Desktop Software Installation

These instructions describe the steps needed to perform a network installation of the OpenOffice.org office suite and the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software using Windows Group Policy.

These instructions are copyright Open Office Technology. They may be linked to but not copied. Their permanent location is http://OpenOfficeTechnology.com/OpenOffice-Enterprise/Desktop_Installation

Overview

The three software packages discussed in these instructions are:

The OpenOffice.org office suite. Installation of this package on each client is required.
The OpenOffice-Enterprise client software. Provides Group Policy management for the OpenOffice.org office suite. Installation of this package on each managed client is required.
Sun's Java runtime environment (JRE). Certain functions in the OpenOffice suite depend on the Java runtime, such as the database application, mail merge and the document wizards in Writer. (For a more complete list, see Java and OpenOffice.org). If these features are not required, the JRE does not need to be installed. Full functionality requires the JRE or JDK version 1.4.0_02 or newer, or version 1.4.1_01 or newer. Limited functionality is available with version 1.3.1 or higher. (Source: http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/sys_reqs_20.html)

These instructions describe the installation procedure using the most recent application versions as of the date these instructions were written. The OpenOffice suite and Java JRE are not distributed by Open Office Technology, and the information related to these packages may change from time to time. If you find any discrepancies in these instructions, please let us know.

Package Installation Order

The three packages must be installed in the following order:

Optionally, if required, the Java JRE.
The OpenOffice.org office suite.
The OpenOffice-Enterprise client software.

The installation of one or more of these packages can be combined into a single Group Policy operation.

These instructions describe the process of installing all three packages in one operation. If one or more are already installed, simply skip the corresponding steps. To install one or more of the packages separately, create separate Group Policy objects these packages.

Step 1 – Download Software Packages

The first step in the installation process is to download the software packages.

A. Optionally, download the Java JRE offline installation package for Windows. As of the date of these instructions:

Most recent version of the JRE: Version 6 Update 6
Installation package file name: jre-6u6-windows-i586-p.exe
Download location: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/
(Click to download "Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update 6", click to accept license agreement, then select Windows Offline Installation, jre-6u6-windows-i586-p.exe)
Other versions: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/previous.jsp

B. If OpenOffice is not already installed on the client machines, download the OpenOffice installer for Windows without the JRE bundled. As of the date of these instructions:

Most recent version of the OpenOffice suite: Version 2.4.1
Installation package file name: OOo_2.4.1_Win32Intel_install_en-US.exe
Download location: http://download.openoffice.org/
(Click "Get more platforms and languages", uncheck the box after "Include the Java JRE with this download", then click "Download")
Other versions at: http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors/

C. Download the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software installer. As of the date of these instructions:

Most recent version of OpenOffice-Enterprise client software: Build 514
Corresponding package file name: ooewin-514.msi
Download location: http://OpenOfficeTechnology.com/download

Step 2 – Create Network Installation Images

The next step is to create network installation images for each of the software packages. This places the installation images on a network file server that is accessible to the client computers. To complete this process, you must have write access to this location. The client computer should have read-only access.

A. Extract the Java JRE msi file:

Run the JRE installation executable file, jre-6u6-windows-i586-p.exe The License Agreement screen will appear. Do not click either "Decline" or "Accept".
The installer executable will have placed a file called "jre1.6.0_06.msi" into the directory "C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Sun\Java\jre1.6.0_06\". (In order to see this directory, you may need to select View | Refresh in Windows Explorer.) Copy the .msi file to a network installation point, which is a location on the network accessible to the client computers, such as
\\fileserver\net_install_images\jre1.6.0_06\
Note 1: Earlier versions of JRE installation executable placed the .msi file into a subdirectory such as "C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}", where the name of the subdirectory depends on the JRE version. The .msi file corresponding to the JRE version can be located by looking in all subdirectories with names matching this pattern.
Note 2: Neither the Java installer executable nor the .msi file support the “/a” administrative installation option.
Returning to the License Agreement screen, click "Decline". The installer will delete the Application Data\Sun\Java directory and its .msi file, then terminate.

