Options

Windows NT 4 Info

This property page determines general options to be used by Novell^® Application Launcher^TM when distributing the application to a workstation.

GUID and Version Number
Application Launcher uses the application's GUID (global unique identifier) and version number to manage the distribution of the application. When Application Launcher distributes an application to a workstation, it adds the GUID and the version number to the workstation's Windows* registry. If either the GUID or version number changes, Application Launcher redistributes the application.

The GUID is randomly generated when the Application object is created. In general, you should not need to change the GUID. There are, however, situations such as the following that might necessitate changing an application's GUID:

The Application object is accidentally deleted from eDirectory. You re-create the Application object, but when you do so it is given a new, unique GUID. Because the new GUID will cause the application to be redistributed to all users and workstations associated with the application, you use the GUID Manager (available by clicking the Modify button) to change the new GUID to the old GUID.
You have multiple Application objects for the same application (to enable fault tolerance, site lists, and so forth). You want to make sure that all Application objects have the same GUID so that the application is distributed one time only regardless of the Application object that is used. You use the GUID Manager to synchronize the GUIDs.
Site 1 and Site 2 have the same applications chains. You must synchronize the GUIDs of each application in the chain at Site 1 with the GUIDs of each matching application at Site 2. Use the GUID Manager to synchronize the GUIDs.

The version number is a unique number between 0 and 65535 (0 is assigned when the Application object is first created) that you can increment as you make revisions to the Application object. If you make a change to the Application object's information, you should increment the version number so that Application Launcher redistributes the application. Application Launcher only redistributes the application if the new version number is larger than the current version number in the workstation's Windows registry.

Options
These options let you determine if Application Launcher should redistribute the application each time the application is run and if Application Launcher should prompt the user to accept or reject the distribution. The Options fields are not displayed on Application objects created for Web applications and Terminal Server applications because they do not apply.

Distribute Always
By default, Application Launcher makes the distribution changes associated with the Application object at the following times:

The first time the application is launched on a workstation.

The first time the application is launched after the application's version number has been changed.

To force Application Launcher to redistribute the application each time it is launched, select Distribute Always.

This option is useful to ensure that all application settings and files are updated every time the application runs. If the user has a NAL cache directory on his or her local machine, the files and settings are distributed from the NAL cache directory. If the user does not have a NAL cache directory (for example, the user is running Application Launcher through a terminal server client session) or if writing to the cache has been disabled for the user (User object > ZENworks tab > Launcher Configuration page > Enable Writing to Cache option), the application files and settings are updated from Novell^® eDirectory^TM. To force a distribution from eDirectory even if the user has a NAL cache directory on his or her local machine, you need to change the application's version number or have individual users right-click the Application object and click Verify.

If you need only specific files or settings to be distributed each time, you can update these on a case-by-case basis. For example, if you want to always distribute a particular registry key and value, you can set the Distribute Always option on the Registry Settings page (Distribution Options tab) for that particular key and value.

Because this setting causes all application files and settings to be distributed each time, it overrides the Distribute Always option on the Registry Settings, INI Settings, Application Files, Icons/Shortcuts, and Text Files pages (Distribution Options tab).

Prompt Before Distribution
Select this option to prompt users to accept the distribution. Users are prompted the first time they click the application icon; all subsequent times they are not prompted. To better help users make a decision about installing the application, the prompt includes the text you've entered in the Description page (Identification tab).

Distribute in Workstation Security Space if Workstation Associated
The function of this option is conditional, based on whether you are configuring an MSI application or an AOT/Simple application.
If the application is an MSI: This check box is not selected by default. Workstation-associated MSI applications are normally distributed in the user security space, meaning that Application Launcher uses the user's credentials and file system access.

Select this option to instruct Application Launcher to distribute the application in the workstation security space. Application Launcher turns over distribution to the NAL Workstation Helper, which runs in the system space and uses the workstation's credentials. Using this option enables you to 1) do a lights-out distribution of the application and 2) better secure the application's source .msi files by giving the workstation, not the user, access to the source .msi files. Consider the following examples:

You want to associate the application with a workstation and have it distributed before the user launches it. This is referred to as a lights-out distribution. To do so, you associate the application with the workstation on the Associations page (Associations tab), set the distribution schedule on the Pre-Install Schedule page (Distribution Options tab), and then enable this option. As long as the workstation is running at the scheduled distribution time, the NAL Workstation Helper distributes the application using the workstation security space rather than the user space normally used for installation of MSI applications.

You want to distribute the application to a workstation but you don't want to give the user rights to the application's source files on the network. To do so, you associate the application with the workstation on the Associations page (Associations tab) and then select this option. When the user launches the application, Application Launcher calls NAL Workstation Helper. Workstation Helper distributes the application using the workstation security space.

It is important to remember that Application Launcher uses the workstation's credentials, not the user's credentials, to distribute the application. This means that you must assign the workstation the appropriate file system rights to access the network location where the source .msi files reside.

Not all MSI applications can be installed using this option. Some MSI applications have dependencies on a logged-in user (for example, to read and write to the HKCU hive in the Windows registry). In this situation, you must deselect this option in order to have the distribution occur in the user security space and not the workstation security space.
If the application is an AOT or simple application: This check box is selected by default. Workstation-associated AOT or simple applications are normally distributed in the workstation security space, meaning that Application Launcher uses the workstation's credentials and file system access.

Deselect this option to instruct Application Launcher to distribute the application in the user security space. Application Launcher then runs in the user space and uses the user credentials to distribute the files, even if the application is associated to the workstation.

Reboot
Select how a workstation reboot should occur. The available options are:

If Needed: Application Launcher reboots the workstation if changes need to be made that cannot occur while Windows is running (such as replacing open DLLs).
Always: Application Launcher always reboots the workstation after distributing the application.
Never: Application Launcher does not reboot the workstation. The changes take effect the next time the workstation reboots.

Prompt for Reboot
Select whether or not the user is prompted to reboot the workstation.

ZENworks Desktop Management Online Documentation

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