Command Line Install

This page is for IT administrators who want to be able to install and update the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint from the command line.

Installation

You can do a silent install of the symboliser from an administrator command line as follows:

msiexec /i "path\to\msi\file.msi" KEY_ENTERED_BY_USER="XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX" /qn

You could leave the license key out, but then each individual user of the computer will need to enter in the license key for their accounts. To add the license key at a later point, you can either install a newer version of the symboliser (if one is available) with the license key, or uninstall and then re-install the existing version – this time using the license key. For example:

msiexec /x "path\to\msi\file.msi" /qn
msiexec /i "path\to\msi\file.msi" KEY_ENTERED_BY_USER="XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX" /q

Note if the license key is entered incorrectly in the command, the installation will still continue, but no license key will be saved and the software will function in trial mode (users will be able to use it for 30 days). You can check if the license key was correctly stored by opening PowerPoint, symbolise something (type in say “cat” into a text box, and then click on symbolise) and then in the Commtap Symboliser group choose “Preferences” and “Help/About” – you should see a line starting “License key” and it should show part of the license key you entered.

Making a symbols list permanently available to all users of a computer

If you want to:

  • have a centralised set of symbols/images stored in a network location that you would like people to use across your organisation;
  • install a symbols set on a computer and make that available to users of the computer without them having to add the symbol set themselves (such as a commercial or open-source symbol set);

you can use this Windows PowerShell script – which adds a symbols list to users’ profiles:

 

  • Copy this script into a file with extension “ps1” such as cs-install-list.ps1;
  • Run it from Windows PowerShell.

Getting version information

Use this script to get information about the version of the Commtap Symboliser installed and the latest version available. NOTE: this script does not check what updates your license allows you to have: this will be incorporated into later versions of the script.