SMS: Smsaddin.exe Description and Usage (188047)

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Starting an application from the Systems Management Server Administrator console requires adding information about the application to the Windows NT registry.

Systems Management Server provides and checks the following key in the registry for starting an application:

   SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Applications
				

This key is located under both HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Tools registered under HKEY_CURRENT_USER are available to all Systems Management Server users; tools registered under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE are available only to the user who registered the tool.

Based on information you provide during the registration process, the Smsaddin.exe tool creates a vendor key, one application key for each application (each application key corresponds to a Tools menu item), and context keys that determine when the application appears on the Tools menu and specify the command-line arguments to be passed when starting the application. The data registered specifies the characteristics of the application, such as a description, command name, working directory, and so on.

After it is registered, the application becomes available on the Tools menu in the Systems Management Server Administrator console. Systems Management Server uses the Registry data to determine how to start the application. Command-line arguments are resolved dynamically when the application is started.

Smsaddin.exe registers applications in a context-specific manner. Context refers to the Systems Management Server multiple document interface (MDI) window that has the focus. Applications registered in a specific context are only available on the Tools menu when that context is active (that is, when the context corresponding MDI window has the focus).

You can register an application in more than one context. You can also register an application in the General context, in which case the application is always available on the Tools menu. General Context applications always appear in the upper half of the Tools menu, above the separator line. Context-specific applications appear below the separator line. If no applications are registered for the current context, only the General Context applications appear on the menu.