Hello Gordon,
 
Thanks for submitting a support ticket.  I understand some of your concerns and let me try to answer all of your questions one at a time. 
 
I had a chance to evaluate the recent changes to WebEx and try out the InstallShield installer for Windows and Internet Explorer, because I run networks where users only have Limited or Restricted access, and I further restrict applications to those installed in Program Files.
 
The installer for Windows doesn't seem to work, because WebEx still attempts to set itself up when I try to join a meeting or play back a recorded meeting. However, after this setup is done, the WebEx trainer and playback software seem to work correctly for any user logged on to the PC.
 
Any time that you go to join or host a WebEx meeting, we have to verify that you have the same build of the WebEx software installed on your machine.  you may see 1 single progress bar go across as it verifies.  If you ever notice when starting or joining a WebEx meeting and you have never ran through the installer, the progress bar will appear twice.  One to verify the version of your WebEx software and another to install if you do not have the proper version required for this meeting. 
 
 
This suggests WebEx's software is working fine, but the InstallShield installer is not.
 
In addition, the WebEx and InstallShield installers only place their program shortcuts in the current user's Start Menu and Desktop, not the "All Users" Start Menu and Desktop. I ran into this problem before with InstallShield when developing my own projects, and decided on a different installation creator to replace InstallShield.  Finally, the InstallShield installer does not work with Group Policy in a Windows 2000 domain -- the software does not properly install when assigned to a domain, but I again expect this to be an InstallShield problem and not a WebEx design flaw.
 
 
Please try to have the installer corrected so I can install and deploy updates to WebEx without having to go to each machine in my care. The MSI installer format is supposed to simplify large deployments using Active Directory's Group Policy system, but the MSI package must work properly in that environment.
 
 
Yes, I do agree this is a limitation to the WebEx product however there are many WebEx customers that push out installs on a monthly basis and this is the first complaint that I have seen with the MSI installer.  I would be glad to send this letter up to our engineering department with your requests for future implementations.
 
Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I'd be glad to help out
 
Thanks for choosing WebEx,
 
 
Brian Miller
Technical Support Engineer - WebEx Communications, Inc.
2868 Prospect Park Drive, Ste 500 | Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
phone: +1 916.851.8503 | fax: +1 916.636.8080
Brian.Miller@webex.com