SMS: "Remove software when it is no longer advertised" Operation (199263)

SUMMARY

The Remove software when it is no longer advertised option allows programs to be automatically uninstalled when the program is no longer advertised to a client. This option is only available to programs that register through Control Panel (double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon). This option is set on the Advanced tab of Program properties. To set this option, the administrator must provide the name of the Uninstall registry key created by the application during installation. Note that this registry key is not necessarily the same string you see in the actual Add/Remove Programs dialog box.

MORE INFORMATION

Advertisements are considered no longer advertised when a client is no longer a member of the target collection, the advertisement is deleted, or the advertisement expires.

To determine when software is no longer adverstised to a client, Advertised Programs Monitor (APM) keeps a list of known advertisements and the next time this list is successfully read from the client access point (CAP), APM evaluates the two lists to determine which advertisments may be eligible for this option. Note that all advertisements to a client for a particular program must be removed before APM will attempt to uninstall.

Programs that register through Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel do so by adding a new key to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall registry key. This key contains the values that Add/Remove Programs uses to perform uninstallation. Specifically, the UninstallString and/or QuietUninstallString values contain the appropriate commands to start the uninstallation of the program. These values can be up to 127 characters in length. When APM checks the given registry key, it first looks for the QuietUninstallString value and then the UninstallString value.