SoftPerfect Network Scanner Online Manual

Getting started

This is the main window you see when you run the SoftPerfect Network Scanner.

Under the menu there is a toolbar with buttons used to access the main features.
The program controls are as follows:

Program options

Press Ctrl+O or the button to access the network scanner options

• Max. number of threads - the maximum number of scanning threads.
• Method - the ping method. Can be chosen from ICMP (ping), ARP (arping), or both.
• Ping Timeout - the period to wait for a reply from the remote computer.
• Retries - the maximum number of ping requests.
• Always analyze host - force the scanner to analyze a non-responding host.
• Ping broadcast addresses - when enabled the scanner tries to ping IP addresses ending with .255.
• Explore shared folders in background - If this option is set, whenever you choose to explore a folder the network scanner launches a separate process of Windows Explorer to avoid temporary unresponsiveness.
• Display dead hosts - add non-responding hosts into the results.
• Resolve Host Names - when enabled, the IP addresses are converted to the host names.
• Resolve MAC Addresses - when enabled, you will see hardware (MAC) addresses (Windows 2000 and higher only).
• Check open port - when enabled, the program will attempt connection to the specified TCP port (you can specify several ports separated by a comma, e.g. 21,80,110).
• Case insensitive sorting - ignore case type when results are sorted.
• Retrieve comments - display a comment assigned to a Windows workstation.
• Lookup logged-on users - display a list of users currently logged-on to a Windows workstation (Windows NT and higher only).
• Lookup LAN group - display the workgroup/domain name which a Windows workstation belongs to (Windows NT and higher only, see rightmost columns).
• Lookup Windows version - display the Windows version on a workstation (Windows NT and higher only, see rightmost columns).

• Scan for shared resources - enables scanning of shared resources. Below are all the possible types of shared resources.
• Check for write access - when enabled, the program determines if the shared folder is writable or not (read only).
• All - all resources.
• Folders - shared folders or drives.
• Printers - shared print devices.
• Comm. device - a communication device.
• Special - special share reserved for interprocess communication (IPC$) or remote administration of the server (ADMIN$). It can also be used for administrative shares such as C$, D$, E$, etc.
• IPC - interprocess communication (IPC).

Use this tab to setup scanning for machines that have an SNMP service running. You can specify a community (e.g. public or private) and a MIB OID number. Multiple communities and/or OIDs are to be comma separated. This data will be used for an SNMP query. Set the Display answers option if you would like to see replies from the SNMP enabled machines.

The applications tab extends support for third-party applications. For example, if you use remote administration or specific network client software, you can setup the network scanner to connect to a remote host using the additional software directly from the network scanner.

Auto-detect the network configuration

The SoftPerfect Network Scanner is able to detect your IP range automatically. Select the Options - Auto Detect Local IP Range menu item. In the following dialog, select an interface and the program will calculate the IP range of the network. If you are connected to the Internet and are behind a router or proxy server, use the Detect External IP Address command to determine your external IP address (requires Internet connection).

In this example SoftPerfect Network Scanner has determined the range of IP addresses on the network

Scanning

To begin scanning click the Start Scanning button

Scan results

When scanning has finished, you will be able to browse the results, save to a file, map a network drive, explore a folder, etc.

Live display

If you enable the Live Display option (choose View - Live Display from the main menu), the network scanner will constantly update scan results to reveal the latest changes in the network. If a new host joins or leaves the network, it will be logged in the display window.

Wake-on-LAN and remote shutdown

To send a 'magic' wake up packet to a remote computer (its MAC address must be known), choose Actions - Wake-On-LAN from the main menu. To shutdown or reboot a remote PC (Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista), choose Actions - Remote Shutdown.

Command line switches

You can use the following switches as netscan.exe /switch1 /switch2 ... switchN. For instance, if you need to scan your network and export the list to the file, use the following command line: netscan.exe /hide /auto:"c:\desktop\result.txt"

/auto:<filename> runs scan with global settings and exports the results to a file, i.e. /auto:"c:\desktop\result.txt". Specify the .htm extension in order to produce a HTML report. Specify the .xml extension in order to to export the results as a XML file. Specify the .csv extension to in order to export the results to a CSV file.

/hide does not show the main window (silent mode).

/addr applies to the /auto command and exports only the MAC and IP address columns to a file.

/range:From-To Sets an IP address range for scanning. Example: /range:192.168.0.1-192.168.10.254

/append applies to the /auto command for text and CSV files. Appends the results to a file rather than overwrites it.

/wol:<MAC> sends a Wake-On-LAN magic packet to the specified MAC address and immediately exits. Example: /wol:AABBCCDDEEFF.

These two switches below are mutually exclusive. Use a shortcut to apply either switch at all times if it is needed.

/ini forces the scanner to load and save its settings to an INI file instead of the registry by default.

/xml forces the scanner to load and save its settings to a XML file instead of the registry by default.

Change log

22-Jun-2008 Fixed broadcast IP address scanning ending with zero (x.x.x.0). Version 3.8.174.

19-May-2008 New feature to remotely discover LAN group name (i.e. domain name or workgroup name) and OS type. Version 3.8.173.

10-Apr-2008 Now settings can be optionally stored in a XML file to overcome INI files limits. Version 3.7.172.

03-Apr-2008 Added friendly host name/comment feature. Multiple OIDs in SNMP scan are now possible (comma separated). Version 3.7.170.

13-Mar-2008 Minor bug fix. Dead hosts doubled when loaded from a file. Version 3.6.165.

10-Mar-2008 Added shared folder writability status in CSV output. Version 3.6.164.

14-Feb-2008 Added a MAC address discovery option: ARP-NetBios or NetBios-ARP. Version 3.6.163.

27-Dec-2007 Checking stored window bounds on startup to avoid wrong window positioning. Added a remote power-off feature. Version 3.6.162.

09-Dec-2007 Added a 'Send WOL to' menu item which allows sending wake ups to any MAC address.

03-Nov-2007 Added option to open shares asynchronously and a progress indicator.

20-Sep-2007 Fixed a bug with blank message box when opening a shared folder.

15-Sep-2007 Max MRU items count is now saved in the registry.

29-Aug-2007 Fixed two minor bugs. Automatic saving was not working when 'Dead Host' option was enabled. XML files were not shown in the Save As dialog.

29-Aug-2007 Added an option to include/exclude broadcast addresses from scan.

11-Jun-2007 Fixed bypassing broadcast addresses.

10-Jun-2007 Fixed minor issues with user lookup on Windows 9x.

09-Jun-2007 Added hotkey support for external applications, remote user lookup, minor tweaks. Build 3.5.155.

20-May-2007 Added feature that shows free/occupied space on shared folders as a hint. Build 154.

17-May-2007 Fixed bug with active threads indicator, altered text in the About dialog to say the software can be freely distributed.

07-May-2007 Added 'Pause Scan' button.

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