option:
Optimize for Speed: Takes the least amount of time to compress, but creates the largest compressed image file.
Balanced (Recommended): Represents a compromise between compression time and image file size. This option is used by default when an image is created.
Optimize for Space: Creates the smallest image file, but takes longer to compress.
Click
.Files marked for deletion in the image are removed during the compression operation.
You can split an image file into separate files so that you can span the entire image across several CDs or DVDs.
When you split a device image and span it across several CDs or DVDs, you are essentially creating a base image on the first CD or DVD. The remaining CDs or DVDs are add-on images.
To restore a device image that has been spanned across several CDs or DVDs you should restore the first CD or DVD before restoring the remaining CDs or DVDs containing the add-on images. For more information, see Manually Putting an Image on a Device.
Restoring split Images is a manual task and can only be automated using scripted imaging. For more information, see Imaging a Device Using a Script.
To split an image:
Start Image Explorer.
Click
> .Specify an existing base image file to split, specify the directory in which to store the split images, then specify the maximum file size of each split-image file.
Because images are split by placing individual files into different images, an image cannot be split if it contains any single file that is larger than the specified maximum file size.
Click
.For base images, you can edit the value in the
field to allow you to change how big the ZENworks Imaging Engine makes the partition when the image is restored.For example, suppose you create a base image of a device with a 20 GB hard drive and you want to then put that image on a new device with a 60 GB hard drive. If you do not increase the size of the partition, the partition will be 20 GB, thus making the remaining 40 GB unusable.
However, if you increase the number in the
field to match the size of the new hard drive, the ZENworks Imaging Engine expands the partition when the image is restored so that you can use the entire drive.To resize a partition:
Start Image Explorer.
Right-click a partition in the left frame, then click
.Increase or decrease the value in the
field.You cannot decrease the number in the
field to a smaller value that what is in the field.The
field is not applicable for add-on images and cannot be modified for them.