Part 2
100% sound level reset at reconnect.
This was a hard one and actually the one issue that started it all. Trying to find a solution on the internet never got me anywhere.
Lots of recommendations of doing something during log on and log off events but no real solution to the reset of the sound levels to 100 % when reconnecting.
Even asking around at lots of places never got my any further than learn to live with this cannot be fixed.
- And that just is an answer I don’t like, and don’t believe (see me introduction :smileylaugh: )
So yes it was quite some work it involves some 3rth party libraries but in the end I got something that works, only downside due to the way windows manages events it sometimes lags for 1 to 3 seconds before changing the settings but this is always better than not changing them at all.
In this case the user should be able to set the volume themselves so I created a vb.net Form application which resides in the system tray to fix the sound issue.
The application uses xenolightning / AudioSwitcher (https://github.com/xenolightning/AudioSwitcher/blob/master/LICENSE) as wrapper dll to implement some fdunctions to change the sound settings.
These dll’s can be downloaded trough the NuGet function in visual studio :
These DLL’s really made things a lot easier.
And are under a Microsoft Public License
So for the program :
What do we have to fix ?
Well mainly the fact that when you reconnect to a VDI the sound will reset to 100 % and the settings cannot be saved anywhere, since there is no logon or logoff event a logon or logoff DEM script will not fix this either. But it would be nice if the user preferences could be saved and restored trough DEM so let’s keep that in mind.
So what is it I can use to actually know when to change the sound levels, let’s see if there is something triggered when I reconnect back to my VDI. And this seems to be the case. Apparently at least in our environment a reconnect is seen as a session logon or a session unlock two events that can be handled by a VB.net application so let’s try to (ab)use that, and this turned out to become the main part of the program :
Adding an event handler
AddHandler Microsoft.Win32.SystemEvents.SessionSwitch, AddressOf SessionSwitch
And adding a function that triggers
Private Sub SessionSwitch(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As Microsoft.Win32.SessionSwitchEventArgs)
If e.Reason = e.Reason = SessionSwitchReason.SessionLogon Or e.Reason = SessionSwitchReason.SessionUnlock Then
Some code to change sound settings and done
End if
End sub
This up here looks easy but after adding some code it just wasn’t working right somehow sound could not be set at once. I read in a post that increasing sound level by 1 and decreasing it again triggers a change with a different NirSoft tool so we had to work from there. And that became the code below.
I added some comments (and if you compile it this way you will have a paypal link to me in the about form but feel free to delete it, although it was quite some work getting this stuff working)
Since the forms contain some element it might be smart to download the source file since it will be easier to recreate.
Setup from scratch :
Add two forms to the project (Form1 and Form 2)
Here is a screenshot of the controls and names on form 1 and form 2
Add the components to the right forms and take over the right names for the code to work.
Now add the code below to Form1
Form1
'imports some needed libraries dont forget to also reference the dlls into your solution
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports AudioSwitcher
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Public Class Form1
'create a sound device to use
Public device As AudioSwitcher.AudioApi.CoreAudio.CoreAudioDevice
Public strappdata As String
'hide the close button on the form
Private Const CP_NOCLOSE_BUTTON As Integer = &H200
Protected Overloads Overrides ReadOnly Property CreateParams() As CreateParams
'make the close button dissapear
Get
Dim myCp As CreateParams = MyBase.CreateParams
myCp.ClassStyle = myCp.ClassStyle Or CP_NOCLOSE_BUTTON
Return myCp
End Get
End Property
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
'add an event handler to catch the logon and unlock events
AddHandler Microsoft.Win32.SystemEvents.SessionSwitch, AddressOf SessionSwitch
'get the appdata folder for teh user
strappdata = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData)
'get the default playback device usually the master volume when no other devices are present
