Overview

This how-to explains the steps involved in preparing the Group Policy Deployment of the FotoWeb Desktop client software.

Before you start

In addition to the FotoWeb Desktop MSI package, the clients you distribute FotoWeb Desktop to will need Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime and .NET Framework 4 Client Profile.

The Visual Studio Tools can be extracted and prepared for Group Policy deployment in precisely the same way as the FotoWeb Desktop package. However, the .NET Framework cannot be deployed with Group Policy and must be deployed using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

Preparing the FotoWeb Desktop installation package

1. Create a distribution point. This will need to be a shared folder on a server that the clients can access to run the installer. Ensure users who need access to this distribution point have Read privileges on the share.
2. Download the latest version of FotoWeb Desktop. It can be downloaded by logging on to your Fotoware tenant and choosing Download Fotoware Plugins from the Tools menu (cogwheel icon).
3. Run the setup program with the ‘/a’ startup parameter:
   Example:  FotoWebDesktop-7.0.452.3881-Setup.exe /a
4. This will extract the installer files to a location you specify (your distribution point).
5. At the extraction point, open the CommonAppData\Fotoware\FotoWeb Desktop folder and modify the defaultSitePreferences file in a text editor or an XML-compliant editor.
   This file lets you set the default host name of the FotoWeb server in the <HostName> node.
   You can also define a proxy type (system, user, or none) and an optional proxy name, port, and username and password for authentication if you choose the user option.
   Save the file when you've made your choices.
6. Using Orca (part of the Windows SDK Components for Windows Installer Developers package) or another MSI editor, change the following values in the Property table of the ‘FotoWeb Desktop.msi’ file:
   FotoWebHostName: Your site name, for example, fotoweb.fotoware.com.
   FWDT_INSTALLDEFAULTPREFERENCES: Set to 1 to use the connection settings you prepared in the defaultSitePreferences file. Note that http:// and any path information is omitted.
7. Place the package on a network share accessible to all your clients.
8. Use Group Policy to install the package on client machines (see below).

Preparing the Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office package

Download Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime. Note that there are two packages available: one for 32-bit client operating systems and one for 64-bit client operating systems. Make sure you choose the correct one.

Run the setup program with the ‘/a’ startup parameter:
Example: vstor40_x32.exe /a
This will extract the installer files to a location you specify.

Unlike the FotoWeb Desktop package, there is no need to modify the Visual Studio Tools MSI package before setting up Group Policy.

Configuring Group Policy

1. In Administrative Tools on the server, open the Group Policy Management
2. Right-click Group Policy Objects and select New.
3. Enter a name, for example, FotoWeb Desktop Deployment.
4. Decide whether the policy applies to computers or users. In this example, we will use Computer mode:
5. Select the Group Policy Object you just created. In the bottom right panel, select Add, then click on Object Types and select Computers. Choose the domain computers to which the package should be distributed. 
6. Right-click on the GPO you just created and select Edit. This will open the Group Policy Management Editor.
7. Expand the Computer Configuration node, then Policies, and then the Software Settings node.
8. Right-click Software installation, then select New Package.
9. Select the FotoWeb Desktop.msi file from the distribution point (the share where you stored the files expanded from the installer package). Make sure you access the file through its share path (typically \\servername\sharename)
10. Choose the assigned deployment method.
11. Highlight the Software installation node and right-click the deployment object you just created. Then select Properties.
12. On the Security tab, add the groups/users that should be granted permission to install FotoWeb Desktop. They will need Read access.
13. Go to the Deployment tab and make sure to check Uninstall this application when it falls out of the scope of management. This way, the software will be uninstalled from computers that are no longer within the management scope. 
14. Finally, close the Group Policy Management Editor window. Now, it's time to link the Group Policy Object to a group of computers:
    • In the Group Policy Management window, right-click the computer or OU that you want to apply the GPO to and choose Link an Existing GPO, then choose the deployment package that you would like to distribute.
    • Open the Active Directory Users and Computers program from Administrative tools and move any computers that you want to distribute the software package to into this group. (Drag them from the Computers node into the group that you created in Group Policy Management.)
15. Force a Group Policy update:
    • Run gpupdate on clients to force an update. This will refresh local and Active Directory-based Group Policy settings. Normally, it should not require additional options - just run gpupdate from the command prompt.
      Command syntax: gpupdate [/target:{computer|user}][/force][/wait:value][/logoff][/boot]

For more information, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490983.aspx