Installing FME Desktop from the Windows Command Prompt

We recommend installing FME Desktop using the installation wizard. However, installing from the command prompt may be useful when you want to perform a silent or remote installation.

Preparation

When performing a silent installation of FME Desktop, keep in mind the following:

Syntax for Silent Installation

msiexec /i <path_to_installer> /qb INSTALLLEVEL=3 INSTALLDIR="<installdir>" ENABLE_POST_INSTALL_TASKS=no

Example:

msiexec /i fme_beta.msi /qb INSTALLLEVEL=3 INSTALLDIR="C:\Program Files\FME" ENABLE_POST_INSTALL_TASKS=no

Note: INSTALLLEVEL=3 must always be specified when installing silently from the command line.

Note: To view all flags, type msiexec and hit Enter.

/i <installFile.msi>

Installs the package specified by <installFile.msi> on your computer.

/q[n|b]

Quiet mode. If /qb is specified, a dialog with a progress bar displays, but there is no user interaction. If /qn is specified, no GUI displays.

When /qn is specified, the installer appears to return immediately; however, the installation process continues to run in the background. When installing silently, we recommend enabling logging (see below) so you can check for errors.

/x <installFile.msi>

Uninstalls <installFile.msi> if it is installed on your system.

/l*v <logfile>

Enables verbose logging of the installation to <logfile>.

Directives are specified after flags, in the following format:

<directive name>=<directive value>

INSTALLLEVEL

If installing with the /q flag, the directive INSTALLLEVEL=3 must be specified for the installation to proceed correctly.

INSTALLDIR

Specifies the full path location of the main installation directory. If the directory does not exist, it is created. Spaces may be used with quotes.

The default path is C:\Program Files\FME on Windows XP, and C:\apps\FME on Windows Vista and later.

The following directives affect the installer's runtime behavior.

ENABLE_SOUNDEVENTS

Sets up sound events. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

CHECK_ADMIN_RIGHTS

Checks to ensure that the user installing FME has admin privileges. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

ENABLE_SHORTCUTS

Creates shortcuts in the Windows Start menu. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

ENABLE_FILETYPE_REGISTRATION

Enables FME applications to view, open, and work with FME files and GIS data files. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

ENABLE_PATH_UPDATE

Allows the installer to update the PATH environment variable. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

ENABLE_STANDARD_EXE_INSTALLATION

Installs all of the standard FME executables (Data Inspector, Workbench, etc). Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

ENABLE_LICENSE_COPY

Allows the installer to search for old license files, and copy them into the current installation folder if present. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

ENABLE_POST_INSTALL_TASKS

Controls whether the license wizard is run after the installer has completed. See also FMEREG_CMDLINE (below). Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

FMEREG_CMDLINE

Passes values into the license wizard (fmelicensingassistant_cmd.exe) at install time to automate licensing, using syntax similar to Licensing FME Desktop from the Windows Command Prompt. For example, to license FME with a Smallworld license on floating license server named "license_server", specify FMEREG_CMDLINE="--floating license_server smallworld". For license type (FME edition) values, see Specifying the FME Edition to Use.

ENABLE_ZERO_SIDE_EFFECT

Sets the following options to "no":

ENABLE_SOUNDEVENTS, CHECK_ADMIN_RIGHTS,INSTALL_SYSTEM_DLLS, ENABLE_SHORTCUTS,ENABLE_FILETYPE_REGISTRATION, ENABLE_POST_INSTALL_TASKS,ENABLE_PATH_UPDATE,ENABLE_LICENSE_COPY

Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is no.

ENABLE_NAD83_NAD27_DATUMSHIFTS

Controls whether implicit NAD27 to NAD83 Datum Transformation is set to USA or CANADA. Allowed values are yes, no and none. Default is no, which sets this directive to USA. A yes setting specifies CANADA only. Specifying none disable the transformation, which causes workspaces to error when trying to use that shift.

