description
Automatically open and close Windows lab apps based on user sessions.

Lab Control

dLabAppControl is an AutoHotKey script designed to auto-control the lab app lifecycle based on user session events (RDP) in the DecentraLabs lab provider machine.

This single-instance AHK v2 script that launches your lab control app on connect, keeps it foregrounded, and closes it automatically when the user session changes (e.g., disconnects).

Usage:
dLabAppControl_v2.exe "WindowClass" "C:\path\to\app.exe"

Advanced usage with custom close:
dLabAppControl_v2.exe "WindowClass" "C:\path\to\app.exe" "Button2"
dLabAppControl_v2.exe "LVWindow" "C:\path\to\myVI.exe" 330 484

or

"C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\v2\AutoHotkey.exe" dLabAppControl_v2.ahk "window ahk_class" "C:\path\to\app.exe"

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🚀 Features

• Single instance & CLI args
  Runs as a single instance and takes two arguments: target window class and app executable path.
• Smart auto-startup
  If the target window isn't found, it launches the lab control app and waits (up to 6 s) for the window.
• Window management & hardening
  Activates and maximizes the window; removes minimize and close buttons to prevent user-initiated closure.
• Session-aware auto-shutdown
  Automatically closes the app when a new RDP session event is detected (e.g., connect/reconnect/disconnect from Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager/Operational, IDs 23/24/40).
• Background monitoring (2 s interval)
  Runs silently, polling every 2 s via native wevtutil (faster than PowerShell).
• Custom close methods
  Supports graceful app closure via ClassNN controls or X,Y coordinates for LabVIEW/custom apps.
• Smart coordinate handling
  Automatically converts WindowSpy CLIENT coordinates to screen coordinates with robust fallbacks.
• Enhanced logging
  Detailed logs saved to script directory with configurable verbosity for debugging.
• Lightweight integration
  No changes to the lab application; acts as a wrapper on the provider's Windows machine. Optional compile to EXE.

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🔧 Installation and Use

First option (using the executable):

1. Download dLabAppControl_v2.exe.

2. Run with:

   # Basic usage
   .\dLabAppControl_v2.exe "YourWindowClass" "C:\Path\To\LabControl.exe"
   
   # With custom close button (ClassNN)
   .\dLabAppControl_v2.exe "Notepad" "C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe" "Button2"
   
   # With custom close coordinates (LabVIEW/custom apps)
   .\dLabAppControl_v2.exe "LVWindow" "C:\Path\To\myVI.exe" 330 484

Second option (download and compile script)

1. Install AutoHotKey v2.

2. Place dLabAppControl_v2.ahk on the provider machine.

3. (Optional) Compile:

   "C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\Compiler\Ahk2Exe.exe" /in "dLabAppControl_v2.ahk" /out "dLabAppControl_v2.exe"

4. Run with:

   "C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\v2\AutoHotkey.exe" dLabAppControl_v2.ahk "YourWindowClass" "C:\Path\To\LabControl.exe"

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⚙️ Configuration

The script includes several configuration constants that can be modified at the top of the file:

Core Settings

• POLL_INTERVAL_MS: Monitoring interval in milliseconds (default: 2000 = 2 seconds)
• STARTUP_TIMEOUT: How long to wait for app window to appear (default: 6 seconds)
• CloseOnEventIds: RDP event IDs that trigger app closure (default: [23, 24, 40])
  • 23: Logoff, 24: Disconnect, 40: Reconnect

Debugging & Testing

• VERBOSE_LOGGING: Enable detailed polling logs (default: false for production)
• RDP_CONTEXT: Enhanced logging for RDP/Guacamole environments (default: true)
• TEST_MODE: Test custom close after 5 seconds - DISABLE IN PRODUCTION (default: true)

Custom Close Methods

The script supports three ways to close applications gracefully:

1. Standard cascade: WinClose → WM_SYSCOMMAND → WM_CLOSE → ProcessClose
2. ClassNN control: For Win32 apps with accessible controls

   dLabAppControl_v2.exe "Notepad" "notepad.exe" "Button2"

3. Client coordinates: For LabVIEW/custom apps (use WindowSpy CLIENT coordinates)

   dLabAppControl_v2.exe "LVWindow" "myVI.exe" 330 484

Finding Window Information

Use the included WindowSpy.exe tool to identify:

• Window Class (ahk_class): Used as first parameter
• ClassNN controls: For control-based closing
• CLIENT coordinates: Most reliable for custom apps (not Screen or Window coordinates)

Log Files

• Location: Same directory as script/exe (dLabAppControl.log)
• Contains: Startup info, coordinate calculations, event detection, close attempts
• Enable VERBOSE_LOGGING for detailed polling information.

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🌐 Integration with DecentraLabs

Run this script when a user session starts (e.g., on Guacamole/RDP connect).
It will keep the lab app active and will close it on the next RDP session event (typically the disconnect at the end of the session).