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Installation Guide for MSI (Windows)

Domain admins can automatically deploy GoTo Meeting on multiple computers using the MSI. This is a convenient way for network domain admins to deploy and install the GoTo Meeting desktop app to thousands of users or computers throughout the network. In order to deploy, admins can create a group policy object (GPO) and link it to the network using the domain controller (Windows Server).

Note: We have a new GoTo app! This article covers the classic GoTo Meeting experience. View How do I deploy the GoTo app on Windows via MSI? for the new GoTo.

GoTo Meeting can also be installed for all users on the machine by running the MSI manually. The MSI supports installation for all users on the machine or for only the current user. This way of installation can be useful to admins who want to create a single OS image including GoTo Meeting, which is then distributed to multiple computers.

You may have multiple GoTo Meeting versions installed from Windows Installer (MSI) files on your computer. The active version is set by your GoTo Meeting admin on our GoTo Meeting server. If the active version is not available on your computer, it will be automatically downloaded and installed when you log in and start a session. To run sessions using the version installed by the MSI, your GoTo Meeting account must have the same version set on the server.

Installing via MSI is an advanced feature that requires administrator-level permissions on the target computer(s). Once GoToMeeting has been installed for all users on the machine, by default the automatic upgrades feature will be used to get updated versions as they are released and remove older ones (i.e., it is not necessary to install subsequent version updates via MSI). To control automatic upgrades on a computer level, a GPO policy controlling the automatic upgrades can be applied. Using SCCM or another tool to install the MSI on the SYSTEM Level does not allow for the setting flags to be modified.

Override Default Preferences

Some GoTo Meeting default preferences can be overridden and specified during the installation process by modifying the MSI Property table. The Custom parameters listed below can be controlled by command line arguments (for the currently logged-in user) or transform (.MST) files (for multiple users on a network domain).

User Preferences Description Parameter Valid Values Default Value
Install for all users or for the current user only

G2MINSTALLFORALLUSERS=1 means the product will be installed for all users on the machine.

G2MINSTALLFORALLUSERS=0 means the product will be installed for the current user only. This is the default mode.

Note that the product will be installed for all users if installed per machine via Group Policy, regardless of the value of the property.

First version that supports these MSI parameters is in v8.22.0, build 8473.

G2MINSTALLFORALLUSERS 0 or 1 0
Start automatically at logon Start GoTo Meeting automatically after the user logs in to the computer. G2MRUNATLOGON true or false true
Integration Specify a GoTo Meeting integration with other applications. G2MINTEGRATION None, Notes, Outlook, Email or Auto none
Disable certain recordings

Disable the ability to Record Screen from system tray and remove the "Recording" tab from the Preferences window.

First version that supports these MSI parameters is in v10.8.0.

G2MDISABLERECORDINGMENU true or false false
Record audio

Enable or disable the inclusion of the audio conference in your session recordings.

G2MRECAUDIO true or false true
Recording convert

Convert the video content to Windows Media Player format.

G2MRECCONVERT true or false false
Recording save location Specify the location where the session recording files will be stored. G2MRECPATH < ..valid path.. > < ...user personal folder... >
Chat save location Specify the location where the chat log files are stored. G2MCHATSAVEPATH < ..valid path.. > < ...user personal folder... >
Perform automatic updates

Enable or disable the Automatic Updates (which proactively download updates while not in session).

For locked down environments, " false " is recommended because enabling automatic updates will also remove older builds.

Note that this MSI property controls only the per-user automatic updates. The per-machine automatic updates are not affected by this property.

See Control "Automatic Update" Settings (.ADM) for a group policy setting that can disable per-machine automatic updates. The same group policy setting can control the per-user automatic updates too.

G2MPERFORMAVC true or false true*
Enable product entitlements and install shortcuts

By default, if none of these arguments are specified, the MSI will install the product with entitlement for GoTo Meeting only. This means only shortcuts for GoTo Meeting will be installed and the system tray menu will show only G2M product entries. If you desire to customize the initial product entitlements installed, these arguments can be specified to the MSI Installation. Note that the product entitlements will be refreshed with the actual entitlements for the account when the user logs in for the first time. So these parameters control only the initial shortcuts and system tray menu entries until the user logs in.

