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Custom Software Inventory and Managed Install - Reading Text File

I am trying to create a managed install for a small update that one of our software vendors has released.  This update does not increment a file version, registry key, or anything else which would be considered useful for creating a custom software inventory; it does however append a specific string of text to a log file. 

It seems that in order to create a custom software inventory to acheive a managed install, I would want to say something like: File X contains String Y.

I understand how to return the contents of the log file using ShellCommandTextReturn, but this only allows me to read it back using a smart label.  Every machine that contains that file is returned under that software label, so I cannot effectively manage an install using this method.  They would all be skipped becuase they already match the label.

How can I create a custom software label that will search the contents of a text file?  Or is there another way to do this with Smart Labels?  I could probably script this, but Managed Installs are so much cleaner. 

Thanks!

Johann


3 Comments   [ + ] Show comments
  • OK, You can try it with findstr. Another article can be found here:
    http://www.itninja.com/question/i-want-a-custom-inventory-rule-in-the-k1000-that-will-return-just-the-second-line-of-an-ini-file-is-that-possible#answer-89351 - aragorn.2003 11 years ago
    • I spent a fair amount of time trying to figure this one out last night and just couldn't get it. To confirm, is the example that awingren gave in that thread of:

      ShellCommandTextReturn(findstr WorkstationType= "%ProgramFiles%\Sentillion\Vergence Authenticator\Authenticator.ini")

      in fact the right syntax?

      It almost acts as if its returning text, but not actually searching for a specific string. I seem to get either false positives, or nothing at all. - jgrotkier 11 years ago
  • I'm trying to understand what kind of update doesn't change any files or registry keys. What does the update do? - chucksteel 11 years ago
    • That's a good question. CCH Prosystem fx Engagement is the software, and this is a small update/fix for a component of that software called Knowledge Coach. This is typical CCH fashion. We contacted their support and the only way they could tell us to confirm whether or not the software is installed was to look for a specific line in a log file. - jgrotkier 11 years ago
  • Could something like check the timestamp of the date modified on the log file a possibiltiy? Or set a text file to be created when the update is applied. Get the CI to search for that text file. - AFCUjstrick 11 years ago
    • This is a good idea. Wrap the updater in a script that also touches a file on the system. - chucksteel 11 years ago
    • I've been able to achieve this by dropping a text file on the drive during the install. For some reason I didn't think you could run a batch file during a managed install.

      This isn't my preferred method of doing this because there is room for error if I uninstall the main program during troubleshooting and don't delete the text file, but generally speaking it will work. - jgrotkier 11 years ago

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