Command Line Installation

Overview

Installing FME from a command line isn't something you would want (or need) to do in everyday use. However, it is very useful when you wish to install FME either 'silently' or remotely.

NB: Installing FME this way is very much at your own risk. Not that there are problems with the process, just the potential to throw a huge spanner into the FME works if you get it wrong.

Preparation

A silent installation will not prompt you to uninstall your previous FME if it is located in the same folder. We strongly recommend that you uninstall your previous FME before silently installing another into the same folder.

Command Line Switches (Flags)

There are several switches that can be passed into msiexec, which is the program that drives an installation of an msi file. You can view all switches that can be passed in by opening a command window and typing "msiexec" and pressing the "Enter" key. Here are a few common ones:

Switch(in bold)
Explanation(in italic)

/i <installFile.msi>
Install msi file. This tells msiexec that you want to install the package specified by <installFile.msi> on your computer.

/q[n|b]
Quiet mode. If /qb is specified, a dialog with a progress bar will be displayed, but there is no user interaction. If /qn is specified, no GUI is displayed at all.

/x <installFile.msi>
Uninstall <installFile.msi> if it has been installed on your system.

/l*v <logfile>
Enable verbose logging of the installation to <logfile>

Parameter File Directives

Directives are specified on the command line after the parameters above, in the following format:

<directive name>=<directive value>

If installing with the /q switch, the directive INSTALLLEVEL=3 MUST be specified for the installation to work correctly.

Installation Directory Directives

By default, the installer places files in several locations. These directives allow those locations to be overidden as neccesary. All directives need to be followed by an equal sign (=) and then the full path. See examples below.

Directive(in bold)
Explanation(in italic)

INSTALLDIR
Indicates the full path location of the main installation directory. If the directory does not exist, it will be created. Spaces are OK on the path as long as the path is quoted.
The default is C:\Program Files\FME on XP, and C:\apps\FME on Vista and later.

Installer Behaviour Directives

The installer's runtime behaviour can be changed via these directives.

Directive(in bold)
Explanation(in italic)

ENABLE_SOUNDEVENTS
Setup sound events.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

CHECK_ADMIN_RIGHTS
Check to ensure that the user installing FME has admin priviledges.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_SHORTCUTS
Create shortcuts in the Windows Start Menu.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_FILETYPE_REGISTRATION
Register FME applications as being able to view, open, etc FME files and GIS data files.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_PATH_UPDATE
Allows installer to update the 'PATH' environment variable.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_STANDARD_EXE_INSTALLATION
Install all the standard fme executables (viewer, workbench, etc).
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_LICENSE_COPY
Allows installer to search for old license files, and copy them into the current install folder if present.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_POST_INSTALL_TASKS
Controls whether the license wizard is run after the installer has completed. See also FMEREG_CMDLINE.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_ZERO_SIDE_EFFECT
Sets the following options to "no":
ENABLE_SOUNDEVENTS, CHECK_ADMIN_RIGHTS,INSTALL_SYSTEM_DLLS, ENABLE_SHORTCUTS,ENABLE_FILETYPE_REGISTRATION, ENABLE_POST_INSTALL_TASKS,ENABLE_PATH_UPDATE,ENABLE_LICENSE_COPY
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is no.

ENABLE_NAD83_NAD27_DATUMSHIFTS
Controls whether the implicit NAD27 to NAD83 Datum Transformation is set to USA or CANADA.
Allowed values are Yes, No and None.
Default is No which sets it to USA, Yes is CANADA only and None will disable it and the workspace will error when trying to use that shift.

REPORTSTATISTICS
Controls whether the statistics about formats and transformers are sent to Safe Software.
Allowed values are Yes and No. Default is Yes.

File Installation Directives

Some of the files installed by the installer can be ommitted via these directives.

Directive(in bold)
Explanation(in italic)

INSTALL_SYSTEM_DLLS
Update older system dlls as needed, and run the Microsoft Visual Studio C++ Runtime Installer
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

NB: If set to 'no', the user is responsible for manually running the C++ Runtime installer, and ensuring that atl.dll and atl71.dll are installed on the target system. This option is not recommended, and may lead to non-functional FME installs.

INSTALL_THIRDPARTY
Install Application Extenders.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

NB: Enabling is controlled by the FME Administrator.

INSTALL_FMEOBJECTS
Install FME Objects dlls and other components.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_GALLERY
Install the gallery directory.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_HELP
Install the help directory.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_HELP_DLL
Install the help dlls.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_METAFILE
Install the metafile directory.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_PLUGINBUILDER
Install the pluginbuilder directory.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_REPROJECT
Install the Reproject directory.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_TCL
Install the tcl directory.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_WORKBENCH_EXE
Install the workbench application.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FME_EXE
Install the fmeapplication.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEADMIN_EXE
Install the fme administrator application.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEVIEW_EXE
Install the fme viewer application.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEGUI_EXE
Install the fme universal translator gui application.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEREG_EXE
Install the fme license wizard application.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_WHATSNEW
Install the what's new/great text files.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMECOMUTIL_DLL
Install the fmecomutil dll.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FME_SHELLEXT_DLL
Install the fme shell extension dll.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_SPATIAL_ASSISTANT_EXE
Install spatialassistant.exe.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEGEOS_DLL
Install geos_fme.dll.
Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

Examples

 msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi INSTALLDIR="C:\Programs\FMEDirectory"

This will throw up the installation GUI, but the default installation directory will be replaced with C:\Programs\FMEDirectory.

 msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi /qn INSTALLLEVEL=3

This will install in the default directory for the installer but will not display the GUI while doing so.

 msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi /qb INSTALLLEVEL=3 INSTALLDIR="C:\Programs\FMEDirectory" ENABLE_SHORTCUTS=no

This will silently install into C:\Programs\FMEDirectory and will not install any shortcuts.

 msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi /l*v logfile.txt

This will run the installer normally, but will log everything to logfile.txt.

Notes

When the installer runs silently from the command line with the /qn, it appears to return immediately, with the installation process occurring in the background. It is always a good idea to enable logging when installing silently so you can check for errors.
The parameter INSTALLLEVEL=3 must always be specified when installing silently from the command line.

"Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client" and "Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012 (x64)" are not automatically installed with the silent installer. These can be installed afterwards from the FME installation directory:

msiexec /i sqlncli.msi /qb

msiexec /i SQLSysClrTypes.msi /qb