Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition Product Documentation and Administrator Handbook Version 6.1, Revision 7 Published: August 2009
Disclosure and Warranty The information, concepts, and ideas contained in this document are the property of Immidio. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Immidio. Any product descriptions or representations in this document are for identification purposes only and are not to be construed as a warranty of specific properties or guarantee or warranty of any other type. Immidio shall assume no liability, either explicit or implied, for the documentation. Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice. All sample code described in this document is provided by Immidio for illustrative purposes only. These examples have not been thoroughly tested under all conditions. Immidio, therefore, cannot guarantee or imply reliability, serviceability, or functionality of these programs or code examples. All brand names and product names used in this document are trademarks of their respective holders and are recognized as such. 2008-2009 Immidio. All rights reserved. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 2
Contents 1 Introduction... 5 1.1 Product Benefits... 5 1.2 New Features in Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition... 7 1.3 Concepts and Methodology... 8 1.4 Migration from Previous Versions... 9 1.5 Using Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition... 9 2 Installing and Uninstalling Immidio Flex Profiles... 11 2.1 Immidio Flex Profiles Runtime Components... 12 2.1.1 Installation Requirements... 12 2.1.2 Installation... 12 2.2 Immidio Flex Profiles Management Components... 14 2.2.1 Installation Requirements... 14 2.2.2 Installation... 14 2.3 Unattended Installation... 15 2.4 Uninstalling Immidio Flex Profiles Components... 17 2.5 Immidio Flex Profiles Licensing... 17 2.5.1 Merging license information... 17 3 Creating and Maintaining Immidio Flex Profiles Configuration Files 19 3.1 Manually Creating New Configuration Files... 19 3.1.1 Management Console Fundamentals... 19 3.1.2 Using Common Settings... 23 3.1.3 Using OS-specific Settings... 25 3.2 Automating the Configuration File Creation... 26 3.2.1 Using Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant... 26 3.2.2 Importing.Flex Files... 29 3.3 Maintaining Configuration Files... 31 3.3.1 Configuring NTFS Permissions... 31 3.4 Configuration File Syntax... 32 3.4.1 INI File Fundamentals... 32 3.4.2 Registry-related Sections... 32 3.4.3 File System-related Sections... 33 4 Using the Immidio Flex Profiles Runtime Components... 35 4.1 Introducing Immidio FlexEngine... 35 Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 3
4.2 Assigning FlexEngine Parameters through GPOs... 35 4.2.1 Getting Started... 36 4.2.2 Immidio FlexEngine GPO Reference... 37 4.3 FlexEngine Command-line Parameters... 40 4.3.1 Logging... 41 4.3.2 Process Folders... 42 4.3.3 Certificates and Passwords... 42 4.3.4 Built-in FlexRefresh Functionality... 42 4.4 Advanced Configuration Concepts... 43 4.4.1 Managing Multiple Configuration Files... 43 4.4.2 Server and Application Silos... 43 5 Background Information and Best Practices... 45 5.1 Logon and Logoff Script Configuration... 45 5.2 Profile Folder Redirection... 46 5.3 Preparation of a Mandatory Profile... 48 6 Index... 50 Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 4
1 Introduction Many organizations prefer to apply the concept of local or roaming profiles for storing essential personal user settings. Centrally managing local or roaming profiles, however, consumes a lot of resources. Due to the fact that files and user settings stored in Windows profile are directly influenced by each interactive user s behavior, both local and roaming profiles turn out to be hard to maintain and to manage. As an alternative, mandatory profiles seem to be the appropriate answer to the challenges mentioned previously. From an administrator s point of view, this concept provides several advantages in a well-managed Windows environment. Properly configured mandatory profiles are very fast, easy to manage, and cannot be corrupted. There is, however, a major disadvantage when using mandatory profiles no personal registry settings are saved. This means that personal registry information representing individual settings cannot be redirected or saved when using a mandatory profile. As a consequence, it is almost impossible to create a user-friendly working environment with mandatory profiles. In today s Microsoft Windows environments independent of the fact if they are based on a traditional workstation, a remote computing or a virtual desktop architecture choosing the right profile strategy is never simple. Immidio Flex Profiles optimizes the management of user profiles in environments based on Microsoft Windows desktops provided through local workstations, Remote Desktop Services (formerly known as Terminal Services), Citrix Presentation Server / XenApp or Virtual Desktop Infrastructures (both 32-bit and 64-bit). This includes the applicationspecific handling of both registry settings and configuration files during user logon, user logoff, application launch, or application termination events. Individual configuration files for different applications allow modifying the behavior of the Immidio Flex Profiles logic. Immidio Flex Profiles can be used in conjunction with local profiles, roaming profiles or mandatory profiles. This document explains how to install, configure and use Immidio Flex Profiles. In order to successfully install and configure a Flex Profiles solution only very basic systems management skills are needed, such as modifying the logon and logoff logic. Please take your time to digest this document first. All the information you need is here to get you started with Immidio Flex Profiles. 1.1 Product Benefits Immidio Flex Profiles dramatically simplifies configuration and maintenance of Windows profiles. The product concepts and components provide for great performance, flexibility and ease of deployment. With the introduction of Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition, the product has reached a new level of completeness and maturity. Here is a quick run-down of the key features of Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 5
Full administrative control. With Immidio Flex Profiles, administrators have full control over any individual settings stored in Windows user profiles. Cross-platform compatibility. A single user profile can be made compatible to multiple Windows operating systems. Reduced profile size. User profiles generated through Immidio Flex Profiles have extremely small footprints, improving login and logout times substantially. No backend servers required. There is no need for expensive SQL or IIS servers to run Immidio Flex Profiles. Since the profile data is stored in the user s home drive and the configuration of Immidio Flex Profiles is done with a few INI files, this product can be introduced in any Windows environment without investments in additional hardware or software. Open profile archive file format. Immidio Flex Profiles archives are stored as ZIP files, allowing administrative maintenance with standard tools and mechanisms. Any application is supported. Immidio Flex Profiles can be configured to support any Windows application, not being limited to a predefined set of applications. Flex Profiles is lightning fast. When using Immidio Flex Profiles, all requirements for optimal performance are automatically met. Using Immidio Flex Profiles in conjunction with mandatory profiles makes a big difference in loading times in comparison to roaming profiles, and the Immidio FlexEngine loads or saves within seconds! Support for profile files and folders. Not only registry information, but also profile files and folders can be managed through Immidio Flex Profiles. Folders such as "Application Data" can be processed though Flex Profiles; this may increase profile loading times but will still outperform a roaming profile. Robust operation. Immidio Flex Profiles has proven to be a very stable profile solution; only when configured incorrectly problems may arise. Configuration per application. Immidio Flex Profiles allows for a separate configuration of each application, which guarantees superior performance. The big advantage of a modular setup is that it allows granular control of application settings. This adds the option to reset settings for an individual application and a new application can be introduced without changing the existing configuration of other applications. Support for server silos or server groups. Configuration of separate application silos is supported and does not require additional scripting. The configuration of server or even workstation groups is stored in a single location in the file system or as a Group Policy Object, and can be managed without additional effort. Easy and lightweight deployment. All Immidio Flex Profiles components are packaged into an MSI file to make deployment easy; without rebooting or changing to install mode on terminal servers. Only a few registry keys and files are added. If the optional Immidio Flex Profiles Service is selected during the Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 6
