Software Deployment

It sounds like you're looking for the functionality provided in Active Setup.

This will execute whatever changes you'd looking for on next login for every user.

I want to avoid Active Setup... Some users hate close/session or rebooting.

Well, I'm pretty sure you're going to be stuck with an active setup for subsequent users unless you want to turn it into a user-context installation, which carries its own special (very, very "special") set of issues. However, you could probably finagle some solution to prevent the first user from having to log out and back in by doing multiple initial deployments.

The exact method would depend on your deployment tool, but you could for instance in SMS/SCCM chain a set of advertisements, the first to install the program to the system profile, the second to trigger a repair with the currently logged in user account.

How exactly are you deploying the application?

We are using SCCM and i know I can create a program who will be running only when a user is logged on. But i'm pretty sure I can be done within the msi.

Well, you're talking about using a right click menu as an advertised entry point. The actual actions can be an entry point (aka, right click ---> open can be an entry point,) but the act of right click on an object itself cannot. That acts essentially the same as double clicking a file by using the file association entry point.

Are you saying your self repair doesn't happen when you click an action?

I could also be wrong and retarded, five seconds of google search hasn't proved me wrong yet though!

EDIT: Speaking of google, here's the advertised entry point list as written by Symantec. Your users would have to satisfy one of those conditions before triggering a repair.

Just one little remark: are you SURE adding the same regkey to HKLM won't have the same effect?

EDIT: also, can't you just remove the entire shellex entry from the registry in HKCR?

Jsaylor, thanks for all the info you provide. After analysing the vendor .msi, a lot of table was missing. I try to add them (Class, Self-Reg, etc.) and still no repair. After reading about the class table, RegisterClassInfo action was missing too... I add it, same result. Instead of search all the missing parts, I decided to repackage it and it works like a charm.

Excellent. Now you have the chance to do the same work all over again if you ever have to upgrade or patch that MSI.

I know but its only a 1 Mb .msi. I prefer spending 15m to repackage this .msi than 2-3 hours(maybe more) finding all the missing parts.