FAQ: MSCCM 2007

How do I install a Sketchpad version 5 School/Institution License on multiple computers using  Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007?

Getting Ready to use Sketchpad

You have two tasks to perform before students and faculty can use GSP5:

1. "Install" – Ensure the software is in place on your PCs.
2. "Register" – Ensure your GSP software license is registered and activated on all of your PCs.

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/configurationmanager/en/us/default.aspx), also known as MSCCM, makes it easy to centrally manage both of these tasks for networked computers across your lab, building, or even across multiple buildings. We'll highlight the process by referring to the Configuration Manager Document Library (currently online at technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680651.aspx). If you're not already familiar with using MSCCM for distributing software, we recommend you take a few minutes to review the Software Distribution Overview and Administrator Workflows for Software Distribution found at technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb693714.aspx, which provide a context for the instructions below.

Step 1 – Install

There is one basic approach to installing GSP5 onto client computers via MSCCM, whether you have a single-lab installation where there are a limited number of computers that are all connected to the network and turned on, or whether you have a school-wide or district-wide implementation that might also include 1:1 laptop implementations. Even when you can't ensure all computers are connected to the network and turned on, MSCCM can manage the rollout of GSP5 for you as computers are subsequently connected and turned on.

1. Key Curriculum Press provides GSP5 as an installer program (called InstallSketchpad.exe).

   1. The easiest form of manual installation, one computer at a time, is to right-click InstallSketchpad.exe, choose "Run as administrator," and answer the questions in the installation wizard.
   2. You can also run InstallSketchpad.exe from the Windows command-line and provide options for the installation to run "silently" without further interruption or required input. The syntax for this is:

   InstallSketchpad.exe /S /name="[LicenseName]" /code=[AuthorizationCode] /dir=[install directory]

   The command-line switches have the following meanings:

   • /S ensures silent installation. No dialog boxes will appear on the computer(s) onto which GSP5 is being installed. This is important for centrally managed bulk installations because the computers may be in a locked room on the other side of your school, campus, or district, and no one will be available to respond by pushing a button!
   • /name=[LicenseName] allows you to input the License Name provided when you bought GSP5. Use quotes when replacing [LicenseName] to handle any embedded spaces.
   • /code=[AuthorizationCode] allows you to input the Authorization Code provided when you bought GSP5.
   • /dir=[install directory] is an optional argument. If omitted, GSP5 will be installed in the default location for applications on each computer. If you want to install in a particular non-standard directory, you can specify the full path here. Note that doing so will install it in the same location on every computer to which you apply the software deployment package containing this command-line.

2. MSCCM can also use this command-line to install GSP5 on all your computers without manual interaction. You create a package consisting of the single program ("InstallSketchpad.exe") and deploy the package across all the computers on which you want to run GSP5. Packages are used primarily for two reasons:

   1. It's a way of grouping multiple programs where you want to install "all" (in the case of success) or "none" (in the case of any failure). In the case of GSP5 there is only one program to deploy, so this is a very simple package.
   2. Packages are first moved to MSCCM's Deployment Server(s) and cached there before any installations are run. In very large organizations you might have several of these deployment servers (e.g. one per school or campus). For large packages or for widely dispersed schools or campuses this can greatly speed large deployments.

   To build packages, you should review the information about the New Program Wizard at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680899.aspx. This Wizard will "create a new program for inclusion within a package." The critical point in using the Wizard with Sketchpad is to provide the command-line described above in the Command Line field of the General Page (described at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb693891.aspx) of the Wizard. Remember to include your License Name and Authorization Code in the /name and /code parameters.

Step 2 – Register

If you include the command-line options for your License Name and Authorization Code in your package definition and have deployed the package, you can skip this step. You have not only installed GSP5, but have also registered it. If you chose not to provide the /name and /code switches, you have only installed an unregistered copy of GSP5. When someone launches an unregistered copy of GSP5 on one of these computers, it asks you to either:

• Enter your License Name and Authorization Code.
• Go to the Key Curriculum Press online store to buy a license.
• Run in Preview mode (limited functionality which also shuts down after 20 minutes use).

