OpenOffice.org network Deployment issues

[PCBeal23]

I'm working on trying to be able to deploy Org over a network at my office. I'm in the initial stages, testing out how to install to a server, then install the program shell to the client computers.

My problem is this: when I unpack the install files for the deployment, then try to install using the custom installation option, then choosing "install to run over the network" option, it tells me that no applications have been selected for installation.

I was just thinking about this, but do I need to install it to the Office server before installing it onto any other computers?

thanks in advance

 

[imported_snikt]

How are you trying to roll it out? AD or a third-party?

 

[PCBeal23]

Packaged within the original install file for Org are some nifty little commands. If you use:

msiexec.exe /A D:\OrgDEPLOY\openofficeorg30.msi ALLUSERS=""
(where "D:\OrgDeploy\" is wherever you have unpacked the Org install files.)

from either the Start>Run dialog, or just create a .bat file with that and run it, it will unpack a specific type of install file (and the associated files and folders for the install) to a location you pick. After doing this, you can click on the freshly minted openoffice install file, and instead of running a "complete" install, you choose custom installation. When it gets to the custom features box, you can set the overall install file to either install to the hard drive, or install to run over a network.

This is where I'm running into my problem. It doesn't seem to want to install over the network, so I'm thinking I need to fully install it on my host machine, and maybe it will be able to install to a client machine, but right now, I can't really test that right now.

Any thoughts?

 

[imported_snikt]

Is this running under users' credentials or administrators? Try running it with administrator credentials, if it works it might just be a permissions problem.

 

[PCBeal23]

I probably should have said this from the beginning, but the client computer is a Win 2k machine and the only login is as an Admin. I didn't think about permissions, though.

I did install OO onto the host machine and just tried installing on a client and I get the same error, so it wasn't the host Installation.

 

[imported_snikt]

If you try running the setup.exe file on the client from the network share does it install fine? If it does, the commands/switches being used may not be correct or the script might need to be edited.

 

[PCBeal23]

Both machines are set up with only administrator rights (simple little old office machines). If I do a full install over the network, it installs just fine. However, when I want to set it to RUN over the network, it tells me that no applications have been selected to install.

sigh, I hate it when I realize that I'm not being as clear as I thought I was . . . lol, and even that sentence still needs decoding.

I didn't write the script for the install. There are some little known commands that you can use with the actuall install file that will unpack it for a network installation. After that, all that you need to do is select the setup.exe file from a networked computer, use the custom install option, and then tell it to install to run from the network.

When I do all this, I get to the last part, telling it to run over the network, but it gives me an error telling me that I haven't told it to install anything. When you think about it, this is completely true, as I'm just installing network shortcuts to the host machine. But I didn't think it would be THIS literal! lol

 

[Czar]

A long shot, if you have access to thinapp or something like that then you can use that for deployment, easy and will work.