launching tabs in a specific master window?

[ljwobker]

So apologies for not even knowing what the right word is for what I'm calling the "master window" - the thing you'd see if you just launched secureCRT with no options/configs at all.

Background: I run an instance of SecureCRT virtually 100% of the time with my "normal" tabs open. What I'm trying to do is automate something that looks like this:

0) via the command line (or more likely a batch file),

1) open a NEW instance/window(?) of secure CRT - one that starts without any tabs/sessions open (i.e. it ignores the default tabs that I have configured already)

2) for some number of SSH sessions (between 1-10 most of the time) I want to call secureCRT.exe [lots of options] and have it open that session and options inside a new tab, but that new tab is inside the 'master window' I just created, without changing anything about the original instance that I've got running.

I think there may be an option to specifically bind a new tab (the /T option) to a specific instance/window, but I don't know what to look for ...


A related question: I found this link to a useful command line reference, but is there a CLI reference maintained by VanDyke somewhere?

http://www.mathewjbray.com/securecrt...-line-options/

[bgagnon]

Hi ljwobker,

I need to know some basic info. I assume SecureCRT/Windows since you mentioned a batch file, but what version of SecureCRT?

2) for some number of SSH sessions (between 1-10 most of the time) I want to call secureCRT.exe [lots of options] and have it open that session and options inside a new tab, but that new tab is inside the 'master window' I just created, without changing anything about the original instance that I've got running.

If master window is also "original instance", I'm not sure what you mean about opening tabs in that window without changing anything. Please elaborate or maybe post screenshots that illustrate what you mean.

A related question: I found this link to a useful command line reference, but is there a CLI reference maintained by VanDyke somewhere?

All the command-line options are documented in three separate topics under SecureCRT's Help topic Using the Software / Command-Line Options:

• Using the Software / Command-Line Options / Overview of Command-Line Options
• Using the Software / Command-Line Options / Table of Standard Command-Line Options
• Using the Software / Command-Line Options / Table of Protocol-Specific Command-Line Options

[ljwobker]

Thanks, and sorry for forgetting the basics - I'm on Windows, ver 8.5.3. And yes, master window / original instance makes sense.

I think I've managed to figure out the behavior: if I launch secureCRT.exe without the /T option, it always opens a new instance.

If I launch using the /T option, it will place the new connection inside a tab within the most recently focused master window.

Assuming this is the intended (i.e. consistent) behavior, I can do what I need by building a batch file that looks something like:

1) open first connection in the group WITHOUT the /T option.
- this opens a new master window with that connection
2) use windows "timeout 1"
- this is required to give the system time to launch the new window and get it focused
3) launch each subsequent connection with the /T option, and unless something grabs focus away from that window (which is pretty unlikely) they all open in tabs in that new window.

[bgagnon]

Hi ljwobker,

Yes, the /T is to open in a tab and it will be in an existing instance if there is one.

Sounds like you have a good plan in place.

[ljwobker]

Yep - the part about the most recent focus determining where that new tab lands was an important discovery