Deploy the desktop app with Group Policy

This guide deploys the Dew desktop app to Windows computers and sets it up with one Group Policy object. When you’re done, Dew is installed on every computer the policy applies to, already connected to your server.

You need:

• The Dew desktop app for Windows as an .msi file, from the download page: Dew_<version>_x64_en-US.msi. Computers with Arm processors need the Arm64 .msi, Dew_<version>_arm64_en-US.msi.
• Permission to edit Group Policy objects.
• A network share that the computers can read.
• Your Dew server address, for example https://files.example.com.

1. Share the installer

Copy the Dew .msi file to a network share, for example \\fileserver\software\Dew\. Give Domain Computers read access to the share and the folder: computers install Dew before anyone signs in.

2. Add the Dew settings template

Dew’s settings appear in the Group Policy editor once you add its administrative template.

1. Download Dew.admx and Dew.adml.
2. Copy Dew.admx to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\, and Dew.adml to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en-US\.

In a domain with a central store, copy them to the same folders under \\<your domain>\SYSVOL\<your domain>\Policies\PolicyDefinitions\ instead.

3. Create the policy

1. Open Group Policy Management and create a Group Policy object named Dew, then edit it.
2. Go to Computer Configuration → Policies → Software Settings → Software installation, right-click and select New → Package.
3. Choose the .msi file by its network path, for example \\fileserver\software\Dew\Dew_1.4.295_x64_en-US.msi, not a local drive letter. Select Assigned.
4. Go to Computer Configuration → Policies → Administrative Templates → Dew and set the settings you want:
   • Server address: select Enabled and enter your server address.
   • Verify server certificates: select Enabled to keep checks on. In Dew, this is Verify SSL certificates.
   • Start Dew at sign-in: select Enabled to open Dew at sign-in, or Disabled to stop it opening then. In Dew, this is Auto-start on login.

A setting left at Not Configured stays up to each person.

4. Deploy to your computers

Link the Dew Group Policy object to the organizational units that contain the computers that use Dew. Each computer installs Dew the next time it restarts.

If some of your computers have Arm processors, create a second Group Policy object with the Arm64 .msi and link it to the organizational units that contain only those computers. Link the Dew object to the others.

5. Check it worked

Restart one of the computers and sign in, then click the Dew icon in the system tray. If it isn’t there, open Dew from the Start menu first. The Server URL on the sign-in screen shows your server address, locked. After signing in, select Settings (the gear icon) in the Dew window: Auto-start on login and Verify SSL certificates are locked if you set them, and show Managed by your organization when you hover over them.

If something doesn’t work

What you see	What to do
Dew isn’t installed after a restart	Check that Domain Computers can read the share, and that the package uses a network path. Restart once more: some computers need two restarts to install.
There’s no Dew folder in the editor	Check that Dew.adml is in the en-US folder next to Dew.admx, then reopen the editor.
The settings aren’t locked	Right-click the Dew icon in the system tray, select Quit, and open Dew again. Dew reads its settings when it starts.
Still not locked after reopening Dew	Run gpresult /r on the computer and check that the Dew Group Policy object is listed under Computer Settings.

For more detail, see the settings reference.