Archived:Silently Install NI Software from Command Line

A silent install is an installation with minimal user interaction. Using command-line arguments, you can automate the installation of NI software installers and keep to a minimum the amount of user interaction required. This is also very useful if you want to install installers as part of a Windows batch file.

This process applies to software that was not distributed through NI Package Manager, but through MSI files.

1. Unzipped the installer containing NI software
2. Install from the command line using the following syntax: 

To determine how to configure each item of the command line code, refer to the sections below.

 

Installer File

This is either an executable file or an MSI file that you can get either from physical installation media like a USB or CD, or from a download link.
 

For example, for the LabVIEW Runtime engine:

From the installation CD/DVD:

• The LabVIEW Run-time installer executable file is LVRunTimeEng.exe.
• The LabVIEW Run-time installer in MSI format is called lvruntimeeng.msi and is located in the following locations:
  • LabVIEW 6.1: <CD drive>:\LVRunTimeEng
  • LabVIEW 7.x: <CD drive>:\components\lvruntimeeng
  • LabVIEW 8.x: <CD drive>:\Products\LabVIEW_Runtime_Engine_8x
  • LabVIEW 2009: <CD drive>:\Products\LabVIEW_Runtime_Engine_90
  • LabVIEW 201x: <CD drive>:\Products\LabVIEW_Runtime_Engine_201x

From a download link from NI's website:

• The executable file will depend on your version of the LabVIEW Run-time Engine and is called LVRTExxstd.exe. This executable is a self-extracting zip file and must be unzipped first before the silent installation options will work. Once it has finished unzipping, the setup.exe file inside the extracted folder can be used with quiet and reboot options. 
• ​The MSI file is LV2017runtime.msi.

 

Quiet Options

Many forms of these options are possible, all of which start with /q. These options set the amount of user interface (UI) that is displayed while the LabVIEW Run-time Engine installer is running:
 

Option	Description
/q , /qn	No UI. Please note use of this option alone is not supported for the LabVIEW 6.1 Run-time Engine
/qb	Basic UI. Use qb! to hide the Cancel button. A modal dialog box will be displayed at the end of the installation saying that it is finished.
/qr	Reduced UI (no modal dialog box displayed at the end of the installation)
/qf	Full UI
/qn+	No UI except for a modal dialog box displayed at the end
/qb+	Basic UI with a modal dialog box displayed at the end. The modal box is not displayed if the user cancels the installation. Use qb-! or qb!- to hide the Cancel button.
/qb-	Basic UI with no modal dialog boxes. Please note that /qb+- is not a supported UI level. Use qb-! or qb!- to hide the Cancel button.

Note that the ! option is available with Windows Installer version 2.0 and works only with basic UI. It is not valid with full UI.
 

Reboot Options

You can suppress certain prompts for reboots by setting the REBOOT property as follows:

REBOOT=<REBOOT property value>

Where <REBOOT property value> is one of the following:

 

Option	Description
Force	Always prompt for a reboot at the end of the installation. The UI always prompts the user with an option to reboot at the end. If there is no user interface the system automatically reboots at the end of the installation.
Suppress	Suppress prompts for a reboot at the end of the installation. The installer still prompts the user with an option to reboot during the installation whenever it encounters the ForceReboot action. If there is no user interface, the system automatically reboots at each ForceReboot. Reboots at the end of the installation, for example caused by an attempt to install a file in use, are suppressed.
ReallySuppress	Suppress all reboots and reboot prompts initiated by ForceReboot during the installation. Suppress all reboots and reboot prompts at the end of the installation. Both the reboot prompt and the reboot itself are suppressed. For example, reboots at the end of the installation, caused by an attempt to install a file in use, are suppressed.

 

Examples below give the situation and the code you would use to complete the silent installation.

1. Install the LabVIEW Run-time Engine with a basic user interface (progress bar with a Cancel button), a completion message at the end of the installation, and prompt the user to reboot after the installer executes:
   • <path to installer>\<exe file name> /qb+ REBOOT=Force, or
   • <path to installer>\<MSI file name> /qb+ REBOOT=Force  
2. Install the LabVIEW Run-time Engine with a basic user interface (progress bar only, no Cancel button), no message at the end of the installation, and suppress the prompt to reboot after the installer executes:
   • <path to installer>\<exe file name> /qb-! REBOOT=Suppress, or
   • <path to installer>\<msi file name> /qb-! REBOOT=Suppress  
3. Install the LabVIEW Run-time Engine with no user interface at all and reboot at the end of the installation:
   • <path to installer>\<exe file name> /q REBOOT=Force, or
   • <path to installer>\<msi file name> /q REBOOT=Force

As noted above, the first form (using the exe file) will not work for the LabVIEW 6.1 Run-time Engine Installer, you must instead use the MSI file which you can get from your LabVIEW 6.1 installation CD. This behavior is fixed in the LabVIEW 7.x and 8.x Run-time Engine exe Installers.