This article will show you how to use GPO to assign Foxit PDF Editor to users or computers.
Audience:
Organizations looking to deploy Foxit PDF Editor to their knowledge workers.
In this article:
- Download GPO Templates
- Create a distribution point
- Create a Group Policy Object
- Assign a package (Deploy)
- Redeploy a package
- Remove a package
- Troubleshooting
Download and install GPO templates
Foxit PDF Editor has .adm and .admx files available to download here.
For .adm file, follow the steps below:
- Use the shortcut keys “Windows + R” and type gpedit.msc in the Run window to open Group Policy Editor.
- Right-click the management template and choose Add/Remove Template in the context menu. In the opened dialogue box, add the group policy template of Foxit PDF Editor. The Foxit PDF Editor template will appear in the left navigation pane, and you can set its template preferences.
For .admx file:
- Put the .admx file in C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions and do the setting.
- The .admx file should be used in combination with an .adml file. And the .adml file should be put in C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\language. For example, if in the English OS, the .adml file should be put in C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en_us.
Create a distribution point
Create a distribution point on the publishing server by following these steps:
- Log on to the server as an administrator.
- Create a shared network folder where you'll put the Windows Installer package (.msi file) that you want to distribute.
- Set permissions on the share to allow access to the distribution package.
- Copy or install the package to the distribution point. For example, to distribute a .msi file, run the administrative installation (setup.exe /a) to copy the files to the distribution point.
Create a Group Policy Object
To create a Group Policy Object (GPO) to use to distribute the software package, follow these steps:
- Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Active Directory Users and Computers.
- In the console tree, right-click your domain, and then click Properties.
- Click the Group Policy tab, and then click New.
- Type a name for this new policy, and then press Enter.
- Click Properties, and then click the Security tab.
- Clear the Apply Group Policy check box for the security groups that you don't want this policy to apply to.
- Select the Apply Group Policy check box for the groups that you want this policy to apply to.
- When you're finished, click OK.
Assign a package (Deploy)
To assign a program to computers or to users who are logging on to one of these workstations, follow these steps:
- Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Active Directory Users and Computers.
- In the console tree, right-click your domain, and then click Properties.
- Click the Group Policy tab, select the policy that you want, and then click Edit.
- Under Computer Configuration, expand Software Settings.
- Right-click Software installation, point to New, and then click Package.
- In the Open dialog box, type the full Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path of the shared installer package that you want. For example, \\<file server>\<share>\<file name>.msi.
- Important: Don't use the Browse button to access the location. Make sure that you use the UNC path of the shared installer package.
- Click Open.
- Click Assigned, and then click OK. The package is listed in the right-pane of the Group Policy window.
- Close the Group Policy snap-in, click OK, and then close the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
- When the client computer starts, the managed software package is automatically installed.
Redeploy a package
In some cases, you may want to redeploy a software package (for example, if you upgrade or change the package). To redeploy a package, follow these steps:
- Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Active Directory Users and Computers.
- In the console tree, right-click your domain, and then click Properties.
- Click the Group Policy tab, click the Group Policy Object that you used to deploy the package, and then click Edit.
- Expand the Software Settings container that contains the software installation item that you used to deploy the package.
- Click the software installation container that contains the package.
- In the right-pane of the Group Policy window, right-click the program, point to All Tasks, and then click Redeploy application. You will receive the following message:
- Redeploying this application will reinstall the application everywhere it is already installed. Do you want to continue?
- Click Yes.
- Quit the Group Policy snap-in, click OK, and then close the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
Remove a package
To remove a published or assigned package, follow these steps:
- Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Active Directory Users and Computers.
- In the console tree, right-click your domain, and then click Properties.
- Click the Group Policy tab, click the Group Policy Object that you used to deploy the package, and then click Edit.
- Expand the Software Settings container that contains the software installation item that you used to deploy the package.
- Click the software installation container that contains the package.
- In the right-pane of the Group Policy window, right-click the program, point to All Tasks, and then click Remove.
- Perform one of the following actions:
- Click Immediately uninstall the software from users and computers, and then click OK.
- Click Allow users to continue to use the software but prevent new installations, and then click OK.
- Close the Group Policy snap-in, click OK, and then close the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
Troubleshoot
Foxit does not troubleshoot deployments via GPO, if you are having issues deploying Foxit PDF Editor via Microsoft Windows GPO, please contact your superior or Microsoft directly.