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MSI Installation Files
It would be nice if you included an .msi version of the installation files.
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Alright, I did some reading up and have changed the MSI. The default behaviour remains the same. But now you can optionally install for all users and/or to a specific location.
Grab build 2.6.37 or later from this location:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/pand...
Then use this command:
msiexec /i Pandion_2.6.37.msi ALLUSERS=1 DESTINATION="C:\MyApps\Pandion"
Setting ALLUSERS=1 will default to installing in Program Files (x86) so you can leave out the DESTINATION argument. Simply use:
msiexec /i Pandion_2.6.37.msi ALLUSERS=1
This will make shortcuts available to all users and place Pandion in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pandion\Application\*.*" (or whichever location %ProgramFiles(x86)% points to on the system).
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Unattended installation with only the progress bar is available just like any MSI.
msiexec.exe /passive /i pandion.msi
Or installing completely invisible in the background:
msiexec.exe /quiet /i pandion.msi
Auto start of Pandion after installation is also provided by setting the "LAUNCHAPP" property to "yes". Example:
msiexec.exe /i pandion.msi LAUNCHAPP=yes
You can combine these options as follows:
msiexec.exe /passive /i pandion.msi LAUNCHAPP=yes
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MSI packages are now available for testing:
http://www.pandion.be/nightly/
These MSI files will replace the NSIS-based executable installer from Pandion 2.6.0 onwards.
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Create a customer community for your own organization
Plans starting at $19/month
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Inappropriate?I would love to make it easier to deploy Pandion in larger organiszations but I don't know much about the processes that are typically involved.
- Which tools do you use to deploy Pandion?
- What does the *.msi allow that a normal executable installer cannot?
- Which tools do you use to roll your own .msi packages?
- Any other capabilities that you would like in an installer for Pandion? -
Inappropriate?On the old forum someone had posted an msi of 2.5 and that is what I have been using. I currently just use active directory software group policy's to deploy software and it only supports msi packages. Things that would make it deploying this easier would be:
- The ability to have Pandion start with windows without the user having to set that setting.
- Some sort of auto configuration of username and host.
- Desktop shortcut as well. (I can add this with vbs script though)
As far as creating an msi file, there is both free and commercial software for doing this. I have never rolled my own before.1 Comment Add a comment
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I wolud really like that msi package. Where can i download it? -
Inappropriate?MSI packages are now available for testing:
http://www.pandion.be/nightly/
These MSI files will replace the NSIS-based executable installer from Pandion 2.6.0 onwards.
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This is great!
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Inappropriate?Love the new MSIs, any idea if we can set some options for a silent installation and auto start? Very cool software :-)
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Inappropriate?Yes configuration file wolud be great. So we can configure Pandion before msi deployment.
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Inappropriate?Unattended installation with only the progress bar is available just like any MSI.
msiexec.exe /passive /i pandion.msi
Or installing completely invisible in the background:
msiexec.exe /quiet /i pandion.msi
Auto start of Pandion after installation is also provided by setting the "LAUNCHAPP" property to "yes". Example:
msiexec.exe /i pandion.msi LAUNCHAPP=yes
You can combine these options as follows:
msiexec.exe /passive /i pandion.msi LAUNCHAPP=yes
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Inappropriate?Wow, thanks for the swift replies all!
I'm liking the auto lauch with silent install. I now have more questions since what I really want to do is to stipulate options for the installed software with an MST file (e.g. auto start with Windows, Logon via SSO etc).
Thanks again, great bit of software.
I’m thankful
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Inappropriate?When i install in the pandion msi it install in the user profile documents a nd settings folder. How can I install it in the program files folder. Many users ina amchine will use it.
Many thanks
I’m confused
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Inappropriate?I think the ALLUSERS variable is currently denied by the *.msi package. You will have to install it per user for now.
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Inappropriate?I usually install it as part of a system image. So it really needs to have the option to be installed in the program files folder.
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Inappropriate?What's a system image? You mean like Norton Ghost?
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Inappropriate?Yes something like that. I use microsoft windows deployment service. It used to be call remote installation service (RIS)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_... -
Inappropriate?Thank you for the information. Very interesting, I was not aware of this technique.
The article mentions:
"Tasks that can be made automatic include [...] adding or removing programs [...]."
Maybe you can use this to automatically install the Pandion MSI package after the system image is deployed.
Do you typically script the installation of all apps, or capture a state image of a single workstation that is manually configured?
Oh one more idea is to just copy Pandion's "%AppData%\Roaming\Pandion\Application" folder to "%ProgramFiles%\Pandion". It will work just fine since no registry settings are required in Pandion 2.6.x. You then can simply manually change the target of any shortcuts (default shortcuts: Start Menu, Quick Launch and Desktop).
