Network Deployments - Include Additional Software

If you are working with Revit then you at some point must have dealt with the issues of installing these add-ons. For the Revit 2014 releases, I decided to incorporate the installation of several add-ons such as:

• DB Link
• Model Review
• Batch Print
• Worksharing Monitor
• Revit Extensions

The documentation on how to incorporate this information into the network deployment is a little weak. I initially went down the road of determining how to create silent installs for each of these add-ons, but I was was over thinking it.

As you are creating your network deployment, you will notice that one of the sections is to "Include additional software" (see below).

This allows you to add additional .msi and .exe software to your deployment. If you adding the Autodesk Revit add-ons (with the exception of Revit Extensions), you just need to click the "Add..." button and select the add-on. You do not need to specify any Command Line Parameters.

For Revit extensions, you first need to extract the install package from the executable zip file that you downloaded from the subscription site. If you accept the defaults, the files will be extracted to C:\Autodesk\REX_2014_dlm\. Back in your network deployment, Include additional software, you want to add either the REX_x64.msi (64-bit) or REX_x86.msi (32-bit) depending on the Revit deployment you are creating. You do not need to add and Command Line parameters.

When you are done adding your additional software to include in your deployment, you can close the "Include additional software" and complete your network deployment. As your network deployment is being created, the add-ons that you have selected will be copied from the location you selected to the ...\Img\ADDONS\ folder of the network deployment. Once the network deployment has finished copying all the files, hold off on performing a test installation.

The Revit Extension addon only copied over the .msi file of the installation.We need to copy over the rest of the required installation folders from C:\Autodesk\REX_2014_dlm\REX\ to ...\Img\ADDONS\ADDON_REX_X64_0\

Your ...\Img\ADDONS\ADDON_REX_X64_0\ directory should now look as follows

Converting an .exe into a .msp - Repost

Noce post from Revitit.com

You are doing an install and you want to convert the .exe SP into a .mps.

See the video here

Silenting installing Revit Add-ons

Working for an organization with multi offices, installing software can be a time consuming. I'm not IT, don't want to be IT, but making sure that everyone has functioning software is more often than not something a BIM or CAD Manager needs to attend to.

To minimize time someone has to spend installing software, I wanted to create a batch file to install Revit and then the add-ons. The only interaction I want to have to do for the install if to double click on a single file and walk away. Working with some of the talented people at Autodesk I have been able to create a batch file to install the main product and several add-ons for Revit. The add-ons, like worksharing monitor are the tricky ones to silently (no user interaction) to install.

To automate the install process, the first thing I did was create a network deployment. Autodesk's Help file provides some basic information on completing that task. For add-ons that are a standard .msi file, I used one of the following command lines to install the software in silent mode (thank you Anthony).

msiexec /i /quiet
msiexec /i /passive
msiexec /i /qn (No UI)
msiexec /i /qb (Basic UI)
msiexec /i /qr (Reduced UI)

I now could then make my batch file to install Revit. The following is the basic syntax for installing:

pushd \\network folder install location
RevitVersion.lnk (name of the network deployment shortcut)
msiexec /i addonname.msi /quiet

Below is the batch file that I created for our Revit Architecture 2011 64-bit install. Note that we store our add-ons in a different folder location so we don't need to have duplicate copies for 64 and 32-bit versions as well as Revit flavors. Comments are shown in itlaic

pushd \\adclic03\bim\Installs\RAC2011\64-bit\
RAC2011-64.lnk
popd (This resets the folder location)
pushd \\adclic03\bim\Installs\RAC2011\Additional add-ons\ (location for 2011 add-ons)
msiexec /i worksharingmonitor.msi /quiet (installs worksharing monitor)
msiexec /i globelink2011.msi /quiet (installs globe link)
msiexec /i 2011dblinksetup.msi /quiet (installs DB Link)

This has simplified the install procedures, but we must still install any add-ons that are an .EXE separately like the Revit Extensions. I'm sure there is a way to do that, just haven't found it yet.

There are of course other methods to install apps, like pushing thru Group Policy, but I don't have a means to perform that. If you have any suggestions or comments, let me know.