wiki:OpenVPN-GUI-New

Version 72 (modified by tct, 5 years ago) (diff)

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Using the OpenVPN-GUI for Windows


This page describes specifically how to use the OpenVPN-GUI included with OpenVPN-2.4 or above.

Notes:

Contents:

  1. Locating the OpenVPN-GUI
  2. Preparing your installation to use the OpenVPN-GUI successfully
  3. Importing your first connection profile (config file) into the OpenVPN-GUI
  4. Setting up membership of the OpenVPN Administrators local group
  5. Navigating the OpenVPN-GUI menus
  6. Viewing the log file
  7. Editing the configuration file
  8. Entering Username and Password
  9. Trouble shooting
  10. Settings menu
  11. Settings menu, General tab
  12. Settings menu, Proxy tab
  13. Settings menu, Advanced tab
  14. Settings menu, About tab
  15. Built-in help
  16. Contribute
  17. Common connection problems

Locating the OpenVPN-GUI

The OpenVPN-GUI Tray Icon:

OpenVPN Tray Icon

If you cannot find the OpenVPN-GUI icon then check that Windows has not hidden it from you.
(Because Windows likes to hide things from you ..)

Windows hidden icons:

Show hidden icons

If you still cannot find the OpenVPN-GUI then make sure you opened it in the first place.

You may use a desktop icon or the Windows menu to locate the OpenVPN-GUI.

This is the OpenVPN-GUI desktop icon:

OpenVPN-GUI desktop icon

Additional notes:

  • You should now have access to the OpenVPN-GUI.

Preparing your installation to use the OpenVPN-GUI successfully

If you encounter this problem:

Message dialogue No readable connection profiles found

No configs

Press OK -- You must have a configuration file to continue.

If you are creating your own VPN server and client then please go here

If you already have a client configuration file to a VPN then now is the time to import it.

Additional notes:

  • You should now have a configuration file to import.

Importing your first connection profile (config file) into the OpenVPN-GUI

Select "Import file ..." from the menu, then select the config.ovpn file you wish to import:

import-menu

If the import is successful you will see:

Import successful

Otherwise, check that you selected a correctly configured *.ovpn file.

If you do not know what to do then please contact your server's administrator for help.

Additional notes:

  • You should now have a successfully imported configuration file.

Setting up membership of the OpenVPN Administrators local group

In order for your normal user to be able to use openvpn, your user account must be added to the OpenVPN Administrators group on your computer. This is normally done during the install phase but it may not have been done. If you see the message below you can select Yes but you will need the Local Administrator password to continue. If you do not have this password then please contact your network administrator for help.

Message dialogue Require membership in OpenVPN Administrators group

Msg, Require membership of OpenVPN Administrators group

Additional notes:

  • You must now be a member of the Openvpn Administrators group.

THIS STAGE MUST BE COMPLETED BY YOUR COMPUTER ADMINISTRATOR

  • If you are logged in to your desktop with an Administrator account then this stage will be omitted.

Navigating the OpenVPN-GUI menus

The Main menu with only 1 configuration file imported:

Main menu, 1 config

With only one configuration file the menu displays all actions directly.

The Main menu with 2 configuration files imported:

Main menu with 2 configuration files imported

With two or more configuration files the menus will be nested.

Additional notes:

  • You now understand the OpenVPN-GUI menus.

Viewing the log file

The Main menu view log file:

Main menu, view log

Additional notes:

  • A good application for viewing your log file is BareTail.
  • You now have access to your VPN log file.

Editing the configuration file

The Main menu edit config file:

Main menu, edit config

Additional notes:

  • A good application for editing configuration files is Notepad++.
  • You now have access to your configuration file.

WARNING

Do not edit your client configuration file unless you know what you are doing!
https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/howto.html


Entering Username and Password

Username / Password dialogue:

If your server requires a username and password you will see this dialogue box.

Additional notes:

  • Your client.ovpn file must contain the --auth-user-pass directive.
  • You can choose to save the password but the username is always saved.
  • These settings are saved in the Windows Registry under : HKCU\Software\OpenVPN-GUI

WARNING

Editing the Windows Registry is strongly discouraged .. Do so ONLY AT YOUR OWN RISK!


