Profile Wizard

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Overview of the Profile Wizard
Using the Profile Wizard
Customizing the Profile Wizard
Distributing a Standard User Profile During Deployment
Using the Profile Wizard with the Custom Installation Wizard
Running the Profile Wizard from the Command Line
Using Default Paths in Profiles

Overview of the Profile Wizard

Microsoft® Project 2002 is highly customizable. Users can change the way Microsoft Project functions by setting options or by adding custom templates or tools. For example, the sales department can create a custom template for invoices, or create a custom dictionary with industry-specific terms.

Users can change, for example, the default view, or the default file format for saving documents. These user-defined settings can be stored in a user profile. Microsoft Project user profiles can contain most of the customizations that users make to the Microsoft Project environment.

The Profile Wizard stores and retrieves Microsoft Project and Microsoft Office XP customizations. You can use the Profile Wizard to create and deploy a standard user profile when you deploy Microsoft Project, so that all of your users start with the same settings.

There are two likely scenarios in which you would use the Profile Wizard:

  • If you are installing Microsoft Project 2002 after installing Office XP, use the P10ADM.ini file. This file contains settings specific to Microsoft Project that will not overwrite Office XP settings. It does not store or retrieve any shared Office settings, such as settings for the Office Assistant. Run the Profile Wizard with the following command line syntax to use the ProjProf.ini file:
Proflwiz.exe [[/s] <settings filename>][/i <P10ADM.ini>]
  • If you are installing Microsoft Project 2002 at the same time you're installing Office XP, use the P+O10ADM.ini file with the Profile Wizard, with the following command line syntax. The P+O10ADM.ini file captures settings for both Office XP and for Microsoft Project 2002.
Proflwiz.exe [[/s] <settings filename>][/i <P+O10ADM.ini>]

When you save a Microsoft Project user profile, you create an OPS file. You can include your OPS file in a Microsoft Windows® Installer transform, and the settings will be distributed when Microsoft Project is deployed. You can also use the Profile Wizard to help back up and restore user-defined settings from one computer to another.

Microsoft Project Profiles and Multiple Languages

Microsoft Project user profiles generated by the Profile Wizard are independent of the operating system — including operating systems in other languages. For example, an OPS file created under Windows 98 (U.S. English version) can be restored to a computer with Windows 2000 (Japanese version). However, Microsoft Project user profiles are specific to a particular Microsoft Project language version. For example, if you create an OPS file in the U.S. English version of Microsoft Project, it cannot be restored to a computer with the German version of Microsoft Project installed. There is some overlap between language families. For example, you can restore a U.S. English Microsoft Project profile to an English or Australian version of Microsoft Project. This Microsoft Project language limitation exists because the different Microsoft Project versions include localized folder names for the folders that contain the Microsoft Project user profile information.

You can customize the Profile Wizard to capture only certain user settings, and not all Microsoft Project settings on the computer, or to run in quiet mode (without user interaction) as part of the Custom Installation Wizard. You can also run the Profile Wizard from the command line.

When a user receives a new computer, you can use the Profile Wizard to preserve user-defined Microsoft Project settings from the old computer. Run the wizard on the old computer to create an OPS file, and then store the OPS file on the network. After the new computer arrives, run the wizard again to configure the new computer with the previous settings.

See Also

Microsoft Project user profiles are different from system user profiles. For information about system user profiles under a particular Windows operating system, see the appropriate Windows resource kit.

Using the Profile Wizard

The Profile Wizard is used to capture user settings and customizations of the Microsoft Project user environment, and to migrate these settings, essential templates, and support programs to other users' computers.

One of the best advantages the Profile Wizard offers is its ability to save the configuration of a user's computer and then restore that configuration at a later date — for example, when a user migrates to a new computer.

In order to use the Profile Wizard, an installation of Microsoft Project must exist on a computer. After Microsoft Project is installed, you can use the Profile Wizard to capture the configuration of user settings and files. With changes to the INI files used by the Profile Wizard, it is possible to instruct the wizard to capture custom files, templates, and other supporting files by adding them in the appropriate sections of the customized INI file you create.

