How to install a Zaweba app without admin rights

On a PC where you don't have admin rights, Publish by Zaweba can still be installed for you alone. Run it, then choose Tools > Install for this user. It copies the app folder into your own profile, adds a Start menu shortcut and sets .ozp files to open with it, all without asking for an administrator password. Publish is free, offline software.

Locked-down computers are common at work, in schools and in libraries. Asking IT to install a small app can take days, and sometimes the answer is no. A per-user install sidesteps that because it only touches your own part of the machine.

Where it puts the app

Install for this user copies the app folder to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Zaweba\Publish. That's a folder inside your own Windows profile, which you're always allowed to write to. Nothing goes into Program Files and nothing changes for other users of the same PC.

It also adds a Start menu shortcut, so you can find Publish by typing its name in the Start menu like any other app. And it registers .ozp files, so double-clicking a saved publication opens it in Publish.

Installing for yourself

Get Publish onto the PC and run it from wherever it is. Once it's open, go to Tools > Install for this user. When it's finished, close the copy you ran and open Publish from the Start menu. From then on, use the Start menu shortcut or double-click your .ozp files.

If you're using a work machine, check your organisation's rules first. Being able to install without admin rights doesn't mean you're allowed to, and IT departments usually appreciate being asked.

What works the same

Everything. A per-user install is the full app: templates, linked text frames, master pages, mail merge, print-ready PDF export, pictures, printing and the optional AI features. Publish doesn't need an account or a connection, so there's no sign in to get past the network either.

Your publications save wherever you choose, such as Documents or a network drive.

Other Zaweba apps

This article covers Publish, where the per-user option sits under the Tools menu. If you also want to send exported PDFs to PDF by Zaweba or edit pictures in Paint by Zaweba from Publish, those apps need to be installed and registered too; Publish falls back to your default PDF reader, or offers Paint's download page, if they aren't.

If something goes wrong

If the Start menu shortcut doesn't appear straight away, sign out and back in, or search for Publish in the Start menu after a minute. If .ozp files still open with something else, right-click one, choose Open with and pick Publish.

If you hit a problem you can't solve, Help > Report a problem sends a message to Zaweba. Nothing is sent unless you click Send, and if you're offline it's kept and sent later.

A per-user install takes a minute and leaves the rest of the computer untouched, which makes it a good way to get Publish onto a shared or managed PC.