Deploying Golden Software products across a network is streamlined with our MSI installers. This guide walks you through the process of using tools like SCCM for deployment, configuring software licensing without user interaction, and ensuring optimal setup. Whether you're an IT professional or just getting started, this article provides a comprehensive overview of remote software deployment with Golden Software.
Deploy software remotely over the network
Golden Software MSI installers can be used to deploy our software using common deployment tools such as SCCM. MSI installers for the latest releases of the software are available from the download page on the Golden Software website.
For Surfer, Grapher and Strater, you can also use a License Data Setup file to configure the software licensing for the user. See Apply license settings without user interaction section below for more details.
Two important things to keep in mind:
- Golden Software does not provide or support the remote deployment tools. However, we are happy to support you with questions about the MSI switches available or how to remotely license and configure the software.
- Golden Software installers cannot be run on a System account. For remote deployment tools, you will need to be able to sign in to a user account on each computer as part of the deployment script.
Apply license settings without user interaction
The license data setup file is used to apply license configuration settings without user interaction. License settings allow for automatic activation of a product key, connection to a license server, and to suppress various end-user notifications. This file is typically used by IT Admins who are deploying our software with SCCM and want to configure the licensing during the deployment.
The license data setup file
Download the LicenseDataSetup-Template.txt file to get started.
- Edit this file to enable/disable the items listed below. Any text after a "#" is seen as a comment.
- Blank values will result in no change to an existing setting.
- This file can be used for both single-user and concurrent/network licensed applications.
How to use
There are three methods to apply license data/settings to the software.
- For Surfer 16+, Grapher 14+, and Strater 5.6+ - all three options below work, and licensing is set for all users on the computer.
- For Surfer 14/15, Grapher 13, and Strater 5.5 - only option 3 below will work, and licensing is set only for the running user.
Option 1: Apply license settings during installation
This is the best option for new installs using SCCM.
First, a file named "LicenseDataSetup.txt" will need to be placed in a shared location on the same computer that you are installing the program. This can be any shared location on the computer. In the example command below, the file was placed in C:\Temp\. The CMDLINE value must include all quote characters, and the file path must be a full absolute path.
msiexec /i "Surfer_21_Installer.msi" /quiet CMDLINE="ALLUSERS=""TRUE"" LIC_CONFIG_FILE=""C:\Temp\LicenseDataSetup.txt"""
Option 2: Apply license settings the next time the program is started
This is the best option for making licensing changes after the program is already installed.
Place a file named "LicenseDataSetup-<program>.txt" where <program> is replaced with "Surfer", "Surfer Beta", "Grapher", "Grapher Beta", or "Strater" in the folder C:\ProgramData\Golden Software\Shared\ on the same computer where you are installing the program.
Then wait for any user on the computer to run the program. The license settings will be applied automatically. The "LicenseDataSetup-<program>.txt" file will renamed as "LicenseDataSetup-<program>-Applied.txt" so that the change is applied only once.
Option 3: Apply license settings during launch of the program
Run the installed program EXE file once with the /licenseSettingsFile switch.
Example command:
"C:\Program Files\Golden Software\Surfer\Surfer.exe" /licenseSettingsFile="C:\ProgramData\Golden Software\Shared\LicenseDataSetup.txt"
Note: The CMDLINE value must include all quote characters, and the file path must be a full absolute path.
License settings available
This table below provides additional information about the available options that can be set using the LicenseDataSetup.txt file.
|
Option |
Values |
Default |
Description |
|
Server |
<IP or hostname> |
No change of server |
Specify a server IP address or hostname to configure the application for network-licensed use automatically. Use this setting OR the ProductKeyToActivate setting, not both. The application will activate the single-user license if both Server and ProductKeyToActivate are specified. However, the server license is given priority and will be used over the single-user license. |
|
ProductKeyToActivate |
<product key> |
No activation performed |
Specify a Product Key to activate a single-user license to this PC automatically. Use this setting OR the Server setting, not both. The application will activate the single-user license if both Server and ProductKeyToActivate are specified. However, the server license is given priority and will be used over the single-user license. |
|
DisableCommuting |
True False |
False |
True disables the Check Out License button in the License Information dialog. This setting only applies to concurrent license users. |
|
HideExpiration |
True False |
False |
True hides the display of the software maintenance or software subscription expiration date in the License Information dialog for both single-user and concurrent licensed modes. |
|
HideProductKey |
True False |
False |
True hides the display of the Product Key in the License Information dialog. This setting only applies to single-user licenses. Users that get a seat from a concurrent license server will never see a the product key. |
| HideLicenseNotifications
|
True False |
False |
True hides the display of notifications regarding expiring software maintenance or software subscriptions. This setting only applies to single-user licenses. Users that get a seat from a concurrent license server will never see a licensing notification. This overrides the setting File | Options | Updates | Show license notifications. |
|
HideUpdate |
True False |
False |
True hides software update notifications from the end user. This overrides the setting File | Options | Updates | Show update notifications. |
|
HideRegistration |
True False |
False |
True hides software registration notifications from the end user. This overrides the setting File | Options | Updates | Show registration notifications. |
|
HideAnnouncements |
True False |
False |
True hides general product and Golden Software notifications from the end user. This overrides the setting File | Options | Updates | Show announcement notifications. |
|
SetCEIP |
Enable Disable |
No change |
Enable allows tracking to be specified by the end user as normal. Disable turns off anonymous usage tracking and ignores any user setting that attempts to enable usage tracking. This setting can be overwritten by the user in the software Options dialog by checking the Track Usage box. |
*The default behavior is how the software behaves if the setting is not defined. The default behavior will not change a previously applied setting.
Updated August, 2023
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