installation sequence, advanced features requiring elevated user rights are available. Support for certificates. Immidio Flex Profiles includes the option to store certificates related to Windows and Internet Explorer user settings with a "flick of the switch". (Requires Immidio Flex Profiles Service) Logging: Extensive logging options, allowing monitoring and troubleshooting of user profiles. Error handling. Configuration and troubleshooting of Immidio Flex Profiles is simplified with options to generate clear warning messages when an error occurs, and to create a log of the actions performed by the Immidio Flex Profiles core engine. 1.2 New Features in Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition Flex Profiles component consolidation: Selected functionality that was previously available through separate components and had to be called through Flex Profiles Framework scripting has now been integrated into the Immidio Flex Profiles core engine (FlexEngine), simplifying deployment. Built-in FlexRefresh: The functionality to refresh the Windows desktop after modifying workspace settings, such as mouse or keyboard settings, have been built into the Immidio FlexEngine. Cross-platform Windows desktop support: Allowing simultaneous usage of Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003/2008 Terminal Services remote desktops in one environment, preventing the need of maintaining several profiles per user. Graphical management console: Immidio Flex Profiles configuration files (INI files) can be managed through the Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console, a graphical workbench for administrators and IT professionals responsible for application deployment. Automated generation of application configuration files: The Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant helps administrators during the process of generating new INI files. (Requires the download of Microsoft SysInternals Process Monitor) Compressed archive file format: User profile archives are automatically stored as compressed ZIP files, an open storage format. This allows for a significantly smaller footprint of profile archive files. Native 64-bit support: The Immidio Flex Profiles core engine (FlexEngine) is not only available as a 32-bit runtime but also as a 64-bit runtime. This allows full access to both registry and file system on 64-bit versions of Windows and with 64-bit versions of applications. Temporary assignment of elevated user privileges: An optional Immidio Flex Profiles Service running in system context allows access to selected areas in the Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 7
registry. This functionality simplifies the handling of settings which require elevated permissions, for example certificates and passwords. Configuration file hierarchy: A complete folder hierarchy containing configuration files can be called within a single command, reducing the overhead by calling large numbers of individual INI files. Now Immidio Flex Profiles can also deal with INI files in subfolders, allowing administrators to organize their INI files in a flexible way. User permission awareness: The awareness of configurations files permission settings was moved directly into the Immidio FlexEngine. This allows the assignment of INI files to individual users or groups through the modification of file permissions in a much simpler way than ever before. Group Policy support: Integration into Active Directory, allowing the configuration of the FlexEngine through Group Policies as an alternative to command-line parameters. 1.3 Concepts and Methodology The general concept of profile management with Immidio Flex Profiles is based on using standard mechanisms built into the Windows operating system and extending them by low-footprint runtime components and a smart management console. Immidio Flex Profiles supports user sessions running on local Windows, Remote Desktop Services (aka Terminal Services), Citrix XenApp or virtual desktops. The user sessions are configured to use either mandatory profiles or local profiles, referred to as a standard Windows profile. Each user s standard Windows profile is loaded the first time he or she logs on to the system with Immidio Flex Profiles installed and configured. After the user has been modifying settings while working in an individualized environment, he or she logs off. A logoff script calls the Immidio Flex Profiles core engine (FlexEngine) that saves all userconfigurable settings in ZIP archive files in a preconfigured folder (the user s home folder or a dedicated network share is recommended for this). Once the settings have been saved, the logoff process continues and the user s customized profile may be deleted on the remote desktop platform, while its settings are still preserved on the user s home folder. NOTE: Immidio Flex Profiles also works in conjunction with roaming profiles. The benefits of Immidio Flex Profiles, however, are not as obvious in such a constellation. The mandatory or standard profile is loaded again the next time the user logs on. Once the profile load process is finished, a logon script runs the Flex Profiles core engine. It customizes (or individualizes) the user s session environment with the settings that were saved in his home folder from the previous session. These user-specific settings can be based on data stored in the registry and profile folders. The advantage of this method is that you get the performance and stability of mandatory or local profiles while still having the ability to retain customized user settings from their sessions. Simple INI configuration files determine which registry settings, files or folders should be retained within the profile. When configured properly, Immidio Flex Profiles provides extremely fast user logons and logoffs when compared to standard roaming profiles. This method also allows the simultaneous usage of Windows 7, Windows Vista, Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 8
Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003/2008 Terminal Services remote desktops in one environment; user-specific settings work cross-platform if Immidio Flex Profiles is used. 1.4 Migration from Previous Versions Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition is backward compatible to Immidio Flex Profiles Express Edition. Any INI and ZIP file working with Immidio Flex Profiles Express Edition will also work with Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition. All functionalities that were previously available through separate components or through the Immidio Flex Profiles Framework script are now integrated into the Immidio Flex Profiles core engine (FlexEngine). If you want to continue using the Flex Profiles Framework created with Immidio Flex Profiles Express Edition, the underlying Framework script needs to be reviewed and probably requires adaptation. Upgrading from Login Consultants Flex Profile Kit to Immidio Flex Profiles is also simple and straightforward. The Immidio Flex Profiles core engine (FlexEngine) is backward compatible with configuration files consumed by the Microsoft Office Profile Wizard, so existing INI files can be used as-is. 1.5 Using Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition Immidio Flex Profiles includes seven important components you need to know before using it in your Windows environment. 1. The Immidio Flex Profiles core engine FlexEngine.exe, which saves and restores user profile information, working together with the Immidio FlexService. 2. The Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant, which interprets log files created by SysInternals Process Monitor and generates Flex Profiles Import Files (.Flex files) containing preselected configuration information. 3. The Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console, a graphical workbench which loads Flex Profiles Import Files and manages individual configuration settings. 4. The Immidio Flex Profiles license file. 5. An administrative template for configuring Immidio FlexEngine through Active Directory Group Policies. 6. A collection of configuration files (INI files, such as Example.ini), each of them used to define which registry keys or profile files need to be saved and restored for a particular application or for selected system settings. 7. A collection of archive files (ZIP files, such as Example.zip), each of them acting as a profile archive where personal user profile settings are saved to and restored from. These files are created automatically when using Immidio Flex Profiles FlexEngine. The installation and configuration of Immidio Flex Profiles follows a simple step-by-step procedure: Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 9
1. Install Immidio Flex Profiles FlexEngine and optionally Immidio Flex Profiles FlexService on workstations or terminal servers with interactive end-user applications. 2. Install Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant and Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console in a reference environment used for creating and maintaining configuration files. In most cases this is an administrator s workstation and virtual machines for analyzing new applications 3. Create and configure application-specific INI files with Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console and Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant. 4. Create network shares or use existing network shares for configuration (INI) and archive (ZIP) files during runtime. 5. Configure the Flex Profiles FlexEngine through Active Directory Group Policies. 6. Add the necessary Immidio Flex Profiles FlexEngine commands to the users logon and logoff scripts. In the following chapters, all steps required for installing Immidio Flex Profiles, creating configuration files and calling Immidio FlexEngine from the command-line are described in detail. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 10
2 Installing and Uninstalling Immidio Flex Profiles The Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition installation process includes two steps, referring to two sets of product components. Immidio Flex Profiles Runtime Components: Immidio FlexEngine and Immidio FlexService. Immidio Flex Profiles Management Components: Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console and Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant. NOTE: The Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition MSI file has a digital signature, which the Windows Installer infrastructure will validate when the installation is started. One of the steps in this validation is a so-called certificate revocation check, for which the system needs Internet access. If there is no (sufficient) Internet connectivity, the installation will continue, but only after several timeouts in the mean time, the installer seems to stall without providing any feedback. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 11
2.1 Immidio Flex Profiles Runtime Components 2.1.1 Installation Requirements The Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition runtime components FlexEngine and FlexService are supported on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services, Windows Server 2003 R2 Terminal Services and Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services. Both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating systems are supported. IMPORTANT: The Immidio Flex Profiles core engine FlexEngine will not run if a valid license file is not provided. The Immidio Flex Profiles core engine FlexEngine.exe uses Regedit.exe or on Windows Vista or later, depending on User Account Control (UAC) settings Reg.exe to add userspecific settings to the registry. This means that Immidio Flex Profiles may not work properly on some Windows versions if access to Regedit.exe is disabled via Group Policy, unless the option Disable regedit from running silently? is set to No. Unfortunately, this setting is insufficient for Reg.exe. This means that if Regedit.exe cannot run due to UAC, this policy needs to be not set at all. If users are not allowed to run Regedit.exe silently, an error message may be displayed at logon and an error message is written to the Immidio Flex Profiles log file. 2.1.2 Installation Before it is possible to use the Immidio Flex Profiles runtime components, you need to install them on every workstation and terminal server, depending on your specific scenario. Install Immidio Flex Profiles by executing Setup.exe. The Immidio Flex Profiles Setup Wizard will guide you through the steps required to install the software on your computer. During the installation of Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition no reboots are required and no additional configuration is needed. The steps to install Immidio Flex Profiles are as follows: 1. Run Setup.exe after uncompressing the Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition download package. 2. The Immidio Flex Profiles Setup Wizard starts and displays the Welcome page. Click Next. 3. The License Agreement page is displayed. Please read it carefully by scrolling down the license text. You must accept the license agreement before you can click Next. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 12
4. The next page lets you select the destination folder. To install into a different folder, click the Browse button and select another folder. It is, however, recommended to install Immidio Flex Profiles into the default folder. Click Next. 5. In the Select Installation Type page, select Typical if you want to install Immidio FlexEngine and Immidio FlexService. If you also want to install the Immidio Flex Profiles Management Components, select Custom. Click Next. 6. If you selected Typical in the previous page, the installation wizard takes you to the Browse to License File page. The license file is required for Immidio FlexEngine. Select the license file there and click Next. 7. Now a page indicating that it is ready to install the application is displayed. Confirm with Next. 8. A new page is displayed which shows the progress of the installation. 9. When the installation is finished, a final page shows the success. Click Finish to exit the installation. IMPORTANT: The Immidio Flex Profiles MSI file must be executed under an account with administrative privileges, since a small number of registry keys are added to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive. A simple test to find out if the Immidio Flex Profiles installation was successful is by running FlexEngine from the command line. To do so, open the command shell Cmd.exe, go to the Immidio Flex Profiles installation folder and type in the following command: flexengine -? Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 13
