Insert name here » script

Deploy PhotoScape via Group Policy

Chris — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:37:12 +0000

PhotoScape is a really nice, simple, easy to use bit of FREE photo editing software. It offers a lot of basic features without ever complicating matters – ideal for people just learning to play with their photos, or anyone who just doesn’t want the hassle of having to learn a more complex piece of software.

To deploy this via group policy, you will need to use a startup script, as it is not possible to extract an MSI to use with the usual method. However it’s a really simple script so should be no problem to get it up and running.

Just share the installer executable somewhere on your server (we usually have a shared software directory for this purpose), and add the following to a startup script (replacing the path with the correct one for your situation, of course)…

“\\SVR\Software\PhotoScapeInstall\setup.exe” /S

Note the upper-case S in the switch – it will not function with a lower-case S. This will install desktop and quick-launch shortcuts, which unfortunately there seems to be no way around. However, a good point is that it does not install Google Toolbar, which is an option selected by default if you use the wizard install.

Have fun!

Some useful scripts

Chris — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:31:29 +0000

Things have been a bit too quiet on here recently, so I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you about some neat scripts I have discovered recently whilst working on a site for Scotts Castle Holidays – they specialise in self catering holidays in large Scottish castles.

The first one would be Highslide JS. SCH uses this on a few pages, for HTML popups as well as the main image galleries belonging to each property. Highslide is an awesome bit of code, customisable in almost every aspect, extensive documentation and a great support forum for issues/feature requests. It needs to be licenced for a commercial site, but it is a small price to pay (29USD) for the instant functionality gain.

Secondly, there is the simple accordion script from Deziner Folio. This required quite a bit of tailoring to add the additional functionality required for the site, but is a great starting point for any accordion as it is so small, coming in at barely over 1k.

Let us know if you decide to use either of the above in your own projects!

Deploy Pivot Stickfigure Animator via Group Policy

Chris — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:53:47 +0000

An easy one, this. Infact, it seems far too easy. Just share Pivot’s setup.exe in some folder on your server, and add the following to a startup script attached to your GPO (with the correct server name and share paths applied, of course).

\\SVR\Share\Path\setup.exe /quiet

That’s it! It installs near instantaneously on newer machines as well – well done that man.