Using the Profile Wizard to Change User Settings

The Profile Wizard is an administrative tool for capturing a Microsoft Project user configuration from a user's computer to a profile settings file (OPS file). The Profile Wizard also functions as the Save My Settings Wizard for end users. For more information, see Profile Wizard and Save My Settings Wizard in the Deployment and Administration Tools section of the resource kit toolbox.

The Profile Wizard and the Save My Settings Wizard are the exact same application, but use different interfaces. Each wizard is activated by a parameter setting on the command line. By default, the Save My Settings Wizard begins whenever you start Proflwiz.exe; however, you have the option of including the /u command-line option to force the use of the non-administrative user interface. You must add the /a command-line option to start the Profile Wizard with the administrative user interface.

There are two INI files available for use with the Profile Wizard in Microsoft Project. These INI files instruct the wizard to capture registry settings and files from a user's computer. Each INI file is tailored for the uses stated below, and can be modified with a text editor to add or remove registry settings or files from an OPS file.

  • P10ADM.ini   This INI file contains settings specific to Microsoft Project that will not overwrite Office XP settings. It does not store or retrieve any shared Office settings, such as settings for the Office Assistant. Use this INI file if you are installing Microsoft Project after installing Office XP.
  • P+O10ADM.ini   This INI file contains settings for both Office XP and Microsoft Project. Use this INI file if you are installing Microsoft Project at the same time as Office XP.
Resetting to defaults

The Profile Wizard includes an option to reset user settings to defaults. This option clears all custom user settings saved in the registry and in related templates. Using the Reset to defaults option is critical to implementing a clean user configuration on a computer. If settings have been customized on a user's computer prior to applying an OPS file, those settings not customized in the OPS file are retained on the user's computer — a scenario that can lead to different configurations on user's computers, because their previous settings were not cleared. Using the Reset to defaults option clears all user settings, and then applies the configurations supplied in the OPS file. This ensures that all users will have the same configuration after the OPS file is applied.

A separate file, RESETP10.ini, is available in the Microsoft Project Resource Kit Toolbox, and can be used to reset Microsoft Project 2002 settings. To reset settings for both Microsoft Project 2002 and Microsoft Office XP, use the RESETO10.ini file, included in the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Capturing user configuration settings

Any setting a user can configure within Microsoft Project and retain from one session to the next can be saved to an OPS file by using the Profile Wizard. You can even instruct the Profile Wizard to pick up any specific files you need, and to include them in the OPS file by altering the INI file used by the wizard.

Before you create an OPS file, you must start Microsoft Project and set all the custom settings you want users to have. You can set most options by using the Options command (Tools menu). To customize toolbars and menus, use the Customize command (Tools menu). You can even distribute a customized dictionary by replacing the default dictionary or by making changes to the existing dictionary.

After the Profile Wizard creates the OPS file, you can add it to a transform using the Custom Installation Wizard. You can then deploy Microsoft Project, using the transform with the embedded OPS file. This installs the default user configuration you created with the Profile Wizard to all users who install Microsoft Project with that transform. For more information about adding an OPS file to a transform, see the Customizing Options Settings resource kit article.

Applying user configuration settings from an OPS file

You can apply user configuration settings with the Profile Wizard by using any of the following three methods.

  • Run the Profile Wizard automatically at the end of the deployment process by specifying it in the Add Installations and Run Programs page of the Custom Installation Wizard.
  • Embed the OPS file in a transform with the Custom Installation Wizard from the Customize Default Application Settings page.
  • Manually run the Profile Wizard with the OPS file on the user's computer.
Running the Profile Wizard at the end of deployment

The Profile Wizard will run at the end of the deployment process whether you embed the OPS file in the transform on the Customize Default Applications Settings page of the Custom Installation Wizard, or specify that it should run in the Add Installations and Run Programs page of the Custom Installation Wizard. If you would rather not embed the OPS file in a transform, you can instruct the Custom Installation Wizard to run the Profile Wizard at the end of the deployment process by including the Profile Wizard executable (Proflwiz.exe), plus command-line options in the Add Installations and Run Programs page. This process allows you to:

  • Use the Reset to defaults option of the Profile Wizard.
  • Modify an OPS file without having to change or update the transform.
  • Apply the OPS file separate of the transform.
  • Selectively restore settings to specific Office applications with command-line options. You can also do this through the user interface, but this method is only available when using the Profile Wizard in administrative mode.

