Deploy GoTo for Teams desktop plugin to multiple computers
IT administrators can deploy the GoTo for Teams desktop plugin to multiple computers and users on Windows and Mac. They can also choose how to apply new app updates, manually or via automatic updates.
Windows
There are two different types of MSIs, each supporting a different deployment scenario. See below for the desciption of each, as well as the needed technical specifications and installation instructions.
Overview of the MSI for per-machine installation
- Installation requires elevation (admin permissions).
- Automatic updates can be enabled or disabled. They are enabled by default.
- If automatic updates are enabled:
- The user is notified about updates.
- Any available updates are automatically installed upon exit.
- When an update is installed, the user will see a User Account Control prompt to grant admin permissions, because the update affects all users on the machine.
- If the user does not or cannot authorize the action, the update will not happen, and the user will be prompted again in the future.
- If automatic updates are disabled:
- The user will not receive notifications for new updates.
- The only way to update the app is for the company to roll out a new MSI.
- Rolling out a new MSI will update or roll back the app to the version carried in the MSI. This includes cases where an auto-update may have installed a newer version than the version in the MSI being rolled out. To ensure consistency in the update approach, it is suggested to either perform a one-time MSI roll out and let automatic updates take care of future updates, or to consistently roll out the MSI with automatic updates disabled and establish a manual update cadence.
Overview of the MSI for per-user installation during user login
This is an MSI for deploying a per-user installer of the app on the machine level (in Program Files) and setting up a login hook for all current users and any new users to run the per-user installer at user login. This MSI deploys the user installer of the app and not the app itself. The user installer will add the GoTo for Teams desktop plugin for each user who logs in on the machine. The app will be installed only the first time the user logs in and will be installed in the user's profile.
- Installation of the MSI requires elevation (admin permissions), while the per-user install performed at user login does not. The per-user install at user login is silent.
- The MSI install sets up a RunOnce entry for each existing user profile on the machine, including the default (template) user profile.
- The entry contains a command line starting the per-user installer in silent mode.
- The entry added to the default (template) user profile ensures that new users who sign in for the first time on a machine will get the app too.
- The RunOnce entry ensures that the user installer will be started only once per user. Windows deletes RunOnce entries after they are executed.
- Uninstalling the MSI removes the RunOnce entry added by the installer (if it still exists), including the entry in the default (template) user profile.
- Automatic updates can be enabled or disabled. They are enabled by default.
- If automatic updates are enabled:
- The user is notified about updates.
- Any available updates are automatically installed upon exit.
- Updates happen for each user individually, do not require admin permissions, and will not update other users.
- If an auto-update happens, the app version will be newer than the version of the MSI and the per-user installer that installed it.
- If automatic updates are disabled:
- The user will not receive notifications for new updates.
- The only way to update the app is for the company to roll out a new MSI.
- Rolling out a new MSI will update the per-user installer and set the RunOnce entries as described above. Upon user login the GoTo for Teams desktop plugin will be installed (for first time users) or updated (for existing users) to the new version of the MSI.
- Rolling out a new MSI will update or roll back the app to the version carried in the MSI. This includes cases where auto-update may have installed a newer version than the version in the MSI being rolled out. To ensure consistency in the update approach, it is suggested to either perform a one-time MSI roll out and let automatic updates take care of future updates, or to consistently roll out the MSI with automatic updates disabled and establish a manual update cadence.
MSIs specification sheet and comparison
| Item | MSI for per-machine installation | MSI for per-user installation during user login |
|---|---|---|
| Default installation folder of the MSI (this is where the MSI installs an EXE installer + package file) | %ProgramFiles%\GoTo for Teams plugin Machine Installer | %ProgramFiles%\GoTo for Teams plugin User Login Installer |
| When and how is the app installed | During MSI installation, on the machine level. | At user login, only once per user, on the user level. |
| Default installation folder of the app | %ProgramFiles%\GoToForTeams | %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\GoToForTeams |
| MSI requires elevation | Yes (runs in machine context). | Yes (runs in machine context). |
| How many Add/Remove Programs entries are visible | 1 Only one GoTo for Teams plugin app entry exists on the machine level. |
2 The MSI adds entry "GoTo for Teams plugin User Login Installer" on the machine level, the per-user installer adds entry for the GoTo for Teams plugin on the user level. |
| Uninstallation | Uninstallation of the MSI uninstalls the app. | Uninstallation of the MSI only removes the per-user installer and the RunOnce login hook, but does not uninstall the apps installed on the user level. Users can uninstall the GoTo for Teams plugin, which does not affect the MSI installation.
Note: IT administrators can uninstall the GoTo for Teams plugin installed per user using a script. Please see the Sample scripts when deploying GoTo for Teams to multiple computers for more information.
|
| Cleaning up user profile(s) on uninstall | User profiles have to be cleaned up manually. Multiple users on the machine can use the app installed by the MSI for per-machine installation. Uninstalling the MSI does not remove any user profiles, even for the current user executing the uninstall (note that the uninstall is often done from the SYSTEM account).