I'll also look at adding an ALLUSERS toggle to the MSI for these scenarios.1 Comment Add a comment
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OK many thanks for your answer
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Inappropriate?I usually try to install all the software and then take an image. If there are updates that need to be pushed out I will then deploy them through active directory which requires msi files.
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Inappropriate?Pandion has a built-in update mechanism though. It will check check daily for any updates, download them automatically, and install them to the "%AppData%/Local" directory. Does that affect your process?1 Comment Add a comment
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Hm, apps doing their own auto-update is definitely against typical corporate IT policy. No new software should ever magically appear on clients until it has been tested and approved by the IT department. Autoupdate is a superb idea for home users, but is not suitable in the scope of an .MSI installation
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Inappropriate?That is why I usually push out the updates. It is annoying to go through various vendors programs such as Google, Apple, Real, and Adobe and turn off the auto update feature, which usually is a user setting not a system setting.
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Inappropriate?@Gavin @Mat
Great to get this feedback from real world Pandion deployments. This is exactly why we're doing so many beta updates before the stable release.
Questions:
How do you handle Firefox updates and other software which auto-updates?
What about components which auto-update like Firefox plugins?
Should I add an option in Pandion to disable auto-updating so that administrators can vet any updates before pushing them manually?
How do you deploy the updates after they've been checked? -
Inappropriate?We push out Firefox updates from the MSI packages available at http://frontmotion.com/ - plugin updates we permit since they only affect the profile of that specific user. If they screw their profile up, it gets deleted and they start again with a bad taste in their mouth.
Deployment is by WSUS -Windows' own deployment service - again, MSI files :)
I feel 'no auto update' should be the default in any Pandion MSI release given the target audience -
Inappropriate?I also use Frontmotion Firefox and allow plugin updates. I get MSI files from Adobe for Flash and Shockwave updates.
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Inappropriate?There's only going to be the MSI package for Pandion so auto-update will have to remain on by default as that's what most users require. I'm deprecating the NSIS-based EXE setup as it's not worth the burden of maintaining both. There's nothing the MSI can't do that the EXE can do. But I am planning a way to allow install-time configuration of all options including SSO domain and auto-update mode.
For now I'll have a look at creating an ALLUSERS install mode. -
Inappropriate?Alright, I did some reading up and have changed the MSI. The default behaviour remains the same. But now you can optionally install for all users and/or to a specific location.
Grab build 2.6.37 or later from this location:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/pand...
Then use this command:
msiexec /i Pandion_2.6.37.msi ALLUSERS=1 DESTINATION="C:\MyApps\Pandion"
Setting ALLUSERS=1 will default to installing in Program Files (x86) so you can leave out the DESTINATION argument. Simply use:
msiexec /i Pandion_2.6.37.msi ALLUSERS=1
This will make shortcuts available to all users and place Pandion in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pandion\Application\*.*" (or whichever location %ProgramFiles(x86)% points to on the system).
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Hi :) Can you reverse default setting for install to be in c:\program files and for all users ? It is good now to have command line switches but they cannot be used to deploy via group policy. Someone who will test deployment onto one machine can use command line and switches. Best regards, thanks and keep it up good work :) CNenad
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Hello CNenad. I'm not very familiar with GPO deployments but you should be able to define the ALLUSERS property by defining the package as per-machine or per-user. Alternatively you may be able to edit the MSI or create an MST transformation using a freeware utility like Microsoft Orca.
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Hi Sebastian. When define installation package in GP Editor there is option to choose that application will be deployed as assigned to computer or to user. I am suppose that when I choose assigned GP will set ALLUSERS property. Will be report results after testing :) Best regards.
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Hi :) Just tried 2.6.49 with GP assigned to computer and it works
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Inappropriate?I just made one more change as discussed yesterday. There is now an option in the Settings dialog to prevent Pandion from automatically installing updates.
Download: Pandion 2.6.38 or higher
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pandi...
Go to: Tools > Settings > Privacy > Automatically check for software updates -
Inappropriate?One thing I have noticed with even the latest builds is that ther auto update feature doesnt seem to correctly install the application on windows 7. It will prompt you to install the latest version, and it will install and launch, but after that it no longer launches on startup anymore. The only way I have found to correct this is to uninstall the application and reinstall it using the new msi everytime it installs an update as it seems to break when it updates itself.1 Comment Add a comment
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This is a known issue:
http://code.google.com/p/pandion/issu...
Thanks for reporting. I had not realised the consequence of breaking the auto-launch on startup.
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