To run the Profile Wizard at the end of the deployment process

  1. Copy Proflwiz.exe to the administrative installation point, if it is not already there.
  1. Copy the OPS file you created to the administrative installation point.
  1. Start the Custom Installation Wizard.
  1. Navigate to the Add Installations and Run Programs page of the Custom Installation Wizard.
  1. Click Add.
  1. In the Target text box, enter <path>\proflwiz.exe or use the Browse button to navigate to Proflwiz.exe.
  1. In the Arguments box, enter /r <path> <OPS file name>.

After Microsoft Project is installed, Windows Installer starts all the applications you specify on the Add Installations and Run Programs page, in the order in which you specify them.

Understanding the Reset to defaults option

You might see unexpected results if you do not fully understand how the Reset to defaults option works before applying customizations in an OPS file. If the Reset to defaults check box is selected when you run the Profile Wizard to restore a user profile, all existing user configuration settings of Microsoft Project are reset to their default states before the profile is applied. Your new settings, which are then applied, should be customized to enable Microsoft Project to work as you intend.

By default, the Profile Wizard resets all previous user settings when it is not used in quiet mode (that is, the user interface is displayed). If you want to restore some settings in specific applications but retain others that you have modified, you will need to edit the INI file used to capture the settings and clear the Reset to defaults check box in the wizard during the restore process.

You can customize the Reset to defaults feature of the Profile Wizard by modifying sections in the INI files. Changes to sections in the INI file ending with text "ResetToDefaults" will affect how the Profile Wizard manages the application of an OPS file.

Using the Reset to defaults option is the same as specifying the /d command-line option. When selected, the Profile Wizard uses the ResetO10.ops file to apply changes to the user's computer.

When the ResetO10.ops file is applied to a user's computer, the following user settings are reset to their default install state:

  • The Assistant character
  • Most recently used (MRU) entries on the File Menu
  • Size and position of application windows
  • Menu and toolbar positions or customizations
  • Security level of Office and Microsoft Project
  • Settings for viewing data
  • Office XP Shortcut Bar (if installed)

Microsoft Project has the option to Detect and Repair (Help menu). Selecting this option and then selecting the Discard my customized settings and restore default settings check box is the same as running the Profile Wizard with the /d command-line option or selecting the Reset to defaults check box within the Profile Wizard.

Defining environment variables for use with Windows 98

Environment variables are a feature used to set the configuration of an operating system. Environment variables can be accessed through special function calls in applications to determine what the contents of the variables are. This process is very similar to setting a string variable in a programming language and then gaining access to it from another program. Since the operating system is always running, the environment variable is always accessible.

Unlike Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 or later, Microsoft Windows 98 does not have a USERPROFILE or USERNAME environment variable by default. You must create and define these environment variables manually so they resolve to the correct location for each user.

To create the USERPROFILE environment variable for Windows 98 clients, create a Windows NT logon script. Use the following command line in the logon script to create the USERPROFILE and USERNAME environment variables when a user logs on:

<path>\Winset.exe USERNAME=%USERNAME%

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An environment variable can be created at any time by running the SET command from a command window; however, this method sets the variable only for as long as the window is active.

