Last Updated: May 23, 2025
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.
Licensing Requirements
Scripted installations require use of the Maptitude “Enterprise License”. For details, please see: https://www.caliper.com/maptpric.htm
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
The deployed installation will install the software on the target PC with the serial number input during the recording phase of the scripting process. The software gets “activated” when it is first used, and then does so automatically, over the Internet, using the current user’s profile name and the recorded serial number.
Activating the software in this way gets an available “license” for that serial number from the Maptitude licensing system. This license uses one of the available licenses for the serial number, thereby reducing by one the available licenses for the given serial number.
Installing the Country Package
To silently install the country package, you can enter a similar command to record the installation:
DataInstaller.exe -r
Then, to execute the silent installation:
DataInstaller.exe -s -f1″C:\Windows\Setup.iss”
Un-Installation
The procedure for recording and deploying the silent un-installation is similar:
First, to record the uninstallation on one PC:
MaptitudeInstallation.exe /Uninstall -r
Then, copy the setup.iss file to the other PC or place it on a location the PC can reach and do:
MaptitudeInstallation.exe /Uninstall -s -f1″C:\Windows\Setup.iss”