If you don t see an error message but a list of all command-line options of FlexEngine, the installation was successful. 2.2 Immidio Flex Profiles Management Components 2.2.1 Installation Requirements The Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition management components are supported on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. Both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of these Windows operating systems are supported. The Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console and the Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant require Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 or later. IMPORTANT: The Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console will not run if a valid license file is not provided. 2.2.2 Installation The steps to install the Immidio Flex Profiles management components are as follows: 1. Run Setup.exe after uncompressing the Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition download package. 2. The Immidio Flex Profiles Setup Wizard starts and displays the Welcome page. Click Next. 3. The License Agreement page is displayed. Please read it carefully by scrolling down the license text. You must accept the license agreement before you can click Next. 4. The next page lets you select the destination folder. To install into a different folder, click the Browse button and select another folder. It is, however, recommended to install Immidio Flex Profiles into the default folder. Click Next. 5. In the Select Installation Type page, select Custom to install the Immidio Flex Profiles management components. Click Next. 6. In the next page, select Flex Profiles Management Console and optionally Flex Profiles Assistant. Clear FlexEngine if you don t want to install the Flex Profiles runtime components on this platform. Click Next. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 14
7. The installation wizard takes you to the Browse to License File page if you selected Flex Profiles Management Console. Select the license file there and click Next. 8. Now the installation wizard displays a page indicating that it is ready to install the application. Confirm with Next. 9. A new page is displayed which shows the progress of the installation. 10. When the installation is finished, a final page shows the success. Click Finish to exit the installation. 2.3 Unattended Installation In enterprise environments with automated Windows and software deployment mechanisms, it is necessary to install Immidio Flex Profiles unattended. Unattended installation is supported when running Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition.msi from the command line. The following properties are available to select the installation options. Property INSTALLDIR ADDLOCAL Description The absolute path to the installation directory. Defaults to %ProgramFiles%\Immidio\Flex Profiles. The features to install. Defaults to FlexEngine and FlexService. The following values are supported for this property: ALL FlexEngine FlexService (automatically installs FlexEngine as well) FlexManagementConsole FlexProfilesAssistant Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 15
Property Description To install multiple features, separate the values with commas, without any spaces. For example, to select the Management Console and Assistant: ADDLOCAL="FlexManagementConsole,FlexProfilesAssistant" LICENSEFILE NOTE: These property values are case-sensitive. The absolute path to the Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition license file. An example of an unattended installation command is shown in the following (split across multiple lines for readability only). msiexec.exe /i "Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition.msi" /qn INSTALLDIR="D:\Apps\Immidio Flex Profiles" ADDLOCAL="FlexEngine,FlexService,FlexProfilesAssistant" LICENSEFILE="E:\FlexProfiles.lic" /l* InstallFlex.log NOTE: It is not recommended to install Immidio Flex Profiles on a network share, even if this is technically possible. Running Immidio Flex Profiles from a network share tends to degrade overall performance considerably. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 16
2.4 Uninstalling Immidio Flex Profiles Components You may uninstall Immidio Flex Profiles from your computer by opening Add or Remove Programs (in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003) or Programs and Features (in Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008) in the Control Panel. Selecting Immidio Flex Profiles and clicking the Remove or Uninstall button opens a wizard which guides you through the steps to remove the software successfully. 2.5 Immidio Flex Profiles Licensing Immidio FlexEngine and Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console require a valid license file before they can be used. After initially downloading Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition from the Immidio website, an evaluation license file valid for 30 days will be mailed to you within two working days. With the purchase of a full Immidio Flex Profiles product license, a new license file reflecting your individual license information will be provided to you. To apply the new license file, no re-installation of any Immidio Flex Profiles component is required. You only need to replace the old license file with the new license file, retaining both license file name and location in the file system. 2.5.1 Merging license information If you want to install Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition on a system already containing a licensed Immidio product, you need to merge the license for Immidio Flex Profiles into the existing license file, by following these steps: Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 17
1. Locate the license file for the other Immidio product, and open it in Notepad. The license file is in XML format, and contains one or more <license> elements, contained within a <licenses> element. 2. Open the license file for Immidio Flex Profiles in Notepad, and copy all lines from <license > to </license> into the clipboard. Do not include the <licenses > and </licenses> lines. 3. Paste this information into the original license file, between the last </license> line and the </licenses> line. 4. If the original license file contained a license for Immidio Flex Profiles, remove that <license> element. As an example, let s assume that the original license file looks like this: 1 <licenses xmlns="http://immidio.com/licensing/1.0"> 2 <license product="appscriber" version="1.0" edition="retail"... > 3 <customername>... </customername> 4 <model maxnamedusers="42" /> 5 <code>0123... FBDE</code> 6 </license> 7 </licenses> Also, let s assume that the Immidio Flex Profiles (trial) license looks like this: 1 <licenses xmlns="http://immidio.com/licensing/1.0"> 2 <license product="flex Profiles" edition="advanced"... > 3 <customername>... </customername> 4 <code>10b... 8ca</code> 5 </license> 6 </licenses> Copy the <license> element from the Immidio Flex Profiles file (i.e. lines 2-5), and paste it into the original license file between the last </license> line and the </licenses> line (i.e. between lines 6 and 7): 1 <licenses xmlns="http://immidio.com/licensing/1.0"> 2 <license product="appscriber" version="1.0" edition="retail"... > 3 <customername>... </customername> 4 <model maxnamedusers="42" /> 5 <code>0123... FBDE</code> 6 </license> 7 <license product="flex Profiles" edition="advanced"... > 8 <customername>... </customername> 9 <code>10b... 8ca</code> 10 </license> 11 </licenses> NOTE: Be careful not to make any other changes in the license file, as doing so may invalidate your licenses, preventing Immidio Flex Profiles (and possible other Immidio products) from executing. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 18