Under Windows 98, you can create an environment variable in the Autoexec.bat file, and retain the variable for as long as Windows 98 is running. If you prefer, you can perform the same step above by adding the following to all autoexec.bat files on users' computers:

SET USERNAME

SET USERPROFILE

Then, in the NT logon script, you can change the command lines referenced earlier to:

SET USERNAME=%USERNAME%

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If user profiles are not enabled on the Windows 98 computer where the resulting OPS file is to be applied, you must also include the commands to create the Profiles folder and the USERNAME environment variable. In this case, use the following MS-DOS commands from a batch file or manually enter them on the command line:

SET USERNAME

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Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4.0 or later store user-related profile variables in the Windows registry. When a user logs on to the computer, the operating system reads the related user settings from the registry and updates the USERPROFILE and USERNAME environment variables accordingly.

Customizing the Profile Wizard

You can customize the Profile Wizard to include only the settings you want to track. Customizing the Profile Wizard may be helpful if you are deploying Microsoft Project with Office XP, and you want to specify exactly which settings are captured and restored.

To customize the Profile Wizard, you edit the INI files (P10ADM.ini for Microsoft Project 2002 or P+O10ADM.ini for Microsoft Project 2002 and Office XP). You can edit an INI file in Notepad or another text editor, and then add or delete references to settings that you want to include or exclude. You can include or exclude specific applications, such as registry settings or Application Data folders and template files.

Each section of the INI file contains comments documenting the usage and syntax for entries in that section. The default entries are designed to gather a complete set of user configuration data, including both files and Windows registry values, for Microsoft Project or Office XP.

Notes

  • Some settings in the P+O10ADM.ini file are shared among applications in Office XP. When you customize this INI file, make sure that you change only non-shared settings or that you set any shared settings to work correctly for all applications before you save the OPS file.
  • If an INI file is set to include a folder, that folder is created on a user's computer when the settings are restored from an OPS file, whether there are any files for the folder or not.

INI File Sections

An INI file is divided into two sections:

  • File/Folder Section   INI sections dealing with files and folders appear under the File/Folder Section of each INI file.
  • Registry Section   INI sections dealing with registry keys, entries, and values appear under the Registry Section of each INI file.

The following table describes the contents of both INI files. For a full description of each section, including examples of syntax, see the INI file.

INI section

Contents

[IncludeFolderTrees]

All folders and subfolders for a select registry node. Files in these folders and subfolders are also included.

[IncludeIndividualFolders]

Include only a specific folder.

[IncludeIndividualFiles]

Include a specific file.

[ExcludeFiles]

Files to exclude from the user profile. Accepts wildcard characters in the file name (to exclude groups of files).

[FolderTreesToRemoveToResetToDefaults]

Folder trees to delete prior to writing data from the OPS file to the user's computer. Use this section with caution.

[IndividualFilesToRemoveToResetToDefaults]

Files to delete prior to writing data from the OPS file to the user's computer. Each folder must be explicitly specified.

[ExcludeFilesToRemoveToResetToDefaults]

New to Microsoft Project 2002, this allows you to keep specific files or groups of files normally removed during a Reset to defaults action.

[SubstituteEnvironmentVariables]

Environment variables to expand if found in a registry value with a data type of REG_EXPAND_SZ.

[IncludeRegistryTrees]

Include all keys, subkeys, and values from the specified registry node.

[IncludeIndividualRegistryKeys]

Includes only a specific key and any associated values in the key.

[IncludeIndividualRegistryValues]

New to Microsoft Project 2002, includes only a specific key and a specific entry value.

[ExcludeRegistryTrees]

Any keys or subkeys in the specific node are excluded.

[ExcludeIndividualRegistryKeys]

Exclude a specific key.

[ExcludeIndividualRegistryValues]

Exclude a specific named value of a key.

[RegistryTreesToRemoveToResetToDefaults]

Registry node (and all subkeys) to delete prior to writing values from the OPS file to a user's computer.

[IndividualRegistryValuesToRemoveToResetToDefaults]

Specific registry entry values to delete prior to writing values from the OPS file to the user's computer.

Distributing a Standard User Profile During Deployment

The Profile Wizard gives you control over which settings are deployed with Microsoft Project. You can create and distribute a default user profile when you deploy Microsoft Project so that all of your users start with the same settings.

For example, if you are an administrator in a large company, you can install Microsoft Project on a test computer and then customize the toolbars, option settings, templates, custom dictionaries, and any other options. You then run the Profile Wizard to create an OPS file to capture all of these configuration options.

After testing the installation, you run the Custom Installation Wizard and include the OPS file that you created earlier. The OPS file settings are included in the Windows Installer transform, so the customized settings are installed automatically when Microsoft Project is deployed on client computers.

See Also

The Custom Installation Wizard allows you to control how all the users in your organization install Microsoft Project on their computers. For more information, see the Custom Installation Wizard resource kit article.

For more information about Deploying Enterprise profiles, see the Customizing Options Settings resource kit article.

Using the Profile Wizard with the Custom Installation Wizard

Although you can run the Profile Wizard by itself to capture and restore user profile settings, it is a much more powerful tool when you use it in combination with the Custom Installation Wizard.

The Custom Installation Wizard helps you customize the Microsoft Project 2002 Setup program. When you customize the Microsoft Project installation to include a default user profile, you save a step in your deployment process by distributing the profile during installation.

You have two choices for using the Profile Wizard and the Custom Installation Wizard together. Whichever method you choose, the Custom Installation Wizard uses the profile that you specify to modify the way Microsoft Project is installed.

Including an OPS File in the Custom Installation Wizard

When you add a profile settings file (OPS file) to the Custom Installation Wizard, the OPS file is included in the Microsoft Windows Installer transform. This choice offers the following advantages:

  • With the OPS file included in the MST file, you have only one file to keep track of.
  • Because the profile is part of the customized Setup, users can install from any administrative installation point.

Setting the Profile Wizard to Run After Microsoft Project Installation

When you add the Profile Wizard to the list of applications to run at the end of the Microsoft Project installation, your OPS file is kept independent of your MST file. This option offers the following advantages:

  • You can update the OPS file without having to create a new MST file.
  • If the OPS file is stored in a central place, users can install Microsoft Project from any administrative installation point.

However, running the Profile Wizard separately has some limitations. If the OPS file is stored in an administrative installation point, that administrative installation point must be replicated around the network.

See Also

For more information about using the Custom Installation Wizard to add an OPS file or the Profile Wizard to your installation, see the Presetting User Options in an OPS File section of the Customizing Options Settings resource kit article.

Running the Profile Wizard from the Command Line

You can run the Profile Wizard from the command line with no loss in functionality. Every option available in the wizard has a corresponding command-line option.

Use the following syntax:

Proflwiz.exe [[/r] [/s] <settings filename>]

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The following table describes these command-line options.

Option

Action

/r

Restore settings from the specified OPS file.

/s

Save settings to the specified OPS file.

/d

Reset default settings before any restore action.

/i

Use the specified file instead of Proflwiz.ini. For example, use the file specific to Microsoft Project, ProjProf.ini, to set and restore settings independent of Office XP settings.

/q

Run in quiet mode; suppress error messages and progress bar.

/p

Display progress bars; suppress error messages.

/e

Display error messages; suppress progress bars.

/?

Display syntax.

The <settings filename> parameter is required if either the /s option or the /r option is used. If no additional options are used, both progress bars and error messages are displayed.

You can use the /r option and the /d option together.

If the /s option and the /d option are specified in the same command line, the /d option is ignored.

The /p and /e options are mutually exclusive.

To use the Profile Wizard with Microsoft Project, you must use the /i option and specify either P10ADM.ini or P+O10ADM.ini as the INI file. Both of these INI files can be downloaded from the Deployment and Administration Tools section of the resource kit toolbox. Use the P10ADM.ini file if you are deploying Microsoft Project after deploying Office. This INI file captures only settings specific to Microsoft Project. It does not capture nor store any shared Office settings, such as settings for the Office Assistant.

If you are installing Microsoft Project with Office, use the P+O10ADM.ini file. This INI file captures settings for Office, as well as for Microsoft Project.

Using Default Paths in Profiles

The Profile Wizard helps you distribute default settings to your users as you deploy Microsoft Project. Among other types of settings, you can use the OPS file to set default paths for documents, templates, clip art, or other files on your users' computers.

By distributing such settings when you deploy Microsoft Project, you can cut down on support costs, because you'll always know where certain types of files are stored on each user's computer.

Default Paths and the ORAPI Database

Like its previous versions, Microsoft Project 2002 uses many path settings to define user-specific configurations. These settings are stored in the Windows registry. However, if there are user-specific paths in the registry, these paths might be recorded literally in the OPS file, and your settings might not apply to all users when the OPS file is distributed during Microsoft Project deployment.

To handle path information for Microsoft Windows registry settings with more flexibility, Microsoft Project stores default paths as part of the Office Registry API (ORAPI) database. The path setting is not written to the Windows registry unless you or the user changes it from the default value. Some of these paths appear in the user interface, and might even appear to be user-specific settings. However, because Microsoft Project looks up the default value for each user, these settings function more like variables.

For example, in the Options dialog box (Tools menu) in Microsoft Project, the Save tab includes a File Location setting for projects. The default value is the user's Personal folder (Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4.0 or later), or the My Documents folder (Windows 98).

In versions of Microsoft Project earlier than Microsoft Project 2002, the actual path and folder names were stored in the Windows registry. Microsoft Project 2002 uses the ORAPI database instead, in effect, making the value generic for all users. The information is written to the Windows registry only if the user or administrator changes the path or folder name from the default.

This means that even paths visible to the user in the user interface do not need special attention to be made generic for all users, as long as the default setting has not been changed.

Customizing a Default Path to Apply to All Users

When you create an OPS file on a test computer, you can customize a default file location, or you can customize any other setting that includes a path. However, you must also customize the actions of the Profile Wizard to make this setting generic, so that it applies to all users. To do this, you use environment variables instead of a literal path.

For example, suppose you want to set the default location for saving projects to a folder called Engineering Documents, located in each user's system profile folder. By using the user name AdminM on your test computer, this option is set on the File Locations tab in the Options dialog box (Tools menu). The following path is written to the Windows registry and saved in the OPS file:

C:\Winnt\Profiles\AdminM\Engineering Documents

Because this path points to your user name, this file location won't work for your users. To make the file location work for all of your users, you can replace the specific path with an environment variable, such as the %USERPROFILE% variable for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4.0 or later, resulting in the following path:

%USERPROFILE%\Engineering Documents

Adding Environment Variables to the Proflwiz.ini File

One of the components of the Profile Wizard is the Proflwiz.ini file. You can customize this INI file to change what is stored in a profile settings (OPS) file. The Proflwiz.ini file includes a section for defining environment variables. You add environment variables to the SubstituteEnvironmentVariables section of the Proflwiz.ini file before you run the Profile Wizard to collect the user profile settings.

Under Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4.0 or later, this section of the INI file already contains some environment variables, such as the Windows environment variables %USERPROFILE% and %USERNAME%. You can remove the default environment variables from this list. If you remove both %USERPROFILE% and %USERNAME% from the list, and you do not add any other environment variables, no settings are made generic through environment variables.

When you run the Profile Wizard, it compares any Windows registry values of type REG_EXPAND_SZ with the strings stored in the environment variables listed in the Proflwiz.ini file. If a match is found, the Profile Wizard substitutes the environment variable name for the literal string.

The Profile Wizard checks for the longest possible string that matches the path, starting with the first element in the path, before substituting the environment variable name. If two variables resolve to paths with equal length strings, they are sorted by the order in which they appear in the Proflwiz.ini file.

For example, in the previous example of the Engineering Documents folder, the Profile Wizard matches the string "C:\Winnt\Profiles\AdminM" with the %USERPROFILE% environment variable. The Profile Wizard then records the value %USERPROFILE%\Engineering Documents instead of the actual path from the test computer. You can then deploy Microsoft Project 2002 with this setting to any Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0 or later computer with no additional adjustments.

See Also

You can use a system policy to set a path with environment variables. For more information about environment variables and system policies, see the Using Environment Variables in System Policies section of the Using System Policies resource kit article.