Administering BlueZone

Chapter 6

MSI Command Line Switch Support

Overview

Sometimes it is desirable to use the Windows Installer program (MSIEXEC.EXE), to install BlueZone.  Windows Installer uses a command line interface.

We have designed the BlueZone.msi to be used in conjunction with the supplied SETUP.INI file.  Many BlueZone features and options can be modified or changed by editing the SETUP.INI file.  The advantage to this is that you don't have to know the Windows Installer command line syntax to modify or change BlueZone features and options.

SEE  BlueZone SETUP.INI File in Appendix A, for default values.

What You Need to Know About BlueZone.msi

NOTE  The procedure assumes that you are already familiar with Microsoft's Windows Installer.  Also, this procedure assumes that you are already familiar with the concept of a BlueZone Distribution Image.

SEE  Creating a Distribution Image in Chapter 6, for additional information.

As you learned in Creating a BlueZone Distribution Image, it is possible reduce the size of the BlueZone Distribution Image by deleting any BlueZone components that you do not need.  However, it is important to know that you should keep any BlueZone components that you think you might need in the future, as part of the image.

The reason for this is because the Windows Installer makes a list of all the BlueZone components that are present in the BlueZone Distribution Image during a BlueZone installation.  Even if all the components are not installed during the initial installation, they are kept tracked in the list.  later, if you want to install a BlueZone component that was not installed during the initial BlueZone installation, no problem, just add the component to the Windows Installer command line and run an installation.  The new component will be added to your BlueZone installation.

If you add a component to the BlueZone Distribution Image (that was not there during the initial BlueZone installation) and perform an installation, the new component will not be recognized and therefore, will not be installed.

NOTE  If you want to add a BlueZone component to a machine where BlueZone has already been installed, the only option is to uninstall BlueZone first and install it again with the new component added to the BlueZone Distribution Image.

Using BlueZone Specific Command Line Switches

As mentioned above, BlueZone.msi is designed to work in conjunction with the BlueZone SETUP.INI file.  Since BlueZone has a number of optional settings, using the SETUP.INI file simplifies the task of performing a command line installation.

However, it is possible to use the Windows Installer to set a particular BlueZone feature, like BlueZone's "Keyboard Lock", using a BlueZone specific command line switch.

To accomplish this, you have to know the exact name assigned to the Keyboard Lock feature (which is LOCK), and you have to know the lock value to set the Keyboard Lock (which is 8), so that you can include this feature in the command line statement.

SEE  The BlueZone MSI Feature Table in Appendix C, for specific feature values.

In the following example, I have created a Windows Installer command line that will install BlueZone with the following features:

NOTE  If you want a completely quiet installation, use /qn

Command Line Switch Example:

C:\>MSIEXEC /i "BlueZone.msi" LOCK="8" /promptrestart /qb

 

NOTE  If you need help with the Windows Installer command line options and switches, simply type MSIEXEC at a DOS prompt, and the following window will automatically be displayed:

SEE  The BlueZone MSI Feature Table in Appendix C, for values.

Please keep in mind that this is only an example of what can be done.  Since the BlueZone Keyboard Lock Feature is a standard part of the SETUP.INI file, you may find it easier to set the Keyboard Lock feature by editing the SETUP.INI file and not including LOCK="8" in the command line.

Using MSIEXEC to Install Specific BlueZone Components

Using Windows Installer, you have the ability to select exactly which BlueZone components to install.  This is accomplished by using the ADDLOCAL command line switch to control which BlueZone components get installed.

In order to use the ADDLOCAL feature, you need to know the names of the individual BlueZone components so that you can include them in the Windows Installer command line.  To keep things as simple as possible, the BlueZone component names use the same names as their CAB file names.

SEE  the BlueZone Program File Listing for a complete list of the BlueZone CAB files.

As a learning aid, we have created a fictitious company with the following scenario to use as an example.

Company XYZ has users who need the following BlueZone Components:

However, Company XYZ has no users that require all of the above BlueZone components.

The following is a list of Company XYZ users, by group, along with which BlueZone components they require.

User Group 1
User Group 2
User Group 3
User Group 4

Step 1 - Create a BlueZone Distribution Image

The first step is to create a BlueZone Distribution Image.  We recommend that you create one BlueZone Distribution Image that will work with all of the above situations.  In other words, your BlueZone Distribution Image will contain all the CAB files necessary to install all four groups.  The advantage to this is that you only have to manage one BlueZone Distribution Image and in addition, in the future, if any of Company XYZ's users want to add a BlueZone component to their installation, this can be accomplished without having to uninstall and re-install BlueZone.

TIP  You may even want to include additional CAB files for components that are not being installed now, but you may want to install in the future, like the BlueZone Mainframe Printer CAB and the BlueZone Scripting CAB.  The advantage to this is that you won't have to uninstall BlueZone in order to install the new component.

To start with, the BlueZone Distribution Image will look like this:

0x040c.ini

0x0407.ini

0x0409.ini

0x0411.ini

0x0413.ini

1031.mst

1033.mst

1036.mst

1041.mst

1043.mst

BlueZone.msi

bzftp.cab

bzmdp.cab

bzmp.cab       (optional - not used in the above scenario)

bzsc.cab        (optional - not used in the above scenario)

bzsm.cab

bzvt.cab

common2.cab

common.cab

setup.ini

To this image, add any desired BlueZone configuration profiles or desktop shortcut files.

SEE  Creating a Distribution Image in Chapter 6, for additional information.

Step 2 - Create a Command Line for Each Group

To install BlueZone, use standard Windows Installer command line syntax using the ADDLOCAL feature to install the individual BlueZone Components.  ADDLOCAL is standard Windows Installer syntax.  The only "trick" is to know the names of the individual BlueZone components which is equivalent to the components cab file name.

The following is the command line for installing User Group 1:

C:\>MSIEXEC /i "BlueZone.msi" ADDLOCAL=bzmdp,common,common2 /qb

 

The following is the command line for installing User Group 2:

C:\>MSIEXEC /i "BlueZone.msi" ADDLOCAL=bzsm,bzmdp,bzmp,bzftp,common,common2 /qb

 

The following is the command line for installing User Group 3:

C:\>MSIEXEC /i "BlueZone.msi" ADDLOCAL=bzvt,common,common2 /qb

 

The following is the command line for installing User Group 4:

C:\>MSIEXEC /i "BlueZone.msi" ADDLOCAL=bzsm,bzvt,bzftp,common,common2 /qb

 

NOTE  You must include the common and common2 CAB files all cases.  Also, these examples assume that the DOS prompt is already in the same folder as BlueZone.msi file.  Otherwise, you must include the "path" to the BlueZone.msi file.  Like this:

C:\>MSIEXEC /i "C:\Program Files\Seagull\BlueZone\BlueZone.msi" etc.

 

TIP  To execute a Windows Installer command line, one option is to type the Windows Installer command line at the DOS prompt.  Another option is to place each of the above Windows Installer command lines into a separate text file that ends in .BAT.  Give each file a name like UserGroup1.bat  Batch files can be executed from Windows explorer by double clicking the file.

Using MSIEXEC to Install All BlueZone Components

Your scenario may be different than the one described above.  If you have a set of BlueZone components that you want to install across all your users, you can use the ADDLOCAL=ALL command line switch to perform the installation:

C:\>MSIEXEC /i "BlueZone.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL /qb

 

ADDLOCAL=ALL automatically installs all BlueZone components that are present in the installation image.