Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 11685
Multiuser Support's missing on Windows 2000/XP
Last modified: 2006-05-08 08:34:28 UTC
Please, make OpenOffice REALLY compatible with the multiuser environment in Microsoft Windows 2000/XP; on these OS's there is no way to run OpenOffice if the user is trying to run it isn't an Administrator. To do this store configuration files in each user's home directory, and NOT GLOBALLY (then NOT in OpenOffice's home dir). Give a look to these environment variables: %APPDATA% (This one can be usefull to store OO conf files) %USERPROFILE% %USERNAME% %ALLUSERSPROFILE% (for things that are in common to all users, eg Start Menu links) Thank You.
moving to component installation and reassign issue to owner of selected subcomponent
We have changed a lot for OOo 1.1. e.g. the workstation installation now has <drive>:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Application Data\ as destination. Nevertheless you still have to make a -net installation before you can make workstation installations. So I send your feature request to the responsible person.
*** Issue 12373 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
The multi-user installation for Windows 2000 in developer builds 643c and 644m3 worked well. If OpenOffice was installed from the Adminstrator account, other users (without Administrator priviledges) could log on and use the application and everything was normal. With OpenOffice 1.1Beta and Developer's build 644m7, something changed. The shortcuts (links) to OpenOffice are not in the Start Menu. Also, Windows does not know to open existing OpenOffice documents with. (File associations are not set for these other (non-Administrator) users. What DOES work is that OpenOffice runs fine (once you figure out how to open it) on other user accounts. Older versions of OpenOffice wouldn't run at all because other (non-Adminstrator) users did not have access (priviledges) to the files needed run the application. Here is a work around for Windows 2000 if you already have some OpenOffice documents on you computer. 1. Double-click to open an OpenOffice document. 2. When the "Open With..." dialog appears, select the "Other..." button. 3. Browse to the location of the OpenOffice program files "soffice.exe". For example, "C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.orgxxx\program\soffice.exe. 4. Select the soffice.exe file and select the Open button. 5. Make sure the "Always use this program to open these files" box is check and select OK. This will open OpenOffice. To make OpenOffice start up automatically (so you don't need OpenOffice in the Start Menu), go to Tools | Options and select Memory under OpenOffice.org. Check the box that says "Load OpenOffice.org at system startup. You probably will want to associate all OpenOffice documents with the OpenOffice application. So if you chose a text file in step 1 above (.sxw file), then you should repeat the process with a spreadsheet file (.sxc file) and any other type of file you use. To start the application to create a new document, just right-click the OpenOffice Quickstarter and go from there. I would very much like to here comments and status from those responsible for the multi-user installation with respect to what I have written here.
damormino wrote: >Here is a work around for Windows 2000 if you already have some >OpenOffice documents on you computer. >1. Double-click to open an OpenOffice document. >2. When the "Open With..." dialog appears, select the "Other..." button. >3. Browse to the location of the OpenOffice program files >"soffice.exe". For example, "C:\Program >Files\OpenOffice.orgxxx\program\soffice.exe. >4. Select the soffice.exe file and select the Open button. >5. Make sure the "Always use this program to open these files" box is >check and select OK. >This will open OpenOffice. This doesn't work. At least not if you're using a domain. I thought the same way, but when i set soffice.exe as the default programm to use for opening a .doc file, he just ignores it. I tried this on 6 Clients (all Windows 2000), but not even one of them accepted the setting to open .doc files with openoffice by default if you don't have administrative rights.
Created attachment 18155 [details] Batch file to ease -alluser installation
The above attachment is a batch file that eases install of OOo 1.1.x with -alluser. Just drag the folder that contains the setup program (and the other several hundred in the same directory of course) on to this batch file. It just runs the setup program with the "-alluser" argument. Don't forget to modify the permissions of the "user" (and possibly "share" -- haven't tried without users having write access to the share folder) folders in the OOo install folder so that the users have write permissions to that folder and all below. By default the location is C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org1.x.x This is the work-around to keep OOo from requiring administrator or power user privs.
It should also be noted that this issue is fixed in the 680 series (tested with 1.9.m54). There are no special arguments (or batch files...) needed during install, and a folder is created in the user's %APPDATA% directory.
*** Issue 35034 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Created attachment 19106 [details] Updated batch file, also included work-around for issue 35034
I cannot understand this is only marked as P5. Everytime a user logs itself on my machine (Windows 2000) using its own account and tries to open some MS Office or OpenOffice documents, I get a phone call to tell me that Windows does not know which program to use. Some entries in the registry should be set for *all* users automatically, that means associations and icons (and entries in the Start Menu). Why not having this in OOo 1.1.4?
Please use the batch file which calls the installer with -alluser and does exactly what you're asking to be done (except for the little thing of making -alluser the default). There are instructions within the file. Also note that the last updated batch file uses NT/2k/xp cmd extensions so it won't work on win9x/me (where it isn't needed). Also, the current default single user install puts the settings in the user's profile and the -alluser option has all users share one settings profile. The updated batch file also changes the permissions of that shared settings folder so that a regular user account can change the settings (OOo won't respond to input otherwise). And changing the actions of -alluser has been deemed to intrusive for the 1.1.x stable series. All of these issues have been fixed in the alpha version of 2.0, so it won't be an issue there.
Created attachment 20822 [details] Latest version of install batch file
This has been fixed in 2.0. Please confirm and close issue.
*** Issue 11946 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
It's implemented in OOo 2.x
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