XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-10   
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   How can I streamline using Windows 10 OpenVPN with multiple VPN services?   
      
   The obvious GUI-supported method of setting up OpenVPN freeware to work   
   with config files from multiple VPN services is to add a separate filename   
   extension for each free VPN service that you may happen to be using.   
      
   An example would be to have a stack of OpenVPN config files in a single   
   config directory where for VPN service 1 the filename is of the format   
   IPaddress1.ovpn.server1, IPaddress2.ovpn.server1 & IPaddress3.ovpn.server1,   
   etc.   
      
   In that same OpenVPN config directory would be other config files for VPN   
   service 2 such as IPaddress4.ovpn.server2, IPaddress5.ovpn.server2 &   
   IPaddress6.ovpn.server2, etc.   
      
   And yet more files in that config directory for VPN service 3 such as   
   IPaddress7.ovpn.server3, IPaddress8.ovpn.server3 & IPaddress9.ovpn.server3,   
   and so on.   
      
   NOTE that almost always the files arrive to you in that format above ending   
   with the "ovpn" extension (which is why it's retained here, for fewer   
   renaming steps).   
      
   The problem with that suggested default OpenVPN GUI method is that it takes   
   an inordinate series of rather repetitively mundane steps to switch from   
   server 1 to server 2 using that default OpenVPN GUI method. The OpenVPN gui   
   supplies _zero_ ways to reduce the number of steps (as far as I can tell).   
      
   Hence, to use that OpenVPN supported GUI method of switching between VPN   
   services, you have to fist left click in the Windows notification arrow to   
   then right click on the OpenVPN running-hardware icon and then left click   
   and scroll down the popup menu list to the "Settings" option and then in   
   the box that pops up you have to manually change the tab and then you have   
   to manually change the extension from server1 to server2 and then you have   
   to hit OK.   
      
   That supported method works but then you have to do the first steps all   
   over again to select the configuration file for the next service where the   
   problem is that NONE of those unnecessarily redundent steps can be reduced.   
      
   For example, the tab isn't remembered so you have to start all over again.   
   If there was an option to _default_ to the correct tab, for example, that   
   would save an unnecessary step - but that doesn't exist (as far as I know).   
      
   Every time you have to hit _all_ those steps just to switch servers.   
      
   On the other hand, it's fewer steps but still too many steps if you give up   
   on the OpenVPN GUI altogether, but then all the work is in the front end,   
   and even then you _still_ have too many manual steps if you put all your   
   config files for VPN service 1 in one directory, and all your config files   
   for VPN service 2 in another directory, and you do the same for VPN service   
   3, etc (or even if you put all the config files in the same directory - but   
   then you can't as easily tell them apart - so that's why I separate VPN   
   config files into server-related folder names).   
      
   Once you have the config files in separate service-related directories and   
   after you've set up the *.ovpn extension to open in openvpn.exe instead of   
   in openvpnserv.exe, then you can manually edit a *.bat batch command file   
   to run the commands upon execution as administrator in Windows.   
    set vpncmd=C:\path\to\openvpn\bin\openvpn.exe   
    set vpndir=C:\path\to\server1\config\dir\   
    set vpnfile=ipaddress1.server1.ovpn   
    cd %vpndir%   
    %vpncmd% %vpndir%%vpnfile%   
      
   Once you have that set up and maintained, what you do manually to switch   
   from one VPN service to another is you right click on the desired service's   
   *.bat batch file and select from the resulting   
   Windows pop-up menu "Run as administrator" and then "Yes" (because Windows   
   requires administrative access to change the routing table) and you wait   
   for the confirmation of connection.   
      
   The problem is _both_ these methods are (IMHO) far too many manual steps.   
   a. All you want to do is switch VPN services from 1 to 2 or to 3.   
   b. That means disconnecting from the existing VPN service   
   c. And reconnecting to the new VPN service   
      
   How can I streamline using OpenVPN with multiple VPN services?   
      
   Since I'm not the first person who has multiple VPN services, what do you   
   do on Windows to cull the number of steps from that as shown above to   
   switch between various VPN services?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)