device = New AudioApi.CoreAudio.CoreAudioController().DefaultPlaybackDevice
'print info on a label on the form and resize properly
Label1.Text = "Current volume level of: " & device.FullName.ToString
lblvolume.Left = Label1.Left + Label1.Width + 10
HScrollBar1.Left = lblvolume.Left + lblvolume.Width + 10
btnmute.Left = HScrollBar1.Left
Button1.Left = btnmute.Left + btnmute.Width - Button1.Width
Me.Width = HScrollBar1.Left + HScrollBar1.Width + 25
'check for setting file and if its present read values from it to set the master volume
If System.IO.File.Exists(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini") = True Then
Dim sReader As System.IO.StreamReader = Nothing
Dim strRead() As String = Nothing
sReader = New IO.StreamReader(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini")
While sReader.Peek <> -1
strRead = Split(sReader.ReadLine, "=")
If strRead(0).ToString = "Volume" Then
'set volume
device.Volume = Val(strRead(1).ToString)
End If
If strRead(0).ToString = "Mute" Then
'set mute state
If strRead(1).ToString.ToUpper = "FALSE" Then
device.Mute(False)
End If
If strRead(1).ToString.ToUpper = "TRUE" Then
device.Mute(True)
End If
End If
End While
sReader.Close()
Else
'create the appdata folder if tit is not there to save ini file and store current volume settings
If System.IO.Directory.Exists(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume") = False Then
System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume")
System.IO.File.Create(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini").Close()
Dim sWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter = Nothing
sWriter = New IO.StreamWriter(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini", False)
sWriter.WriteLine("Volume=" & device.Volume.ToString)
sWriter.WriteLine("Mute=" & device.IsMuted.ToString)
sWriter.Close()
Else
'store settings in ini file
System.IO.File.Create(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini").Close()
Dim sWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter = Nothing
sWriter = New IO.StreamWriter(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini", False)
sWriter.WriteLine("Volume=" & device.Volume.ToString)
sWriter.WriteLine("Mute=" & device.IsMuted.ToString)
sWriter.Close()
End If
End If
'set lebels on primary form
'change value of scrollbar to show current volume level
lblvolume.Text = device.Volume & " %"
HScrollBar1.Value = device.Volume
If device.IsMuted = True Then
lblmute.Text = "Muted"
btnmute.Text = "Unmute"
Else
lblmute.Text = "Unmuted"
btnmute.Text = "Mute"
End If
'set interval of timer to 30 seconds and let it write the ini file every 30 seconds to preserve changes.
Timer1.Interval = 30000
Timer1.Enabled = True
End Sub
Private Sub SessionSwitch(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As Microsoft.Win32.SessionSwitchEventArgs)
'check for event logon or unlock
If e.Reason = e.Reason = SessionSwitchReason.SessionLogon Or e.Reason = SessionSwitchReason.SessionUnlock Then
'diabel timer so settings cannot be written and prevent sound setting mechanism to mess up user settings
Timer1.Enabled = False
'set volume to 1 and to 0
device.Volume = 1
device.Volume = 0
For a = 0 To 10
'make the device go to mute state by reapeating the setting (it needs to be repeated to work)
'device will always start in mute state to prevent loud noises.
device.Mute(False)
device.Mute(True)
Threading.Thread.Sleep(5)
Next a
'start reading user settings
Dim sReader As System.IO.StreamReader = Nothing
Dim strRead() As String = Nothing
sReader = New IO.StreamReader(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini")
While sReader.Peek <> -1
strRead = Split(sReader.ReadLine, "=")
For i = 0 To 25 'repest settings 25 times
'check for volume
If strRead(0).ToString = "Volume" Then
Threading.Thread.Sleep(5)
'decrease volume by 1
device.Volume = Val(strRead(1).ToString) - 1
Threading.Thread.Sleep(5)
'set volume to desired level
device.Volume = Val(strRead(1).ToString)
End If
If strRead(0).ToString = "Mute" Then
'set mute sate
If strRead(1).ToString.ToUpper = "FALSE" Then
device.Mute(False)
End If
If strRead(1).ToString.ToUpper = "TRUE" Then
device.Mute(True)
End If
End If
Next i
End While
sReader.Close()
End If
'enable timer to save user changes
Timer1.Enabled = True
End Sub
Protected Overrides Sub Finalize()
MyBase.Finalize()
End Sub
Private Sub btnmute_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnmute.Click
'add mute button actions i know GOTO but it's so easy could have used a case instead.