For example, this can be useful if the customer has purchased both GoTo Meeting and GoTo Webinar, or only GoTo Webinar. In this case, they might want to install the product with G2M and G2W shortcuts and system tray menu items, or only G2W respectively (thus removing the G2M shortcut). Note that regardless of the entitlements specified to the MSI Installation, the correct product shortcuts will be installed once the user logs in. In the two examples above, they would specify the following MSI parameters respectively:
  • G2WENABLED=true (adding G2W)
  • G2MENABLED=false G2WENABLED=true (removing the default G2M and adding G2W)
Product entitlements specified at install time control:
  • at install time/on first run, which shorts are created
  • which products are shown in the system tray context menu
G2MENABLED G2WENABLED G2TENABLED true or false true false false
Note:  If some of these options have an invalid value or the paths do not exist, the corresponding option results in its default value. If an existing GoTo Meeting version is already setup with specific user preferences, those values are reset with the new values that were specified during the installation process. If GoTo Meeting is running during the installation process, you must restart the GoTo Meeting application to apply the new preferences.

Pre-Configure Preferences with Transform Files (.MST)

Windows Transform files (.MST) provide you with a convenient way to install a specific configuration of default preferences. You can pack commands in batch files or use a database editor like Microsoft Orca to add the variables in the MSI Property table, which will override the default values. See About Transforms on the Microsoft Support Site for more information.
  • To apply a transform file for the current user only, you can use the command line msiexec /i < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi > TRANSFORMS=CorporateSettings.mst.
  • To apply a transform file to a domain installation, you can add it to the Group Policy Object.

Install MSI for current user

This method can be used to install GoTo Meeting on a single computer for the currently logged-in user. It is a good alternative for organizers who are having trouble installing the EXE file.
  1. Download the single-build MSI or multi-build MSI here.
    Note:  If you do not need to configure any specific settings, you can simply double-click the MSI file to begin the installation instead of continuing on to Step #2.
  2. Determine the appropriate command line text, as follows.
  3. Start with the basic installation text.
    • To install in default mode, enter "msiexec /i < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi >".
    • To install in quiet mode, enter "msiexec /i < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi > /quiet".
  4. Add on variables as desired. See examples of each below.
  5. Open a Command Prompt window, then enter the command line determined in Step #2.

Example command lines

Below are examples of command lines that include custom parameters for setting the G2MSetup.msi's default preferences.
  • Override individual default user preferences with custom values msiexec /i < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi > G2MRUNATLOGON=false G2MINTEGRATION=Notes G2MRECAUDIO=false G2MRECCONVERT=true G2MRECPATH="C:\My Recordings"
  • Enable the installation process logging (refer to the “msiexec.exe” command help for more options)msiexec /i < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi > /l* C:\MyLogFile.log
  • Apply a transform file (.MST)msiexec /i < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi > TRANSFORMS=CorporateSettings.mst

Uninstall MSI for current user

Note: If multiple versions of GoTo Meeting are installed on your computer from the GoTo Meeting website and from the MSI file, uninstalling the MSI file may remove all existing versions of GoTo Meeting.
  1. Open a Command Prompt window.
  2. Enter the desired text:
    • To uninstall in default mode, enter msiexec /x < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi >.
    • To uninstall in quiet mode, enter msiexec /x < G2MSetupX.X.XXX_IT.msi > /quiet.

Alternatively, you can uninstall GoTo Meeting manually under Control Panel > Programs and Features.

Install MSI for all users

You can install GoTo Meeting via MSI for all users on the machine or for only the current user. This can be controlled in two ways:
  • The MSI wizard
  • The "G2MINSTALLFORALLUSERS" property (for silent installations)

MSI versions older than v8.22.0, build 8473 does not have the right specifications to run manually for all users. The default mode is to install for only the current user. To install older versions for all users, the MSI should be installed via Group Policy Object per machine. Note that all versions will continue to support installation via GPO.

After installing the MSI for all users, the product shortcuts will appear the next time the user logs in to Window (they will not appear for users currently logged in). Logged in users must log off and back on for the product shortcuts to appear.

Install on Computers within Network Domains (GPO)

Domain admins can automatically install GoToMeeting on multiple computers using the GoToMeeting MSI. This is a convenient way for network domain admins to deploy and install the GoToMeeting desktop app to thousands of users or computers throughout the network. To deploy GoToMeeting to multiple computers, domain admins can create a group policy object (GPO) and link it to the network using the domain controller (Windows Server).

Note: The Group Policy installations do not support command line options. You may need to use transform (.MST) files to apply custom settings for multiple users.

