Automating the Client Network Installation

After you have installed Author-it components on the server, you need to install the Author-it program on each client machine. With a little customization this process can be automated, saving you valuable time and resources.

When the Server Components are installed, a netsetup.ini file is created. By editing this file, you define which components are installed on each client PC, and which serial numbers are used. The setup can then be run unprompted from each client PC streamlining the overall installation. You can email all users you have setup a shortcut to the netsetup.exe, so all the users have to do is double-click the shortcut to install Author-it. You could even make netsetup.exe run as part of the user's login script so Author-it installs automatically the next time the user logs in.

Note: To complete this task you need to install the Author-it Administrator module to a client PC. The option to install the Author-it client components during the server setup, installs the Administrator on the PC doing the install.

To Automate the Client Network Installation

1. From the main menu, select Security > Client PC Setup. The Author-it Licensing Administration screen appears.

   

To Add New User PCs

1. To add new user PCs, you must first identify the client machine names. These names should be displayed in your Network Neighborhood, or in the My Computer > Properties of each PC.
2. Once identified, enter the new PC Name and choose Add or press the Enter key. You can quickly enter in all your PCs in one session without moving from the New PC field.
3. An INSTALLDIR entry is created for each new PC, with the value 'AUTO'. This tells the network setup program to install Author-it to the default Program Files directory set on that PC. If you wish to manually set the install directory for a PC, select the entry and press the Enter key, or right-click and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
4. To remove an entry from the PC list, select the entry and press the Delete key, or choose the button. Removing a PC entry, also removes all serial numbers allocated to that PC.

To Add Components and Their Serial Numbers

1. To add serial numbers to the list, use the serial number entry field. Select the component by clicking on the buttons to show the type you require, then enter the serial number and choose Add or press the Enter key. The new serial number appears in the list.

   When you add a new Author serial number an Administrator entry for the same serial number is automatically created as they both share the same serial number. This entry is created so you can choose whether or not to install the Administrator on a PC.

2. To remove a serial number from the list, select the entry and press the Delete key.
3. Repeat until the serial numbers for all components you have licences for are listed.

To Allocate Serial Numbers to Each PC

1. Once you have created your lists of PCs and serial numbers, you need to allocate the numbers to the PCs.
2. To automatically allocate available serial numbers to a PC, select the PC entry and choose the button, or right-click and choose Add Unallocated Serials from the shortcut menu. This selects unallocated serial numbers and applies one of each to the PC.
3. To allocate a particular serial number, select the PC entry then select the serial number of the component to be installed and choose the button.
4. To remove a serial number entry from a PC, select the entry and press the delete key, or choose the button. The Netsetup program only installs a component for which a serial number appears in the list for the PC.

   

   You can email all users you have setup in the INI file a shortcut to netsetup.exe. All the users have to do is double-click the shortcut to install Author-it. You could also make netsetup.exe run as part of the user's login script so Author-it installs automatically the next time the user logs in.

To Install Author-it on each PC

1. Browse the server and locate the setup file called netsetup.exe located in the Author-it folder.

   Run this file to begin the automated installation process.

   

   Note for Windows 2000 Users: If your system has an older version of a particular DLL used for data access the setup program will install some later version components onto the PC. It is recommended that you reboot the computer at the end of the installation.

2. The Author-it files are automatically installed to the client PC. When the installation is complete, the program creates shortcut icons on the desktop and exits.