This is makes sense for teachers or students buying their own individual copies, but is not convenient for an administrator who manages many computers. Fortunately, you can define and deploy a package containing only a command-line for GSP5 directly (not the installer) that will allow you to register and activate your license. Registering (or deregistering) without having to uninstall or reinstall GSP5 is useful in three cases:

1. You forgot to register when you originally installed.
2. If you buy time-limited (e.g. 1-year) licenses annually, you can deregister your current license and register the renewed license without uninstalling and reinstalling the software. This saves time and minimizes disruption.
3. You are decommissioning computers (e.g. selling or giving depreciated computers to faculty or students) and wish to leave an unregistered copy of GSP5 on the computer. The recipients of these computers can use GSP5 in its limited Preview mode and choose to buy their own licenses.

The command-line syntax for GSP5 itself is similar to the installer's command-line syntax. There is no /S switch or /dir switch since you aren't installing the software. There is a switch to signal whether you want to register or deregister GSP5.

Sketchpad_Executable refers to the complete path (location) and name of the actual executable contained with the Sketchpad folder. For The location and name of Sketchpad_Executable is (assuming you haven't changed the name or location of the folder for Sketchpad)

where (PROGRAMFILES) is the default location for 32-bit Windows applications on the computer and GSP5.exe is the name of executable within the folder. On the 32-bit US version of Windows, (PROGRAMFILES) is usually "C:\Program Files"; on the 64-bit US version of Windows it is usually "C:\Program Files (x86)". The name is different for international versions of Windows.

Note: It is important that you protect not only the LicenseName and AuthorizationCode, but also any package that embeds them. Providing any of these items to an unauthorized user is tantamount to violating your license agreement for GSP5.

Deregistering Sketchpad

There are four common reasons to do this:

1. You want to assure that you can successfully install and run Sketchpad on new computers without using more than the limited number of registrations allowed for the license.
2. Your institution bought a 1-year license and you wish to replace your current licenses with new licenses.
3. You are decommissioning computers (either to replace them or sell them as surplus/salvage) and wish to ensure that Sketchpad isn't being used in a non-compliant manner.
4. Some 1:1 laptop initiatives deliver the computers to students when they graduate minus any software that wasn't provided as part of the initiative. If you wish to leave Sketchpad on the laptops in evaluation mode (and let students decide if they subsequently want to buy their own copy) all you need to do is deregister the software to remain compliant with your own license.

Running the Windows uninstaller provides an option for deregistering the application. Alternately, this is very simple to do with a variant of the Windows command used to register GSP:

We require the LicenseName and AuthorizationCode as before to limit accidental deregistration by a student or teacher. This will reduce the need for you to make "house calls" for computers on which GSP5 "mysteriously" stops working.

As with registration, issuing Windows commands to a set of client computers managed by MSCCM requires creating a package containing a single command (or alternatively a Task) to be deployed to some or all of the computers you manage.

Deleting Sketchpad

Strictly speaking, this is outside the scope of this document. There is nothing different about using MSCCM to delete GSP5 than using MSCCM to delete any other files from the client computers. Because this is a common FAQ at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb892803.aspx, the question and answer are included here for your convenience:

How do I uninstall software using Configuration Manager?

Configuration Manager 2007 does not provide a specific way to uninstall an application. However, Configuration Manager 2007 can run any program that you configure, including a script or executable file to uninstall an application. Consult the documentation for the application to see whether there is an option for uninstalling. For example, if you create a Configuration Manager 2007 package with a Configuration Manager 2007 program to run a Windows Installer file to install an application, you might be able to create an additional Configuration Manager 2007 program in the same package using the /x option to uninstall the application.

Configuration Manager 2007 could also theoretically uninstall an application that was not distributed with Configuration Manager 2007, if you can build a script or executable to cleanly uninstall the application.

More Information

For more details on silent installs and command-line registration options, see the silent installation and command-line options page.