PolicyPak for Microsoft Visio

PolicyPak for Microsoft Visio

PolicyPak for Microsoft Visio

Although Visio is an optional install for Office, if your users are using it, you have to manage it.

Users can simply work around your settings and that’s when bad things can happen for such a hefty application such as this.

PolicyPak sets and enforces expectations for your users’ applications, so that they get the same experience, every time they launch it.

Keep your Visio configuration settings enforced and streamlined with PolicyPak.  Check out this video to see how it’s done:

Our PolicyPak software snaps-in to the Group Policy Editor and gives you the same user interface as Visio itself. You can set key settings like what is seen here:


With PolicyPak, you’re the one in control.

Besides, once you’re using PolicyPak to manage Visio, you’ll also get to manage all your other enterprise desktop applications the same way:Flash, WinZip, 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 Visio, PolicyPak is ready for you.

Manage Microsoft Visio with Group Policy 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 use PolicyPak to manage the Microsoft Visio.

I’ve already got Visio 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.”  If we open up the application here from the Start Menu and look at our configuration options we find a plethora of settings to choose from.   If I go to some of these tab sections such as Proofing and Save, I have some options that I would definitely want toset for my users such as the saved file format.  As an Administrator though what I’m the most concerned about is the security settings found in “Trust Center Settings.”  We can see that there are several options within the “ActiveX Settings”, “Macro Settings” and “Privacy Options” that I would most definitely want to enforce upon my users to ensure that their desktops remain secure.

Let’s go over and see how we would manage these 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 “Lock DownVisio.” 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 Visio” along with other applications like “Java,” “Flash,” “Firefox,” “Lync” and some others.

Let’sgo to “Proofing” and select a few of these options to better aid the spell check function for my users.  Notice how when I checked each setting that the text became underlined.  That means that the setting value is going to be delivered to the user.   I’ll then go to “File Types” and uncheck Movies, RAW and PhotoShop file types and then check the rest of the file types I want to make sure are supported.  Finally I’ll go to “Web Albums” and turn on a couple of these settings as well.

But wait, we’re not done.  Now I am going to go one step further and do something that only PolicyPak can.  I’m going to go back to the General tab and I am going to right click and select “Disable whole tab in target application.”  By doing this, my users will not be able to access these settings at all.  They will be essentially locked out.

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.  As soon as they do, PolicyPak delivers these settings. We just happen to be using gpupdate right now.

Now that that’s done, let’s reopen the application after you have delivered settings using PolicyPak.

As you can see, when we visit the various tabs where we applied our setting values, all of your desired configurations have been delivered.

Now let’s pretend that the user starts to make the machine less secure and optimal and changes some of these settings’ values.  Let me close the application.

PolicyPak is always working. So the next time I run the application, PolicyPak will automatically remediate these settings at launch time. It doesn’t matter if the computer is online or offline. PolicyPak is always working to ensure that “What you SET is what they GET.”

And there are your desired settings once again.

Remember: you can use Group Policy or your own systems management tool like SCCM, LanDesk, KACE or anything else and deploy PolicyPak directives. We just happen to be using Group Policy in these examples.

PolicyPak to the rescue.

Your IT and security settings you need are now delivered to Visio.

That is how incredibly easy it is for you to use PolicyPak to manage and lockdown Microsoft Visio and 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.