B. Perform an administrative installation of the OpenOffice suite:

Run the OpenOffice installer, OOo_2.4.1_Win32Intel_install_en-US.exe, with no parameters.
When prompted, enter a location to unpack the installation files, such as a subdirectory called OOo_installer_files in your current working directory.
When the next stage of the installer runs (“Welcome to the Installation Wizard for OpenOffice.org 2.4”), click “Cancel” and abort the installation.
The OpenOffice installer should have unpacked several executable and data files into the directory you selected. From the command prompt, launch the setup file using the following command line:
setup /a
When prompted, enter a network installation point such as
\\fileserver\net_install_images\OpenOffice-2.4.1\
and then click “Install”. The installer will create the directory you specified, if it doesn't already exist, and then unpack the file “openofficeorg24.msi” along with a handful of subdirectories into this location.
After creating the network installation point, you can delete the directory containing the unpacked installation files (i.e., OOo_installer_files in your current working directory).

C. Perform an administrative installation of the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software:

From the command prompt, launch the installer file using the following command line:
msiexec /a ooewin-514.msi
When prompted, enter a network installation point such as
\\fileserver\net_install_images\ooewin-514\
and then click “Next” twice. The installer will copy the .msi file to this folder and unpack several files and one subdirectory.

Before continuing, ensure that the client computers have read-only access to the network installation points that you used above.

Step 3 – Create Installation Group Policy Object

This step creates a Group Policy Object or "GPO" that will install the software packages.

Launch the Group Policy Management Console on your administrative workstation. Note: The Group Policy Management Console can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/gpmc/
Expand the tree for your domain, then right-click on “Group Policy Objects” and select “New”. Enter a name such as “OpenOffice-Enterprise Installation”. Your new Group Policy Object will appear in the tree under “Group Policy Objects”. Right-click on its name and select “Edit...”. This will open the Group Policy Object Editor.
In the Group Policy Object Editor, under “Computer Configuration”, expand “Software Settings”, right-click on “Software Installation” and select “New --> Package...”.
Click on “My Network Places”. (Note: This is a required step. You must select the package to install from a network location rather than a local location. If you do not first click on “My Network Places”, the selection of a package to install will not be accepted.)
Navigate to the network location where you placed the Java JRE install file “jre1.6.0_06.msi” and double-click on this file. If you are not installing Java, skip this step and move down to the first package you are installing.
For the deployment method, select “Assigned”. The JRE install file should appear in the view pane.
Right-click on “Software Installation” and select “New --> Package...” again.
Navigate to the network location containing your OpenOffice suite administrative install, and double-click on the .msi file “openofficeorg24.msi”.
Several installation transform files are available here. If you do not want to use any transforms, select “Assigned” as the deployment method and click “OK”. The install file for OpenOffice should appear in the view pane. Otherwise, to install OpenOffice with one or more transforms, download the transform (.mst) files and add them to the directory that contains the OpenOffice installation file openofficeorg24.msi. Then for "Deployment Method" select “Advanced” and click “OK”. After a short pause, the Properties dialog should appear. Under the “Modifications” tab, add the transform file you wish to apply, then click “OK”.
Right-click on “Software Installation” and select “New --> Package...” again.
Navigate to the network location containing your OpenOffice-Enterprise administrative install, and double-click on the .msi file “ooewin-514.msi”. For the deployment method, select “Assigned”. The OpenOffice-Enterprise install file should appear in the view pane.
IMPORTANT: You must add the .msi files in the indicated order: Java JRE, then OpenOffice.org suite, then OpenOffice-Enterprise. The packages will appear in the view pane in alphabetical order, but they will be installed in the order they were selected. The indicated installation order is mandatory in order for all three packages to be installed successfully.
To set additional options, double-click on each package name in the view pane. For example, selecting “Uninstall this application when it falls out of the scope of management” will cause the applications to be automatically uninstalled if this group policy object is deleted or unlinked. (Alternately, the software can be uninstalled later by right-clicking on each package name and selecting “All Tasks” -> “Remove...”). Any options selected must be set for each package individually, so be certain to double-click on each package name in succession and set the desired options.
When done, double check your selections and close the Group Policy Object Editor.