3 Creating and Maintaining Immidio Flex Profiles Configuration Files After installing Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition as described in the previous chapters, its runtime components Immidio FlexEngine and Immidio FlexService can be used immediately. For details see chapter 4 Using the Immidio Flex Profiles Runtime Components. However, in order to manage individual workspace or application-specific profile settings through Immidio Flex Profiles, it is recommendable to create and customize a minimum set of configuration files, also referred to as INI files. These configuration files reflect what files, folders or registry keys of a user s profile need to be saved or restored by Immidio Flex Profiles. NOTE: In large environments, it is common practice to only create INI files for the most important application and workspace settings at the beginning. Then, after getting more familiar with the advantages of such a solution, more INI files are gradually added until all aspects of all user profiles are controlled through Immidio Flex Profiles. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition is shipped with the Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console which helps you when creating and maintaining configuration files that are used to control the runtime behavior of Immidio FlexEngine. 3.1 Manually Creating New Configuration Files Immidio Flex Profiles configuration files are used to select which application-specific or desktop-related settings are taken into account when saving profile information. In the following, the creation of a very simple configuration files is described, giving you an introduction into the general procedure. 3.1.1 Management Console Fundamentals After initially launching the Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console, you see the user interface with the Ribbon menu bar, the tree view pane on the left side and the edit pane on the right side. If not done during installation, you need to configure the path where you want to store your configuration files. Click Configure in the Ribbon and provide the correct path to the INI files in the Settings dialog. This path is referred to as archive root folder. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 19
As a next step, click Add INI File in the Ribbon and provide a name of the file you want to create. Before providing the new configuration file name, you may create a subfolder hierarchy in the archive root folder. Now click Section in the Ribbon and select a filerelated or registry-related section from the drop-down list you want to insert into the configuration file. Add the according file or registry information in the right edit pane of the Flex Profiles Management Console. NOTE: As soon as you type in an open bracket ( [ ] in the edit pane, a drop-down dialog pops up and allows you to select an item from the list of supported section names. After you added a file-related section to the configuration file, you can insert one or several profile folders that you want to be managed through Immidio Flex Profiles. The Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 20
beginning of each profile folder path must be a folder token, representing a standard profile folder, such as AppData, Desktop or Favorites. Adding a folder token can be done by a click on Folder Token in the Ribbon or by typing < in the edit pane, which causes a drop-down dialog to pop up, allowing you to select an item from the list of supported folder tokens. NOTE: For more details about sections and folder tokens, read chapter 3.4.3 File System-related Sections. At any time you may click Application Information in the Ribbon. This opens the Application Information dialog box which allows you to modify title and description of the selected INI file. You see the according changes in the caption bar of the edit pane and in the tree view in the left pane as soon as you close the Application Information dialog with OK. This information does not influence the Flex Profiles management logic even if it is stored in the INI file. When you are done with adding settings to the configuration file, it is recommended that you validate the file syntax by clicking Validate INI Syntax in the Ribbon. Depending on the result of the syntax validation, you will see an OK or a Fail icon to the left side of the application information title in the orange caption bar on top of the edit pane. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 21
As a final step, click Save INI File in the Ribbon to store the selected configuration file. NOTE: If you need a complete syntax reference for Immidio Flex Profiles configuration files, read chapter 3.4 Configuration File Syntax in this document. By putting an ICO file (standard Windows icon format) side by side to an application INI file, the icon shows in the tree view pane next to application title. The only requirement is that the INI file and the ICO file have the same name, except for the extension. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 22
3.1.2 Using Common Settings Immidio Flex Profiles not only allows the management of user-specific application settings, it also supports Windows settings influencing the user experience. In order to simplify the configuration of such settings, the Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console and Immidio FlexEngine include built-in support for common settings, controlling user-specific aspects of Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, user desktop, printers, mouse or keyboard. The process of creating a configuration file with common settings starts with adding a new INI file or opening an existing INI file. A click on Common Settings in the Ribbon opens the Select common settings dialog box. Select one or more check boxes in the list. Here is the complete list of common settings check boxes you can select: Internet Explorer 6 AutoComplete Passwords: User-specific password information created with Internet Explorer 6 is stored. Internet Explorer 7 and 8 AutoComplete Passwords: User-specific password information created with Internet Explorer 7 and 8. NOTE: Make sure to select the common setting that reflects whether the AppData profile folder is redirected in your infrastructure. Keyboard Layout, cursor blink-rate, etc.: Personal keyboard settings are stored. Mouse Pointer speed, button switch, etc.: Personal mouse settings are stored. Personal Certificates: Personal certificate settings are stored. NOTE: Make sure to select the common setting that reflects whether the AppData profile folder is redirected in your infrastructure. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 23
Printers Mapped network printers only: The user s mapped network printer settings are stored. Regional Settings Location, currency format, etc.: The user s regional settings are stored. Screensaver Settings: The user s screensaver settings are stored in a ZIP file. This does not include the executable behind a screensaver, which may be specific to specific Windows versions. Typed History In Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer: History of URLs and folders a user typed into Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer are stored. Wallpaper: Settings of the user s Windows desktop background picture are stored. NOTE: Make sure to select the common setting that reflects whether the AppData profile folder is redirected in your infrastructure. Windows Explorer and view settings: Desktop and view settings related to Windows Explorer are stored. When you click the OK button to confirm your selection, the Select common settings dialog box disappears. The selected common settings are listed in a separate list box. When you click Save INI File, the common settings keywords are added to the INI file. IMPORTANT: In order to use the common settings through the Immidio Flex Profiles runtime components, Immidio FlexEngine must be called with the associated switches, either from GPO or from command-line. For details see chapters 4.2 Assigning FlexEngine Parameters through GPOs and 4.3 FlexEngine Command-line Parameters in this document. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 24
3.1.3 Using OS-specific Settings In almost every Windows user workspace, there may be settings that are specific to the Windows version, such as wallpapers or screensavers. In order to preserve such settings strictly within the scope of individual operating system versions, Immidio Flex Profiles provides the option to configure OS-specific settings. In Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console, you click Settings are OS-specific in the Ribbon to configure this option. As a result, the ZIP files generated have names that reflect the operating system version by extending the file name accordingly. If enabled through the Immidio FlexEngine and the presence of the OS-specific setting in an INI file, the profile archive s name will reflect the Windows version FlexEngine is running on. Instead of application.zip, it will be application-winxx.zip, where XX can be xp, 2003, vista, 2008, 7, or 2008r2. This renaming schema is used as follows: At logoff, an OS-named file is generated. At logon, FlexEngine tries to import an OS-named file first. If that does not exist, it falls back to the normal name. IMPORTANT: In order to use the OS-specific settings through the Immidio Flex Profiles runtime components, Immidio FlexEngine must be called with the associated switch, either from GPO or from command-line (-o switch). For details see chapters 4.2 Assigning FlexEngine Parameters through GPOs and 4.3 FlexEngine Command-line Parameters in this document. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 25
