You need to download the dmg on the client & then call the app in the DMG.

(Something like that! My colleague got it working that way... I can ask him Monday how).

The app vs the pkg installer?

You mean the PKG in the app right?

I'm not @ a mac, but I distinctly remember the old extraction method not working.

So we needed to run what Adobe give you in the dload.

hmm okay. i'll head in that direction and see what you come back with early next week.

Check: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=4658#respond

Post you're looking for is

Posted 10/8/12 at 12:41 PM by MacDude

(Not as if you was in that discussion @ all :P)

The Flash installer pkg is a nasty hotchpotch of evilness. It does the standard pkg routine of putting files in the right places except for the actual flash plugin itself. That's stored in a compressed format that's later uncompressed by the "installer".

You're best off just snapshotting an initial install and letting 11.4's new silent background update take care of things.

1.) Create a folder in /private/tmp called Flash

2.) Mount the DMG and copy Install Adobe Flash Player.app to /private/tmp/Flash folder

3.) Run this command
```
/usr/sbin/installer -pkg "/private/tmp/Flash/Install Adobe Flash Player.app/Contents/Resources/Adobe Flash Player.pkg" -target LocalSystem
```

What I'm doing is:
- download the newest Flash Player version;
- open the DMG file;
- right-click the "Install Adobe Flash Player" and select "Show Package Contents";
- open "Contents";
- open "Resources";
- copy the file "Adobe Flash Player.pkg" to Casper Admin.

Then I make that available on Self-Service so students can click on that and install that from there.

I'm using version 11.4.402.265. So far, no problems.

The Auto-Updater won't work if you do that, however. You need the stupid Flash Player Install Manager which isn't installed when you do the .pkg trick. I've snapshotted the install (including setting up the AutoUpdate preferences) and deployed this without issues...

I used the method laying down the installer in /tmp and calling it with a script to install.

#!/bin/sh

/usr/sbin/installer -pkg /private/tmp/flash/Install Adobe Flash Player.app/Contents/Resources/Adobe Flash Player.pkg -target /

i'm doing it the same as jared.
that's my standard way of installing peculiarly packaged third party software.

But you're still installing the pkg. The pkg no longer installs every component required - the auto-update functions will NOT work with this approach (which may not matter if your users aren't admins).. You need to either:

a) run the Adobe installer (manually or by using the following command: /Volumes/Flash Player/Install Adobe Flash Player.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Flash Player Install Manager -install
b) snapshot the dang installer - I took this approach. I'll screen-cap my pkg if it will help some of you.

I'm using the first method Robert described above as a postflight script. I copy the the .app from Adobe to /private/tmp and call it from there with ```

!/bin/sh

postflight

/private/tmp/Install Adobe Flash Player.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Flash Player Install Manager -install
```

It's been working well and allows for quick updates as needed.

Since we're not dolling out admin rights like candy, I'm just going through the pkg installer. I wish Adobe was a bit smarter with the autoupdate feature and took advantage of a method to install the update without a user having admin rights. Perhaps they could put the Flash Plugin out through the App Store, though I doubt that'll ever happen and has its own set of issues.

The newest version has a launchd daemon doing the work. Those things run as root anyway, so the auto update shouldn't be asking for a password.

Oh? I don't seem to recall that being the case when they first launched the autoupdater.

Yes, look for /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.adobe.fpsaud.plist. That daemon calls the Flash Player Install Manager application with a start interval of 3600 seconds.

I can only vouch for the version out last fortnight.

Hmm. I'll have to test this out. I seem to recall still needing admin rights to do the actual install itself once the update pops up. I'll be psyched if they've gotten around that now.

@jhbush1973 We need to test this, thanks for posting!

BTW do we know of a way to force this setting?

external image link

@Don

The only way I know of is to deploy the user-level settings that appear to be in some binary file buried many levels deep in the user folder. (If you need it, I'll dig it up but I have a feeling you know which one I'm on about.)

Isn't that in /Library/Application Support/Macromedia/mms.cfg?

There are two settings.
AutoUpdateDisable <- Set to 0
SilentAutoUpdateEnable <- Set to 1

Allen

Yeah, that's where it is, or at least, that's where the setting gets stored. You can actually see it change as soon as you adjust the settings to another radio button by QuickLooking that file. I have not figured out a way to properly write a change into that file outside of using the PrefPane. One attempt I made via script actually blew away contents from the file strangely enough. I'm not clear how or what process is actually making that change under the hood.

Not sure if this has been referenced before or not, but Adobe has an Flash Player admin guide.

http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/flashplayer/pdfs/flash_player_11_5_admin_guide.pdf

Page 20 points out their supported method for silent install using the command line as mention by a few people above.

sudo ./Install Adobe Flash Player.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Flash Player Install Manager -install

In theory, based on the information on page 22, you should be able to capture and deploy your desired mms.cfg after the installation to set the behavior for Flash.

Wow great find. But....

Why the hell does a media plugin require a FIFTY PAGE ADMIN GUIDE?!?!

At least they could save a few pages on chapter 6 if they shortened it to "Security? What security?" (Witness: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/19/adobe-dominates-kaspersky-labs-top-ten-pc-vulnerabilities-list/)