Microsoft Project 2013 makes managing even the most daunting of projects a good bit easier, unless of course your Project Manager has completely messed up the configuration settings for this application.
Your projects have a deadline, and you can’t afford for your project team to waste time talking with the helpdesk because their applications aren’t operating as expected.
That’s where PolicyPak comes in. We enforce the optimum setting values that you, the administrator, want them to have. PolicyPak sets and enforces expectations for your users’ applications, so that they get the same experience, every time they launch it.
Keep your Microsoft Project 2013 configuration settings delivered, enforced and automatically remediated with PolicyPak. Here’s a video to see how it’s done:
Like similar applications, Microsoft Project 2013 is smart enough to alert the user about common errors that may affect the task at hand. These alerts only work though if they are configured incorrectly however. Use PolicyPak to set “Show add-in user interface errors” in the “Advanced” tab.
Use Policy Pak so that your users always see these security related settings configured correctly on their desktops such.
With PolicyPak, you’re the one in control.
Besides, once you’re using PolicyPak to manage Microsoft Project 2013, you’ll also get to manage all your other enterprise desktop applications the same way: Flash, Lync, Java, Firefox, and any custom applications you have. They’re 100% included – absolutely free.
It’s all included when you’re a PolicyPak Professional customer.
PolicyPak was designed by Microsoft MVP, Enterprise Mobility Jeremy Moskowitz – who “wrote the book” on Group Policy, runs GPanswers.com, and lives and breathes Group Policy and enterprise software deployments and desktop lockdown.
When you’re ready to get serious about managing Microsoft Project 2013, PolicyPak is ready for you.
Lockdown Microsoft Project 2013 Video Transcript
Hi, this is Jeremy Moskowitz, Microsoft MVP, Enterprise Mobility and Founder of PolicyPak Software. In this video, we’re going to learn how to configure Microsoft Project 2013 using PolicyPak.
I’ve already got Project installed on my computer, and I’m just a regular user here. As you can see, I’m logged on as a guy called “eastsalesuser4.” I’ll open up Project go to settings, and examine the configuration options a user has access to. We’ve talked about some of these settings in the other Microsoft Office applications such as some of the “auto save” settings on the “Save” tab. Here we have many of our “Proofing” options and then I have those critical security options such as “Disable macro settings.”
Microsoft Project is a registry based application which means a registry savvy user can modify these settings and get around your enforced settings. I have the registry location saved here where I can go straight into the registry and modify the “Autosave” from 1 to 0.
Now let’s see how we can ensure compliance and perform desktop management of settings quickly using PolicyPak. I’ll go ahead and switch over to my Management Station computer.
We’ll go ahead and right click over our “East Sales Users”, “Create a GPO” and we’re going to call it “Manage Microsoft Project 2013.” So this GPO is now associated with the “East Sales Users.” I’ll right click over it. I’ll click “Edit…” I’ll dive down under “User Configuration,” PolicyPak/Applications/New/Application.” There it is, “PolicyPak for “Microsoft Project 2013” along with other applications like “Java,” “Flash” “Firefox,” “Skype” and lots of other important desktop applications that your users utilize every day (and you want to make more secure).
Let’s go to “Save” and enable “AutoSave” and configure it for 15 minutes. Notice how when I check these settings that the text became underlined. This means that these setting values will be delivered by PolicyPak. Now let’s right click on our desired setting and select “Perform ACL Lockdown”. As the name suggests, ACL Lockdown is a feature, unique to PolicyPak that locks down settings within the registry or an applications’ files which prevents users from working around your delivered settings.
Let’s move to “Trust Center Settings” and configure some of the security aspects of this application. I will go to “Macro Settings” and select “Disable Macros with notification.” Finally, I’ll go to “Privacy Options” and make sure that “Sign up for the Customer Experience Improvement Program” is always unchecked.
Now I will go back to my client machine, we’ll get a command prompt and run “gpupdate.” Now you could envision the user logging on for the very first time, using a Terminal Services or Citrix machine, using a VDI session, changing job roles, or getting a new computer. I just happen to be using gpupdate. Yes, PolicyPak performs the magic. To get the magic delivered, you can use Group Policy, SCCM, LanDesk, KACE or your own systems management software. Even if the user is offline, your settings are always preserved because PolicyPak is always working for you in the background, making the job of you the administrator, easier.
Now let’s open up Project again and check our settings. Notice that my settings for “AutoSave” has been delivered for 15 minutes by PolicyPak.
If we go to my Trust Center Settings we see that our Macro settings were correctly set to “Disable Macros with notification” and the “Sign up for the Customer Experience Program” has been unchecked.
Now let’s pretend this user tries to change the settings in the registry once again. I’ll open up the registry location once again and as you can see the efforts of this user has been thwarted. PolicyPak with ACL Lockdown has locked down these registry settings.
And we are done. That is how incredibly easy it is for you to use PolicyPak to manage Microsoft Project 2013 as well as tons of other desktop applications.
If you’re looking for a trial of PolicyPak, just click on the “Webinar / Download” button on the right.
Thanks so much for watching, and get in touch with us if you’re looking to get started. Talk to you soon.