REPORTSTATISTICS

Controls whether statistics about format and transformer use are sent to Safe Software.

Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

Some files that are installed by the installer can be omitted by these directives.

INSTALL_USER_DOCUMENTS

Installs directories to the user's 'Documents' folder, including a 'My FME Workspaces' folder. Default is yes.

INSTALL_SYSTEM_DLLS

Updates older system DLLs as needed, and run the Microsoft Visual Studio C++ Runtime Installer. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

If set to no, the user is responsible for manually running the C++ Runtime installer, and ensuring that atl.dll and atl71.dll are installed on the target system. This option is not recommended, and may lead to non-functional FME installations.

INSTALL_THIRDPARTY

Installs application extenders. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

Enabling application extenders is controlled by the FME Administrator.

INSTALL_FMEOBJECTS

Installs FME Objects DLLs and other components. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes. For more information, see Installing the Software Development Kit for FME Desktop.

INSTALL_GALLERY

Installs the gallery directory. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_HELP

Installs the help directory. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_HELP_DLL

Installs the help DLLs. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_METAFILE

Installs the metafile directory. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_PLUGINBUILDER

Installs the pluginbuilder directory. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_REPROJECT

Installs the Reproject directory. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_TCL

Installs the tcl directory. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_WORKBENCH_EXE

Installs the the FME Workbench application. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FME_EXE

Installs the fmeapplication. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEADMIN_EXE

Installs the FME Administrator application. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEVIEW_EXE

Installs the FME Universal Viewer application. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEGUI_EXE

Installs the FME Universal Translator application. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEREG_EXE

Installs the FME Licensing Assistant application. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_WHATSNEW

Installs the what's new/great text files. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMECOMUTIL_DLL

Installs the fmecomutil DLL. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FME_SHELLEXT_DLL

Installs the fme shell extension DLL. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_SPATIAL_ASSISTANT_EXE

Installs spatialassistant.exe. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_FMEGEOS_DLL

Installs geos_fme.dll. Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is yes.

INSTALL_PYTHON27

Installs a Python 2.7 interpreter. (A Python 3.7 interpreter is installed by default.) Allowed values are yes and no (case-sensitive). Default is no.

WARNING: The Python 2.7 interpreter relies on the Visual Studio 2008 runtime, which has security vulnerabilities. If you have existing FME Desktop workspaces that reference Python 2.7, we strongly recommend upgrading them to reference Python 3.x in lieu of installing the Python 2.7 interpreter.

Examples

This example opens the installation wizard (GUI), but the default installation directory is replaced with C:\Programs\FMEDirectory.

msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi INSTALLDIR="C:\Programs\FMEDirectory"

This example installs to the default directory, but does not display the installation wizard (GUI) while doing so.

msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi /qn INSTALLLEVEL=3

This example peforms a silent installation to C:\Programs\FMEDirectory and does not install any shortcuts.

msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi /qb INSTALLLEVEL=3 INSTALLDIR="C:\Programs\FMEDirectory" ENABLE_SHORTCUTS=no

This example logs all installation activity to logfile.txt.

msiexec /i fmeinstaller.msi /l*v logfile.txt

Post-Install Tasks

Licensing FME Desktop from the Windows Command Prompt

You can activate an FME installation for a floating license using the following syntax:

fmelicensingassistant --floating <server>[:<port>] <license type>

For example:

fmelicensingassistant --floating testserver oracle

To get the proper values for <license type>, run:

fmelicensingassistant_cmd.exe --query <server>[:<port>]

For example:

fmelicensingassistant_cmd.exe --query testserver

MSSQL Formats Only

If you plan to run workspaces that reference Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL Database (MSSQL_*) readers and writers, you must manually install the SQL Server Native Client and Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server. To install, navigate to the [INSTALLDIR] and run the following:

msiexec /i sqlncli.msi /qb

msiexec /i SQLSysClrTypes.msi /qb