How to start Word with a specific template

  1. Open Word the usual way.
  2. In the template selection view, select the template you want and click Create. For example, Blog Post.
  3. When Word opened your document, click Save As and select Word Template in the Save as type drop-down box.

    Path should change automatically to your Custom Office Templates directory.
    Give your template a name. For example Blog, to keep it simple. At this point, you can close this document.

  4. On your Desktop or wherever you want, right click and select NewShortcut.

  5. In the location field, add full path to winword.exe file; default location for 2016 version is “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16”. Also, you need to specify the location and name of your template file. Mine is in “D:\_Main Documents\Documents\Custom Office Templates” so my full path will be (including quotes and template name): “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\WINWORD.EXE” /t”D:\_Main Documents\Documents\Custom Office Templates\Blog.dotx”

    Make sure there is a space before /t switch and there is no space between the /t switch and template path. Click Next.

  6. Give your new shortcut a name; Blog from Word for example. Click Finish.

  7. Your new shortcut is now ready for use. Double click it and Word will open using your new template without asking anything else.

Optionally, it’s more a nice to have actually, you can personalize your shortcut with a custom icon so that you can quickly differentiate it from other Word files and shortcuts.

  1. Right click your new shortcut and select Properties.
  2. Click Change Icon… and browse to the location where you have an .ico (ICO file format is an image file format for Windows icons) file you want to use.

    If you do not have an icon to use, click Browse and in File name box type: %SystemRoot%\System32\SHELL32.dll
    Here you have quite a few old but good icons that you can choose from. Select one icon and click OK twice.

  3. Your shortcut is now fully customized and ready for use.

How to use Word for Blog publishing

  1. Start your Office Word application. It works with any version starting with Word 2007.
  2. While you’re in the new template selection view, search for “blog” in the “Search for online templates” field.

  1. Blog post” template should be listed. Click it and then select Create button.

  2. On first run only, you’ll be asked to register your blog in Word. You can click Register Now and walk through this process or you can click Register Later and do it later by using Manage Accounts from Blog command group.

  3. If you clicked Register Now, you’ll be asked to select your blog provider. You see that this list does not include all possible blogging platforms, that’s kind of normal I’d say…, but you have the Other option and you then can add any blog details as long as you know the link to provider’s API.

    I selected WordPress because this is what I have.

  4. Next screen will ask for your blog’s URL. And, this is different from platform to platform but, for WordPress you need to provide the link to your xmlrpc.php file. It is usually in your root folder of your site but if it is in another folder, make sure to add the correct path.

    For default location, just paste your site’s address between the backslashes, thus replacing <Enter your blog URL here> with your blog’s URL.

    Add your username and password. Optionally, select Remember Password if you’re the only one who’s using your Windows account. If there are more people using same Windows account, to prevent others posting funny things to your blog, leave this option unchecked.

    Under Picture Options, you can select where your post’s pictures will be uploaded to. For simplicity, keep it as My blog provider.

  5. Once you have all fields completed, hit OK.

  6. If everything was done correctly and Word could connect to your blog, you’ll be presented with a nice confirmation message.
  7. Next, you’ll have your Word template changed to Blog. Notice Blog command group. It contains all your basic needs for creating and publishing blog posts. One thing is missing though, ability to add Tags.

    If you have a more complex blog, photography maybe or e-commerce, or if you use Featured Images or you need to add Location to your posts, probably Word is not that much suitable to you.

  8. From Insert tab, you have access to add a lot of items to your post, like images, shapes, tables etc.. As an example, below picture has Rounded Corners style added.

Below is a shape added from Word, it will be posted as a picture:

 

Just in case something went wrong and you have issues connecting to your blog or uploading images, please take a look at Microsoft’s article about this, scroll down to the bottom for troubleshoot problems.

Step-by-step guide to install Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 R2

Steps to perform on primary domain controller (DC)

Extend AD schema

  1. Log in using a domain admin account
  2. Insert ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 DVD
  3. Open a command prompt window
  4. Type D:\SMSSETUP\BIN\X64\EXTADSCH.EXE and press Enter. Wait for a confirmation message in CMD window and then check for the existence of ExtADSch.log file in the root of C: partition on the DC. Open the file and see if “Successfully extended the Active Directory schema.” message is present.

Assign permission to System OU in AD

  1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers
  2. From the View menu select Advanced Features
  3. Right click on the System container and select Properties
  4. Go to Security tab and click Advanced
  5. Click Add in the Permission tab
  6. Select Object Types and check the box for Computers. Click OK
  7. In the Enter the object name to select field enter the name of the ConfigMgr server and click Check Names
  8. After the server name is recognized, click Ok
  9. In the Permission Entry for System window check the box for Full control and select This object and all descendant objects in the Apply to list box. Click OK three times to close all open windows

Create service accounts

  1. Open ADUC and create the following 3 service accounts (select complex password for each account):
    1. SQL Server Service Accountsqlsrvacct
    2. ConfigMgr Client Push Service Accountcfgmgrclpush
    3. ConfigMgr Network Access Service Accountcfgmgrnetacct
  2. Make cfgmgrclpush account member of Domain Admins group or Workstation Admins group if this exists.

