Command Line Installation

Performing an installation via the command line allows passing parameters to the installer that control options during the installation. When started from the command line, the installation will proceed as normal, showing the installer user interface, unless started as a silent installation.

NOTE: When using the command line, it is important to pay close attention to placement of double quotes ("), spaces, and other characters. The Windows installer is very specific about these and will not perform as expected unless the syntax is exactly as expected.

CSiBridge v23, ETABS v19, SAP2000 v23, SAFE v20 and Newer Versions

The installers provided for CSiBridge v23, ETABS v19, SAP2000 v23, and SAFE v20 and newer offer parameters to control how the installation executes and to specify values related to licensing. An example looks like:

   Setup.exe /v"SHOWACTIVATE=0 NGEN=1 LicenseMode=Cloud ActivationKey=8AD7BF02-176C-4182-9A39-42534B8EC410 Server=MyLicenseServer Level=Plus"

or

   msiexec /i Setup.msi SHOWACTIVATE=0 NGEN=1 LicenseMode=Cloud ActivationKey=8AD7BF02-176C-4182-9A39-42534B8EC410 Server=MyLicenseServer Level=Plus

where,

   Setup.exe should be changed to the name of the downloaded InstallShield setup file;

   Setup.msi should be changed to the name of the MSI file extracted from the InstallShield setup file.

and the parameter values are specified as:

  • SHOWACTIVATE - specifies whether to prompt for standalone license activation:
    • 0 - turns the prompt off
    • 1 - turns the prompt on
  • NGEN - specifies whether to perform native-image generation:
    • 0 - turns native-image generation off
    • 1 - turns native-image generation on
  • LicenseMode - sets the desired license mode for the software to use:
    • Login - Cloud Sign-in Licensing
    • Cloud - Cloud Key Licensing
    • Standalone - Standalone Licensing
    • Network - Network Licensing
  • ActivationKey - sets a license activation key. Currently this only works for cloud licensing, allowing the cloud license to be activated at installation time instead of when the software is first run.
  • Server - sets the name or IP address of a legacy network license server. This will create an LMHOST.INI file in the installation folder containing the server name or IP address.
  • Level - sets the desired license level to use when the software is run. This will create a LEVEL.TXT file in the installation folder containing the level name.

Other Products and Older Versions

Other CSI installers provide two options to control how the installation executes. An example looks like:

   Setup.exe /v"SHOWACTIVATE=0 NGEN=1"

or

   msiexec /i Setup.msi SHOWACTIVATE=0 NGEN=1

where, 

   Setup.exe should be changed to the name of the downloaded InstallShield setup file;

   Setup.msi should be changed to the name of the MSI file extracted from the InstallShield setup file.

and the parameter values are specified as:

  • SHOWACTIVATE - specifies whether to prompt for standalone license activation:
    • 0 - turns the prompt off
    • 1 - turns the prompt on
  • NGEN - specifies whether to perform native-image generation:
    • 0 - turns native-image generation off
    • 1 - turns native-image generation on


NOTE: CSI strongly recommends performing native-image generation during installation to help improve the program startup time. This is the default behavior.