Trouble shooting

Error connecting:

Error connecting

The first thing to do is examine your log file for details of the errors encountered.

Additional notes:

Common connection problems:

  • TLS Error: TLS key negotiation failed to occur within 60 seconds

This means that you cannot reach the server -- Please contact your server administrator for help.

Please help improve this section, you can submit here


OpenVPN-GUI Settings

Most of the OpenVPN-GUI settings can be left as default but you should examine them to make sure this suites your requirements.

The Settings menu, General tab:

settings-general

The Settings menu, Proxy tab:

Settings menu, Proxy tab

The Settings menu, Advanced tab:

Settings menu, Advanced tab

The Settings menu, About tab:

Settings menu, About tab


You are now ready to use OpenVPN-GUI for Windows.


Built-in help

See: openvpn-gui.exe --help

--connect cnn : Connect to cnn at startup. (extension must be included)

Example: openvpn-gui --connect office.ovpn

--command cmd [args] : Send a command cmd to a running instance of the GUI.

Supported commands:

connect cnn connect the config named cnn
disconnect cnn disconnect the config named cnn
reconnect cnn reconnect the config named cnn
disconnect_all disconnect all connected configs
exit terminate the running GUI instance (may ask for confirmation)
status cnn show the status window of config cnn if connected
silent_connection [0|1] set the silent_connection flag on (1) or off (0)

Example: openvpn-gui.exe --command disconnect myconfig

Options to override registry settings:

Option Description Deprecated
--exe_path Path to openvpn.exe. Possibly
--config_dir Path to dir to search for config files in. Possibly
--ext_string Extension on config files.
--log_dir Path to dir where log files will be saved.
--priority_string Priority string. (See install.txt for more info) Possibly
--append_string 1=Append to log file. 0=Truncate logfile when connecting.
--log_viewer Path to log viewer. Yes
--editor Path to config editor. Yes
--allow_edit 1=Show Edit Config menu item. Possibly
--allow_service 1=Show Service control menu. Possibly
--allow_password 1=Show Change Password menu item. Possibly
--allow_proxy 1=Show Proxy Settings menu. Possibly
--show_balloon 0=Never, 1=At initial connect, 2=At every reconnect.
--service_only 1=Enable Service Only mode. Possibly
--silent_connection 1=Do not show the status dialog while connecting or non-critical warnings at startup. Possibly
--show_script_window 0=Hide Script execution window, 1=Show it. Possibly
--passphrase_attempts Number of passphrase attempts to allow. Possibly
--connectscript_timeout Time to wait for connect script to finish. Possibly
--disconnectscript_timeout Time to wait for disconnect script to finish. Possibly
--preconnectscript_timeout Time to wait for preconnect script to finish. Possibly

Example: n/a


Contributing

You can help .. by simply taking part.

search (your choice) : site:openvpn.net "what ever you need"


OpenVPN-GIU README.rst : https://github.com/OpenVPN/openvpn-gui/blob/master/README.rst


Common connection problems

When you examine your log file, if this is the only output which you find:

Thu Jul 26 23:51:48 2018 OpenVPN 2.4.6 x86_64-w64-mingw32 [SSL (OpenSSL)] [LZO] [LZ4] [PKCS11] [AEAD] built on Apr 26 2018
Thu Jul 26 23:51:48 2018 Windows version 6.1 (Windows 7) 64bit
Thu Jul 26 23:51:48 2018 library versions: OpenSSL 1.1.0h 27 Mar 2018, LZO 2.10
Enter Management Password:

Then the most likely cause is that OpenVPN has already started the connection profile.
You must ensure that all openvpn.exe processes are terminated and then try again.

The most common cause of this problem is when you use the incorrect OpenVPN Windows services:

Stop and do not use both the OpenVPNService and the OpenVPN Legacy Service Windows services.
Start and do use the OpenVPN Interactive Service Windows service.


Using the OpenVPN-GUI for Windows -- return to top


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