Pro/E Help - Administration and Automation

Auto-setup

Here's a not-so-well-documented technique that enables you to automate your Pro/E (& Intralink) installation: use PTC.Setup trail files.
Record every click and entry you make in the setup program - then automatically replay the steps for each new Pro/E installation.
It saves a lot of time - and you don't have to be there at the computer to make the right picks, etc...
These are the details:

Run your setup with the option-uilog on the command line, eg:
ptcsetup -uilog
Then perform all the selections you need for a standard installation - including license servers, installation folder, etc...
The trail file ps_trl.txt.numeric suffix is created in the current folder.
Now - rename the trail file (eg: setup.txt) and place it in a convenient place (eg:bin folder).
Write a script to call setup with the trail file and place it in the same folder:
ptcsetup -uitrail setup.txt
There's also the option of running setup without displaying onscreen (use -nographics option):
ptcsetup -nographics -uitrail setup.txt

Also see this this PTC article PTC KDB Article - a/c required

This technique is especially useful for installing Intralink.
You could incorporate this into your standard installation procedure - so all new clients are set up with the correct paths, servers, etc.

I got a question in the guestbook about setting this up to install during the night. I would probably use a scheduled task to copy the files and run the installation program.
(Remember to test it first...)

I also got a question on a Pro/E newsletter about Administration rights.
In many systems the user has local admin access to their own machine, so it's not a problem.
If a CAD admin person has to log in to run the setup, this automated routine still makes your job much easier - just a double-click to configure the lot!