How to deploy Microsoft Outlook Settings using Desktop Central?

Description

This document provides steps required to deploy Microsoft Outlook Settings using Desktop Central

Steps

Before you deploy the Microsoft Outlook Settings, you need to configure the Outlook profile to perform the following actions;

• Extract the Contents of the EXE
• Create a Customized Profile.
• Configure Settings to Outlook users.

Extract the Contents of the EXE:

Creating a Customized profile includes, specifying the account name, incoming mail server, outgoing mail server settings, specifying the User name and Email address.

1. Copy the contents of the Microsoft Office installation files to the local directory.
2. Extract the contents of the EXE
3. Select Start>Run
4. Enter %temp%
5. Clear all the unused files and folders
6. Run the ProfessionalPlus.exe

This will extract the required files into the temp directory before installing them. When the extraction is complete, you will see the installation wizard.

1. Select Start>Run
2. Enter %temp% (You will now find a new folder with the extracted contents of Office 2010).
3. Copy all the extracted contents, with the same directory structure, create a new directory (Example: c:\msofficesetup\) and paste the copied contents.
4. Exit the installation wizard

Create a Customized Profile:

Follow the steps mentioned below to create a prf file:

Download the Office Customization Tool (OCT) from the following URL and install it: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=64B837B6-0AA0-4C07-BC34-BEC3990A7956&displaylang=en

Note:

• You need to download appropriate exe files depending on whether you have 32 bit or 64 bit versions of the office.
• When installing the OCT, you are required to specify the local directory that you have created, as the location to extract the files. Three folders will be extracted from the OCT. They are ADM, Admin, and ADMX.

1. Open a command prompt window.
2. Navigate to the directory where you have copied the installable file.
3. Invoke setup.exe with the following parameters:
   Ex: c:\msofficesetup\setup.exe /admin
4. To create a new customization file, select the Office suite that needs to be customized, and then click OK.
5. In the Outlook section, click Outlook Profile.
6. To specify settings to be included in a .prf file, choose New Profile to create one and specify a profile name (Example : Sample).
7. To add and configure new accounts, click Add accounts under Outlook section, and then click customize additional Outlook profile and account information.
8. Click Add to select the type of account to be added.
   
   For example:
   1. Select pop3 account and click Next.
   2. Specify account name, Incoming mail server, Outgoing mail server settings and specify username and email address as %USERNAME% and %USERNAME%@domain.com.
   3. It will automatically expand to corresponding usernames for users.
   4. Click Finish
9. Click the Export Profile Settings button to create a new .prf file.
10. Enter a file name and the path to save the file, and then click Save.

Configure Settings to Outlook users:

1. Download Configureoutlook.txt and rename the file to ConfigureOutlook.Vbs, save this file in the same location as the newly created .prf file (which you have created in the previous steps).
2. Move the Exported PRF and ConfiureOutlook.vbs file to the network share. Make sure the network share has ‘everyone’ permission in the same domain
3. Under User Configuration tab in Desktop Central, click “Custom Script” to deploy the vbscript with the following parameters
4. Select Define Configuration section, under Create, choose Network Share
5. Enter the Script Name as: \\share name\foldername\ConfiureOutlook.vbs
6. Enter the Script Arguments as: < Location of the PRF file in quotes> <profile name>
   Example: “\\share name\foldername\profile.PRF” "Sample"
   

   Script arguments : < Location of the PRF file in quotes> <profile name>.
   Ex: “\\share name\foldername\profile.PRF” "Sample"

   Location of the PRF file: Location of PRF file in network share path with PRF filename.
   Profile name: This is the name that you have already created when you made the PRF file and make sure they are the same.

7. Select the target users to be deployed
8. Deploy the configuration

You have successfully configured Microsoft Outlook Settings to the required targets.