After this modification to the INI file has been done, it is shown through the caption line in the edit pane stating This INI file is OS-specific: separate profile archives will be created per Operating System. 3.2 Automating the Configuration File Creation Manually creating Immidio Flex Profiles configuration files may be a time-consuming task as you need to know the details on how applications store user-specific settings in the registry or the file system. As a solution, the Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant and a smart import functionality provided through Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console automates the process of creating INI files. 3.2.1 Using Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant helps you recording all relevant system events generated by an application. To start the process of automatically generating an INI file, copy the Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant to a reference environment which is needed to find out about application details or system settings you want to control through Immidio Flex Profiles. As an important step in the process, Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant creates an Immidio Flex Profiles Export File with the extension.flex. IMPORTANT: Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant works in conjunction with Microsoft s SysInternals Process Monitor to scan all system activities of applications. You can download SysInternals Process Monitor for free from the Microsoft SysInternals website. Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant is compatible with versions 2.4, 2.5, and 2.6 of SysInternals Process Monitor. After launching Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant, it shows a simple graphical user interface with some instructions and one or two buttons. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 26
A prerequisite for building a Flex Profiles Import File is a Process Monitor log file. This requires starting Process Monitor, configuring the correct filter options and running the application you want to analyze. If Process Monitor is in the same folder as Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant, the Start Process Monitor button is displayed; otherwise, you can start Process Monitor manually. IMPORTANT: In order to create correct log information, it is strongly recommended that the reference environment has the same folder redirection configuration as the production systems. After setting all necessary configuration options of the application and finally terminating it, the collected information of Process Monitor needs to be saved as XML file. It is important that the Include stack traces checkbox in the Save to File dialog box stays unchecked. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 27
After saving the log file, terminate Process Monitor and click Next > in Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant, which opens the next dialog page. Select a Process Monitor log file as input source and a name for the Flex Profiles Import File as output target. Click the Next > button and watch Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant while processing the Process Monitor log file, extracting all necessary data and creating the Immidio Flex Profiles import file. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 28
3.2.2 Importing.Flex Files A.Flex file generated with Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant is the starting point for automatically creating a new INI file. It requires importing the.flex file into the Flex Profiles Management Console by a click on Import.Flex File in the Ribbon. This launches the Immidio Flex Profiles INI Wizard which allows you to select the application-specific process or processes. When automatically creating an INI file by importing a.flex file into Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console, there are four options to optimize the result. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 29
Also capture redirected folder: This setting affects whether Immidio Flex Profiles Assistant ignores file access to redirected folders (= option unchecked), or whether such information is included into the INI file as well. Also capture LocalAppData: Take the profile folder LocalAppData into account when generating the INI file. Application virtualization support: When using Immidio Flex Profiles in environments with locally installed applications, only the user-portion of the registry (HKCU) is relevant for importing and exporting settings. However, when using Immidio Flex Profiles for managing user settings with isolated or streamed applications (for example with Microsoft App-V), it may become necessary to take machine-specific registry settings into account as well. When selecting the Application Virtualization Support, the import function will extract such settings from the.flex file and add them to the newly generated INI file. Optimize registry settings: When using the Flex Profiles Assistant to create a.flex file, this may result in a long list of individual registry keys and values being included. When the Optimize Registry Settings option is activated, the import algorithm will optimize registry settings by grouping individual access operations to specific values in such a way that a much smaller number of calls to registry sub-trees is required. Without optimization, a basic INI file is generated. It can be used as a starting point to fine-tune settings in the INI file. An automatically generated INI file can be used without modification or can be used as the starting point for creating an INI file with manually optimized settings. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 30
3.3 Maintaining Configuration Files After using Immidio Flex Profiles for a while, chances are high that you have a collection of INI files, most probably stored in a hierarchy of folders. Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console is the ideal workbench for any maintenance tasks associated with configuration files. 3.3.1 Configuring NTFS Permissions Right-clicking a folder in the Management Console s tree view pane allows you to explore the folder. This is associated with opening an Explorer instance giving you direct access to the selected folder in the file system. Right-clicking a file in the Management Console s tree view pane allows you to either modify the file properties or delete the file. If you select Properties from the pop-up menu, the standard Properties dialog opens and allows for modifying file permissions this is commonly used to assign INI files to users or groups as the Immidio FlexEngine is aware of such settings. IMPORTANT: Assigning INI files to selected groups or users within Active Directory allows for convenient configuration of configuration files which are called during logon and logoff when Immidio FlexEngine is configured to read INI folders or even read recursively a folder hierarchy instead of reading individual INI files. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 31
