Auto FE Updater

Initial User Install

Tip:  You will likely want to click on the menu item File >> Create Auto FE Updater shortcut on Desktop.   This will give you convenient access to the Auto FE Updater utility in the future. 

How to get the user running the Auto FE Updater on their system the first time?  So the utility will automatically create the shortcuts and start copying down the files? 

Create User Setup Email

The best method is to have the utility create an email you can send to the user.  But if for some reason that doesn't work for you then you have some more options.

Email the user a link to a shortcut

Note: this is basically a duplicate of the Create User Setup Email process which happens automatically.

You can email the user a link to a shortcut.  You must use the Server Shortcut Name setting to create a shortcut likely in the same folder as the Auto FE Updater utility..  Then click on Tools menu item >> Place server shortcut URL into clipboard.

Now open your email program and insert some text along with a hyperlink.  In the hyperlink address field paste the contents of the clipboard.

Once you're done the email will look like a regular hyperlink.

Now the user only needs to receive the email and click on the link to setup your app for the very first time.

While at the users PC navigating to the server share via Windows Explorer

You can copy the shortcuts created on your system to a server share and then rename them as appropriate.  Or you can use the Server Shortcut on the Shortcuts to create 2 screen.

Then have the the user start up Windows Explorer and have them key in two back slashes and the server name. (They could navigate the My Network Places tree but that would be very time consuming and error prone.) They will then see a list of the shares and you can tell them to click on the appropriate share.  In the below example the server share name is Databases.  Then click on the appropriate shortcut.

Emailing a shortcut file

You can attach a shortcut file currently residing on your desktop or elsewhere to an email and send it to the user.

However note that the default settings in Outlook are to block shortcut files with the .LNK extension as a potentially unsafe attachment.  Some IT departments may have allowed you do override this and save the attachment.  If that works for you then in Outlook you must tell the user to save the shortcut somewhere likely onto their desktop.  Then they click on the shortcut.

Email a URL to a CMD file

You can email the user a hyperlink to a CMD file on the server.   This can be slightly disconcerting as the user clicks on the CMD file as the black command prompt screen will be briefly displayed. You can create the CMD file a number of ways.. 

•  the Auto FE Updater can create the CMD file directly using the Shortcut CMD File Name options on the Shortcuts to create 2 screen.    Then return to the Select Configuration file screen and, on the top menu, select Tools >> Place the CMD launcher line into the clipboard.
• copy and paste from the target of a shortcut you've already created using the utility.

Note that when you create the hyperlink in the email you might have to insert "file://" without the double quotes.   This overrides the default http:// email programs might insert. Also if there are spaces in the path you may have to add double quotes around the string.

If the users are using Outlook they will likely get several security prompts such as "You should only open attachments from a trusted source." (tell the user to click on Open) and "The publisher could not be verified." (tell the user to click on Run)   As well as the black command prompt may flicker or remain open in the background if there are any messages.

However the user only has to run this once.  After that they should have a shortcut on their desktop, Quick Launch or Start >> All Programs they never have to execute this again.