Install on Chrome for Windows using GPO

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This article covers the process to auto-install the Pendo Launcher extension on the Chrome web browser on a Windows computer using Group Policy Management, which involves:

  1. Adding the installation GPO.
  2. Enabling the policy.
  3. Adding the new GPO to your network.
  4. Validating that the installation was successful.

The installation process doesn’t identify the visitors (end-users) or include metadata about them. Pair this installation with a follow-up configuration to identify visitors to Pendo. You can find a list of these options in the IT guide to deploying the Pendo Launcher.

Prerequisites

This article assumes you have already installed the administrative templates for Microsoft Edge in Active Directory. You can find Microsoft Edge’s administrative templates on their website: Download and configure Microsoft Edge for Business.

For documentation on how to install the administrative templates, see How to create and manage the Central Store for Group Policy Administrative Templates in Windows. For an interactive walkthrough on deploying Edge, see Microsoft’s article: Deploy and configure Microsoft Edge.

Extension ID

We refer to the Chrome extension ID as the extension ID. The extension ID for the Pendo Launcher is the same for all customers: epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil. This extension ID is referenced later in the installation process. It's used by the browser to identify which extension should be installed.

You can also find the extension ID in the Chrome Web Store listing of the Pendo Launcher: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pendo-launcher/epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil

Step 1. Add the installation GPO

  1. Right-click the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. Select Run from the menu. This opens the run.exe application.
  3. Enter "GPMC.msc" into the Open field.
  4. Select OK.
  5. Right-click the Group Policy Object from the left-side menu.
  6. Select New.
  7. Give the new GPO a meaningful name, such as "PendoInstall".

Step 2. Enable the policy

  1. Right-click the empty policy created in Step 1 and select Edit.
  2. Open the list of force-installed apps and extensions. Navigate to Policies > Administrative Templates: Policy definitions (ADMX files) > Microsoft Edge > Extensions.
  3. Open the setting: Control which extensions are installed silently.
  4. Select Show... under Extension/App IDs.
  5. Update the URLs to be silently installed.
  6. Enter the Extension ID, concatenated with a semicolon, and the URL to update the extension. Unless you're explicitly given a different URL, the URL is typically epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil;https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx".
  7. Select OK and then Apply.

You now have a policy that will force install the Pendo extension to all machines in your domain.

Step 3. Add the GPO to your network

  1. Right-click on your domain in the Group Policy Management console.
  2. Select Link an Existing GPO...

    LinkanExistingGPO.png

  3. In the window that opens, under Group Policy objects, find and select the GPO that you modified.
  4. Select OK.

Step 4. Validate the installation

Pendo recommends gradual rollout of the installation, beginning with a device that you have physical access to. Once the configuration profile is pushed to a given device, confirm its presence to validate your deployment process, and then confirm that the extension is installed to validate the content of your configuration.

Verify the policy is configured correctly

  1. Sign in to the machine that has your policy applied.
  2. Run the following command in PowerShell: gpresult /r.

Confirm the extension is force-installed on the browser

Once you've confirmed that the correct policy is present, validate that the content is formatted correctly by checking that the browser correctly force-installs the extension.

  1. Open the Chrome app on a device that has the policy present. If the app is already running, quit and re-open it.
  2. In your browser, navigate to the following page by copying and pasting the following exact text into your URL bar: chrome://extensions.
  3. Find the Pendo Launcher, listed under Extensions. If the Pendo Launcher extension is present, then the policy was deployed successfully.
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