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Deploy Software to MacOS

  • bwilkerson
    Third Degree Brown Belt
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  • 06/30/2015
Please forgive me as this is my first experience trying to manage Macs with KACE or managing them in general on any large scale that I need to distribute software remotely.   I am looking for up to date and detailed information on how to deploy basic software packages to MacOS.   I have built an image with the large software packages just as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite and I am just looking for a way to distribute the following software applications

Adobe Flash - install_flash_player_18_osx_pkg.dmg
Adobe AIR - AdobeAIR.dmg
Adobe Shockwave - Shockwave_Installer_Full_64bit.dmg
Google Chrome - googlechrome.dmg
Adobe Reader DC - AcroRdrDC_1500720033_MUI.dmg

I have been reading and watching a lot of videos and tried some methods that do not work.  I have downloaded the offline installers which I reflected above in my software list.   It appears Adobe makes a prebuilt distributable PKG for Flash but not for the others.  Also I have read that you have to use the Adobe Customization Wizard for Adobe Acrobat Reader to make the PKG which I have also downloaded.

What I was hoping for is some details and steps on how to set all this up as I am thoroughly confused partially because the MacOS command lines are very foreign to me and I have no idea what they are actually doing.

I am thinking for programs like AIR, Shockwave, and Chrome I am going to have to re-package them and I have read that MacOS has a repackager built in that can make a PKG file or whatever.   I am going to try that but honestly I have no idea how to distribute even a PKG file if I upload it to the KACE.

Please help me!!
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  • OK I was able to figure out the Flash one because Adobe made it pretty easy, I extracted the PKG out of the DMG and just uploaded that and used the standard installer command

    installer -pkg FlashPlayer.pkg -target /

    So I think if I could find some good resources on how to make good PKG files I can just do that for the rest.

    Anyone know of a good and FREE PKG creator that can take a DMG and make it into an installer package?
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The installation method will vary with the software title.  Some things, like Firefox, you can just upload the DMG and use the defaults:  https://support.software.dell.com/k1000-systems-management-appliance/kb/111167

Silverlight, as a similar example: http://www.itninja.com/blog/view/k1000-mac-deploy-silverlight-through-a-managed-install

Others, you will have to tweak a little:  http://www.itninja.com/blog/view/kace-mac-managed-install-of-adobe-flash-player-for-mac-using-install-adobe-flash-player-app

As far as package tools go, here are some examples:

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/pkgbuild.1.html

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/productbuild.1.html#//apple_ref/doc/man/1/productbuild

http://s.sudre.free.fr/Software/Packages/about.html

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/payload-free-package-creator-app-revisited/
Answered 06/30/2015 by: jknox
Red Belt

  • Thank you.. The simple process of adding the DMG seemed to work for Chrome but not AIR or Shockwave so I have to look into those further.

    I appreciate your insight as it seems to be the information I am looking for so far.
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Check out AutoPKG: https://github.com/autopkg/autopkg

It's a system for building packages and includes recipes for a lot of common software. It can output packages that can be easily added to KACE for deployment.
Answered 07/01/2015 by: chucksteel
Red Belt

  • Thanks. I will check that out.
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