Deployment

OffShoot is used by many facilities with hundreds of offload/ingest stations, so we made it easy to deploy OffShoot at scale. We strongly suggest using an MDM solution to set up OffShoot deployment.

Disable first-start onboarding window

macOS

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac SFIDefaultsFirstAppStart -bool false

Windows

New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" -Force | Out-Null

New-ItemProperty `
  -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" `
  -Name "OnboardingWhatsNewVersion" `
  -Value "26.2" `
  -PropertyType String `
  -Force

Disable what's-new onboarding window

macOS

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac SFIDefaultsOnboardingWhatsNewDisplayedInVersion -string 26.2

Windows

New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" -Force | Out-Null

New-ItemProperty `
  -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" `
  -Name "OnboardingWhatsNewVersion" `
  -Value "26.2" `
  -PropertyType String `
  -Force

Disable helper app installation popup

On first launch, the OffShoot OWC integration installs a helper app that macOS may periodically prompt users to approve. To prevent these prompts, you can disable the integration during deployment.

It's currently not possible to install the OWC integration silently.

macOS

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac SFIDefaultsOWCEnabled -bool false

build_number=1234 &&
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac OWCIntegrationIsInstalledInBuildNumber -string "$build_number"

The build number can be found in OffShoot > About. Or via:

/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c 'Print :CFBundleVersion' '/Applications/OffShoot.app/Contents/Info.plist'

Activating OffShoot

Activating a license can be done via the API:

offshoot://activate?key=[your license key]

Deactivation works via the same mechanism:

offshoot://deactivate

Settings and Presets

By default, OffShoot stores settings and presets per user. When multiple users use the same computer, each user has their own preferences and presets.

If needed, OffShoot can use computer-based settings and presets.

Settings

OffShoot settings can be set at different levels. Each level overrides the levels before it.

1. App Settings The default settings of OffShoot.

2. Computer Settings Settings stored for the computer. These apply to all users on the same computer, unless overridden by user settings or policies.

3. User Settings Settings stored for the current user. These override computer settings.

4. Computer Policy Policy settings stored for the computer. These override the computer and user settings. Users can still change these settings while using OffShoot, but the settings will revert to the computer policy when OffShoot is relaunched.

5. User Policy Policy settings stored for the current user. These have the highest priority. Users can still change these settings while using OffShoot, but the settings will revert to the user policy when OffShoot is relaunched.

On macOS, preferences may be cached by the system or overwritten by OffShoot while it is running. Before changing settings, make sure OffShoot is closed.

If changes do not appear, make sure to also restart macOS’s preferences server:

sudo killall cfprefsd
killall cfprefsd

App Settings

macOS

Example

Check OffShoot's default settings

• Open Terminal

• Paste this command and press Return

  defaults read "/Applications/OffShoot.app/Contents/Resources/SFIDefaults"

Windows

Example

Check OffShoot's default settings

• Open PowerShell

• Paste this command and press Return

  Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\OffShoot"

Don't see all the settings? Change the setting you want in OffShoot > Settings, then run the command again.

Computer Settings

macOS

Example

Adds a computer-level setting for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open Terminal

• Paste this command and press Return

  sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy \
    -c "Add :SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName string 'COMPUTER DEFAULT'" \
    "/Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac.plist"

• Validate

  defaults read "/Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac" SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName

Windows

Example

Adds a computer-level setting for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open PowerShell

• Paste this command and press Return

  New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" -Force | Out-Null
  
  New-ItemProperty `
    -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" `
    -Name "ConnectClientName" `
    -Value "COMPUTER DEFAULT" `
    -PropertyType String `
    -Force

• Validate

  Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" -Name "ConnectClientName"

User Settings

macOS

Example

Adds a user-level setting for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open Terminal

• Paste this command and press Return

  • Current user

    defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName "USER DEFAULT"

    Validate

    defaults read ~/Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac.plist SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName

  • Specific user

    sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy \
      -c "Add :SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName string 'USER DEFAULT'" \
      "/Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac.plist"

