Author: Eric Vasbinder
Oftentimes customers will want to efficiently mass deploy the Vista rich client across hundreds of workstations. This is often done through Windows AD login scripts or GPOs, Microsoft InTune, and other management tools. When using this install method for the rich client, customer IT organizations will frequently wish to use silent install switches and / or pre-configure the URL for the Vista server, to reduce the initial steps needed for end users.
The process for doing this can be encapsulated in two different steps:
Pre-Requisite Installation: SAP Crystal Reports Runtime and installation of .Net 4.8 or higher
Setup and Install of Vista: Creating the configuration file for the Vista server URL and then deploying the client
Please see below for more information on these two steps.
IMPORTANT
You will need to install the pre-requisites for Vista FIRST on the local workstation. Specifically, ensure that the .NET and Crystal installers are run.
SEE BELOW FOR STEPS FOR PRE-REQUISITES
The Vista client has two sets of pre-requisite "platform" items that need to be installed on the local workstation prior to installing the Vista client itself.
Microsoft .NET 4.8 or higher
SAP Crystal Reports Runtime v13 (Crystal 2016)
These platform components should be made available to you through the Trimble Viewpoint support web site or from here: How do I obtain and install the Vista VRL Rich Client?
.EXE Version (Available on Trimble Support site)
The following switches are used with the .EXE version of the .Net 4.8 installer:
/quiet or /passive = Run the installer without user interaction.
/norestart = Prevents the installer from restarting the system automatically
/AcceptEULA = Accepts the End User License Agreement (EULA) automatically
Usage Example: ndp48-x86-x64-allos-enu.exe /quiet /norestart /AcceptEULA
.MSI version (Available through Microsoft)
The following switches are used with the .MSI version of the .Net 4.8 installer:
/quiet or /passive = Run the installer without user interaction (also automatically accepts the EULA)
/norestart = Prevents the installer from restarting the system automatically
/log = Specifies a log file to capture installation details
Usage Example: msiexec /i ndp48-x86-x64-allos-enu.msi /quiet /norestart /log "%WINDIR%\Temp\DotNET48-Install.log"
.MSI Version (Available on Trimble Support Site)
The following switches are used with the .MSI version of the SAP Crystal 2016 installer:
/qn = Runs the installation in quiet mode with no user interaction
Usage Example: msiexec /i CRRuntime_64bit_13_0_21.msi /qn
The next step starts with getting the json file ready and pre-populated with the appropriate server URL for your VRL client install.
Install the Vista rich client on one workstation.
Delete the file: %appdata%\Viewpoint Construction Software\C^Program Files (x86)^Viewpoint Construction Software^Vista^bin^VistaUserConfiguration.json
Sign into Vista and logoff
Edit the file from step 1 and change the UserName and UseWindowsLogin fields to look like
"UserName": "",
"UseWindowsLogin": false
Copy this file and install it on user workstations and make sure it's in the users profile under C:\Users\{User Name}\AppData\Roaming\Viewpoint Construction Software
NOTE: This is also a shortcut for the directory: %appdata%\Viewpoint Construction Software
The final step is to deploy the Vista client itself to all workstations.
Please see below for a selection of installer command line switches and a method for pre-populating the server URL for the VISTA CLIENT:
/s = Silent Install
/v = verbose
/qn = additional options (e.g. INSTALLINGBITNESS=0 to select the 64 bit installer)
Usage Examples:
Install 64 bit client silently: msiexec.exe /S /v /qn /i "C:\Temp\VistaClient.23.1.0.883.msi" INSTALLINGBITNESS=0
Install 32 bit client silently: msiexec.exe /S /v /qn /i "C:\Temp\VistaClient.23.1.0.883.msi"
changelog
Wednesday, 21 August 2024 at 10:13AM:
Significant updates to accommodate move to MSI installer and include switches for pre-requjisites
Wednesday, 21 August 2024 at 08:52AM:
Moved changelog to the bottom
Created: Wednesday, 22 September 2021 at 10:05AM