Step 4 – Set Policy Scope and Link to Domain

This final step selects the computers on which the software will be installed. This involves designating a group or list of computers, along with one or more domains or organizational units. The software will be installed on a computer if it is both in the group that you designated and in one of the domains or organizational units you select.

The default is to “assign” the installation to all users which will ultimately cause the software to be installed on all computers in the selected domains, including servers and domain controllers. This is probably not what you want.

A typical configuration will only install this software on desktop workstations, not on domain controllers. Here are instructions to accomplish this:

Back in the Group Policy Management console, click on the name of your Group Policy Object (e.g., “OpenOffice-Enterprise Installation” or whatever name you previously chose). In the pane on the right, under “Security Filtering” in the “Scope” tab, select “Authenticated Users” and click on “Remove”.
Click “Add...”, and in the dialog box that appears, under “Enter the object name to select”, type “domain computers” and click OK. “Domain Computers” refers to all workstations in your domain; it does not include domain controllers. It may however include servers, so you should check the members of this group. In the Group Policy Management view pane, click on the word “Domain Computers”, then click “Properties”. In the Properties dialog, select the “Members” tab. This brings up a list of the computers in the “Domain Computers” group. If this group includes more computers than desired, you can "Remove" this group and then “Add...” computers individually, or you can create a custom group using Active Directory Users and Computers. You can also select computers using WMI filters, but this is beyond the scope of this document.
When you are finished selecting computers, click on the name of your Group Policy Object in the tree view again, and without releasing the mouse button, drag the pointer to the name of the domain or organization unit in which to install the software. The pointer will change shape to a pointer with a “+”. Release the mouse button and click OK to link your Group Policy Object to this domain. Repeat this process for any additional domains or organizational units.

The Group Policy Object will begin to propagate and will be applied on each selected computer in the domain(s) within approx. 90 minutes (depending on how Group Policy is configured). To apply the GPO immediately on a particular computer, go to that computer and run “gpupdate” from a command prompt. Once the Group Policy Object is applied, the software will be installed the next time the computer is rebooted. The installation process will take several minutes.

Upgrading OpenOffice-Enterprise

The following instructions describe how to upgrade an existing Group Policy installation to a new version of the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software.

Download the new release of the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software, as described in Step C of Download Software Packages.
Perform an administrative installation of the new release, as described in Step C of Create Network Installation Images. CAUTION: Do not overwrite the previous version; install the new release in a different directory. Do not delete the previous version until you are certain all desktops have been upgraded.
Launch the Group Policy Management console on your administrative workstation. Expand the tree for your domain, then expand the tree for “Group Policy Objects”. Right-click on the Group Policy Object used to install the previous version of OpenOffice, then select “Edit...”. This will open the Group Policy Object Editor.
In the Group Policy Object Editor, under “Computer Configuration”, expand “Software Settings”, right-click on “Software Installation” and select “New --> Package...”.
Click on “My Network Places”. (Note: This is a required step. You must select the package to install from a network location rather than a local location. If you do not first click on “My Network Places”, the selection of a package to install will not be accepted.)
Navigate to the network location containing the administrative installation of the new version of the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software and and double-click on the .msi file “ooewin-514.msi”.
Select “Advanced” as the deployment method and click “OK”. After a short pause, the Properties dialog should appear.
Under the "Upgrade" tab, click "Add..." and under "Package to upgrade", select "OpenOffice-Enterprise" and click "OK". The properties dialog will display the text "Replace OpenOffice-Enterprise".
The option “Uninstall this application when it falls out of the scope of management” can be set under the "Deployment" tab. This option will cause the application to be automatically uninstalled if this group policy object is deleted or unlinked. Alternately, the application can be uninstalled later by right-clicking on its package name and selecting “All Tasks” -> “Remove...”
When all of the installation properties look correct, click "OK" to accept the properties, then close the Group Policy Object Editor.

