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Deploying Customizations to Users
In the race to get customized versions of Contribute to your user base, the last legdeploymentused to be the most difficult to accomplish. In previous versions of Contribute, there was no straightforward path to provide custom installations; the best that could be hoped for was a two-stage operation in which the standard Contribute installer was executed, and then a custom installer added personalized files on top of the default deployment.
With Contribute 3, the final step in the journey to customization is a relative walk in the park. Starting with this version, Contribute uses the Microsoft Windows Installer technology, also known as MSI. An MSI file contains the files to install and the installation instructions. Although there are tools available for creating an MSI file from scratch, with Contribute you don't have to do that. As long as you have an original MSI filewhich is included in the CD-ROM release of Contributeand your own custom files, your users can install personalized versions of the software.
Note
The following steps are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be practiced by users of this book in a classroom situation. These instructions, however, can be followed by an administrator who wants to deploy custom Contribute installations for networked users.
1. | Insert the Contribute 3 CD-ROM. When the initial installer screen appears, click Browse CD Contents. Using Windows Explorer or Finder on the Macintosh, expand the FSCommands folder and copy Contribute_Installer.msi to a folder on the network accessible by potential Contribute users. |
2. | Using Windows Explorer or Macintosh Finder, create a folder named Configuration in the same directory as the copied .MSI file. Within the Configuration folder, duplicate the Contribute 3 system folders needed to hold your custom content. Copy the custo117, XML, and other files necessary for your customizations into their Configuration folder next to the .MSI file. For example, to include all the custom changes made in this chapter, you need the following directories and files:
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3. | From a system that does not have Contribute installed, navigate to the folder with the Contribute_Installer.msi file and double-click it to start the installation process. |
The installation will execute just as a standard installation would, but your new content will be inserted along with the rest of the typical Contribute installation.