Specify the target audience

Domain administrators can choose to deploy GoTo Meeting on a user-specific or computer-specific basis.
  • Deploying to users (or groups of users) will assign GoTo Meeting to specific individuals, regardless of which computer they log in to.
  • Deploying to computers will assign GoTo Meeting to specific computers only, regardless of which user logs into them.
    Note: It is not possible to apply transform (.MST) files to installations being deployed to computers. You can only use them when deploying to users or groups.

Specify the installation method

Domain controllers using Active Directory can choose how to install the desktop app once the MSI has been deployed. See How to use Group Policy to remotely install software on the Microsoft Support Site for more information.
  • Published [to users]:GoTo Meeting will be made available to specific users (or groups of users) on the network domain. They will see GoTo Meeting listed under Programs and Features, and it will be available for installation on demand.
    Note: To download the application, the user can go to Control Panel > Programs and Features. In the left navigation, they can click Install a program from the network to see all the software published to you and available for installation.
  • Assigned [to users or computers]:GoTo Meeting will be automatically installed for specific users, groups of users or computers in the network domain. The installation will be automatically performed the next time each user logs in or when the computer starts up.
  • Advanced: Like with "Assigned", GoTo Meeting will be automatically installed for specific users, groups of users or computers in the network domain. However, "Advanced " also provides the option to apply additional user preferences by using a Windows Installer Transform (.mst) file as the installation package.

Override default preferences

Additionally, domain administrators have the ability to configure GoTo Meeting installations with specific GoTo Meeting user preferences.

 

Uninstall on Computers within Network Domains (GPO)

Note: If multiple versions of GoTo Meeting are installed on your computer from the GoTo Meeting website and from the MSI file, uninstalling the MSI file may remove all existing versions of GoTo Meeting.
Note: We recommend using Group Policy installations, but the current installer should cover the basic requirements and installation scenarios of more powerful deployment solutions like Microsoft’s SMS/SCCM.
Domain administrators can automatically uninstall GoTo Meeting from multiple computers by re-configuring the same Group Policy Object that they used to install GoTo Meeting.
  1. Right-click the GPO and select Properties.
  2. On the Deployment tab, disable the “Uninstall this application when it falls out of the scope of management” check box.

However, we do not recommend using this method to uninstall GoTo Meeting from multiple computers at once because not all aspects of the installation can be removed in this way, so some remnants will be left behind on the computers. Instead, please have organizers uninstall GoTo Meeting manually under Control Panel > Programs and Features.

Control "Automatic Update" Settings (.ADM)

By default, the MSI is configured to have automatic updates on (the same as when installed from the EXE download). This means that the GoToMeeting desktop app will updated itself silently (and remove outdated builds) while the user is not in session. If you disable the setting, then the desktop app will wait until a session is joined or started to update itself. Domain administrators have the option to centrally control this settings by adding the GoToMeeting-AutomaticUpdates administrative template (.ADM) to their Group Policy Object Editor. This will automatically create a new GPO that provides additional configuration instructions. Domain administrators can request the GoToMeeting-AutomaticUpdates.adm file from a rep or download the .ADM file here.

If the MSI is installed per machine, a scheduled task running from the SYSTEM account will be installed, which runs the per-machine automatic updates. The group policy setting can control the automatic updates both per machine and per user. If configured on the machine level, the GPO setting will control both per machine and per-user automatic updates. If configured on the user level, the GPO setting will control only the per-user automatic updates.
Note: This is a registry-based policy, meaning that when the policy is configured by the IT admin, a registry AutomaticUpdatesSetting (value 0 or 1) will be created on the target machines/users under Software\Policies\GoToMeeting (in HKCU or HKLM for computer or user policy).

Control "Prevent Shortcut Creation" Settings (.ADM)

By default, the GoTo Meeting desktop application creates shortcuts on the desktop and Start menu. Domain admins have the ability to prevent the creation of shortcuts by adding the GoTo Meeting-PreventCreatingShortcuts administrative template (.ADM) to their Group Policy Object Editor. This will automatically create a new GPO that provides additional configuration instructions.

Domain admins can request the GoTo Meeting-PreventCreatingShortcuts .ADM file from a rep or can download the file here.
Note: This is a registry-based policy, meaning that when the policy is configured by the IT admin, a registry PreventCreatingShortcutsSetting will be created on the target machines/users under Software\Policies\GoToMeeting (in HKCU or HKLM for computer or user policy).