3.4 Configuration File Syntax Immidio Flex Profiles configuration files are simple text files with a basic structure and they can be modified by using Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console or any standard ASCII editor, such as Notepad. NOTE: Immidio Flex Profiles configuration files may remind you of the de-facto standard INI files commonly associated with Microsoft Windows, although there are differences between the two formats. 3.4.1 INI File Fundamentals The basic elements contained in an Immidio Flex Profiles configuration file are parameters and sections. The formatting rules are as follows: Every parameter has a value, representing an element in the file system or in the registry. There can only be one parameter per line. Parameters are grouped into sections with predefined names. The section name appears on a line by itself, in square brackets. All parameters after the section declaration are associated with that section. There is no explicit delimiter indicating the end of a section. Sections may not be nested. A number sign or hash character (#) indicates the start of a comment. Comments continue to the end of the line. Everything between the number sign and the end of line is ignored. 3.4.2 Registry-related Sections The following table contains the predefined section names for registry-related configuration settings. Section Name [IncludeRegistryTrees] [IncludeIndividualRegistryKeys] [IncludeIndividualRegistryValues] [ExcludeRegistryTrees] Description List registry trees to include. All values and subkeys within the specified tree are included. Syntax is one key per line. Wildcards are not supported. List individual registry keys to include. Syntax is same as [IncludeRegistryTrees] but includes only values in the specified key, not subkeys. Wildcards are not supported. List individual registry values to include. Same as [IncludeIndividualRegistryKeys] but includes only specific named value, not subkeys. Syntax is key\valuename. Wildcards are not supported. Name can be blank to denote the default value (use a trailing backslash). List registry trees to exclude. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 32
Section Name [ExcludeIndividualRegistryKeys] Description All values and subkeys within the specified tree are excluded. Syntax is one key per line. Wildcards are not supported. List individual registry keys to exclude. Syntax is same as [ExcludeRegistryTrees] but excludes only values in the specified key, not subkeys. Wildcards are not supported. [ExcludeIndividualRegistryValues] List individual registry values to exclude. Same as [ExcludeIndividualRegistryKeys] but excludes only specific named value, not subkeys. Syntax is key\valuename. Wildcards are not supported. Name can be blank to denote the default value (use a trailing backslash). Here is a simple example of a configuration file including registry-related settings: # ****************** Registry Sections ******************** [IncludeRegistryTrees] # The root office key is included for simplified administration HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\ [IncludeIndividualRegistryValues] # Save the default printer information HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\Device 3.4.3 File System-related Sections In cases where all profile folders are redirected to the user s home folder, only registry information needs to be saved and restored by Flex Profiles. For detailed information about this topic see chapter 5.2 Profile Folder Redirection. However, Immidio Flex Profiles also allows adding profile file and folder elements to an archive file. The following table contains the predefined section names for user-specific configuration settings related to files and folders. Section Name [IncludeFolderTrees] Description List folder trees to be included into the ZIP file. Syntax is one folder per line; no trailing backslash. Includes all subfolders in specified tree. Wildcards are not supported. These entries must begin with one of the following folder tokens: <AppData>, <Desktop>, <Favorites>, <LocalAppData>, <NetHood>, <Personal>, <PrintHood>, <ProgramsMenu>, <RecentFiles>, Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 33
Section Name [IncludeIndividualFolders] [IncludeIndividualFiles] [ExcludeFiles] Description <SendTo>, <StartMenu>, <StartupMenu>, <UserProfile>. List individual folders to be included into the ZIP file. Syntax same as [IncludeFolderTrees] but does not include subfolders. Wildcards are not supported. List individual files to be included into the ZIP file. Syntax is one path\filename per line. Entries must begin with one of the folder tokens listed under [IncludeFolderTrees]. Wildcards are not supported. List files to not include into the ZIP file. Syntax is one filename or path\filename per line. Folder token (e.g. <AppData>) is optional. Path relative to folder token is optional. Wildcards are supported in the filename. Wildcards are not supported in the path. NOTE: It is only recommended to configure profile files and folders to be included in Immidio Flex Profiles archive files when folder redirection is not sufficient or not possible. For more information see chapter 5.2 Profile Folder Redirection later in this document Here is a simple example of a configuration file including profile folders-related settings: # ****************** Files Sections ******************** [IncludeFolderTrees] # When the Application Data folder is not redirected include these folders <AppData>\Microsoft\Office <AppData>\Microsoft\Outlook <AppData>\Microsoft\Word <AppData>\Adobe Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 34
4 Using the Immidio Flex Profiles Runtime Components 4.1 Introducing Immidio FlexEngine The traditional way of configuring Immidio Flex Profiles to be used in a standard Windows environment goes through logon and logoff scripts. In the most basic use case, Immidio FlexEngine uses an INI file to identify which profile settings need to be stored in an archive file during user logoff. The same archive file is used to restore the profile settings during user logon. The syntax to read an archive file and restore its settings with Immidio FlexEngine during logon is as follows. FlexEngine -r archive Here is an example for reading the archive file Explorer.zip during logon, with drive u: being a network drive the user has access to. FlexEngine -r u:\zip\explorer.zip The syntax to save an archive file in a logoff script is pretty much the same, but with s and i as parameters. The INI file associated with the i parameter determines which configuration settings are to be saved in the archive file. FlexEngine-i inifile -s archive Here is an example for using the settings in Explorer.ini for saving the archive file Explorer.zip during logoff, with drive u: being a network drive the user has access to. FlexEngine -i u:\ini\explorer.ini -s u:\zip\explorer.zip IMPORTANT: Proper timing is essential when setting up Immidio Flex Profiles in a user logon script. It is recommended to call the Immidio FlexEngine in the logon script after the home directories are mapped and before other application settings are configured. Additionally it is recommended to enable the policy Run logon scripts synchronously in order to prevent applications or the desktop from starting while the logon script is still running. For more details about configuring logon and logoff scripts see chapter 5.1 Logon and Logoff Script Configuration in this document. 4.2 Assigning FlexEngine Parameters through GPOs One of the new features of Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition is that Immidio FlexEngine can now be configured through Active Directory Group Policies with a rich set of parameters some of them introduced with this product version. In order to simplify Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 35
