The advantage of using GPO to install CCH IntelliForms is that you can deploy and install CCH IntelliForms to multiple endpoint workstations remotely and without administrator privileges. You can also deploy CCH IntelliForms global settings without user intervention. Global settings include the Saved Data path (the location where CCH IntelliForms saves clients, forms, and profiles), blank forms cache and proxy/firewall settings.

The video and text below guide you through installation using GPO, including the following steps:

• Prerequisites
• Creating the Distribution Point
• Creating and Configuring the Organizational Unit (OU)
• Creating and Configuring the Group Policy Object
• Testing CCH IntelliForms Deployment

Note: These instructions have been designed for administrators who might not be familiar with pushing installations via GPO. More experienced administrators should review these steps and adapt them to fit their environment. For more information regarding pushing out installations via GPO, see Microsoft^® article Use Group Policy to remotely install software.

Prerequisites

• Download IFSetup.msi (the installation file) from https://files.cchsfs.com/releases/intelliforms/ifsetup.msi.
• Verify that your environment meets these requirements:
  • The network must have Active Directory enabled.
  • You must have a domain controller running Windows^® 2016 or higher.
  • You must be a Domain Administrator on the Domain Controller to use:
    • Active Directory Users and Computers
    • Group Policy Management Console
  • There must be a network share to be used as the Distribution Point.
  • Microsoft^®  .NET Framework 4.8 or above must be pre-installed on workstation endpoints.
  • Workstation Endpoints must be joined to the domain. Windows^® 10 and above are supported.
  • There must be Domain User accounts to assist you with testing.
• Optional: If you want CCH IntelliForms to save its clients, forms, and profiles to a location other than the program’s default (C:\Program Data\Wolters Kluwer\IntelliForms), such as a network share or an alternate local hard drive location, change the blank forms cache to another location, or you want to deploy proxy settings, you can use the IntelliFormsAdmin.xml file. You can download IntelliFormsAdmin.xml at:  https://files.cchsfs.com/releases/intelliforms/AdminTool/IntelliFormsAdmin.zip. For instructions for using IntelliFormsAdmin.xml, see http://files.cchsfs.com/releases/intelliforms/IFADMIN.pdf.

Creating the Distribution Point 

1. Add the file server (if you are using one) and workstations to the domain.
2. Log on to the file server (or the Domain Controller if you don’t have a separate file server) as an administrator.
3. Create a network share (for example, Installers).
4. Add the appropriate user groups or users to the share permissions and give them at least Read share level permissions.
5. Within the share, create a folder named IntelliForms.
6. Within the IntelliForms folder, create a sub-folder for the tax year version of CCH IntelliForms (for example, for CCH IntelliForms version 2017, create a folder called 2017 to hold the CCH IntelliForms installation file).
7. If you are also deploying global settings for CCH IntelliForms, create another sub-folder under the IntelliForms folder (for example, Customize) to hold the IntelliFormsAdmin.xml file. Give the folder and any sub-folders within the share at least Read & Execute permissions for the appropriate user Groups or Users.
8. Copy IFSetup.msi to the sub-folder you created in Step 6 above. 
9. If you are deploying CCH IntelliForms global settings, copy IntelliFormsAdmin.xml into the Customize folder.

Creating and Configuring the Organizational Unit (OU)

1. On the Domain Controller, open Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. Create an Organizational Unit (OU) that the new GPO will be applied to.
3. Within the new OU, add the workstations that you want CCH IntelliForms installed to. If you have a number of workstations, you also might want to create a new group at the OU level and add the workstations to the group.

Creating and Configuring the Group Policy Object

1. Open the Group Policy Management console.
2. Find the OU you just created and select Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here.
3. Give the GPO a name, such as CCH IntelliForms.
4. Right-click the CCH IntelliForms GPO and clear Link Enabled.
5. Right-click the CCH IntelliForms GPO and click Edit.
6. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Policies > Software Settings > Software installation.
7. In the right pane, right-click and select New > Package.
8. Using a UNC path, navigate to and select the IFSetup.msi file.
9. Click Open.
10. Click OK. CCH IntelliForms displays under the Name column.
11. Right-click the CCH IntelliForms installation package and select Properties.
12. Select the General tab. 
13. Rename the installation package to reflect the CCH IntelliForms tax year (for example, for the 2017 tax year you can rename the package to CCH IntelliForms 2017).
14. If you want to have CCH IntelliForms uninstall automatically if the computer or the GPO is placed out of scope, select the Deployment tab, and then select Uninstall this application when it falls out of the scope of management.
15. Do one of the following:
    • To save data to the default Saved Data Path or manually enter proxy settings, skip to Step 22 below.
    • If you are using IntelliFormsAdmin.xml to globally set the Saved Data Path or proxy/firewall settings, do the following:
      1. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Files.
      2. In the right pane, right-click and select New > File.
      3. Select Create from the Action field list.
      4. In the Source file(s) field, navigate to or enter the UNC path to the IntelliFormsAdmin.xml file Distribution Point (for example,  \\servername\sharename\IntelliFormsInstall\Global\IntelliFormsAdmin.xml).
      5. In the Destination File field, do one of the following:
         • For Windows 32-bit, enter C:\Program Files\Wolters Kluwer\IntelliForms\IntelliFormsAdmin.xml.
         • For Windows 64-bit, enter C:\Program Files (x86)\Wolters Kluwer\IntelliForms\IntelliFormsAdmin.xml.
      6. Under Attributes select Archive.
16. Click Apply and OK.
17. Close the Group Policy Management Editor.
18. In the left pane, verify that your CCH IntelliForms GPO is selected in the OU you created.
19. Under Security Filtering, select Authenticated Users and click Remove.
20. Under Security Filtering, select Add.
21. In the Select User, Computer, or Group window, enter the computers or groups containing the computers that this GPO is to be applied to. You can use Object Types and the Advanced > Find options to select from a list of Groups or Computers.
22. Click OK.
23. Verify that your computers or groups display under Security Filtering.
24. In the left pane, verify that your CCH IntelliForms GPO is selected within the OU you created.
25. Right-click the CCH IntelliForms GPO and select Link Enabled.
26. To verify the GPO is ready for deployment, open a command window and enter gpupdate /force. Do not include the period.
27. Press Enter.

Testing the CCH IntelliForms Deployment

1. Log on to your test workstation using a restricted user account.
2. Open a CMD window and enter gpupdate /force. Do not include the period.
3. Press Enter.
4. Once the command has finished running, restart the computer. During restart, you will see a “Please wait” message displayed. This message indicates that CCH IntelliForms is being installed.
   • Note: In some cases, two or three restarts might be required to successfully complete the install.
5. Log into Windows^® with a user account. If installation completed successfully, a CCH IntelliForms icon displays on the desktop.
6. If you deployed the IntelliFormsAdmin.xml file, right-click the CCH IntelliForms icon and select Properties > Open File Location. 
7. Verify that IntelliFormsAdmin.xml was copied into the folder. If not, check your GPO Files configuration.
8. Open CCH IntelliForms.