Aaron has written an article on “how to deploy Adobe Reader 8”. With new version, Adobe has changed the installation procdure, before I show you the procedure, make sure you have the latest Adobe Reader 8.0, if not download here.

So here it goes:

• Adobe Reader 8 uses a newer version of the Netopsystems FEAD setup routine;
• On Windows Vista, setup files are unpacked to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Netopsystems\temp\Adobe Reader 8.0
• On Windows XP, setup files are unpacked to (well, I haven't get that far yet);
• After Reader is installed, setup files are located at %ProgramFiles\Adobe\Reader 8.0\Setup Files\{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A80000000002}
• Setup switches have changed, here's the full list:

• If you want to perform a silent install directly from the download, use the following command:

AdbeRdr80_en_US.EXE /sPB /rps /msi"ALLUSERS=TRUE"

• To perform an silent install from the unpacked setup files use the following command:

SETUP.EXE /sPB /rps /msi"ALLUSERS=TRUE"

• A second shortcut is now added to the Startup group - Adobe Reader Synchronizer as well as the Adobe Reader Speed Launch shortcut;
• At launch, Adobe Reader reads the HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server registry key. Will it perform differently on a Terminal Server?
• It appears to launch quite quickly;
• It also reads this registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\8.0\FeatureLockdown which could mean that an ADM/ADMX file exists or is coming to manage Adobe Reader via Group Policy;
• You can set this DWORD value in the registry: HKCU\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\8.0\AVGeneral\bDocumentsInTaskbar, to force Reader to display a separate window for each document, just like Microsoft Office;
• There are no ads in the toolbar as in previous versions;
• It includes nice new fancy 256 x 256 pixel icons (click each one for a larger view):

Aaron

Installing, Adobe Reader 8