If the array of software available with the ODK isn't enough, you can use the ODW to create additional custom components while you install additional software. As Screen 3 shows, the ODW lets you create (up to 10) custom components to include during the Outlook 98 setup process. Compressed cabinet files (i.e., .cab files) or self-extracting files (i.e., .exe files) can contain these components. You can assign other identifying parameters to these components, including a version number and a globally unique ID (GUID), or you can opt to have the ODW generate a GUID for you. After you've specified the custom components you want to create, the ODW displays a Trusted Publishers dialog box that provides an opportunity to use a digital certificate to digitally sign your custom components. (For more information about digital certificates and component signing, go to the Microsoft Web site at http://backoffice.microsoft.com/securitypartners, and see Tao Zhou, "Digital Signature Technology," February 1999.) A digital signature isn't mandatory, but signing your component designates it as a trusted component and avoids warnings that Active Setup issues for unsigned components. To use the Trusted Publisher dialog box, you first have to obtain a digital certificate with which to sign your components. (For more information about configuring certificates, go to the Microsoft Web site at http://technet.microsoft.com/ cdonline/content/complete/internet/client/ie/ reskit/part7/part7b.htm.) The ODK provides tools specifically for creating and signing .cab files; these tools include the Cabinet Maker utility (i.e., makecab.exe) and the Code-Signing Wizard (i.e., signcode.exe). The ODK setup automatically installs these and several other related utilities that you can find in the C:\ProgramFiles\ODK\Reskit\Addons\Tools folder.
In the third stage, the ODW gives you the opportunity to customize the appearance and operation of the Setup utility that users will launch to install Outlook 98. The first dialog box of this stage lets you customize the autorun screen, which launches when users install their customized CD-ROM (or when users run the setup.exe program on a server-based installation). You can specify several custom options for this screen, including the titlebar text and the background bitmap. The next dialog box in this stage is more important to your custom Outlook 98 installation. As Screen 4 shows, this dialog box determines whether the Outlook 98 installation will be silent or nonsilent.
Silent or Nonsilent, That Is the Question
Silent installations, as the name implies, take place silently, in the background, on a user's workstation after you launch setup. The user will not notice anything until the installation completes and the system automatically reboots. Remember this automatic reboot, because your users might have unsaved data files open at the time the installation finishes. Nonsilent installations require some user input and navigation during execution, but the administrator's choices from the ODW setup process set limits on user participation. Another important distinction between silent and nonsilent installations is that nonsilent installations let you select up to 10 user installation options; silent installations offer only one option. In addition, silent installations require that you make a choice for the E-mail Services Option during the ODW setup process, which I'll describe shortly.
Next in the installation process, you select the components to include with your custom installation package. The ODW provides three basic installation options: Minimal, Standard, and Full. Screen 5 shows how to tailor your specifications and select components from the available component pool. The right pane lists currently selected components to install. Remember that this dialog box will list only components that Active Setup detected during the ODW's second stage; to obtain additional components, you'll have to abort the installation and install those components on the local system. After you select all the components for your custom installation, the ODW will ask you for a custom version number for this installation and an optional custom identifier string. In addition, the ODW asks you for the user's workstation target installation directory and whether you want to have Outlook setup install the Windows Desktop Update option (i.e., Active Desktop) of IE 4.01.
Configuring Outlook and IE Application Settings
In the fourth stage, the ODW lets you specify default answers to some or all of the questions Active Setup asks users during the Outlook 98 and IE 4.01 setup. This feature lets you preconfigure these applications for your network environment and thus standardizes your users' application configurations and prevents data entry errors during setup, reducing support costs. During this stage, you can configure email client options for Outlook 98. The standard choices are Internet Only, Corporate or Workgroup, No E-mail, or User-defined. The Internet Only option is for Outlook 98 installations that require access to Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail servers. The Corporate or Workgroup option is for corporate email clients that require access to corporate email systems, such as Microsoft Mail and Exchange Server, in addition to the POP3 and SMTP mail options. The No E-mail option is for Outlook 98 clients that require no email support. The User-defined option is available only for nonsilent installations and lets users select email server support options during Outlook 98 setup.
After you specify email and calendar-related options, the ODW lets you specify a customized Outlook bar and a customized toolbar file for your installation. (For documentation about creating a custom Outlook bar configuration file—i.e., outlbar.inf—go to the ODK installation subfolder \olbin\en\optional.) Finally, the ODW lets you customize IE Web browser options.
Configuring User Settings
Screen 6 shows the ODW's final stage, in which you configure user-specific settings for the various ODK-installation applications. Note that user-specific Registry settings related to these applications exist, including Outlook 98, IE 4.01, and NetMeeting. If you're familiar with NT or Win9x system policy files, you might notice that this configuration dialog box closely resembles the SPE application. In fact, you can import existing SPE policy template files (i.e., .adm files) at this stage to preserve existing settings on your network: At the bottom of the dialog box, select the Import button, which will ask you for the name of the custom .adm file you want to import.
The final dialog box of the ODW lets you enter additional custom Registry entries to add to the target workstation during the Outlook setup process. However, you might prefer to implement Registry changes through custom system policy files rather than through the Outlook setup process. To make Registries easier to manage in the future, you need to include changes in custom .adm files—and subsequently in your system policy files (i.e., .pol files).
At this point, you've answered all the questions the ODW requires to create your customized Outlook 98 installation. After you click the Finish button, the ODW will package the required installation files and place them in the folder you specified during the first setup stage. Note that the final setup.exe file is not in the root of this installation folder, but rather in a \CD subfolder. You need to copy the contents of the \CD folder to the root of a CD-ROM image. Use this CD-ROM image to make distribution CD-ROMs for deploying your new customized version of Outlook to your users. You can manually launch the customized setup over the network by using the setup.exe program located in the \CD subfolder. After you launch Outlook, you will see a custom setup dialog box similar to the one Screen 7 shows (i.e., unless you chose a silent installation).
Test and Deploy
The ODK has a very approachable and friendly interface, yet a number of complexities lie beneath the surface. Before you use the ODK tool to perform a live rollout of Outlook 98 and IE 4.01, you need to create a few customized installations and test them on systems that represent your average network workstation. Using test installations, you'll learn how different options affect your final Outlook and IE configurations, and whether these options will suit your users. Finally, be sure to consult the HTML-based documentation that accompanies the ODK. (To obtain these files, go to C:\Program Files\ODK\Help and open the odkdef.htm file.)
A Small Step in the Right Direction
The ODK is a must-have for administrators who deploy Outlook 98 on their networks. However, the ODK is an application-specific tool and won't help with the installation or configuration of anything outside its scope (i.e., Outlook 98 and IE 4.01). The true solution to the problem of application configuration is one that lies at the OS level (i.e., an API that lets software developers enable their applications for automatic installation and configuration across the network). Until Microsoft delivers on the promise of automated application deployment and configuration in Win2K, easy application deployment won't be a reality. In the meantime, you can use tools such as the ODK to help reduce your administrative burdens.