If device.IsMuted = False Then
device.Mute(True)
lblmute.Text = "Muted"
btnmute.Text = "Unmute"
GoTo 1
End If
If device.IsMuted = True Then
device.Mute(False)
lblmute.Text = "Unmuted"
btnmute.Text = "Mute"
GoTo 1
End If
1:
'write new state to ini
Dim sWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter = Nothing
sWriter = New IO.StreamWriter(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini", False)
sWriter.WriteLine("Volume=" & device.Volume.ToString)
sWriter.WriteLine("Mute=" & device.IsMuted.ToString)
sWriter.Close()
End Sub
Private Sub HScrollBar1_ValueChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles HScrollBar1.ValueChanged
'handle scrollbar and settings saving
Try
Dim sWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter = Nothing
sWriter = New IO.StreamWriter(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini", False)
device.Volume = HScrollBar1.Value
lblvolume.Text = device.Volume & " %"
sWriter.WriteLine("Volume=" & device.Volume.ToString)
sWriter.WriteLine("Mute=" & device.IsMuted.ToString)
If device.IsMuted = True Then
lblmute.Text = "Muted"
btnmute.Text = "Unmute"
Else
lblmute.Text = "Unmuted"
btnmute.Text = "Mute"
End If
sWriter.Close()
Catch
End Try
End Sub
Private Sub NotifyIcon1_MouseDoubleClick(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles NotifyIcon1.MouseDoubleClick
'set low interval so when the form becomes visible it will also show the changes made trough the windows sound control
Timer1.Interval = 300
Timer1.Enabled = True
Me.Show()
Try
Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal
If device.IsMuted = True Then
lblmute.Text = "Unmuted"
btnmute.Text = "Mute"
Else
lblmute.Text = "Muted"
btnmute.Text = "Unmute"
End If
Catch
End Try
End Sub
Private Sub Button1_Click_1(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
'hide the program again
Me.Hide()
Me.ShowInTaskbar = False
Timer1.Interval = 45000
End Sub
Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
'save settings in the background every 45 seconds
lblvolume.Text = device.Volume & " %"
HScrollBar1.Value = device.Volume
If device.IsMuted = True Then
lblmute.Text = "Muted"
btnmute.Text = "Unmute"
Else
lblmute.Text = "Unmuted"
btnmute.Text = "Mute"
End If
Dim sWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter = Nothing
sWriter = New IO.StreamWriter(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini", False)
sWriter.WriteLine("Volume=" & device.Volume.ToString)
sWriter.WriteLine("Mute=" & device.IsMuted.ToString)
sWriter.Close()
'make me jump in font of all windows when i am visible (!update this might make you loose focus on other apps comment it out to prevent this by adding ' in front)
If Me.Visible = True Then Me.Activate()
End Sub
Private Sub AboutToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles AboutToolStripMenuItem.Click
'handle about menu item
Form2.ShowDialog()
End Sub
Private Sub ExitProgramToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ExitProgramToolStripMenuItem.Click
'handle exit menu item
Me.Close()
End Sub
Private Sub Form1_Closing(sender As Object, e As CancelEventArgs) Handles Me.Closing
'save settings befor closing the app
Try
Dim sWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter = Nothing
sWriter = New IO.StreamWriter(strappdata.ToString & "\SetVolume\Volume.ini", False)
device.Volume = HScrollBar1.Value
lblvolume.Text = device.Volume & " %"
sWriter.WriteLine("Volume=" & device.Volume.ToString)
sWriter.WriteLine("Mute=" & device.IsMuted.ToString)
If device.IsMuted = True Then
lblmute.Text = "Muted"
btnmute.Text = "Unmute"
Else
lblmute.Text = "Unmuted"
btnmute.Text = "Mute"
End If
sWriter.Close()
Catch
End Try
End Sub
Private Sub OpenAppDataToolStripMenuItem1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles OpenAppDataToolStripMenuItem1.Click
'handle open appdata menu item
Process.Start("c:\windows\explorer.exe", strappdata.ToString)
End Sub
Private Sub AboutToolStripMenuItem1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles AboutToolStripMenuItem1.Click
Form2.StartPosition = FormStartPosition.CenterScreen
Form2.ShowDialog()
Me.Activate()
End Sub
Private Sub ShowFormToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ShowFormToolStripMenuItem.Click
Timer1.Interval = 300
Timer1.Enabled = True
Me.Show()
' Me.ShowInTaskbar = True
Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal
If device.IsMuted = True Then
lblmute.Text = "Unmuted"
btnmute.Text = "Mute"
Else
lblmute.Text = "Muted"
btnmute.Text = "Unmute"
End If
End Sub
End Class
This is the main program
Add yor own text to the label on form2 currently it is :
Program to store the default audio device volume settings
within a VDI session.
