Displaylink 9.1 inf - display layout provisioning

AlbanRampon · 04-02-2019, 03:32 PM

Hello Lenny,

It is now expressly forbidden for a graphics driver to change the default behaviour for screen layout that Windows has. So we can't bundle it within the driver itself.

The INF is used for driver installation only.
Microsoft deprecated co-installers shipped in the INF, so we can't add an add-on anymore (like we are in Windows 7).

That's why we have developped a Windows service to take care of the need, without infringing any rule for driver signatures from Microsoft.
We give an MSI version for remote deployments. The MSI is allowed to deploy software on top of the device driver.

The layout does NOT exist/live on the user machine. It is saved in the docking station itself. Therefore you can use the utility to burn the config in your docks, and deploy the driver MSI package separately which will read the dock and apply a layout at 1st connect only (we don't want to change a layout the user has already changed!)

We are investigating ways to ease the deployment/adoption of the feature. Our next thinking is, that if you use the hotdesking package, default extend left instead of Windows first default clone, if the dock has no layout saved.
We are also investigating other ways to propagate layout to the dock.

I'm very keen on hearing on your use case and suggestions for improvements. I am very conscious taking 20s per desk is quite expensive to retrofit existing desks...

Kind regards,
Alban

04-02-2019, 03:32 PM	#2
AlbanRampon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 1,685	Hello Lenny, It is now expressly forbidden for a graphics driver to change the default behaviour for screen layout that Windows has. So we can't bundle it within the driver itself. The INF is used for driver installation only. Microsoft deprecated co-installers shipped in the INF, so we can't add an add-on anymore (like we are in Windows 7). That's why we have developped a Windows service to take care of the need, without infringing any rule for driver signatures from Microsoft. We give an MSI version for remote deployments. The MSI is allowed to deploy software on top of the device driver. The layout does NOT exist/live on the user machine. It is saved in the docking station itself. Therefore you can use the utility to burn the config in your docks, and deploy the driver MSI package separately which will read the dock and apply a layout at 1st connect only (we don't want to change a layout the user has already changed!) We are investigating ways to ease the deployment/adoption of the feature. Our next thinking is, that if you use the hotdesking package, default extend left instead of Windows first default clone, if the dock has no layout saved. We are also investigating other ways to propagate layout to the dock. I'm very keen on hearing on your use case and suggestions for improvements. I am very conscious taking 20s per desk is quite expensive to retrofit existing desks... Kind regards, Alban __________________ Alban Rampon Senior product manager, universal docking stations and accessories Where to download the latest DisplayLink drivers How to clean up a corrupted installation How to report issues to DisplayLink for a speedy resolution