Answer files are XML files that you can use to automate deployments, so your technicians won’t have to manually click through the Deploy Wizard for each device at deployment time. Any setting that you would typically configure in Deploy Wizard at deployment time (including mapping a network share and selecting a network-based image file) can be automated with an answer file to create a light or zero-touch deployment.
SmartDeploy makes creating an answer file easy with a simple wizard. An answer file created by SmartDeploy is meant to replace using the Deploy Wizard and to fully automate the deployment. Alternatively, you can walk through the Deploy Wizard on a manual deployment and export the answer file, which will save all the options that you selected for future deployments.
It controls things like:
- Computer name
- Locale, language, and time zone
- Domain or Azure AD join
- Product key and licensing
- First-logon commands and scripts
- Selection of the following:
- Image source
- Applications to deploy
- Option to perform a profile migration using Microsoft USMT
SmartDeploy provides a GUI-based Answer File Builder, so you don’t have to manually edit XML unless you want advanced customization.
