Microsoft Visio 2002 Resource Kit

Chapter 6 - Deploying on Windows NT 4.0

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Deployment Issues Specific to Windows NT 4.0
Using Windows Installer Shortcuts with Visio

You can install Microsoft Visio 2002 SR-1 on Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a, but you must have the required level of system files. Setup automatically detects and updates these files during the installation. You can also advertise Visio on Windows NT 4.0 and get install-on-demand functionality, provided that you also install the Windows Desktop Update.

Deployment Issues Specific to Windows NT 4.0

The following deployment issues may affect installations of Microsoft Visio 2002 SR-1 on computers running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0:

• You must have Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a to support Visio 2002.

• Users installing Visio 2002 on Windows NT 4.0 might not have the required versions of some system and shared files.

• Setup checks for required versions and installs the System Files Update when necessary.

• You must have elevated privileges to install Visio 2002 under Windows NT 4.0.

• If you also install the System Files Update, you must log on with administrator rights both before and after the computer restarts.

• You advertise Visio 2002 under Windows NT 4.0 by using the /jm command-line option.

  To use Windows Installer shortcuts and get install-on-demand functionality, however, you must install the Windows Desktop Update.

System Files Update

If you are upgrading from Office 2000 Service Release 1 and you have Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01, you do not need to install the System Files Update. However, Visio 2002 Setup still runs the System Files Update detection process and records all file versions (even if they are up-to-date) in the log file.

For more information about the System Files Update, see Setup Components in Chapter 3 of the Microsoft Visio 2002 Resource Kit.

Elevated privileges

For more information about elevating the Visio 2002 installation, see Installations That Require Elevated Privileges in Chapter 3 of the Microsoft Visio 2002 Resource Kit.

Windows Desktop Update

You can advertise Visio by logging on as an administrator and then running Setup with the /jm option. When you advertise Visio, Windows Installer shortcuts for the application appear on the Start menu, and a minimal set of core Visio files and components is installed on the computer. When a user clicks a shortcut or opens a file associated with Visio, Windows Installer installs the application from the administrative installation point.

When you advertise Visio to Installed on First Use, Windows Installer shortcuts appear on the user's computer. However, Windows NT 4.0 does not support Windows Installer shortcuts without the Windows Desktop Update, which is an updated version of the Windows shell. For more information about enabling Windows Installer shortcuts, see "Using Windows Installer Shortcuts with Visio later in this section.

For more information about advertising Visio, see Distributing Visio to Users' Computers in Chapter 4 of the Microsoft Visio 2002 Resource Kit.

Using Windows Installer Shortcuts with Visio

In many organizations, advertising is a quick and efficient means of making Microsoft Visio 2002 SR-1 available to users. When you advertise Visio, Windows Installer shortcuts appear on the Start menu, and a minimal set of core Visio files and components is installed on the computer. When a user clicks a shortcut or opens a file associated with Visio, Windows Installer fully installs the application from the source.

Advertising accomplishes the following:

• Ensures that users always have access to Visio from the Windows Start menu, even if Visio is not yet installed locally.

• Provides application-level resiliency.

  If a user inadvertently deletes a required file (such as Visio.exe), Windows Installer automatically replaces the file when the user clicks the shortcut or tries to open a file associated with the application.

• Elevates the Visio installation on Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0.

  After an administrator advertises Visio, any user can run Setup from Add/Remove Programs to install Visio.

Requirements for using Windows Installer shortcuts

By default, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), and Windows 2000 support Windows Installer shortcuts. On Windows NT 4.0, however, you must install the Windows Desktop Update (an updated version of the Windows shell) before you can use Windows Installer shortcuts to trigger an installation of Visio on demand.

Windows Desktop Update is included with the following versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer:

• Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1 or later with Active Desktop 

  You can turn off Active Desktop after the installation is complete, but you must install the files associated with Active Desktop to get the updated Windows shell components.

• Internet Explorer 5.01

  The updated shell components are included in Internet Explorer 5.01, but they are not installed by default. You must use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a transform that includes the Windows Desktop Update in the System Files Update installation.

Note If the entire Visio application is advertised on an operating system that does not support Windows Installer shortcuts (for example, Windows NT 4.0), setup will fail, and nothing will be installed locally.

How to install the Windows Desktop Update with Microsoft Visio

You install the Windows Desktop Update during the System Files Update installation portion of the Visio installation. (Note that you can install the System Files Update to get the updated Windows shell and choose not install Internet Explorer 5.01 as your default Web browser.) To include the Windows Desktop Update, you must customize the System Files Update package.

To install the Windows Desktop Update with Visio

1. Start the Custom Installation Wizard.

2. On the Open the MSI file page, specify the System Files Update package; for example:

   \\server\share\admin_install_point\files\osp\1033\osp.msi

3. On the Modify Setup Properties page, select the InstallDesktopUpdate property, and then click Modify.

   This property is exposed only when you are creating a transform for the System Files Update package (Osp.msi). It is a private property; that is, you cannot set it on the command line—only in the transform. Note that setting this property automatically sets Internet Explorer options on other pages of the wizard.

4. In the Value box, select Install Windows Desktop Update.

5. Add the transform for the System Files Update package to the Visio Setup.ini file; for example:

[SystemPackOptions] TRANSFORMS=SystemPack.mst

Note   The Internet Explorer Customization Wizard also includes the option Would you like to install the shell update. This option works only if you run the stand-alone version of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit to customize Internet Explorer. If you start the Internet Explorer Customization Wizard from the Custom Installation Wizard, you must set the InstallDesktopUpdate property to get the Windows Desktop Update.