5.1 Client Management Software and the Filr Desktop Applications

You can manage the Filr desktop application on users’ workstations with client management software such as Micro Focus ZENworks.

When following the instructions in this section, you must use the .msi file, which is bundled in the MicroFocusFilrAutoUpdate.tgz file, and is available on the Filr software download site.

If you use the .msi file to distribute the Filr desktop application to user workstations, you need to install the following items to each user workstation, independent of the Filr software:

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2 or later

    You can download Microsoft .NET Framework from the Microsoft .NET Downloads page.

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable Package (Applies to all workstations)

    You can download the redistributable package from the Microsoft Download Center.

NOTE:The ability to manage the Filr desktop application is available only with Filr desktop 1.0.2 and later.

You can customize the installation and control whether Windows Explorer is restarted.

5.1.1 Customizing the Installation for the Filr Desktop Application

You can customize the installation process of the Filr desktop application for your organization in the following ways:

  • Configure default values for each installation option of the Filr desktop application. (Users can change these default values when configuring the Filr desktop application.)

  • Auto-configure all values for each installation option of the Filr desktop application. (Users specify only their user name and password when configuring the Filr desktop application; users cannot change the default values during initial configuration.)

  • Disallow users from modifying configuration options in the Filr desktop application. (Users cannot change the default values during initial configuration, and cannot modify the values via the Filr console after initial configuration.)

    NOTE:This does not prevent users from manually modifying configuration settings in the registry or file system.

The following sections describe how to make these customizations.

Configuring Default Values

You can configure the default values for each installation option of the Filr desktop application. Users can change these default values when configuring the Filr desktop application.

You accomplish this on Windows by creating registry values, and on Mac by adding properties to the application’s Info.plist file.

  1. Windows: Access the following location where you will create registry values:

    \\HKLM\Software\Novell\Filr

    Mac: Access the Info.plist file where you will add properties. This file is usually in the following location:

    /Applications/Micro Focus Filr/Contents/Info.plist

  2. Create Windows registry values and add properties to the Info.plist file for the values for which you want to configure defaults.

    The following table displays the available options for configuring default values.

    Table 5-1 Default Value Configuration Options

    Windows Registry Value Name

    Value Type

    Mac Property Name

    Value Type

    Supports Env Variables

    Default Value

    Default Server URL

    REG_SZ

    FilrDefaultServerURL

    string

    No

    https://

    Default Username

    REG_SZ

    FilrDefaultUsername

    string

    Yes

    %USERNAME%

    or

    $USER

    Default Account Name

    REG_SZ

    FilrDefaultAccountName

    string

    No

    Hostname in server URL

    Default Remember Password

    REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)

    FilrDefaultRememberPassword

    <true/> or <false/>

    No

    false

    Default Sync Dir

    REG_SZ

    FilrDefaultSyncDir

    string

    Yes

    %USERNAME%\Filr

    or

    $USER\Filr

    Default Start On Login

    REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)

    FilrDefaultStartOnLogin

    <true/> or <false/>

    No

    true

Enabling Auto-Configuration

After you have configured default values for the Filr desktop application installation, you can enable auto-configuration. When auto-configuration is enabled, users cannot change the default values during initial configuration. (Users specify only their user name and password when configuring the Filr desktop application.)

You accomplish this on Windows by creating registry values, and on Mac by adding properties to the application’s Info.plist file.

  1. Windows: Access the following location where you will create registry values:

    \\HKLM\Software\Novell\Filr

    Mac: Access the Info.plist file where you will add properties. This file is usually in the following location:

    /Applications/Micro Focus Filr/Contents/Info.plist

  2. Create Windows registry values and add properties to the Info.plist file for the values for which you want to configure defaults.

    The following table displays the available options for auto-configuration.

    Table 5-2 Auto-Configuration Options

    Windows Registry Value Name

    Value Type

    Mac Property Name

    Value Type

    Supports Env Variables

    Default Value

    Auto Configure

    REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)

    FilrAutoConfigure

    <true/> or <false/>

    No

    false

Disallowing User Configuration

You can disallow users from modifying configuration options in the Filr desktop application. This means that users cannot change the default values during initial configuration, and they cannot modify the values via the Filr console after initial configuration.

NOTE:This does not prevent users from manually modifying configuration settings in the registry or file system.

You accomplish this on Windows by creating registry values, and on Mac by adding properties to the application’s Info.plist file.

  1. Windows: Access the following location where you will create registry values:

    \\HKLM\Software\Novell\Filr

    Mac: Access the Info.plist file where you will add properties. This file is usually in the following location:

    /Applications/Micro Focus Filr/Contents/Info.plist

  2. Create Windows registry values and add properties to the Info.plist file for the values for which you want to configure defaults.

    The following table displays the available options for disallowing user configuration.

    Table 5-3 Disallow User Configuration Options

    Windows Registry Value Name

    Value Type

    Mac Property Name

    Value Type

    Supports Env Variables

    Default Value

    Allow User Configuration

    REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)

    FilrAllowUserConfiguration

    <true/> or <false/>

    No

    true

Modifying the Filr Desktop Configuration

If you have configured the Filr desktop application with auto-configuration (as described in Enabling Auto-Configuration), you can modify the configuration settings:

  1. Change the options in the registry or .plist file, then restart the Filr desktop application.

    When the Filr desktop application starts, it detects that the default settings have changed and applies the new settings.

    NOTE:The one exception is that the synchronization directory cannot be changed after the Filr desktop application has been configured.

5.1.2 Controlling Windows Explorer Restart

The Filr desktop application for Windows includes overlay icons that do not appear until Windows Explorer is restarted. Prior to the Filr 1.0.2 desktop application, the Windows .msi always restarted Windows Explorer during the installation (except when using the No UI option). Because restarting Explorer might not always be desirable, the Filr 1.0.2 desktop application allows you to override the default.

The Windows installer supports four basic user interface levels for installing MSI files:

  • No UI (“msiexec /qn”)

    Windows Explorer is never restarted when using this option.

  • Basic UI (“msiexec /qb”)

  • Reduced UI (“msiexec /qr”)

  • Full UI (“msiexec /qf” or simply “msiexec”, since this is the default)

For example, use the following command to install the MSI with basic UI and without restarting Windows Explorer:

msiexec /qb /i MicroFocusFilr-version.msi RESTARTEXPLORER=no