Note: IT administrators can clean up the user profile(s) using a script. Please see the Sample scripts when deploying GoTo for Teams to multiple computers for more information.
|
User profile will be cleaned up per user when the user uninstalls the GoTo for Teams plugin. Uninstalling the MSI does not uninstall the GoTo for Teams plugin. |
Control automatic updates
By default, automatic updates in the app are enabled. If updates are enabled, the app will automatically check for updates at app start and periodically while the app is running. If an update is found, the app will show an indication to the user that there is an available update with the option to restart the app to apply the update. The update will be applied when the app exits, regardless of whether the user chose to restart or simply exited the app later.
- Group Policy setting for controlling automatic updates: Can be configured on the machine or user level. See "Group policies and administrative templates" for more information.
- The Group Policy writes registry setting AutomaticUpdates (DWORD) under HKLM or HKCU, Software\Policies\GoTo\GoToForTeamsApplication.
- AutomaticUpdates value of 1 means the policy is configured and updates are enabled.
- AutomaticUpdates value of 2 means the policy is configured and updates are disabled.
- Missing or unsupported AutomaticUpdates value means the policy is not configured.
- Registry setting in the app registry key: Can be configured on the machine or user level.
- The registry setting is AutomaticUpdates (DWORD) under HKLM or HKCU, Software\LogMeInInc\GoToForTeams
- AutomaticUpdates value of 1 means updates are enabled.
- AutomaticUpdates value of 2 means updates are disabled.
- Missing or unsupported AutomaticUpdates value means that updates are not controlled by this setting.
- Group Policy setting configured on the machine level
- Group Policy setting configured on the user level
- Registry setting in the app registry key on the machine level
- Registry setting in the app registry key on the user level
- If none of the above is configured, automatic updates are enabled
- The MSI for per-machine installation sets the registry setting on the machine level (HKLM\Software\LogMeInInc\GoToForTeams).
- The MSI for per-user installation during user login sets the registry setting on the user level (HKCU\Software\LogMeInInc\GoToForTeams).
Properties supported by the MSIs
The MSIs support custom properties that can be supplied during installation to customize the deployment. These properties can be supplied to the command line if the MSI is installed via a command line, or via a transform file (MST) if deployed via Group Policy Object (GPO) or other deployment software.
Example of a command line specifying MSI properties: msiexec.exe /i GoToForTeamsSetupMachine-x64.msi APPLICATIONFOLDER="%ProgramFiles%\CustomGoToFolder" FORCERUN=1
Properties supported by the MSI for per-machine installation
| Property name | Description |
|---|---|
| MSIINSTALLDIR | A valid path where the MSI installs a per-machine EXE installer and its package file. If not specified, the default path used is %ProgramFiles%\GoTo for Teams plugin Machine Installer.
Note: Support for environment variables is limited. Environment variables can be used only if they are substituted before invoking the MSI (e.g. on the command line). They cannot be used in an MST transform file as they will be passed unsubstituted to the MSI and the MSI will treat them literally.
|
| APPINSTALLDIR | A valid path where the app is installed. If not specified, the default path used is %ProgramFiles%\GoToForTeams.
Note: Support for environment variables is limited. Environment variables can be used only if they are substituted before invoking the MSI (e.g. on the command line). They cannot be used in an MST transform file as they will be passed unsubstituted to the MSI and the MSI will treat them literally.
|
| FORCERUN | By default, the MSI installer will not start the application after installation. To make the MSI start the app after installation, set this property to 1. |
| AUTOMATICUPDATES | See the section on controlling automatic updates with MSI install property above. If the AUTOMATICUPDATES property is set to 1 (enabled) or 2 (disabled) for the MSI for per-machine installation, it will set the registry setting in the app registry key on the machine level to the provided value. |
| SUPPRESSUSERINSTALLCHECK | By default, the MSI for per-machine installation will check for existing per-user installations on the machine and fail with an error if a per-user installation is found. To suppress this check, set this property to 1. This property is supported in versions 4.8 and above. |
Properties supported by the MSI for per-user installation during user login
| Property name | Description |
|---|---|
| MSIINSTALLDIR | A valid path where the MSI installs a per-user EXE installer and its package file. If not specified, the default path used is %ProgramFiles%\GoTo for Teams plugin User Login Installer.
Note: Support for environment variables is limited. Environment variables can be used only if they are substituted before invoking the MSI (e.g. on the command line). They cannot be used in an MST transform file as they will be passed unsubstituted to the MSI and the MSI will treat them literally.
|
| FORCERUN | By default, the per-user installer will not start the application after it installs it during user login. To make the per-user installer start the app after installation, set this property to 1. |
| AUTOMATICUPDATES | See the section on controlling automatic updates with MSI install property above. If the AUTOMATICUPDATES property is set to 1 (enabled) or 2 (disabled) for the MSI for per-user installation during login, it will set the registry setting in the app registry key on the user level to the provided value. |
Group policies and administrative templates
The GoTo for Teams desktop plugin supports the following Group Policy settings currently:
| Group Policy setting | App versions supporting the policy setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic Updates | All versions | A policy setting controlling the automatic updates. See "Control automatic updates" for more information. |
Administrative templates and downloads
The administrative templates for the GoTo for Teams desktop plugin describe the policies supported by the app. The .admx/.adml set of files work together and should be imported in the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor to display the policy settings. An .admx file describes the policies, their registry keys and possible states and values, while an .adml file is a language and presentation file containing strings and presentation formatting of the policy settings. The .adml file is provided per language and country.
