How to Manage 8x8 Work for Desktop Updates and Installations
Objective
Manage and implement updates to Work for Desktop as an IT admin.
Applies To
- Work for Desktop
Procedure
Work for Desktop version 6.0+ supports automatic upgrades to save users the manual effort involved in rolling out updates. With automatic upgrades, users get up-to-date enhancements and fixes without requiring additional effort on their part.
Initial Installation
For auto upgrade to work, Work for Desktop must already be installed. For first-time installation, admins can continue to follow any of the following approaches:
- Use a software distribution service like Microsoft SCCM, Dell KACE, PDQ Deploy, or ManageEngine.
- Ask users to directly download the application from 8x8 website. Users do not require local admin privileges to install the Work for Desktop executable package.
- Make Work for Desktop binaries part of the standard image for IT issued computers.
Supported MSI Parameters
The Work for Desktop MSI installer supports both standard parameters and custom-defined parameters for more a controlled deployment. The current 8x8-supported parameters are:
- DESKTOP_SHORTCUT - Disable shortcut creation. Example:
\msiexec.exe /i {ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_MSI} DESKTOP_SHORTCUT=0
- ALLOW_LOGS=0 will disable debug logs collection on the disk and 'Save Debug Data' option will be hidden in the UI
- ALLOW_FEEDBACK=0 will hide the 'Send Feedback' option from the app (shortcut doesn't work also)
- ALLOW_TELEMETRY=0 will disable default anonymized app usage telemetry
Note: Parameters have default values where = 1 means there are allowed, while = 0 means they are not allowed.
Using Automatic Upgrades
To make use of automatic upgrades, use the Work for Desktop executable package for Windows (not the MSI) for first time installation. Using the EXE package for installation will install the application in the user’s folder without requiring users to have administrative privileges to the computer.
Installing the Work for Desktop executable package requires installation to be done using the user’s account. Admins using remote installation should run installation scripts from the user’s account.
Running installation of exe using service account will cause the installation to fail as it will try to install the executable within the current user local AppData folder, not present in case of a service account.
Work for Desktop installed via an executable periodically checks for new updates available from 8x8. Updates are downloaded in the background and automatically installed when the user restarts the application.
Work for Desktopdownloads the updates into its app folder located under the user’s %LocalAppData% folder, and runs the upgrade from this folder. Anti-virus software with strict policy may stop the upgrades running from the user’s folder. Consult your anti-virus service to whitelist 8x8 Work Desktop or create necessary exceptions to allow applications to run from the user’s folder.
Work for Desktop checks for updates at the login time of the user, and 24 hours there of, thus spreading out background downloads over a period of time across all users. Each download is approximately 100 MB.
Installation for Shared Computers
Admins who have computers shared among multiple users, and want a single Work for Desktop application installed need to use the MSI package for installation. Alternatively, admins may install using the EXE package for every account on the computer, if the number of users sharing a computer is small and fixed. With this approach, VOD will be installed for every account on the computer, with each of these installations upgraded independently based on the application startup activity for the account. Administrators may need to run installation script at user level for the first time installation.
Additional Information
What is the file format?
The app currently uses this format to denote the version number: Major.Minor.Patch-[buildNumber].
The EXE installer on Windows will also have a ‘b’ next to the build number: Major.Minor.Patch-b[buildNumber]. (Example: 6.0.0-b491)