SMS: Office 97 PDF Inventory Properties Are Incorrect

• Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.2

SYMPTOMS

After an inventory scan is performed, Microsoft Office 97 for Windows does not appear as an installed package for clients, even though Office is installed.

CAUSE

The Package Definition File (PDF) provided with both Standard and Professional editions of Office 97 for Windows and Office 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1) defines Package Inventory properties for Office. When a Systems Management Server client runs the Systems Management Server Inventory Agent, it scans the local drives for files that match the criteria defined in the Package Inventory properties. The PDFs supplied with Office 97 and 97 SR-1 check for the Mso97.dll and Off97spec.ini files.

The Systems Management Server Client Inventory Agent uses the following definition to check for these files:

   MSO97.DLL
   AND
   OFF97SPEC.INI CRC=0 226 1548

The detection rule specifies 'AND' rather than 'OR', therefore, the package is not detected. This is because these two files are not located in the same directory.

WORKAROUND

Use one of the following methods (as appropriate to your situation) to work around the problem.

Change the Package Inventory Properties

If you already have an existing Package for Office 97 that was created in Systems Management Server, change the Package Inventory properties using these steps:

1. Start the Systems Management Server Administrator program.

2. Open the Packages window.

3. Open the Package for Office 97 (Standard or Professional).

4. Click the Inventory button.

5. Select the line in the Inventory properties that contains 'AND' and then click the Toggle button. This changes 'AND' to 'OR'.

6. Allow time for the Package properties to be replicated to logon servers and subsites before you attempt a new software inventory.

Change the PDF

If you have not yet created a package for Office 97, change the detection rule in the PDF from 'AND' to 'OR'. Perform the following steps:

1. Locate the file in your Office 97 source.

2. Open the file in a text editor such as Notepad.

3. Search for the string "Detection Rule Part 2=AND" (without the quotation marks).

4. Change 'AND' to 'OR'.

5. Save the file.

6. Import the file into a new package.

Use a Newer PDF

Use the newer version of the PDF for Office 97 which is included in Systems Management Server Service Pack 2 or later. The newer PDF corrects this problem by removing the Mso97.dll file from the inventory criteria.

For additional information about the Microsoft Office Package Definition File, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q167630
   TITLE     : SMS: Office 97 Contains Incorrect PDF Format

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 1.2. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.