Download administrative templates for the GoTo for Teams desktop plugin
Adding the .admx/.adml to the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor
- To import, first copy the provided .admx files to %SystemRoot%\PolicyDefinitions.
- Then copy the provided .adml files to %SystemRoot%\PolicyDefinitions\en-US, or any other supported language-country combination.
- Open the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to the Administrative Templates folder under Computer or User Configuration.
- The GoTo app polices will be under a folder GoTo/GoTo for Teams Application (or the corresponding translation for the chosen language-country combination).
Downloads
The MSI architecture must match the OS architecture. The 64-bit MSI will fail with an error message if run on a 32-bit OS, and the 32-bit MSI will fail with an error message if run on a 64-bit OS.
MSI for per-machine installation
| Architecture | When to use | Latest and most stable version | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64-bit | Installs on 64-bit OS only. Fails with an error message if run on 32-bit OS. |
Version 4.14.0 release notes | Install MSI |
| 32-bit | Installs on 32-bit OS only. Fails with an error message if run on 64-bit OS. |
Version 4.14.0 release notes | Install MSI |
MSI for per-user installation during user login
| Architecture | When to use | Latest and most stable version | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64-bit | Installs on 64-bit OS only. Fails with an error message if run on 32-bit OS. |
Version 4.14.0 release notes | Install MSI |
| 32-bit | Installs on 32-bit OS only. Fails with an error message if run on 64-bit OS. |
Version 4.14.0 release notes | Install MSI |
Mac
Install in /Applications or ~/Applications
The app can be installed in two main modes: per-user, or per-machine.
| Install in /Applications | Install in ~/Applications |
|---|---|
| All users on the machine use the same installation. | Each user on a shared machine has their own installation. |
| The user needs to be an administrator to update the application. | The auto-update does not require admin rights.
Note: See information below on how IT admins can ensure this.
|
| Updates to the app apply for all users on the machine. | Updates apply to the user installation only. |
Ensuring users can update the app on Mac
IT administrators can choose to disable the automatic updates and roll out updates manually. For more information see the section on controlling automatic updates.
- If the user running the app does not have write permissions to the app (GoTo for Teams plugin.app) or the folder containing the app, updates will not be installed.
- If the user running the app has write permissions to the app and the folder containing the app, updates will be installed normally.
To ensure that users can update the app, we recommend ensuring that users have write permissions to the app and the folder containing the app. Write permissions should include GoTo for Teams plugin.app and all of its subfolders and files. This can be done by creating a permissions group for all users and granting ownership and write access to that permissions group.
Control automatic updates
By default, automatic updates in the app are enabled. If updates are enabled, the app will have UI for the user to manually check for updates. It will also automatically check for updates at app start and periodically while the app is running. If an update is found, the app will show an indication to the user that there is an available update with the option to restart the app to apply the update. The update will be applied when the app exits, regardless of whether the user chose to restart or simply exited the app later.
Updates on Mac can be controlled via a setting AutomaticUpdates (integer) in the app plist com.logmein.gotoforteams.plist.
- AutomaticUpdates value of 1 means updates are enabled.
- AutomaticUpdates value of 2 means updates are disabled.
- Missing or unsupported AutomaticUpdates value means that updates are not controlled by this setting.
When the app checks for this setting, first the user location is checked (~/Library/Preferences). If the value is not found there, the machine location is checked (/Library/Preferences). IT administrators can choose whether to set this setting on the machine level or on the user level. The order of settings, which control the automatic updates, from highest precedence to lowest precedence is:
- plist setting on the user level.
- plist setting on the machine level.
- If none of the above is configured, automatic updates are enabled.
Example commands for setting the plist setting
- Disable updates (user location for plist): defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/com.logmein.gotoforteams.plist AutomaticUpdates -int 2
- Disable updates (machine location for plist): defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.logmein.gotoforteams.plist AutomaticUpdates -int 2
- Enable updates (user location for plist): defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/com.logmein.gotoforteams.plist AutomaticUpdates -int 1
- Enable updates (machine location for plist): defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.logmein.gotoforteams.plist AutomaticUpdates -int 1
- Removes the setting (user location for plist): defaults delete ~/Library/Preferences/com.logmein.gotoforteams.plist AutomaticUpdates
- Removes the setting (machine location for plist): defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.logmein.gotoforteams.plist AutomaticUpdates
Downloads
| Architecture | When to use | Latest and most stable version | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Runs only on Apple processors. Runs natively on Apple processors. |
Version 4.14.0 release notes | Install DMG |
| Intel | Runs on both Intel and Apple processors. Uses Rosetta on Apple processors. |
Version 4.14.0 release notes | Install DMG |
