Package Definition Files

A package definition file is a text file that contains all the information necessary to create a software distribution package for an application and create all the programs within the package.

PDFs that are provided with SMS 2.0 are stored with the extension .sms in the SMS\Scripts\00000409\Pdfstore directory of your SMS installation, where SMS is the root directory of your installation.

The PDFs included with SMS 2.0 are automatically imported and listed in the Create Package from Definition Wizard and the Distribute Software Wizard. Additional PDFs and updates to existing files are located on the Systems Management Server Web site, at http://www.microsoft.com/smsmgmt. From this location, you can download PDFs and find instructions on how to use them. For more information about creating packages and programs, see Chapter 12, “Distributing Software,” in the SMS 2.0 Administrator’s Guide.

You can import PDFs into the SMS 2.0 Distribute Software Wizard. When you use the Distribute Software Wizard, SMS organizes all of the tasks that are required to distribute software. The wizard prompts you for the information needed to complete the software distribution and, afterward, distributes the software automatically.

When the wizard prompts you for a package, choose Create new package from a definition, then choose the PDF you want to import.

The Create Package from Definition Wizard creates the package and program in a single step, but you must handle all the other details of creating a software distribution. Distributing software using a PDF with the Create Package from Definition Wizard includes the following steps: