Microsoft Visio 2002 Resource Kit

Article
02/20/2014

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Chapter 1 - Overview

The Microsoft® Visio® 2002 Resource Kit brings together the tools, information, and examples you need to customize and deploy Visio throughout your organization. Designed for the information technology (IT) professional, the Visio Resource Kit provides comprehensive information about deployment strategies. In addition, the Visio Resource Kit can help you configure, secure, and manage your installations quickly and efficiently. The Visio Resource Kit applies to both Microsoft Visio 2002 Standard and Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional versions.

Welcome

The Microsoft® Visio® 2002 Resource Kit is designed for administrators, information technology (IT) professionals, and support staff who deploy and support Visio. The Visio Resource Kit features a comprehensive set of tools to assist you with installation, configuration, and maintenance, as well as in-depth documentation on strategies and techniques that you can use to support Visio within your organization. The Visio Resource Kit focuses on helping you get your organization up and running with Visio in less time than ever.

Visio Resource Kit organization

The Visio Resource Kit is organized into three parts and an Appendix.

Part 1: Getting Started

Getting Started covers the basic information you need to know to start planning for a Visio 2002 deployment. Details are provided here on system requirements and upgrading from previous versions of Visio, as well as a comprehensive list of features included in the Office XP Resource Kit.

Part 2: Deployment

The Visio Resource Kit contains the information you need to configure and deploy Visio within your organization. The Deployment section provides information on using the Office XP Resource Kit deployment tools, covering the basic installation scenarios along with specific information on platform issues, customization, and distribution. Areas covered in the Visio Resource Kit include strategies for deploying Microsoft Visio 2002 and background information on how Setup runs.

Part 3: Security Settings and Custom Help

This section describes many of the tools and strategies you can use to manage security and lower the total cost of ownership for Visio. The security section describes how to protect documents and safeguard your systems from viruses. The sections on Custom Help show you how to integrate your organization's own support information into the Visio Help environment.

Appendix

The Appendix included in the Visio Resource Kit contains instructions for creating the file Vis2002.sms and Visio ADM files, a glossary of terms used throughout the document, and a comprehensive index.

Documentation conventions in the Visio Resource Kit

The following terms and text formats are used in the Visio Resource Kit.

Convention	Meaning
Bold	Indicates the actual properties, commands, words, or characters that you type, view, or click in the user interface.
Italic	In procedures, command lines, or syntax, italic characters indicate a placeholder for information or parameters that you must provide. For example, if the procedure asks you to type a file name, you type the actual name of a file.
Path\File name	Indicates a Windows file system path or registry key—for example, the file Templates\Normal.dot. Unless otherwise indicated, you can use a mixture of uppercase and lowercase characters when you type paths and file names.
Monospace	Represents examples of code text.

Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox

The Office XP Resource Kit contains the tools you need to customize, configure, and deploy Visio 2002 within your organization. If you have the Office XP Resource Kit CD or an Enterprise edition of Office XP, you can install the core tools and support documents by using one integrated Setup program. The tools are also available separately from the download site of the Office XP Resource Kit Web site, https://www.microsoft.com/Office/ork/.

The following table summarizes the key tools that Visio leverages and that are installed by default when you run the Office XP Resource Kit Setup program. For information about specific tools, see the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Tool name	Description
Answer Wizard Builder	Enables you to build your own Answer Wizard content that contains information specific to your organization.
Custom Installation Wizard	Allows you to create a unique Windows Installer transform (MST file) for every installation scenario you need, without altering the original Windows Installer package (MSI file).
Setup INI Customization Wizard	Allows you to enter information into the correct section of the settings file, create a command line that includes the /settings option, and specify a custom INI file.
System Management Server Package Definition Files	Used by Microsoft Systems Management Server to install Visio 2002 remotely. Note: Available in the Appendix of this document.
System Policy Editor and Templates	Allow you to set and control the user interface and behavior of a feature.
MST File Viewer	Displays changes you make to a Windows Installer package (MSI file) in a readable text format in Notepad.

The Office XP Resource Kit also includes several tools that are not installed by default from the Office XP Resource Kit Setup program or are not used by Visio. For deploying Visio, you can obtain these tools from the Office XP Resource Kit or Office XP Enterprise CD or online from the Office XP Resource Kit Web site, https://www.microsoft.com/Office/ork/. For more information on installing the supplemental tools, see the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

New Tools in the Office XP Resource Kit

Besides providing an improved Setup process, Visio is leveraging the Office XP tools to provide the best means for managing the deployment of Microsoft® Visio® 2002 within a corporate environment.

The following sections discuss the improvements to existing Office XP tools and the addition of new tools to the Office XP Resource Kit. You can use these tools to deploy Visio in your organization.

Custom Installation Wizard

Several enhancements are visible in the latest release of the Custom Installation Wizard (Custwiz.exe), and they are described here.

Enhanced user interface

Several changes were made to the Custom Installation Wizard to make it easier to use, not the least of which was improvements to the names and descriptive text for controls and labels in the user interface.

New installation state: Not Available, Hidden, Locked

To help administrators enforce an installation state that a user cannot change, the Not Available, Hidden, Locked installation state is provided to curb the ability of users to change the configuration administrators have set for applications and their features.

New options on the Set Feature Installation States page

Because of new installation capabilities and requests from administrators, the following capabilities have been added to the Office XP Resource Kit that can help you control how Visio is installed:

Do not Migrate Previous Installation State

A feature of Office Setup.exe and Windows Installer allows previously installed applications to be removed and new applications to be installed using the same settings from the previous installation. By enabling the option Do not MigratePreviousInstallationState, you can disable that feature of Office Setup.exe or Windows Installer. Note, however, that Visio does not support migration of previous installation states.
Disable Installed on First Use

The option Disable Installed on First Use turns off the ability of Windows Installer to advertise a feature on the user's computer with a shortcut.
Disable Run from Network

The option Disable Run from Network turns off the ability of Windows Installer to install applications using the Run From Network installation state for the selected feature in the feature tree.

Ability to install Visual Basic as a feature of Visio

Refer to the online Help for the Custom Installation Wizard (Custom10.hlp) specifics about this enhancement. Visual Basic® for Applications is a sensitive component of Visio, and as such requires that administrators fully understand its use. For detailed information, see the Help available from the Set Feature Installation States page.

Ability to remove files with a transform

You can now remove files from a user's computer by using a transform. Previously, you could only add files with a transform.

Ability to remove registry entries with a transform

You can now remove registry branches, keys, or values from a user's computer by using a transform. Previously, you could only add them in the transform.

New properties in the Modify Setup Properties page

There are several new properties you can configure. For information on all the properties you can use, read the document Setupref.doc available with the Office XP Resource Kit. Setupref.doc is installed by default when you run the Office XP Resource Kit Setup program.

Enhanced Help

An integrated Help file is available from the Custom Installation Wizard. This file contains the information you will need to use these tools to help you configure Visio, including property information, Setup.ini information, and a "special issues" section.

New format for MST and MSI files

Because of the differences in the previous release of Visio 2000 and the enhancements to Visio 2002, there is a new MSI file format. This change also forced a change to the MST file format. Because of these changes, you cannot use the previous release of the Custom Installation Wizard with the new file formats; you must use the new release of the wizard, which is supplied with the Office XP Resource Kit.

Setup.exe

Setup.exe can determine when to install and use System Files Update files, chained files, and properties. Improvements include the following:

New Setup.ini format

The enhanced Setup.ini file format allows more flexibility for administrators to add programs to the Setup process. For more information, see the document Setupref.doc, which is installed by default when you run the Office XP Resource Kit Setup program, or read the following section titled "Setup INI Customization Wizard."
New method of chaining installations

Chaining can now only be accomplished through the Setup.ini file. The improved capability of Setup.exe to read the Setup.ini file is valuable to administrators who need better control of installing supporting applications after Visio is installed.
Altered MSI naming convention

The MSI file names have all changed for Visio 2002.
New tool to help manage the Setup.ini file

For more information, see the following section titled "Setup INI Customization Wizard."
New method of upgrading system files on users' computers by using the System Files Update package (OSP.msi).

Setup.exe can now determine whether to install the System Files Update to allow the operating system to support Visio. If the operating system already has the sufficient files, the System Files Update is not installed.

Setup INI Customization Wizard

The Setup INI Customization Wizard (Iniwiz.exe) provides an easy way to add information to the Setup.ini file. You can then make final customizations to the Setup.ini file by using a text editor such as Notepad. The wizard performs the following functions:

Provides an easy method of customizing the Setup.ini file
Provides an easy method of specifying MSI and MST files for an administrative installation point

You can add MSI and MST file references into the Setup.ini file by using the wizard.
Takes the guesswork out of setting up a series of chained installations

By using the Setup INI Customization Wizard, you can put the necessary information into the Setup.ini file easily and then perform the final touches by using a text editor.

Windows Installer

Windows Installer versions 1.1 and 1.2 have been improved to handle more tasks than previous versions. You can choose from several new properties to perform special customization tasks. For more information, see the Custom10.hlp file or the document Setupref.doc, which is installed by default when you run the Office XP Resource Kit Setup program.

System Policy Editor

The System Policy Editor (Poledit.exe) has not changed since the prior release of the Office Resource Kit. However, the security policy template for Visio has been added. You can examine this and the other templates by using the System Policy Editor.

Answer Wizard Builder

The Answer Wizard Builder (Awbuild.exe), which is available as part of the Office XP Resource Kit, has been upgraded. Most of the changes are internal to the functions used to generate probabilities for Answer Wizard search results.

Troubleshooting tools

New troubleshooting tools have been provided so that administrators can read in plain text the contents of the transform (MST file). The viewers include the following:

MST File Viewer

The MST File Viewer (MSTview.exe) displays in text format the contents of any transform created with the Office XP Custom Installation Wizard.

Options for Acquiring Visio

If your organization is in the planning stages for Microsoft Visio 2002, you may want to explore the different options for purchasing or licensing the product. While Visio 2002 is available worldwide at retail outlets, businesses and organizations can benefit from participating in volume licensing programs designed especially to meet their needs.

Licensing programs

Microsoft Volume Licensing programs offer more flexibility, greater value, and easier license management for organizations than the purchase of a retail packaged product. When you acquire a license, you are granted permission to legally copy and redistribute Visio 2002 within your organization. Licensees are eligible for a range of extra services, upgrades, and other benefits, depending upon the terms of their agreements.

Different licensing programs are available, depending upon your requirements and the size of your organization. For more information on volume licensing programs, contact your software reseller or see the Licensing page of the Microsoft Business Web site.

Visio 2002 as a client on Windows Terminal Services

The terminal services technology of Microsoft Windows 2000 Server can deliver the Windows 2000 desktop, as well as Visio 2002, to virtually any desktop computing device, including those that cannot run Windows. When a user runs Visio 2002 by using Windows Terminal Services, all of the application execution takes place on the server—only the keyboard, mouse, and display information are transmitted over the network to the client computer.

If you elect to deploy Visio 2002 as a client on Windows Terminal Services, you will need to acquire one license for each client computer that makes use of the Visio features.

Web Sites of Interest to Administrators

Microsoft provides several Web sites that feature information and tools designed to address the needs of administrators. The following sites might be of special interest to people who deploy and support Microsoft® Visio® 2002.

Microsoft Visio home page

The Microsoft Visio home page, at https://www.microsoft.com/office/visio/default.htm, provides overview information about Microsoft Visio. The site includes feature guides, evaluation information, deployment support, and links to a wide range of resources designed to help you get the most out of Microsoft Visio.

MSDNVisioDeveloperCenter

The Visio Developer Web site, at https://msdn.microsoft.com/Visio/, features articles, tools, and tips for creating programmable solutions using Visio. Topics focus on such areas as data access, automation, and developing applications with Visio components and Visual Basic® for Applications.

Microsoft Visio Technology Center

The Microsoft Visio Technology Center, part of Microsoft TechNet, at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/visio/default.mspx, is a general information and community resource for administrators and information technology (IT) professionals. TechNet contains a wealth of information about planning, evaluating, deploying, maintaining, and supporting a range of IT systems.

Visio Resource Kit

The Visio Resource Kit Web site, at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/visio/visio2002/reskit/default.mspx, is the site where you can download an electronic version of the Microsoft Visio Resource Kit.

Microsoft Office Online Visio Web site

The Microsoft Office Online Visio Web site, at https://office.microsoft.com/assistance/, is the resource Web site for Microsoft Visio users. The site provides Office Update, in-depth technical information and assistance, and links to other useful sites.

Microsoft Office home page

This Microsoft Office home page, at https://www.microsoft.com/office/, provides overview information about the Microsoft family of products. The site includes feature guides, evaluation information, deployment support, and links to a wide range of resources designed to help you get the most out of your applications. You can click Site Index on the home page to view an index of all Microsoft sites related to recent Office products and solutions.

Office XP Resource Kit

The Office XP Resource Kit Web site, at https://www.microsoft.com/Office/ork/, provides the complete set of content and tools for the Office XP Resource Kit. The site is updated frequently to keep you current on topics such as service releases, security issues, and strategies and tactics for deployment

Microsoft Product Support Services

The Microsoft Product Support Services site, at https://support.microsoft.com/, provides links to such resources as the searchable Knowledge Base, the Download Center, and the Customer Support site. There are also links to support phone numbers, online support requests, and worldwide support resources. This site also includes information on the various support plans Microsoft offers.

Microsoft Windows

The Microsoft Windows site, at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/, provides links to information on both present and past versions of the Windows family of products. Within the site, you can browse to the Windows 2000 Home Page to discover resources such as the Technical Library, the Windows resource kits, and other support information.

Microsoft BackOffice Server

The Microsoft BackOffice Server Web site, at https://www.microsoft.com/backofficeserver/, provides information on this comprehensive server suite for the Microsoft Windows® 2000 operating system. The site includes deployment and support information on Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000, as well as the many other components included with BackOffice® Server.

Microsoft TechNet

Microsoft TechNet, at https://www.microsoft.com/technet, is a general information and community resource for administrators and information technology (IT) professionals. TechNet contains a wealth of information about planning, evaluating, deploying, maintaining, and supporting a range of IT systems.