Creating Advertisements with Assigned Programs

Assigning a program means that the program is mandatory, and it usually means that the program is run automatically at the client. You can base program assignments on a schedule, an event, or both. You can also set up a recurring assignment, so that the program is run every day at midnight, for example. When you configure advertisement-specific properties in the Advertisement Properties dialog box, additional options are available. Several of these options refer specifically to assigned programs:

Mandatory assignments (optional)

Advertised programs can be mandated to run on clients by giving them an assignment. Click the New icon to create an assignment.

Note

• Advertised programs that are Windows Installer programs are listed in Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If these advertised programs have mandatory assignments, they will not display the Remove button in Add or Remove Programs. Users cannot remove mandatory Windows Installer programs.

Scheduled assignments

If you click Schedule when you create an assignment, you can use the Schedule dialog box to specify when the program is set to run. The start date and time can be in the client's time zone or in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC, formerly Greenwich Mean Time). You can also specify a recurring schedule if one is appropriate for your program.

Assign immediately after this event

Event-driven assignments are run when the specified event occurs. The following events are available:

As soon as possible

This option causes the assigned program to run after it reaches the client, and as soon as all required conditions are met. This event can occur immediately after the advertisement is received, for example, if the program is specified to run when no user is logged on, or after the current user logs off. The client has no control over this setting.

Assign on logon

The next time the currently logged on user logs on to the client, this setting causes the program to run automatically. The user has no control over this setting. For all users that are not currently logged on, the users must log on to receive the advertised program. After they log off and later log on again, the advertised program will run.

Assign on logoff

When the user logs off the client, this setting causes the program to run automatically. The user has no control over this setting. For all users that are not currently logged on, the users must log on to receive the advertised program, and then log off to run it.

Assignments are not mandatory over slow links

This setting suspends assignments for Legacy Clients on a slow link. By default, this check box is selected. Slow links are considered to be 40 Kbps or slower between the client and the distribution point.

Allow users to run the program independently of assignments

By default, advertisements with assignments are not visible to users. Selecting this option allows the assigned program to appear among the programs listed under Advertised Programs, Run Advertised Programs, or Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. The user can run the program manually at any time before the time scheduled in the assignment. By default, this option is disabled.

Note

• Unless this allow users to run the program independently of assignments option is selected, the assigned program is invisible to the user and is run without the user's control.

Most assigned programs are not displayed to users. Because users have no control over assigned programs, these programs usually do not appear in the Advertised Programs Wizard or the Advertised Programs Monitor. However, you can select the Allow user to run the program independently of assignments option. If you do, users can run the program voluntarily at any time until the program's scheduled run time. If the user does not run the program before the scheduled time, it runs without user intervention.

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