Automation with multiple desktops

[Aditya]

This post is somewhat related or rather inspired from:

http://www.autoitscript.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=30083&st=0&p=214878&hl=sanboxie&fromsearch=1&#entry214878

http://www.autoitscript.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=105715&st=0&p=747033&#entry747033

If I have softwares like Sandboxie or other Virtual Desktop solutions installed, which can provide application instance isolation, how can I automate those applications from outside of that desktop? In most cases what these virtual desktop solutions do is to create another explorer.exe instance (which essentially gives you another desktop) & installed applications are allowed to run in that space.

Even though I have to no initial code to show for, I was just wondering how would you go about controlling applications from outside the desktop of interest. So if I have 2 desktops running with their own applications, how would I go about controlling applications in desktop 2 form desktop 1? Any suggestions.

[Bam]

Might be able to send string to it with tcp or maybe if you have like a shared folder where you could write a .txt doc to that both would have access too.

[Aditya]

Yeah, but you still have to launch the automation script (which will run in inside desktop) from the outside desktop. So my initial hang up was, can I launch an application or script inside desktop 1 from desktop 2. Wouldn't the process space be completely different?

[Aditya]

Now that I think about it you can probably do some thing on these lines:

1) Create some sort of auto launch script, which would launch when the virtual desktop launches.

2) This script will create a PIPE that you can use to communicate with scripts on real desktop.

3) Send commands & response back & forth for controlling actions inside of the virtual desktop from the real desktop.

Any comments?

[Bam]

Now that I think about it you can probably do some thing on these lines:

1) Create some sort of auto launch script, which would launch when the virtual desktop launches.

2) This script will create a PIPE that you can use to communicate with scripts on real desktop.

3) Send commands & response back & forth for controlling actions inside of the virtual desktop from the real desktop.

Any comments?

Uhh well thats why I said tcp, cause that will do basicly 2 and 3 all you gota do is make it start when the virtual machine starts and you got number 1

[Aditya]

Actually I was going in that direction with your tcp idea . But, I want to be able to control the processes (& probably hook to them) inside of that second desktop. Does that make sense. If you implement every thing as a server client model, you have to implement a lot of stuff. Or am I missing this completely?

[Bam]

Ya you would probly have to implement a lot of things, idk how to help you there.