In Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, operating system deployment actions are defined in the Managed Object Format (MOF) file, %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\bin\i386\_tasksequenceprovider.mof.

When you create a custom action, you must create a MOF file that declares your custom action. You then use Mofcomp.exe to add your changes to the SMS Provider. For more information, see How to Create a MOF File for a Configuration Manager Custom Action.

The administrator configures the custom action, as defined by the MOF file, by using a custom action control. For more information, see About Configuration Manager Custom Actions.

MOF File Content

A custom action derives from SMS_TaskSequence_Action Server WMI Class. The MOF file declaration includes a class definition and various qualifiers for the command line, task sequence variables, category, and custom action control assembly location.

Properties declared in a class, except those with the CommandLineArg qualifier, are available as task sequence variables during client deployment. For more information, see How to Use Task Sequence Variables in a Running Configuration Manager Task Sequence.

The namespace for the custom action is \\root\SMS_Site_SITECODE. When the MOF file is compiled, the custom action is made a child of SMS_TaskSequence_Action Server WMI Class.

Note
For an example MOF, see the task sequence action MOF that is declared in _tasksequenceprovider.mof.

The section of the MOF file for the custom action declaration will look similar to the following example:

  Copy Code 
[   CommandLine("smsswd.exe /run:%1 Application.exe /user:%2"),
	VariablePrefix("MyCustomActionPrefix"),
	ActionCategory("My Custom Action Category,7,1"),
	ActionName{"ConfigMgrTSAction.dll", "ConfigMgrTSAction.Properties.Resources", "ConfigMgrTSAction"},
	ActionUI{"ConfigMgrTSAction.dll", "ConfigMgrTSAction","ConfigMgrTSActionControl", 
"ConfigureTSActionOptions"}
	]
class ConfigMgrTSActionControl : SMS_TaskSequence_Action
{
	[TaskSequencePackage, CommandLineArg(1)]
	string		PackageIDForApplicationExe;

	[Not_Null, CommandLineArg(2)]
	string		User;

	[VariableName("CustomLocation")]
	string		Location;

};

The complete MOF also specifies the namespace and other information,

For the complete MOF for this sample, see How to Create a MOF File for a Configuration Manager Custom Action.

Command Line

The command line for the action is described in the CommandLine class qualifier. It defines the application that is called and the various arguments that can be supplied. For each command-line argument, there is a CommandLineArg class qualifier for the argument on the corresponding class property.

CommandLine typically takes the form:

CommandLine("smsswd.exe /run:%1 Application.exe %2 %3")

Smsswd.exe is used to run a program within a package. It requires the following arguments:

Argument Description

/run:%1

Identifies the package that the application is in. %1 is the package identifier (SMS_Package Server WMI Class PackageID property).

Application.exe

The custom action application that is performed.

%2 - %n

One or more command-line arguments for Application.exe.

The command-line substitution strings, %1, %2 and so forth, are defined by the CommandLineArg class qualifier. For example, the following declares %1.

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	[TaskSequencePackage, CommandLineArg(1)]
	string		PackageIDForApplicationExe;

With the custom action control, you use the PackageIDForApplicationExe property to configure the package identifier.

Note
Properties declared with the CommandLineArg qualifier are not available as task sequence variables during client deployment.

Action Category

An action can be associated with a specific category, in the task sequence editor drop down menu, by using the ActionCategory class qualifier.

Note
Do not use a category that is already in use by another action.

The syntax is:

ActionCategory{CategoryName,ActionOrder,CategoryOrder}

CategoryName


The category name.
ActionOrder


The action order within the category.
CategoryOrder


The category order within all categories.

The default Configuration Manager categories that you can add an action to are:

  • General

  • Disks

  • User State

  • Images

  • Drivers

  • Settings

You can also create a new category by specifying a new category in the ActionCategory class qualifier. For example, the following MOF file creates a new category called My Custom Category. The action is placed second within the category and the category is placed fifth overall.

ActionCategory{"My Custom Category",2,5"},

ActionName

The ActionName class qualifier defines the custom action control name. The qualifier has the following syntax:

ActionName{"Assembly", "Namespace.Properties.Resources", "Control"}

Assembly


The assembly that contains the action control.
Namespace.Properties.Resources


The namespace for the resource that contains the displayed action name strings. For more information, see How to Create a Configuration Manager Custom Action Control.
Control


The control that contains the string resources.

Action User Interface

The ActionUI class qualifier defines the location of the assembly and classes that are used by an action. The qualifier has the following syntax:

ActionUI{"Assembly","Namespace", "Control", "Option control"}

Assembly


The assembly that contains the action control.
Namespace


The namespace that the action control resides in.
Control


The action control displayed in the task sequence editor. It hosts the option control page.
Option control


The page used to manage action options, in the task sequence editor.

Multiple control tabs can be implemented by including more control class names separated by commas. For example:

ActionUI{"Assembly","Namespace", "Control1", "Control2", "Control3", "Option control"}

Action Variables

The VariableName qualifier is used to override the default variable name for a property.

A class property can be defined as a task sequence variable by adding the VariableName class qualifier. In the example above, the property MessageTimeout is an action variable with the name RebootTimeout.

If the VariablePrefix class qualifier is used, the variables are prefixed with the class qualifier value.

For more information about variable usage, see How to Use Task Sequence Variables in a Running Configuration Manager Task Sequence

Properties

Qualifiers

There are several qualifiers that can be applied to the MOF properties. The following are commonly used:

Qualifier Description

CommandLineArg

A property that should be inserted on the command line

Not_Null

A value is required for this property.

ValueMap

Specifies a list of allowed string values.

ValueRange

Specifies a range of allowed values (int fields).

RequiredIfNull

A value is required for this property if another property is null.

TaskSequencePackage

Identifies a property as a package identifier.

VariableName

Specifies a different name for the property in the task sequence environment.

AllowedLen

Specifies the minimum and maximum number of characters in a string.

SuccessCodes

Specifies one or more return code from the executable that indicates success.

Restrictions

  • Regular qualifier constraints can be applied to class properties. For example, in the example above, the command-line arguments cannot be null. For more information, see the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) SDK.

  • Ensure that property names and qualifiers are synchronized between the MOF file, custom action control and client application. The property names must match as well as any limitations. For example, if an int property is required, and it must be in the range 1 - 512, then the MOF file should have a Not_Null and ValueRange qualifier, the custom control should ensure that the property is set and within range, and the client application should verify the value before using it.

See Also

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