O/S Version

Select the version or versions of Windows for which the step will be applied.

O/S Architecture

Choose whether the step is to run on 32-bit, 64-bit, or both operating system architectures.

PowerShell version

Select the version or versions of PowerShell for which the step will be applied. (This condition will only appear on the Install and PowerShell steps)

IMPORTANT: PowerShell version 1 is not supported in PDQ Deploy

Logged On State

Determines whether or not the step runs, based on whether or not a user is logged on to the target computer.

Always Run

Run this step regardless of logged on state.

Only run if no user is logged on

Only run this step if no users are logged on.

Only run if a user is logged on (including Locked and Disconnected)

Only run this step if a user is logged on, including locked and disconnected sessions.

File

Use this condition if you want to check for files on the target computer before running the step.

For example, using the File Exists condition: Run only if Chrome.exe version is greater than 50 and product name equals Google Chrome.

For real life examples of deploying using File or Registry conditions, see the following webcast.

VIDEO: PDQ Live! How to Selectively Deploy Applications Using File or Registry Conditions.

None

Select to disable the file condition (this is the default selection).

Exists

Select to search for an existing file before running the step.

Does Not Exist

Select to ensure there is no such existing file before running the step.

Directory

Enter the directory where the file exists on the target computer. This directory can include environment variables.

NOTE: Environment variables will be evaluated in the context of the Local System rather than the user. For example, the %TEMP% environment variable will evaluate to %SystemRoot%\TEMP instead of %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp.

Includes Sub Directories

Check to include all the sub directories of the directory above.

Filename

The name of the file.

IMPORTANT: The first filename that is matched will be used. For example, you set a Does Not Exist File condition for C:\Temp\Fancyfile with a version of 1.5. There are two instances of Fancyfile. The File Condition locates the first file, Fancyfile version 1.25, thereby returning true (does not exist) even though the other Fancyfile version 1.5 does in fact exist.

File Version

The version of the file from its header, if present. This filter can be equal to, less than, greater than, less than or equal to, greater than or equal to. If left blank, this will disable the file version.

Product Version

The version of the product from its header, if present. This filter can be equal to, less than, greater than, less than or equal to, greater than or equal to. If left blank, this will disable the file version.

Description

The description of the product from its header, if present. Can use the standard * and ? wildcards.

Product Name

The product name of the product from its header, if present.

Company Name

The company name of the product from its header, if present.

Registry

Use this condition if you want to check registry key on the target computer before running the step.

IMPORTANT: The registry option does not work for data that spans multiple lines.

For example, using the Registry Does Not Exist condition: Run only if UpdateDefault value of 0 does not exist.

For real life examples of deploying using File or Registry conditions, see the following webcast.

VIDEO: PDQ Live! How to Selectively Deploy Applications Using File or Registry Conditions.

None

Select to disable the registry condition (this is the default selection).

Exists

Select to search for an existing registry keys before running the step.

Does Not Exist

Select to ensure there is no such existing registry keys before running the step.

Hive

Choose between HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and HKEY_USERS.

Key

Path of the key to look in.

Include Sub Keys

Looks also in all sub keys.

Value Name

Name of the value to match against. If the value name is left blank then the value of the key itself will be used.

IMPORTANT: The first value name that is matched will be used. For example, using the Exists registry condition you search for printer IP addresses in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers with a 'port' value that contains the IP address of 192.168.0.100. Printer A is a software printer with a port in C:\ProgramData\PrintProgram\PortFile. Printer B has the port of 192.168.0.100. Because Printer A’s 'port' value is listed first, that is the value that is returned, hence the condition is false, even though Printer B’s port matches the condition.

Match as

The type of matching to use on the value. Choose between Text, Number, and Version. Choose the condition and enter the applicable value.

IMPORTANT: The registry option does not work for data that spans multiple lines.

PDQ Inventory Collection

Use this condition if you want to make sure a target computer is or is not a member of a certain collection in PDQ Inventory before running the step.

IMPORTANT: This requires both PDQ Inventory and PDQ Deploy in Enterprise mode. For the integration to work properly with Central Server, both products will need to be installed on the same console with both running in either Server mode or Client mode.

