New Installations of Respondus or StudyMate
It isn’t currently possible to use desktop management software such as Altiris or Microsoft SMS to “push out” a full installation of Respondus or StudyMate. Various tools such as the spell checker and equation editor require that the setup program for Respondus or StudyMate be run on each client computer. However, after the initial installation, management software can be used to push software updates to machines, or to update the registry for licensing purposes. In addition, it’s possible to push the initial license keys to computers so that the user doesn’t have to enter licensing information.

Software Updates
Most Respondus and StudyMate users obtain software patches using the “Check for Update” feature. However, some institutions prefer to push patches of Respondus or StudyMate directly to the user’s computer. To do this, download the latest patch from http://www.respondus.com/support/patches.shtml, which is a self-extracting zip. Unzip the file and you will find “respond.exe” for Respondus or “studymate.exe” for StudyMate. Some additional files may be included with the zip, such as new help files. Each of these files can be pushed to computers that already have Respondus or StudyMate installed to them.

Updating the License Keys
The Campus-wide versions of Respondus and StudyMate use a single installation password for all computers at an institution. So if management software is being used to push out registration keys to machines, both the initial licensing and the annual license renewal can be automated.

Respondus registry keys:
(Windows Vista) HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Respondus
(XP / 2000 / ME) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT > Respondus
"kz3" - Installation password (string - REG_SZ) - must be set exactly as listed in your license information
"kz1" - Institution name (string) - must be set exactly as listed in your license information
"kz2" - Local support information (string) - this can be changed freely as needed, but must always be non-empty and less than 120 characters

StudyMate registry keys:
(Windows Vista) HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Respondus
(XP / 2000 / ME) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT > Respondus
"pj3" - Installation password (string - REG_SZ) - must be set exactly as listed in your license information
"pj1" - Institution name (string) - must be set exactly as listed in your license information
"pj2" - Local support information (string) - this can be changed freely as needed, but must always be non-empty and less than 120 characters

If you "push out" the registry keys before the Respondus or StudyMate software is installed, the program will be "pre-licensed" and the user will not be asked for the license information.

If the local support contact information changes during the year, that key can be updated without needing to update the other two keys.

If you push out updated keys each year when the old license is set to expire (July 31 for most customers in the United States) then users will not need to enter license renewal information. When updating the keys be sure to update both the Installation password and Institution name in case the exact wording of the institution name has changed since the time the software license was obtained.