Windows

Example

Adds a computer-level setting for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open PowerShell

• Paste this command and press Return

  • Current user

    New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\OffShoot" -Force | Out-Null
    
    New-ItemProperty `
      -Path "HKCU:\Software\OffShoot" `
      -Name "ConnectClientName" `
      -Value "USER DEFAULT" `
      -PropertyType String `
      -Force

    Validate

    Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\OffShoot" -Name "ConnectClientName"

Computer Policy

macOS

The example below uses /Library/Managed Preferences and is intended for testing only. For production deployments, refer to Apple’s documentation on Managed Preferences for the correct implementation.

Example

Adds a computer-level policy for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open Terminal

• Paste this command and press Return

  sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy \
    -c "Add :SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName string 'COMPUTER POLICY'" \
    "/Library/Managed Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac.plist"

Validate

defaults read "/Library/Managed Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac" SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName

Windows

Example

Adds a computer-level policy for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open PowerShell as Administrator

• Paste this command and press Return

  New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\Policies\OffShoot" -Force | Out-Null
  
  New-ItemProperty `
    -Path "HKLM:\Software\Policies\OffShoot" `
    -Name "ConnectClientName" `
    -Value "COMPUTER POLICY" `
    -PropertyType String `
    -Force

Validate

Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Policies\OffShoot" -Name "ConnectClientName"

User Policy

macOS

The example below writes values to /Library/Managed Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac.plist directly and is intended for testing only. For production deployments, refer to Apple’s documentation on Managed Preferences for the correct implementation.

Example

Adds a user-level policy for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open Terminal

• Paste this command and press Return

  sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy \
    -c "Add :SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName string 'USER POLICY'" \
    "/Library/Managed Preferences/<username>/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac.plist"

• Validate

  defaults read "/Library/Managed Preferences/<username>/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac" SFIDefaultsConnectConnectionName

Windows

Example

Adds a user-level policy for OffShoot > Settings > Connect > Computer Name

• Open PowerShell as Administrator

• Paste these commands and press Return

  • To set a user policy for another user, write to that user’s hive under HKEY_USERS using their SID.

    Get-CimInstance Win32_UserProfile |
      Select-Object LocalPath, SID

    Then, replace S-1-5-21-... with the user’s actual SID:

    New-PSDrive -Name HKU -PSProvider Registry -Root HKEY_USERS -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    
    New-Item -Path "HKU:\S-1-5-21-...\Software\Policies\OffShoot" -Force | Out-Null
    
    New-ItemProperty `
      -Path "HKU:\S-1-5-21-...\Software\Policies\OffShoot" `
      -Name "AutoSourceSearchPattern" `
      -Value "USER POLICY SETTINGS" `
      -PropertyType String `
      -Force

• Validate

  Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Policies\OffShoot" -Name "ConnectClientName"

Presets

By default, presets are stored separately for each account. You can set a different preset location with a computer setting or policy. This allows multiple users on the same computer to share the same presets.

macOS

Example

Override OffShoot's default preset folder location for all users.

• Open Terminal

• Paste this command and press Return

  sudo mkdir -p "/Users/Shared/OffShoot Presets"
  
  PLIST="/Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac.plist"
  VALUE="/Users/Shared/OffShoot Presets"
  
  sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :PresetsLocation '$VALUE'" "$PLIST" 2>/dev/null || sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Add :PresetsLocation string '$VALUE'" "$PLIST"

• Validate

  defaults read "/Library/Preferences/nl.syncfactory.Hedge.Mac" PresetsLocation

Windows

Example

Override OffShoot's default preset folder location for all users.

• Open PowerShell as administrator

• Paste this command and press Return

  New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" -Force | Out-Null
  
  New-ItemProperty `
    -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" `
    -Name "PresetsLocation" `
    -Value "C:\Users\Public\OffShoot Presets" `
    -PropertyType String `
    -Force

• Validate

  Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\OffShoot" -Name "PresetsLocation"