None

Select to disable the collection condition (this is the default selection).

Is A Member

Select to ensure the target computer is a member of the selected collection before running the step.

IMPORTANT: Using this condition does not prompt PDQ Inventory to do a scan of the collection at the time of the deployment. The membership of the selected collection is only as good as the last scan.

Is Not A Member

Select to ensure the target computer is not a member of the selected collection before running the step.

IMPORTANT: Using this condition does not prompt PDQ Inventory to do a scan of the collection at the time of the deployment. The membership of the selected collection is only as good as the last scan.

Collection

Click Select Collection to browse your PDQ Inventory collections and select the collection to use. Click OK once the collection is selected.

Enabled

Enables the current step.

If this option is not selected, the step is skipped during the installation. This feature enables administrators to “turn off” steps that they may want to enable in the future without deleting the step itself.

If a step is disabled, the name of the step is struck-through. Steps can also be enabled or disabled by right-clicking the step and toggling from Disabled to Enabled.

Run As

Select an option to determine what account the step uses when running on the target machine.

NOTE: This option only applies to Install, Command, PowerShell, Nested Package, and File Copy steps. For a Nested Package step, the option is available to select the parent package setting or the nested package setting.

Deploy User is the recommended setting and should be used unless there is an explicit requirement to use another method. For detailed information about Run As settings, see Run As in Deployments Preferences.

The default (and generally appropriate) setting is Deploy User. Change the default in Preferences > Deployments or override the default here.

IMPORTANT: Altering this setting from the default is available only in Enterprise mode.

For a sample demonstration of the Run As options, see the following video.

VIDEO: Deployment Run As Options

(use program default)

The default Run Package As setting defined in Preferences.

Deploy User

Executes deployments on target computers in a non-interactive session as the Deploy User.

This setting is appropriate for the vast majority of deployments. Consequently, this is the recommended setting.

Deploy User (Interactive)

Executes deployments that include both silent and interactive steps. This setting is the same as Deploy User with one important exception—the Windows process running the deployment is run in an interactive session.

This setting is most appropriately used for individual deployments that require user input, but the overall process still requires Administrator rights that logged on users may not have. Because these types of deployments are more specialized and because running the deployment in interactive mode requires more processing resources, it is recommended that you apply this setting only as needed at the Step level.

Local System

Executes deployments using the Local System account on the target computer. PDQ Deploy connects to the target computer using the Deploy User credentials, copies the specified files, creates the PDQDeployRunner service, then instructs the service to log on as Local System.

This setting is used only for installations that require Local System. These types of deployments are very rare. Consequently, it is recommended that you apply this setting only as needed at the Step level.

IMPORTANT: Steps that run as Local System are not able to access network resources.

Logged on User

Attempts to run packages in interactive mode as the Logged On User of the target machine.

This setting is used to deploy applications that are installed per user or when the Logged on User needs to provide information for the deployment to succeed such as a license key. It can also be used to modify the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry hive for the Logged on User or to access user-specific settings such as %APPDATA% or the Logged on User’s user directory. These types of deployments are highly specialized. Consequently, it is recommended that you apply this setting only as needed at the Step level.

Error Mode

Select an option to determine how the deployment responds if a step fails.

Stop Deployment with Error

If the step fails, stop deployment with returned error.

Continue

Continue deployment even if the step fails.

Stop Deployment with Success

If the step fails, stop deployment and report success.

NOTE: Success Codes are defined at the Package level. They are the numerical value for Windows system error codes. The default success codes are 0 (action completed successfully), 1641 (reboot initiated), and 3010 (reboot required).

Installation Requires Source

Use this option for installations that require a source path if additional features, modifications, or repairs need to be made locally by the end user. Files will be automatically saved on the target computer to ADMIN$\AdminArsenal\PDQDeployRunner\Installers\{GUID}. The root directory is defined in Preference > Target Service.

IMPORTANT: This option is only available on an Install Step.

Note: The Installation Requires Source feature is not intended as an installation source and should be used sparingly. Usage of this features should occur only for applications that specifically require a local copy/path of the original installation files in order to perform post-deployment programmatic modifications.