Personal Communications provides an optional method of customization that allows property values and feature installation choices made during one installation to be automatically applied during subsequent installations. The initialization file (.ini) contains the properties and options for Windows Installer to use as initialization choices so that subsequent installations do not require users to provide installation input using dialogs. Then, future installations can be set to run silently using an initialization file.
Administrators create, save, and implement initialization files using command-line parameters. Personal Communications provides four command-line parameters:
Each parameter, with a corresponding usage description, is described in the following sections.
Two sample initialization files are included on the Personal Communications installation image. These sample initialization files can be used during the installation if your workstation configuration matches the definitions in the sample. Personal Communications includes the following sample .ini files:
The samples are defined for a first-time installation of Personal Communications. If you already have Personal Communications, AnyNet®, or Microsoft® SNA Server previously installed, the samples will not work; you will need to create a unique initialization file to match your workstation.
Parameters are passed through setup.exe to the MSI (Windows Installer database) package using the /v command-line parameter. Within the /v"..." argument, you can specify parameters such as SAVEINI, ONLYINI, and USEINI which all take a file path. If a path containing spaces is specified, it must be in quotes and preceded by a backslash within the /v"..." argument, as shown in the following examples. For more information on the /v command-line parameter, see Appendix B. IPWI Command line parameters.
This parameter designates an initialization file to be created and installs Personal Communications. To create an initialization file without installing Personal Communications, see the description of the command-line parameter ONLYINI. The .ini file that is saved contains property values and feature installation choices that can be passed on to future installations of Personal Communications. By default, the .ini file is not removed when Personal Communications is uninstalled. The following command creates the .ini file and installs Personal Communications:
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" SAVEINI=%temp%\pcomm.ini\"" |
where:
An administrator creates an initialization file by using the SAVEINI command-line parameter and running either a typical or custom Windows Installer service installation for Personal Communications (see Installing to a Local Hard Drive). Upon completion of the installation, the .ini file containing all of the property values and feature installation choices designated during the custom setup is saved in the directory specified in the SAVEINI parameter.
This parameter designates that a .ini file be created without installing Personal Communications. Upon completion of the custom setup, Windows Installer prompts you to exit the installation program without installing Personal Communications.
pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" SAVEINI=\"%temp%\pcomm.ini" ONLYINI=1" |
where:
When ONLYINI is set to 1, the .ini file is created without the product installation. When ONLYINI is set to 0, the parameter is inactive, and product installation occurs.
An administrator can use this parameter to create several unique .ini files to meet the needs of different types of users without performing an installation each time an initialization file is created.
This parameter designates that a previously created .ini file be used to determine property values and feature installation choices for a current installation.
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" USEINI=\"%temp%\pcomm.ini\"" |
where:
In order to apply the initialization file you created using SAVEINI, or one of the sample initialization files included with Personal Communications, you must use the USEINI command-line parameter. USEINI can be used to run either a typical or custom installation for Personal Communications (see Custom Installation). If you choose custom setup, all property values and feature installation options designated in the specified initialization file are selected for installation.
Though you can specify a particular initialization file to be applied with the USEINI parameter, use of initialization files is not required for remote installations. If no initialization file is specified during a remote installation, a typical installation results.
This parameter designates that the .ini file be removed when Personal Communications is uninstalled from the system. If this parameter is not set or if any value other than that designated in the syntax is used, the initialization file remains on the system after Personal Communications has been removed.
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" REMOVEINI=1"
where:
This parameter can be used at any time after you have created the .ini file. It removes the .ini file when Personal Communications is uninstalled from the system. The .ini file is only removed if the occurrence of Personal Communications that is being uninstalled was originally installed using the .ini file that is designated for removal.
Parameters can be set to use a system variable instead of a directory path--for example, the variable %pcomm_ini% can replace the C:\temp\pcomm_ini path.
In the following syntax examples, the ONLYINI parameter is set to active. The TRANSFORMS parameter launches the setup GUI in the specified language.
Using an environment variable:
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" SAVEINI=%pcomm_ini%\ MyCustom.ini ONLYINI=1 TRANSFORMS=\"1033.MST\"" |
where xxx can be mls, chs, cht or kor depending on the installed PCOMM language.
Using UNC path names:
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" SAVEINI=\\MachineName\pcomm_ini\MyCustom.ini ONLYINI=1 TRANSFORMS=\"1033.MST\"" |
where xxx can be mls, chs, cht or kor depending on the installed PCOMM language.
The shared UNC path must have write access.
Using an environment variable:
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" USEINI=%pcomm_ini%\MyCustom.ini ONLYINI=1 TRANSFORMS=\"1033.MST\"" |
where xxx can be mls, chs, cht or kor depending on the installed PCOMM language.
Using UNC path names:
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" USEINI=\\MachineName\pcomm_ini\MyCustom.ini ONLYINI=1 TRANSFORMS=\"1033.MST\"" |
where xxx can be mls, chs, cht or kor depending on the installed PCOMM language.
The shared UNC path must have write access.
In order to ensure that property values and feature installation options designated in the initialization file are not overridden by users or to enhance the ease of installation, you can apply initialization files during silent installations.
To perform a silent installation using initialization file processing, type the following command:
E:\install\pcomm_pkgs\xxx\install\pcomm\setup.exe /s /v"/L*v \"%temp%\pcsinst.log\" USEINI=\"C:\Program Files\IBM\Personal Communications\pcomm.ini\" /qn" |
where xxx can be mls, chs, cht or kor depending on the installed PCOMM language.
This process passes the silent installation command-line parameter (/qn) through setup.exe to the MSI package. For more information about setup.exe command-line parameters, see Appendix B. IPWI Command line parameters. This parameter can also be added to commands that use system variables instead of path names.