Deploy Stop Motion Studio 2 on Windows 11 through Endpoint Manager

Silent Deployment via Microsoft Intune (MDM)

This guide provides IT Administrators with the steps to deploy Stop Motion Studio and its secure activation utility across school-managed Windows devices.

Overview

The deployment consists of two separate packages:

Package	Type	Purpose
Stop Motion Studio .msix	Microsoft Store / MSIX	Installs the application
Activation Utility .intunewin	Win32 app	Silently activates the license on each device

The activation utility uses Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI) to encrypt your school license key and bind it to each device's hardware. The key is never stored in plain text on the device. Once deployed, all users on a device are activated automatically — students will never be prompted for a serial number.

Important: Both packages must be deployed, and the activation utility must be configured to depend on the MSIX.

Prerequisites

Before beginning, confirm the following:

• Stop Motion Studio for Windows.msix — the application installer.
• ActivationUtility.intunewin — the packaged activation script.

Deploy the MSIX Application

The MSIX package installs the Stop Motion Studio application itself.

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.
2. Navigate to Apps > All apps > Add.
3. Under App type, select Line-of-business app and click Select.
4. Click Select app package file and upload your Stop Motion Studio for Windows.msix file.
5. Intune will automatically read the app metadata. Review the populated fields:
   • Name: Stop Motion Studio
   • Publisher: Cateater
   • Version: Confirm this matches your downloaded file.
6. Click Next.

Configure Program Settings

On the App information page, fill in any missing fields (description, logo) as desired, then click Next.

Assignments

1. On the Assignments tab, under Required, click Add group.
2. Select your group.
3. Set the assignment to Device group (not user group) — this ensures the app installs on the device for all users, including students who log in without admin rights.
4. Click Next and then Create.

Device vs User assignment: For shared school devices, always assign to device groups. User-based assignment means the app only installs when a specific user logs in, which creates gaps on shared machines.

Deploy the Activation Utility (Win32)

The activation utility is a Win32 app that runs a PowerShell script to encrypt and store your license key in the device registry.

Add the Win32 App in Intune

1. Navigate to Apps > All apps > Add.
2. Under App type, select Windows app (Win32) and click Select.
3. Click Select app package file and upload your ActivationUtility.intunewin file.
4. Click OK.

App Information

Fill in the following fields:

Field	Value
Name	Stop Motion Studio — Activation
Publisher	Cateater
Version	(match the MSIX version)
Description	Silently activates Stop Motion Studio using the school site license.

Click Next.

Program Settings

This is the most critical configuration section.

Field	Value
Install command	install.cmd -Key "YOUR-SCHOOL-SERIAL-HERE"
Uninstall command	reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Cateater\StopMotionStudio" /v "ActivationToken" /f
Install behavior	System
Device restart behavior	No specific action

Replace YOUR-SCHOOL-SERIAL-HERE with your actual license key exactly as provided in your activation email. Keep the double quotes around the key.

Click Next.

Detection Rules

Detection rules tell Intune whether the activation was successful. Use a registry-based rule:

1. Under Rules format, select Manually configure detection rules.
2. Click Add and configure as follows:

Field	Value
Rule type	Registry
Key path	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cateater\StopMotionStudio
Value name	ActivationToken
Detection method	Value exists

3. Click OK, then Next.

Assignments

1. Under Required, click Add group.
2. Assign to the same device group you used for the MSIX.
3. Click Next and Create.

Configure the Dependency

Configuring the activation utility as a dependency of the MSIX ensures Intune runs the activation utility.

1. Navigate to Apps > All apps and open the Stop Motion Studio MSIX app.
2. Go to Properties > Dependencies > Edit.
3. Click Add and search for Stop Motion Studio — Activation (the Win32 app).
4. Set Automatically install to Yes.
5. Click OK and then Review + save.

Verifying Deployment

Check Status in Intune

1. Navigate to Apps > All apps > Stop Motion Studio — Activation.
2. Go to Device install status.
3. After devices check in (allow up to 1 hour for the first sync), you should see:
   • Installed — activation succeeded.
   • Failed — review the error code and see the Troubleshooting section below.

Verify Manually on a Test Device

On your pilot device, open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Cateater\StopMotionStudio"

You should see an ActivationToken entry with a binary value. If this entry exists, the activation ran successfully.

Verify the App is Activated

Open Stop Motion Studio on the device. It should launch without any license prompt or serial number request.

Uninstalling

Remove Activation Only

To remove the activation token (for example, to re-activate with a different key):

reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Cateater\StopMotionStudio" /v "ActivationToken" /f

This can be run via Intune's uninstall action on the activation Win32 app, or manually in an elevated command prompt.

Full Removal (App + Activation)

To fully remove Stop Motion Studio from devices:

1. In Intune, change the assignment of the Stop Motion Studio MSIX to Uninstall for the target group.
2. Change the assignment of the Stop Motion Studio — Activation Win32 app to Uninstall for the same group.
3. Devices will process the uninstall on their next Intune check-in.

Note: The uninstall command for the activation utility only removes the registry token, not the application itself. Both packages must be unassigned/uninstalled independently.

FAQs

Q: Does this work if a device is re-imaged or wiped? Yes. When a device re-enrolls in Intune after a wipe or re-image, both the MSIX and the activation utility will be automatically re-deployed. No manual re-activation is needed.

Q: Is the license key stored on the device in plain text? No. The activation script uses the Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI) to encrypt the key before storing it in the registry. It is also bound to the device's unique hardware identifier (MachineGuid), making the token non-transferable to another device.

Q: Will students be prompted to enter a serial number? No. As long as the activation utility has run successfully before a student opens the app, they will not see any license prompt.

Q: Can I use this for user-based assignment instead of device-based? The current activation utility is designed for device-based activation (HKLM). If you assign to user groups on shared devices, each device will still activate at the machine level, but you must ensure the device is in scope for both packages.

Q: What happens when Stop Motion Studio updates? Application updates delivered via a new MSIX should not affect the activation token in the registry. However, after a major version update, it is good practice to re-verify that the token is still present and the app does not prompt for activation.

Q: My license key covers how many devices? Licenses are user-based, not per device. The number of seats included in your purchase is shown on your receipt. Ensure the number of users in your Intune assignment group does not exceed your licensed seat count. IT administrators are responsible for ensuring deployment scope stays within the purchased license terms.