The program will restore the sound level of the default sound device
on a session reconnect.
Settings are stored in %AppData%\SetVolume\Volume.ini
© Mark Platte 2020
I would appreciate it if you would leave this in.
Add the following code to Form2
:smileyinfo: This is the about stuff but since code from Form1 needs it I added it here too
From2
Public Class Form2
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Me.Hide()
End Sub
Private Sub lbldonate_LinkClicked(sender As Object, e As LinkLabelLinkClickedEventArgs) Handles lbldonate.LinkClicked
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(e.Link.LinkData.ToString())
End Sub
Private Sub Form2_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
lbldonate.Links.Clear()
Try
'jkust a check to take out the label when running i a known domain environment
If Environment.UserDomainName.ToUpper.ToString <> "somedomain" Then
If Environment.UserDomainName.ToUpper.ToString <> "somedomain1" Then
lbldonate.Visible = True
Label2.Visible = True
lbldonate.Text = "Donate"
lbldonate.Links.Add(0, 6, "https://paypal.me/mimenl")
End If
End If
Catch a As Exception
lbldonate.Visible = True
Label2.Visible = True
lbldonate.Text = "Donate"
lbldonate.Links.Add(0, 6, "https://paypal.me/mimenl")
End Try
End Sub
End Class
Taking this out will have some impact on changing the code and the components when you build it from scratch based on the provided code samples.
If you download the source it can be changed quite easy. But I would like / appreciate it if you would keep mentioning me in some way. I just decide to share since this problem was really bugging me and can be quite an inconvenience for people around you.
Well I hope it will also work for you, running in debug mode from Visual studio might not always work. Compiling and running the compiled exe seems to work better.
There is not much error handling and I could only test it in our environment so let me know if things don’t work out so I can see if I can fix it.
The user settings are stored in the roaming appdata folder and can easily be saved using DEM.
Basically the flow of the application is like this :
Save usersettings -> user disconnects-> user reconnects -> unlock/reconnect event is triggers-> Load usersettings-> restore settings -> volume is on desired level.
As mentioned before the reconnect / unlock event is not always trigger before actual sound is played, which might still cause the sound to be at 100 % for a short while.
Conclusion
Well it seems that something as simple as sound is not so simple after all. I still think that it’s fundamentally wrong that we see the 100 % behavior happening, and still feel it should be fixed in a different way. Maybe by letting the horizon agent interact with the base system and make it able to change sound setting there.
Also it seems that windows 10 itself has some weird behavior too. Try muting your VDI without the program running, while playing something on youtube, now reconnect sound will be at 100% you hear YouTube w10 will still show your device is muted.
The fixes in this post seem to work in our environment but might still not be the best but for now we don’t have much choice.
The fun part is that even when a lot of people stated it couldn’t be done there is still something that does the trick !
Let me know what you think, and if you need any help or want to get a discussion going on sound and horizon I would be happy to join.
In the end I hope that all these things are not necessary and that we are doing something totally wrong and that someone could tell me how to fix it without any self-build tools just by using what’s available in DEM and Horizon.
But is sure was a great learning experience.
Well time to log off again, and in case the code doesn't appeal to you : "It isn't code it's spaghetti 
"