1. Pendo Adopt
  2. Installation
  3. Configure

Configure on Chrome for Windows using Microsoft Intune

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This article covers the process to configure the Pendo Launcher extension on the Chrome web browser on a Windows computer using Microsoft Intune, which involves:

  1. Determining values to configure.
  2. Creating PowerShell scripts.
  3. Pushing the PowerShell scripts to your end-user devices.
  4. Validating that the configuration  was successful.

The process described in this article can be used to configure the following types of data:

  • API Key
  • Visitor ID
  • Metadata

Prerequisites

Before configuring the extension on end-user devices, you must first install it on end-user browsers. See the IT guide to deploying the Pendo Launcher for all installation options. We also recommend reading the Plan your Adopt installation article before running any deployment steps.

Step 1. Determine values to configure

To fully deploy the Pendo Launcher, you must configure an API key and Visitor ID. You can also include metadata, such as role or location, which can be used to enhance your analytics and guide targeting. For more information about selecting appropriate Visitor IDs and metadata, see Plan your Adopt installation.

API key

Find the API key needed for Step 2 of the configuration process by navigating to Settings > Subscription. Your unique extension API key is displayed at the top of the page and looks something like the following:

{
    "APIKey": {
        "Value": "c022bb1e-676d-4c58-731c-caf13fe12a89"
    }
}

Visitor ID and metadata

In most cases, Windows deployments provide only the Visitor ID through MDM tooling (such as Intune) and supplement metadata through other means, such as API or CSV upload. However, it is possible to provide metadata in the visitor object, if you have a method for dynamically retrieving the values on a user’s machine.

See Customize metadata sent to Pendo with Active Directory scripts for more information around providing metadata.

The visitor information should be formatted as a string JSON object with all PowerShell-incompatible characters escaped. See Microsoft’s documentation, About Quoting Rules, for information about PowerShell escape characters.

Step 2. Create a PowerShell script

Create a file on your own machine called pendo-launcher-config.ps1. Copy the following code into the file, then insert the API key value you determined in Step 1.

 

$api_key = "your-api-key-goes-here"

$username = $null

# Wait for username to be populated
while ($username -eq $null) {
    $username = (Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -Filter 'name = "explorer.exe"' | Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName getowner).User
    if ($username -is [array]) {
        $username = $username[0]
    }
    $username = $username -replace ' ', '.'
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 5 # Sleep for 5 seconds (optional)
}

# Define the Visitor ID by converting the username to an email address
# Your definition of a Visitor ID may vary

$visitor_id = $username + "@pendo.io"

$visitor_json= "{ `"id`": `"$visitor_id`" }"

$registry_path_chrome = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil\policy"

$parent_path_chrome = Split-Path -Path $registry_path_chrome

# Create Chrome policy path for the Pendo Launcher if it does not exist

if (!(Test-Path $parent_path_chrome)) {
    New-Item -Path $parent_path_chrome -Force -ItemType Directory | Out-Null
}

if (!(Test-Path $parent_path_chrome\policy)) {
    New-Item -Path ("$parent_path_chrome\policy") -Force -ItemType Directory | Out-Null
}

# Set the API Key, Visitor ID, and Data Environment policies

Set-ItemProperty -Path $registry_path_chrome -Name "APIKey" -Value $api_key
Set-ItemProperty -Path $registry_path_chrome -Name "visitor" -Value $visitor_json -Type ExpandString

# For eu environments, change io to eu

Set-ItemProperty -Path $registry_path_chrome -Name "dataEnvironment" -Value "io"

exit 0

Step 3. Push your PowerShell Script to end-user devices

For complete documentation from Microsoft, see: Use PowerShell scripts on Windows 10/11 devices in Intune.

  1. Navigate to the Microsoft Intune Admin Center: https://intune.microsoft.com
  2. Select Devices > Scripts from the left-side menu.
  3. Select + Add at the top of the Scripts page. This adds a new script.
  4. Select Windows 10 and later from the dropdown menu.

    Decives Scripts.png

  5. In the Basics tab, enter a descriptive name for your script, such as "Pendo Launcher Configuration". Select Next to continue.
  6. In the Script settings tab, upload the pendo-launcher-config.ps1 file created in Step 2. Ensure that Run this script using the logged in credentials is set to No. Select Next to continue.

    Add PS script.png

  7. In the Assignments tab, select a group of devices to deploy the launcher configuration to. Select Next to continue.
    • If you followed the steps in Install on Chrome for Windows using Microsoft Intune, this should be the same group you targeted for the Pendo Launcher force install. 
    • We recommend testing and validating your deployment on a single device first and then gradually increasing the assignment scope until it covers the entire body of end-user devices.

      Assignments tab.png

  8. In the Review + add tab, check your script, settings, and group assignments.
  9. Select Add when you're done.

    Review plus add.png

Step 4. Validate your configuration

First, test the script on a single device that you can physically access to verify correct configuration. Validation involves confirming the registry keys are set correctly and that the extension is configured as expected.

Confirm the presence of the registry key

  1. On your Windows device, open the registry editor: type "regedit" into the search box of the task bar and then select Registry Editor (Desktop app) from the results.
  2. Navigate to the registry key location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Google > Chrome > 3rdparty > extensions > epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil

The registry keys should look similar to the following:

Confirm the extension is configured in the browser

After confirming that the registry keys are set, validate that the content if formatted correctly by checking that the browser extension is working. Intune can take up to 24 hours to run your configuration script on the end device.

  1. Open Chrome on a device that has the configuration profile present. If the app is already running, quite and reopen it.
  2. In your browser, copy and paste the following into your URL bar: chrome://extensions
  3. Find the Pendo Launcher extension in the top-right corner of your browser toolbar. If the extension isn't visible, you might need to view more extensions by selecting the puzzle icon.
  4. Right-click on the extension icon and select Show Debug Info.

    Show Debug Info.png

  5. Select Show Configuration Tab > IT-Managed Config.
  6. Check that the values match the values configured in your registry keys. If your dataEnvironment is set to the default value of io then the dataEnvironment key doesn't display in this view.

    Pendo Launcher.png

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