The Group Policy Object will begin to propagate and will be applied on each selected computer in the domain(s) within approx. 90 minutes (depending on how Group Policy is configured). To apply the GPO immediately on a particular computer, go to that computer and run “gpupdate” from a command prompt. Once the Group Policy Object is applied, the new version of the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software will be installed the next time the computer is rebooted. The installation process will take only a few seconds.

Upgrading OpenOffice

New releases and updates for OpenOffice are announced at the OpenOffice announcement mailing list. To subscribe, send an empty email to announce-subscribe@openoffice.org.

The following instructions describe how to upgrade an existing Group Policy installation to a new version of the OpenOffice.org office suite.

IMPORTANT: Before upgrading to OpenOffice v2.1 or higher, you must be running Build 450 or later of the OpenOffice-Enterprise client software. If you are running an earlier version, upgrade the OpenOffice-Enterprise client before upgrading OpenOffice.

Download the new release of OpenOffice, as described in Step B of Download Software Packages.
Perform an administrative installation of the new release, as described in Step B of Create Network Installation Images. CAUTION: Do not overwrite the previous version; install the new release in a different directory. Do not delete the previous version until you are certain all desktops have been upgraded.
Download the file Check_OOE.mst and add it to the network installation directory.
Download any additional installation transform (.mst) files you would like to use, and add them to the network installation directory.
Launch the Group Policy Management console on your administrative workstation. Expand the tree for your domain, then expand the tree for “Group Policy Objects”. Right-click on the Group Policy Object used to install the previous version of OpenOffice, then select “Edit...”. This will open the Group Policy Object Editor.
In the Group Policy Object Editor, under “Computer Configuration”, expand “Software Settings”, right-click on “Software Installation” and select “New --> Package...”.
Click on “My Network Places”. (Note: This is a required step. You must select the package to install from a network location rather than a local location. If you do not first click on “My Network Places”, the selection of a package to install will not be accepted.)
Navigate to the network location containing the administrative installation of the new version of OpenOffice and and double-click on the .msi file “openofficeorg24.msi”.
Select “Advanced” as the deployment method and click “OK”. After a short pause, the Properties dialog should appear.
Under the "Upgrade" tab, click "Add..." and under "Package to upgrade", select "OpenOffice.org 2.x" and click "OK". The properties dialog will display the text "Replace OpenOffice.org 2.x".
Under the “Modifications” tab, add Check_OOE.mst and the other transforms you downloaded earlier (if any), then click “OK”. The selected transforms will appear in the properties dialog.
The option “Uninstall this application when it falls out of the scope of management” can be set under the "Deployment" tab. This option will cause the application to be automatically uninstalled if this group policy object is deleted or unlinked. Alternately, the application can be uninstalled later by right-clicking on its package name and selecting “All Tasks” -> “Remove...”
When all of the installation properties look correct, click "OK" to accept the properties, then close the Group Policy Object Editor.

The Group Policy Object will begin to propagate and will be applied on each selected computer in the domain(s) within approx. 90 minutes (depending on how Group Policy is configured). To apply the GPO immediately on a particular computer, go to that computer and run “gpupdate” from a command prompt. Once the Group Policy Object is applied, the new version of OpenOffice will be installed the next time the computer is rebooted. The installation process will take several minutes.

Installation Troubleshooting

There a several methods to obtain information about the installation process:

Installation failure and success messages are logged in each computer's Application Event Log.
Group Policy and software installation operations can also be logged. For more information, see the manual section Logging Group Policy and/or Software Installation.