Rolling-out Power-user by script

Modified on Wed, 8 Nov, 2023 at 5:59 PM

Power-user offers an .msi file (link here), allowing your IT admin to roll out licenses centrally to users within your organization. This option is best if you have many users, as it will save each user the need to install and activate the license on their own.


The below scripts will:

  • Download Power-user
  • Install it
  • Activate the license



TABLE OF CONTENTS


Installing in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local (RECOMMENDED)


To install in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local, run the script below:

  • Launch a command line (e.g. CMD) in the user context
  • Paste this block of code and run it:
REM Define variables that will be used to download, install and activate the Power-user addin 
SET download_path="%temp%\Power-user.msi" 
SET download_url="https://powerusersoftware.com/download/Power-user.msi" 

REM Download the Power-user.msi file to the specified download_path location 
bitsadmin /transfer "Download Power-user msi file" %download_url% %download_path%
Generic
  • In the below code:
    • Replace XXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX with your license key in line 3 only
    • Then run this second block of code
REM Define the needed parameters to activate the user license key
REM License key that will be used during activation
SET license_key="XXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX"

REM Make sure the license_key parameter is defined
IF %license_key% == "XXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX" (
	echo "Please define the license_key parameter"
	pause
	exit
)

IF %license_key% == "" (
	echo "Please define the license_key parameter"
	pause
	exit
)

REM Define variables that will be used to install and activate the Power-user addin
SET download_path=%temp%\Power-user.exe
SET install_path=C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local

REM Install Power-user addin
%download_path% /S /v/qn

REM Activation of the user license providing the email address, user name and license key
"%install_path%\Power-user\PowerUserActivator.exe" %USERNAME% %license_key%
Generic


After running this script, Power-user will be both installed and activated on the machine, without requiring the user to take any individual action.





Installing in C:\Program Files (x86)



Generally speaking, we recommend installing in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local using the script above, and not in C:\Program Files (x86). This is to allow users to keep their version up to date without needing an intervention from the IT admin.

In order to have full control over which version users are using, some admins can prefer to install in C:\Program Files (x86). In that case, users will not be able to get updates on their own and will require the script to be run again to install newer versions in the future.


To install in C:\Program Files (x86), run the script below:

  • Launch a command line (e.g. CMD) in the admin context
  • Paste this block of code and run it:


REM Create the download_path and install_path variables, defining where to download and install the .msi file

SET install_path=C:\Program Files (x86)
SET download_path="%temp%\Power-user.msi"
SET download_bat_path="%temp%\Power-user\addin_registry.bat"

REM Download the "Power-user.msi"
bitsadmin /transfer "Download Power-user msi file" "https://powerusersoftware.com/download/Power-user.msi" %download_path%


  • Then paste and run this other block of code:
REM Install the "Power-user .msi" file
msiexec /i %download_path% ALLUSERS="2" INSTALLDIR="%install_path%" /q

REM Download the Power-user addin registry file to the specified location
bitsadmin /transfer "Download Power-user addin_registry file" "https://powerusersoftware.com/Content/Installation/addin_registry.txt" %download_bat_path%
  • Then paste and run this other block of code:
REM Create the registry files
%download_bat_path%


  • Then, launch again the command line in the user context
  • Then run this block of code, after replacing XXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX with your license key in line 3 only
REM Define the needed parameters to activate the user license key
REM License key that will be used during activation
SET license_key="XXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX"

REM Make sure the license_key parameter is defined
IF %license_key% == "XXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX" (
	echo "Please define the license_key parameter"
	pause
	exit
)

IF %license_key% == "" (
	echo "Please define the license_key parameter"
	pause
	exit
)

set install_path=C:\Program Files (x86)
"%install_path%\Power-user\PowerUserActivator.exe" %USERNAME% %license_key%


After running this script, Power-user will be installed and activated on the machine, without requiring the user to take any individual action.



Updates
When licenses are roll-out by script in C:\Program Files (x86), software updates will have to be handled by script as well.





Additional options for installation by script


Fixing email addresses


The above script will save an email_address for the user by concatenating the Windows user name with the email domain of the organization. If this actually differs from the real email addresses, you can send us a list mapping the Windows user names with the real email addresses and we can update the data in your portal afterwards.



Installing the certificate


The first time Microsoft Office is restarted after the installation of Power-user, users might see a trust prompt. To avoid creating any confusion, this prompt can be avoided by installing the Power-user certificate in the Trusted Publisher store. 


To do this by script, you can:

  • Launch a command line (e.g. CMD) in the user context
  • Paste this block of code and run it:
SET download_path="%temp%\power_user_certificate.cer"
SET download_url="https://powerusersoftware.com/download/power_user_certificate.cer"

bitsadmin /transfer "Download Power-user certificate file" %download_url% %download_path%
  • Paste this other block of code and run it:
certutil.exe -addstore -user TrustedPublisher %download_path%



Plane mode


Certain organizations require their computers to be isolated from the Internet, due to the sensitive nature of their industry. We don't recommend this unless there is a strong necessity for it, but Power-user can be installed in plane mode by running the following command line in the admin context:


REG ADD "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\PowerPoint\Addins\Power-user" /v ContactServer /t REG_SZ /d "0" /f


If plane mode is turned on before activation, the activation cannot be performed through the server. We can still activate through an offline process. Feel free to contact us for more information about this.


When the license is in plane mode, it will notably have the following side-effects:

  • License management: when licenses are renewed, our server will not be able to remotely update the license validity. So each renewal will require the admin to momentarily turn off plane mode, activate the updated license key and turn plane mode on again.
  • Software updates will not be pushed to the users. The admin can still manually install them.
  • Features: the Pictures and Logo features will not be functional, as they require getting content from the web.

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