Silent Installation
The ReliaSoft installer accepts command-line options that allow you to install the software without providing routine user inputs during installation. This is known as a silent installation. Silent installations are helpful when you have to install multiple ReliaSoft products on multiple client computers and the options you select while installing on each computer are always the same.
The ReliaSoft installer is created by the InstallShield application packaging system and will recognize the /r, /s, /SMS, /f1, and /f2 switches. The following instructions use the ReliaSoft2024.exe installer in all examples; the same approach can be used with the ReliaSoft installers from versions 2018 on. You can also use this approach with the licinst.exe file to install the HBM Prenscia Licensing Administration Utility, if desired.
1. Create an Answer File
To perform a silent installation, you’ll need an answer file (*.iss) that will provide the inputs that would normally be provided by the user in an interactive installation session. The easiest way to create an answer file is to run an ordinary installation and record the selections you make during the installation. You can use the following command to run and record the installation:
ReliaSoft2024.exe /r /f1"C:\silent install\Setup.iss"
where:
/r (required) records the user inputs during the ordinary installation and saves them to an answer file.
/f1"C:\silent install\Setup.iss" (optional) specifies an alternate location and name for the answer file. Use an absolute path. If omitted, a Setup.iss file will be created in the "c:\Windows" directory.
2. Run a Silent Installation
Once an answer file is available, use the following command to perform a silent installation on a client computer:
ReliaSoft2024.exe /s /SMS /f1"C:\silent install\Setup.iss" /f2"C:\silent install\Result.log"
where:
/s (required) runs the installer using the "silent" option.
/SMS (optional) prevents a network connection and the installer from closing before the installation is complete. This is useful if you are running the installation as part of a larger script (e.g., one script that triggers multiple events in a sequence). If omitted, the system will attempt to run the next command in the sequence, regardless of whether the installation is complete.
/f1"C:\silent install\Setup.iss" (required) specifies the location and name of the answer file.
/f2"C:\silent install\Result.log" (optional) creates a log of the installation in the specified location with the specified filename.
Checking for Errors
If you created a log of the installation, the log file will contain a ResultCode key that returns one of the following values:
| ResultCode | Definition |
| 0 | Success |
| -1 | General error |
| -2 | Invalid mode |
| -3 | The required data not found in the Setup.iss file |
| -4 | Not enough memory available |
| -5 | File does not exist |
| -6 | Cannot write to the response file |
| -7 | Unable to write to the log file |
| -8 | Invalid path to the InstallShield Silent response file |
| -9 | Not a valid list type (string or number) |
| -10 | Data type is invalid |
| -11 | Unknown error during setup |
| -12 | Dialogs are out of order |
| -51 | Cannot create the specified folder |
| -52 | Cannot access the specified file or folder |
| -53 | Invalid option selected |
3. Define the Path to the License Server
If you're using locally hosted licensing, you will need to connect each client computer to the appropriate license server. To do this silently, you can simply add the following command to your install script:
setx HBMUK_LICENSE_PATH PORT@HOST
where PORT@HOST should be 6220@servername (servername can be the resolved name or IP address).