This guide deploys the Scribe desktop app to Windows devices with Microsoft Intune. The installer is a standard MSI, so any MDM that can run an MSI silently works the same way; the steps below use Intune.
Plan to deploy the Enterprise Settings file alongside the app. It is how you hide the update notice on Intune-managed installs, keep the app running and set the visibility mode - see Windows desktop app - Enterprise Settings via Intune after this guide.
For silent authentication with Microsoft Entra, see Windows desktop app - silent authentication with Microsoft Entra.
Prerequisites
- Intune-managed Windows devices.
- The Scribe for Windows MSI from scribehow.com/get-desktop.
Pilot first, then roll out. Whichever of the three you use - app only, app plus Enterprise Settings, or those plus silent authentication - set them up on one test device first, in that order, relaunching the app to pick up each change. For the rollout to users, reverse the order of what you use: silent authentication consent, then the Enterprise Settings file, then the app, so each user's first launch already has the right configuration.
Add the app
- Intune admin center → Apps → All apps → Create → app type Line-of-business app.
- Select app package file → the Scribe MSI. Intune reads the publisher, version and product code from it, so detection is handled for you.
-
App information → App install context: Device, and in Command-line arguments enter:
ALLUSERS=1 AI_INSTALLPERUSER=0 LAUNCH_AT_STARTUP=1 DISABLE_AUTOUPDATES=1 - Assign as Required to the group you are rolling out to. Leave Ignore app version at No.
- For a quick verification, on a device, trigger a check-in: Settings → Accounts → Access work or school → the connected account → Info → Sync. Otherwise the device picks it up on its next scheduled check-in.
About the install arguments
Pass all four. ALLUSERS=1 and AI_INSTALLPERUSER=0 install the app per machine, into C:\Program Files\Scribe. LAUNCH_AT_STARTUP=1 starts the app at each user's sign-in. DISABLE_AUTOUPDATES=1 turns off the app's own update checks; versions are managed through Intune instead (below).
Per-user installation is not available through Intune's line-of-business app deployment; the app installs per machine.
Updates
Versions are managed by IT: when you want the fleet on a new version, upload the new MSI to this same Intune app (Properties → App information → Edit → select the new file). Devices will be upgraded on their next check-in. Keep Ignore app version at No.
To stop users from seeing an update notice they cannot act on, deploy an Enterprise Settings file containing:
The file and how to deliver it are described in Windows desktop app - Enterprise Settings via Intune. If you also use silent authentication, minimal mode or keep-alive, it is one file with all the keys - deliver it once.
Verify on one device
- The app is installed under C:\Program Files\Scribe.
- Sign out and back in: the app starts on its own. A silent install does not launch the app when it finishes, so it appears at the next sign-in, not immediately after installation.
Intune also supports Win32 (.intunewin) packaging with custom detection and requirement rules. If your organisation standardises on Win32, the same MSI and install arguments apply; only the packaging differs.