How can I Record and Deploy the Installation through Microsoft System Center or other similar Software Deployment software?

Many users have a desire or need to “record” or “script” the installation into whatever deployment system they use. These include Microsoft “System Center” (aka “SCCM”) and Citrix XenApp.

The installation system used to install Maptitude has a built-in mechanism for “recording” installations, thereby allowing for a scripted installation.

One of the key elements of such a system is that the “scripted” installation requires no user input – the admin runs a command on the target PC and the software gets installed, with no dialog boxes or prompts.

We recommend this approach only to IT admins who are familiar with scripted installations. If you are experiencing difficulty installing, please try the help article on antivirus and firewall issues.

 

How it works

In the installation materials, there is the installer program, MaptitudeInstallation.exe. You need to run this program on the Windows command-line, using the “-r” flag.

This causes a “recording file”, sometimes called an “answer file”, to be generated in exactly one location: “C:\Windows\setup.iss”

You launch the installer in this way, and you go through all the steps, just as you would with a “normal” installation, but with the “-r” switch set, the installer “records” all your inputs and saves them into the “answer file”

The answer file is essentially a classic “ini”  file that merely indicates which buttons were pressed, which options were selected, and what text was input.

This allows you to then run the setup program again, this time with the “-s” flag, which then uses your “answer file”  in place of actual user input, making the install “silent” and completely automated. The “-f1” flag lets you specify the location of the answer file.

 

So, to create and record the silent installation

MaptitudeInstallation.exe -r

Then, to execute the silent installation:

MaptitudeInstallation.exe -s -f1″C:\Windows\Setup.iss”

 

Mass Deployment and Activation

For the purposes of mass-deployment across multiple PCs, it is essential to manage the software “activation” step of the installer. While installing, you will need to skip the otherwise automatic step where the software “activates” itself. This is because each installation needs to be activated with a unique serial number, so if the input of one serial number were recorded, the next installation would fail as that serial number will already be in use.

To do this, you need to add the “/BypassActivation” switch to the recording. Then, in the “playback” phase, where you want to “run” the recorded installation, you have to use the same switch.

 

So: to create and record a silent, un-activated installation

MaptitudeInstallation.exe  -r /BypassActivation

Then, to install such a recorded installation

MaptitudeInstallation.exe /BypassActivation -s -f1″C:\Windows\Setup.iss”

Lastly, there is an option to have the installer output a log file, to help troubleshoot if the silent install goes badly, this is done with the “-f2” flag. 

MaptitudeInstallation.exe /BypassActivation -s -f1″C:\Windows\Setup.iss” -f2″C:\Windows\Setup.log”

 

The end result of this un-activated installation is that the end user will have the software installed and will be prompted to activate the software the first time it is run. They can simply input their unique serial number and the installation will be activated:

Activating Your Maptitude License Automatically