This section explains all the options you can use when you create PDF files. You can use this information along with the sample PDF and the previous example to create your own PDF.
A PDF requires the [PDF], [Package Definition], and [programs] to be functional. The following topics contain tables that show the keys for each section and indicate whether the keys are required or optional, as well as the default values when applicable. The tables also list each key’s corresponding option in the SMS Administrator console.
For more information about all the required and optional fields you can enter in the SMS Administrator console, see Chapter 12, “Distributing Software,” of the SMS 2.0 Administrator’s Guide and SMS Help.
This section contains information about:
This section identifies the file as a PDF. The following table shows its single entry.
Table 7.1 Fields in the [PDF] Section
Key | Required/Default | Comments | Corresponding SMS Admin console item |
|---|---|---|---|
|
VERSION |
Yes |
PDFs written for SMS 2.0 have 2.0 in this field; PDFs written for previous versions of SMS which can be converted to SMS 2.0 format as part of the import process have 1.0 in this field. |
N/A |
This section defines the overall properties of the package.
Table 7.2 Fields in the [Package Definition] Section
Key | Required/Default | Comments | Corresponding SMS Admin console item |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NAME |
Yes |
Name of the product, up to 50 characters. |
Name option in the General tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
VERSION |
No |
Version of the product that is being distributed, up to 32 characters. |
Version option in the General tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
ICON |
No |
File that contains the icon you want to use for the application. If you use this entry, the icon you choose replaces the default package icon in the SMS Administrator console. The icon file must be in the same directory as the PDF when the PDF is imported. |
Change Icon option in the General tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
PUBLISHER |
Yes |
Publisher of the product, up to 32 characters. |
Publisher option in the General tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
LANGUAGE |
Yes |
Language version of the product, up to 32 characters. |
Language option in the General tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
COMMENT |
No |
Comment about the product, up to 127 characters. |
Comment option in the General tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
PROGRAMS |
At least one required |
Programs defined for this package. Each program name corresponds to a [program] section in the PDF. For example: Programs=Typical, Custom, Uninstall |
There is no corresponding SMS Admin console item. |
|
MIFFILENAME* |
No |
Name of the Management Information Format (MIF) file that the programs in the package will generate to indicate package status (the installation status MIF), up to 50 characters. Useful only if your installation program is set up to produce an installation status MIF file. |
Mif file name in the Reporting tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
MIFNAME* |
No |
The value the programs place in the Product attribute of the installation status MIF file, representing the name of the package, up to 50 characters. Useful only if your installation program is set up to produce an installation status MIF file. |
Name in the Reporting tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
MIFVERSION* |
No |
The value the programs place in the Version attribute of the installation status MIF file, representing the version number of the program being distributed, up to 32 characters. Useful only if your installation program is set up to produce an installation status MIF file. |
Version on the Reporting tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
|
MIFPUBLISHER* |
No |
The value the programs place in the Manufacturer attribute of the installation status MIF file, representing the software publisher of the package, up to 32 characters. This option is useful only if your installation program is set up to produce an installation status MIF file. |
Publisher in the Reporting tab of the Package Properties dialog box. |
| You can specify one or more values for fields identified with (*). If no values are specified for these fields, the fields of Name, Version, and Publisher specified in the [Package Definition] section are used for Status MIF file matching when your installation is configured to produce an installation status MIF. | |||
For each program specified in the Programs entry in the [Package Definition] section, the PDF must include a section that defines each program. For example, programs for Microsoft applications include Typical, Complete, Laptop, and Uninstall.
For each key shown in the following table, you can consult the SMS 2.0 documentation for more information about the corresponding user interface in the SMS Administrator console.
Table 7.3 Fields in the [programs] Section
Key | Required/ Default | Comments | Corresponding SMS Admin console item |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NAME |
Yes |
The name of the program, up to 50 characters. Required and must be unique within a package. |
Name option in the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
ICON |
No |
The file name of the file that contains an icon that you want to use to replace the default program icon in the SMS Administrator console. The icon will be displayed on client computers when the program is advertised. The icon file must be in the same directory as the PDF when imported. |
Change Icon option in the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
COMMENT |
No |
Text about the program, such as a description, up to 127 characters. |
Comment option in the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
COMMAND |
Yes |
The command line for the program, up to 127 characters. Any paths included in the command line are relative to the package source directory. |
Command line option in the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
STARTIN |
No |
The working directory for the program, up to 127 characters. This entry can be an absolute path on the client computer or a path relative to the package source directory. |
Start in option in the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
RUN |
Defaults to Normal |
Program mode. You can specify Normal, Minimized, Maximized, or Hidden. If this entry is missing or left empty, the program will run in Normal mode. |
Run option in the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
AFTERRUNNING |
No | An action that occurs after the program is completed successfully. You can specify SMSRestart, ProgramRestart, or SMSLogoff.