configuration tasks, the Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition installation package contains an ADM template for this purpose. IMPORTANT: All Immidio FlexEngine settings configured through a Group Policy Object can be overwritten by command-line parameters. This means that FlexEngine commandline parameters have higher priority than GPO settings. 4.2.1 Getting Started Configuring Immidio FlexEngine through GPOs requires the following steps. 1. Configuring FlexEngine through GPOs requires central shares for INI files and ZIP files. Make sure that they are accessible to all users. 2. Open Group Policy Management Console. Create a new Group Policy Object (GPO) or select an existing GPO that is applied to the users for which you want to configure the Immidio FlexEngine. Open the Group Policy Management Editor by a right-click on the selected GPO and then a click on Edit 3. Import the Immidio Flex Profiles Administrative Template (ADM Template) into the selected GPO by a right-click on User Configuration \Administrative Templates and Add/Remove Templates 4. Now Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced settings are under User Configuration \Administrative Templates \Immidio Flex Profiles (on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003) or User Configuration \Administrative Templates \Classic Administrative Templates \Immidio Flex Profiles (on Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008) 5. Configure the appropriate settings. For details see chapter 4.2.2 Immidio FlexEngine GPO Reference. 6. As a final step, FlexEngine must be called from the logon and logoff procedures. It is recommended to use User Configuration \Windows Settings \Scripts for this purpose. For background information regarding logon and logoff sequences, see chapter 5.1 Logon and Logoff Script Configuration. IMPORTANT: At logon the command FlexEngine.exe r reads the settings preconfigured through a Group Policy Object and runs the restore tasks accordingly. At logoff the command FlexEngine.exe s is required to store the profile information as configured. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 36
NOTE: When calling FlexEngine from the command line with parameters that are different from those in Group Policies, the command line takes precedence over Group Policies. 4.2.2 Immidio FlexEngine GPO Reference After importing the Immidio Flex Profiles Administrative Template, all Immidio FlexEngine settings can be configured through Group Policy Objects in Active Directory, using Group Policy Management Editor. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 37
In the following, all Immidio FlexEngine settings that can be configured through GPOs are described. Profile archive path - Location for storing the user profile archives: The location configured through this setting is used by the Immidio FlexEngine to read and store user profile archives (ZIP files). It is recommended to use a generic path that is specific for each user, like the home directory (such as H:\FlexProfiles). If you enter a subdirectory that does not exist, Immidio FlexEngine will automatically create this at each user s first store action. INI file path - Location of Flex Profiles INI files: Use this setting to configure the central location of the INI files that is used by Immidio FlexEngine. Immidio FlexEngine runs with the user's credentials and will process each INI file that the user has NTFS read access to. Backup path - Location for storing the user profile archive backups: The location configured through this setting is used by the Immidio FlexEngine to store one level of user profile archive backups. It is recommended to use a generic path which is specific for each user, like the home directory (such as H:\FlexProfiles\Backups). If you enter a subdirectory that does not exist, Immidio FlexEngine will automatically create this at the first backup action for each user. Log file name - Path and name of log file: Use this setting to configure the location and name of the FlexEngine log file. It is recommended to use a generic path which is specific for each user, like the home directory (such as H:\FlexProfiles\FlexEngine.log). If you enter a subdirectory that does not exist, Immidio FlexEngine will automatically create this for each user as soon as logging occurs. The default log level is set to WARN. Use the Log level setting to set another log level. Log level: Use this setting to configure the log level. Valid log levels are DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, and FATAL. DEBUG and INFO are not recommended in production environments, as the amount of logging information can slow down the logon and logoff process. The default log level is WARN. Password support: Use this setting to enable the support of archiving Internet Explorer 6 auto-complete passwords. Besides this setting, you also need to create an INI file that contains the appropriate information (such as the Internet Explorer 6 - AutoComplete Passwords common setting) to be processed by Immidio FlexEngine. Recursive folder support for INI files: Use this setting to enable the support for processing the central INI directory recursively. Certificate support: Use this setting to enable the use of personal certificates in a mandatory profile. Besides this setting you also need to create an INI file that contains the appropriate information (such as the Personal Certificates common setting) to be processed by Immidio FlexEngine. OS-specific profile archives: Use this setting to enable the support of operating system-specific profile archives. When this feature is enabled, Immidio FlexEngine will create a profile archive for each version of Windows operating system the user logs on to. For example: If a user roams between Windows XP and Windows Vista Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 38
desktops, and you have enabled the OS-specific profile archives for Wallpaper.ini, the user will get a Wallpaper-WinXP.zip and a Wallpaper-WinVista.zip in the configured profile archive store after being logged on to both types of operating systems. This setting is recommended for settings that are not exchangeable between different Windows versions. In addition to this setting you also need to enable Settings are OS-specific in the Immidio Flex Profiles Management Console for each affected INI file. Registry import timeout: Use this setting to specify the registry import time out. Default is 60 seconds. Recommendation: Only specify this setting if you are experiencing time out issues. Refresh Windows appearance: Use this setting to refresh Windows appearance-related settings at logon. Besides this setting, you also need to create an INI file that contains the appropriate information to be processed by Immidio FlexEngine. Refresh mouse settings: Use this setting to refresh mouse-related settings at logon. Besides this setting, you also need to create an INI file that contains the appropriate information (such as the Mouse common setting) to be processed by Immidio FlexEngine. Refresh keyboard settings: Use this setting to refresh keyboard-related settings at logon. Besides this setting, you also need to create an INI file that contains the appropriate information (such as the Keyboard common setting) to be processed by Immidio FlexEngine. NOTE: All Immidio FlexEngine settings that can be configured through Group Policies may also be configured through Immidio FlexEngine command-line parameters, in which case the command-line parameters take precedence. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 39
4.3 FlexEngine Command-line Parameters If not configured through Group Policies, Immidio FlexEngine offers a wide range of command-line parameters, reflecting the diversity of different IT environments. The full set of FlexEngine command-line parameters is as follows. FlexEngine [-q] [-s [archive]] [-r [archive]] [-i ini] [-R] [-b backuppath] [-t timeout] [-ra] [-rw] [-rk] [-rm] [-c] [-p] [-o] [-f file] [-l level] Instead of the prefix '-', the prefix '/' can also be used for all parameters. All relevant FlexEngine parameters are listed in the following table. Parameter Description -q Runs in quiet mode; sends error messages to the console, but does not display any other messages. This parameter is recommended for standard operations. -i [INI file] [INI folder] Specifies which profile information to store. Must be a folder if the argument to -r or -s is a folder. In that case, the contents of (and user access to) the INI folder determine which profile archives will be read from the folder defined by -r, or stored into the folder defined by -s. Must be a file if the argument to -s is a file. If the -r argument is a file, -i is not used. -s [ZIP file] [ZIP folder] Store profile information in specified archive or folder. Requires -i. -r [ZIP file] ZIP folder] Restores the application settings from the specified ZIP archive file or folder to the computer. Immidio Flex Profiles Advanced Edition 2009 Immidio Page 40