How to force all users out of MonTel for administration purposes

In the PABX.INI file in the [program] section (use EdIni32.exe to view or modify) AllowOnlyAdminToUseMontel controls which users can be in MonTel, and will after a time delay force other users to exit if they are currently in MonTel. When AllowOnlyAdminToUseMontel = 0 all users are allowed to use MonTel, and if MonTelAutoRestart = 1 when MonTel was last started will allow users back into MonTel (see How to make MonTel or Notify automatically restart after an Admin shut down).

If you set AllowOnlyAdminToUseMontel = 1 then MonTel will prompt all normal users (that is, non MonTel Administrators to exit MonTel). The prompt will stay on the screen for about 15 seconds, after which MonTel will exit automatically (perhaps taking another 15 seconds). This process is not instantaneous, as the Client Programs will only check the PABX.INI file every every NumberOfDataRefreshesToCheckIni x MontelDataRefresh seconds. So even if NumberOfDataRefreshesToCheckIni x MontelDataRefresh = 30, you would still allow about a minute for all users to exit.

If you set AllowOnlyAdminToUseMontel = 2 then all users including MonTel Administrators will be prompted to exit.

In some cases (and when this does happen it seems to happen regularly on a just few specific computers) MonTel will not completely exit, and instead hang, probably keeping both Notify32.exe and PABX32.DLL open on the server. Therefore, before doing an upgrade it is important to check that all users have exited cleanly. MonInst will check that all users have really exited cleanly. We are still researching this problem, which is proving elusive if only because we are unable to replicate it on Netwiz test computers.

The only program that will not automatically exit is RESTART32.EXE. For more information on this see: How to make MonTel or Notify automatically restart after an Admin shut down.

In some places users are logging on and off so frequently that an installation may fail because a user has Notify32.exe locked (open) while AllowOnlyAdminToUseMontel is checked. Setting DontStartMonTelClient = 1 (in the [Program] section) will prevent the client program from continuing at a much earlier stage, thus reducing the risk that this problem will occur.

If you set DontStartMonTelClient = 1 then ALL MonTel (for windows ) clients programs will NOT be able to run including EDINI32. (Note - It will not shut down already open programs). This prevents even the splash screen from displaying. If you have set DontStartMonTelClient = 1 then you may need to edit the PABX.INI file with NOTEPAD.EXE (don't use any other text editor) to change DontStartMonTelClient = 0.