If this entry is missing, the program will not run an action after it is completed successfully. |
After running option in the General tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
ESTIMATEDDISK |
Defaults to Unknown |
The amount of disk space the software will require when it is installed on the client computer. You can specify a number ending in KB, MB, or GB, or you can specify Unknown, the default value. For example:
|
Estimated disk space option in the Requirements tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
ESTIMATED |
Defaults to Unknown |
The number of minutes required to run the program on the client computer, or you can specify Unknown, the default value. For example:
|
Estimated run time option in the Requirements tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
ENABLE |
No |
Whether SMS monitors the run time of the program and warns the user if the program is taking longer to run than the estimated time. You can specify True or False; the default value is False. If you specify True, SMS warns the user if the program is still running 15 minutes after the estimated time has elapsed. |
Notify user if the program runs 15 minutes longer than estimated option in the Requirements tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
SUPPORTED |
No |
The platforms on which this program will run, separated by commas. You can specify Win 16, Win 9x, Win NT(i386), Win NT(alpha), or Macintosh (for SMS 1.2 sites in the hierarchy). If this entry is missing from the PDF, supported platform checking will be disabled for this program. |
This program can run only on specified platforms option in the Requirements tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
Supported |
No |
The beginning and ending range for version numbers for the operating systems specified in the SupportedClients entry. You can specify numbers between 0.0.0.0 and 9.9.9.9. The default value for MaxVersion is 9.99.9999.99 if a version is not specified. For example:
|
Some options on the This program can run only on specified platforms option in the Requirements tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
ADDITIONAL |
No |
Optional text that can include any other information about client computers, up to 127 characters. |
Additional requirements option in the Requirements tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
CANRUNWHEN |
Defaults to User |
Whether the program requires that a user be logged on to the client computer. You can specify UserLoggedOn, NoUserLoggedOn, or AnyUserStatus; the default value is UserLoggedOn. |
The Program can run option in the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
USERINPUT |
Defaults to True |
Whether the program requires interaction with the user to be completed. You can specify True or False; unless CanRunWhen is not set to UserLoggedOn, which forces the value to False. |
User input required option in the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
ADMINRIGHTS |
Defaults to False |
Whether the program requires administrative privileges on the computer in order to run. You can specify True or False, unless CanRunWhen is not set to UserLoggedOn, which forces the value to False. |
Run with administrative rights option in the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
USEINSTALL |
Defaults to False |
Whether the program uses the Windows NT Client Software Installation account when running on Windows NT clients. You can specify True or False, unless CanRunWhen is set to UserLoggedOn, which forces the value to False. |
Use Windows NT Client Software Installation account option in the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
DRIVELETTER |
Defaults to False |
Whether the program requires a drive letter connection to the package files on the distribution point. You can specify True or False. False, the default value, enables the program to use a universal naming convention (UNC) connection. When this value is set to True, the next available drive letter used (starting with Z and proceeding backward). |
Requires drive letter option in the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
SPECIFYDRIVE |
No |
Specific drive letter that the program requires to connect to the package files on the distribution point. Using this entry forces the use of the specified drive letter for client connections to distribution points. |
Requires specific drive letter option in the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
RECONNECT |
Defaults to False |
Whether the connection to the distribution point is set to be reconnected by the operating system each time the user logs on. You can specify True or False. |
Reconnect to distribution point at logon option in the Environment tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
DEPENDENT |
No |
A program (in this package) that must run before the current program. This entry uses the following format: DependentProgram=ProgramName |
Run another program first option in the Advanced tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
ASSIGNMENT |
Defaults to FirstUser |
How the program is assigned to users. You can specify FirstUser, so that only the first user who logs on runs the program, or EveryUser, so that every user who logs on to the client runs the program. |
When program is assigned option in the Advanced tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
DISABLED |
Defaults to False. |
Whether this program can be run and/or displayed when advertised to clients. You can specify True or False. |
Disable this program on computers where it is advertised option in the Advanced tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
REMOVE |
No. Useful only if UninstallKey is set. |
Indicates that SMS will remove this program from client computers when it is no longer advertised to those clients. You can specify True or False. This option is mainly useful for shared network applications and available only to programs that register with Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. To use this option, you must specify a value for UninstallKey. |
Remove software when it is no longer advertised option in the Advanced tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |
|
UNINSTALLKEY |
No, but required if Remove |
The name of the uninstall registry key the program creates in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE |
Uninstall registry key option in the Advanced tab of the Program Properties dialog box. |