Create GPO to add security groups to local Administrators group on servers and workstations

  1. Server local admins
  2. Workstation local admins

Steps to perform on Configuration Manager server

Install Report Viewer 2008 SP1 Redistributable

  1. Login with a domain admin account, preferably not Administrator.
  2. Download and install Report Viewer 2008 SP1 Redistributable from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=BB196D5D-76C2-4A0E-9458-267D22B6AAC6&displaylang=en

Add Server Features

  1. Open Server Manager and add the following features:
    1. NET Framework 3.5.1 Features, BITS, Group Policy Management and Remote Differential Compression
    2. From Web Server (IIS) select WebDAV Publishing, ASP.NET, ASP, Windows Authentication, Dynamic Content Compression and IIS 6 WMI Compatibility

Configure WebDAV

  1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
  2. Expand server name and select Default Web Site
  3. Double click on the WebDAV Authoring Rules and select Enable WebDAV from the right side panel
  4. From the right side, click Add Authoring Rule
  5. In the Add Authoring Rule window select the checkboxes for: All Content, All Users, Read and click OK
  6. From the right side, click WebDAV Settings
  7. Modify the following components as follows and click Apply when finished:
    1. Allow anonymous property queries – True
    2. Allow custom properties – False
    3. Allow property queries with infinite depth – True
    4. Allow hidden files to be listed – True

Add SQL Server ports exceptions

  1. Open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
  2. Right click Inbound Rules and select New rule
  3. In the New Inbound Rule Wizard window make the following modifications:
    1. Rule Type – Port
    2. Protocol and Ports – TCP, Specific local ports: 1433
    3. Action – Allow the connection
    4. Profile – no modification
    5. Name – SQL TCP 1433
  4. Repeat step 3 to add another inbound rule with the following settings:
    1. Rule Type – Port
    2. Protocol and Ports – TCP, Specific local ports: 4022
    3. Action – Allow the connection
    4. Profile – no modification
    5. Name – SQL TCP 4022

Install SQL Server 2012 SP1

  1. Insert SQL Server 2012 SP1 DVD
  2. Select New SQL Server stand-alone installation
  3. Select features: Database Engine Services, Reporting Services – Native, Client Tools Connectivity, Management Tools, Integration Services (optional)
  4. Select default instance
  5. Add sqlsrvacct domain account to the local Administrators group on the ConfigMgr server
  6. Use the SQL service account for all SQL Server services
  7. Set SQL Server Browser to Automatic
  8. Add current user as the SQL Administrator (preferably not domain Administrator account)
  9. After installation, open Management Studio and configure maximum memory allocation.

Install Windows Deployment Services

  1. Open Server Manager and install the Windows Deployment Services role using the default settings

Install Windows Server Update Services

  1. Open Server Manager and select the Windows Server Update Services role. Click Next twice and then Install
  2. Install WSUS using the following settings:
    1. Select Update Source – select a disk with more disk space
    2. Database options – Use an existing database server on this computer
    3. Web Site Selection – Create a Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 Web Site (http://servername:8530)
  3. When installation is finished, close the wizard by pressing Cancel button
  4. Create a Group Policy Object for windows update settings.
  5. If you have Windows Server 2008 R2, install KB2720211
  6. If you have Windows Server 2008 R2, install KB2734608

Install Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8.1

  1. Download Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) for Windows 8.1 from Microsoft website http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39982
  2. Select to install only the following:
    1. Deployment Tools
    2. Windows PE
    3. USMT

Install Configuration Manager 2012 SP1

  1. Insert Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 DVD
  2. Click Install link Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 Setup Wizard window.
  3. Install ConfigMgr and make only the following modifications:
    1. Available Setup Options – Install a Configuration Manager site server
    2. Updated Prerequisite Components – Check for updates and download…
    3. Site and Installation Settings – enter a Site code and Site name

Install Configuration Manager 2012 R2

  1. Insert Configuration Manager 2012 R2 CD
  2. Click Configuration Manager 2012 R2 link from the Install section
  3. Install the R2 add-on accepting the default settings in the wizard

Configure Configuration Manager as needed

Deploy Configuration Manager 2012 R2 hotfix to Clients using your preferred method and settings.

I’ve been at Tech-Ed today…

Actually I just attended a local event organized by Microsoft Romania and the last session was Useful Hacker Techniques: Which Part of Hackers’ Knowledge Will Help You in Efficient IT Administration held by polish Enterprise Security MVP – Paula Januszkiewicz.

Geez… this girl presented some things that, I can bet, made half of all admins go home/work and revise their server’s security and configuration.

After seeing this presentation and demos, I will repeat what I said a couple of years ago: Romanian MVP’s still have to learn from the foreign ones. A lot!

Create a collection with all mobile (laptops, notebooks, portable) systems

Someone just asked how to create a collection with all laptop computers? Well, if there is a good naming convention on site, this query will be easy to make. But, otherwise, we need to use chassis type value because, for example, laptops and notebooks are not the same things according to Microsoft.

The full list with chassis types are bellow (taken from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/guide/sas_cpm_btnz.mspx?mfr=true):

Value Description
1 Other
2 Unknown
3 Desktop
4 Low Profile Desktop
5 Pizza Box
6 Mini Tower
7 Tower
8 Portable
9 Laptop
10 Notebook
11 Hand Held
12 Docking Station
13 All in One
14 Sub Notebook
15 Space-Saving
16 Lunch Box
17 Main System Chassis
18 Expansion Chassis
19 Sub Chassis
20 Bus Expansion Chassis
21 Peripheral Chassis
22 Storage Chassis
23 Rack Mount Chassis
24 Sealed-Case PC

So, to make a collection with all kind of mobile systems (Portable, Laptop, Notebook, Sub Notebook) we will use 8, 9, 10 and 14 chassis types. The final query looks like this:

select SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceID, SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceType, SMS_R_SYSTEM.Name, SMS_R_SYSTEM.SMSUniqueIdentifier, SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceDomainORWorkgroup, SMS_R_SYSTEM.Client from SMS_R_System inner join SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE on SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ResourceID = SMS_R_System.ResourceId where SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ChassisTypes in ("8", "9", "10", "14")

If you receive the “This query has a syntax error.” error, change the quotation marks when pasting the query, as this one does not work with ConfigMgr.