Installing PhotoDraw with Office

Using Acme Setup to Install PhotoDraw

Microsoft PhotoDraw uses Acme Setup as its underlying setup technology. Unlike the new Windows installer, which stores installation instructions in a relational database, Acme Setup relies on tables of information in STF and INF text files to copy program files and perform other tasks that are necessary for installing PhotoDraw.

You’ll find all the PhotoDraw program files on two CD-ROMs included with Microsoft Office 2000 Premium. These discs are labeled Microsoft Office 2000 Disc 3 (PhotoDraw Disc 1) and Microsoft Office 2000 Disc 4 (PhotoDraw Disc 2). Office Disc 3 (PhotoDraw Disc 1) contains the PhotoDraw Setup program (Setup.exe) and other program files. Office Disc 4 (PhotoDraw Disc 2) contains graphical content such as PhotoDraw clip art and template files.

If you have a license to install PhotoDraw on more than one client computer, there are two ways that you can deploy PhotoDraw throughout your organization. You can distribute the PhotoDraw discs to users, or you can install PhotoDraw on a network so that users can install it from there.

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Installing PhotoDraw over the network

You install PhotoDraw separately from the rest of Office 2000. A network installation for PhotoDraw involves the following two-step process:

• First, create an administrative installation point on the network that contains all the PhotoDraw program files. Run PhotoDraw Setup from the PhotoDrw folder on Office Disc 3 (PhotoDraw Disc 1) with the /a command-line option to create the administrative installation point.

  The administrative installation point must be located on a server to which users can connect.

• Second, have users run PhotoDraw Setup from the administrative installation point to install PhotoDraw on their computers.

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Customizing PhotoDraw Setup

When you create the administrative installation point, you can customize several aspects of the client installation process. For example, you can change the PhotoDraw installation path or shortcut location.

Acme Setup does not support the new Windows installer technology. For example, Acme Setup does not automatically find and repair errors in the PhotoDraw installation or install features on first use. Also, because PhotoDraw doesn’t store Setup data and instructions in a Windows installer package (MSI file), you can’t use the Office Custom Installation Wizard to customize client installations.

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Special installation requirements for PhotoDraw

There are special installation requirements that you need to consider before you roll out Microsoft PhotoDraw in your organization. For example, for three-dimensional (3-D) features to work in PhotoDraw, Microsoft DirectX® version 6.0 must be installed on client computers running Microsoft Windows 95/98.

To use PhotoDraw, users must be running operating systems with the following functionality:

• Microsoft Windows 95/98 with DirectX 6.0

  – or –

  Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3 or later

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later

PhotoDraw comes with DirectX 6.0, Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1a, and Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4. You can find the Setup utility for the software on Office Disc 3 (PhotoDraw Disc 1).

When you run client Setup directly from the root level of the PhotoDraw CD-ROM, Setup searches for these applications on your computer and then installs or upgrades them if necessary. However, Setup does not search for these applications when you run Setup in administrative mode or when users install PhotoDraw from an administrative installation point. For this reason, you must make sure that the necessary applications are installed on client computers before you deploy PhotoDraw.

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See also

You can install PhotoDraw at the same time as the other Office 2000 applications. For more information about this process, see Managing a Successive Deployment of Office Premium and Related Products.

On Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000, users must have administrative privileges to install and uninstall PhotoDraw. For more information about administrative privileges, see the documentation for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000.

For a complete list of the system requirements for PhotoDraw and the other Office 2000 applications, see The Office 2000 Client Platform.