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Command Line Installation

Liz Sanderson
Liz Sanderson
  • Updated

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.

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 to msiexec, the program that installs 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

/i <installFile.msi>

  • Install msi file. This tells msiexec to install the package specified by <installFile.msi> on your computer.

/q[n|b]

  • Quiet mode. If /qb is specified, a progress bar dialog 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 overridden as necessary. All directives need to be followed by an equal sign (=) and then the full path. See examples below.

Directive (in bold) 

  • Explanation

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

Installer Behavior Directives

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

Directive (in bold)

  • Explanation

ENABLE_SOUNDEVENTS 

  • Set up sound events. 
    • Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

CHECK_ADMIN_RIGHTS 

  • Check to ensure that the user installing FME has admin privileges.
    • 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 to view, open, etc., FME and GIS data files.
    • Allowed values are yes and no. Default is yes.

ENABLE_PATH_UPDATE 

  • Allows the 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 the 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 runs after the installer completes. 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, it's CANADA only
      • None will disable it; 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 omitted via these directives.

Directive(in bold)

  • Explanation

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.

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 result in non-functional FME installations.

INSTALL_THIRDPARTY 

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

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 it will not display the GUI during installation.

 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 option, it appears to return immediately, with the installation running 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 afterward from the FME installation directory:

msiexec /i sqlncli.msi /qb
msiexec /i SQLSysClrTypes.msi /qb

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