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On a Windows 10 lock screen, one can configure through policy settings whether it will let you pick one user from a list, or ask for the username.
If the lock screen gives a list, is there a way from the lock screen (i.e. without changing the policy settings etc.) to switch to having to enter the username rather than selecting an existing user, ideally using the keyboard only?
This is to automate some VNC scripts, as the order of the users on the lock screen is not consistent, so it would be easier if one could just type in the username instead of having to guess where to click or the number of times one has to send "Tab" to select the right user.
jcaron
Posted 2019-08-06T16:02:02.253
Reputation: 986
Total guess, but is there a sequence of keyboard shortcuts that might reliably open the Other User box where you can enter the user name manually (assuming a domain joined machine here)? – I say Reinstate Monica – 2019-08-06T16:07:22.073
@TwistyImpersonator That's what I'm looking for, but I've tried every shortcut I could think of to no avail. The machine is not domain joined, though. – jcaron – 2019-08-06T16:12:50.447
I'm not very confident of the possibility of overriding group policy settings. There was once an option to get to "Other User" by entering an empty password 6 times, but it seems not to exist any more in Windows 10. – harrymc – 2019-08-06T16:43:20.283
@harrymc It does actually show it in some circumstances: I have one computer which is set to auto-logon to an account which has an expired password, and it then goes to the username + password screen (while still listing accounts in the bottom left corner). But if I use "Log off" or "Switch user", no luck... – jcaron – 2019-08-06T16:53:55.250
Other than being a pain, is there a reason the policy cannot be changed, for this machine that is being accessed remotely? The policy can indeed be changed for a single machine (or a group of specific machines), takes an experienced Administrator to know what they are doing of course. – Ramhound – 2019-08-06T17:27:17.510
@Ramhound a bit of a chicken and egg problem here :-( A few dozen machines, not in a domain, with the only remote access being VNC. To change the policy, one needs to login into the admin account of each machine. To login and perform the changes automatically, it would help a lot to be able to type in the username rather than click on it. Just trying to save a few dozen clicks :-) – jcaron – 2019-08-06T22:33:36.180