Add Install Task

To add a new install task for your organization, click on the "Applications" tab, and select "Install Tasks", and click "Add".

Getting Started

The normal work flow for adding a new install task is as follows:

  1. Download the Package Creator tool, using the link in the "Getting Started" section.

  2. Use the Package Creator tool to generate a ".bvx" package file and ".bvxd" manifest file for the program you want to install. The Package Creator is a guided wizard you run to create these files.

  3. Upload the ".bvxd" manifest file using the "Upload Manifest" button, which will fill in most of the fields on this page.

  4. Upload the ".bvx" package file (which contains the application installer) using the "Uploaded File" field. The image above shows a file in the process of uploading.

  5. Wait for the upload of the .bvx file to finish. Very large file uploads of up to 16 GB are supported.

  6. Optionally, enter any other locations where you uploaded the ".bvx" file under "Other File Locations". These locations will be tried first by the OptiTune agent, before using the file uploaded through OptiTune. For example, specify a network share path to save on internet bandwidth usage.

  7. Click the "Save" button.

Alternatively, if the installer for your application is available as a single file (ending in ".exe" or ".msi") you can skip the packaging step, and upload the installer directly or specify a web URL ( https:// or http:// ) where the installer is available. However you will have to fill in the other fields manually:

  1. Enter the Application Name and Description

  2. Optionally, select any desired system requirements (operating system, etc...)

  3. Enter the system conditions for when the application is considered to be "installed".

    1. If the application is an ".msi" based application, use the "Msi Product" method for detection. You will need to obtain the MSI product code for the application. The packaging wizard can also detect this for you when you select an .msi file.

    2. Otherwise, find the uninstall key for the application, either by using the packaging wizard on a machine that has the application deployed, or by examining the Windows Registry. Importantly the agent will examine both the 32-bit and 64-bit areas of the registry for the uninstall key, so only specify the name of the uninstall key, not the whole path. For example, the name of the uninstall key would be "7-Zip" for the 7-Zip compression application.

  4. Specify a way for the OptiTune agent to download the application installer by either:

    1. Uploading the Application Installer (".exe" or ".msi") for the application using the "Uploaded File" field

    2. OR, Specify one or more paths to the installer in "Other File Locations".

  5. Enter the file name of the application installer in "Setup File Relative Path", such as "setup.exe", or "myapp.msi". This file name must exactly match the name of the file you uploaded previously.

  6. Specify any command line arguments for the installer. Most ".msi" installers do not require any additional command line arguments. Most ".exe" installers will need a "silent install" switch, such as "/S", but this depends on the installer in question. You will need to consult the application documentation for how to install it "silently", and test this out first on a command line to make sure it works correctly and does wait for user input.

  7. Click the "Save" button.

Step by Step Examples

The following guided examples are available for creating install tasks:

Install Task Details

Typically, you will use the Package Creator tool to generate the ".bvx" package file, and ".bvxd" manifest file, and then upload the ".bvxd" manifest file to fill in the following fields. But, you can also fill them in manually if you already have a ".bvx" file, or want to use the same ".bvx" file for multiple install tasks.

Note: You can mouse over any of the fields' labels for an explanation. Once you have filled in the fields below, click "Save" to save the new install task.

Application Name

Enter the name of the application.

Description

Enter the description of the application.

Notes

Enter any notes you wish to keep about the task.

System Requirements

Input the system requirements of the application by clicking on the "Edit" button. These system conditions must be met before the application can be installed.

Installed When

Input the system conditions for when the application is considered to be "installed", by clicking on the "Edit" button. For example, you could specify the "uninstall" registry key of the application. OptiTune will consider the task deployment successful when these conditions are met.

Uploaded File

You need to specify the installer file to use, either by uploading it here, or specifying one or more locations in "Other File Locations". If the installer file is specified both under "Uploaded File" and "Other File Locations", then the "Other File Locations" list will first be tried by the OptiTune Agent, then it will request the hosted file specified here.

The file extension must end in ".bvx", ".exe", or ".msi". Normally, you will create a package file ".bvx", but if the application installer is available as a single file (".exe" or ".msi"), you can instead skip the packaging step and upload the installer directly (See the alternate work flow above).

Other File Locations

Enter any other locations where the installer file (".bvx", ".exe", or ".msi") is available. They must be either network share paths, or URLs that begin with "https://" or "http://". Note if the "http://" prefix is used, this is not a secure way to deploy an application, and should not be used in production scenarios. For example, if a router is compromised, this could cause the agent to download a malicious file since the identity of the source of the file will not be verified using SSL.

Setup Relative File Path

Enter the path inside the ".bvx" file of the setup executable to run, to install the program. If a single installer file was uploaded (".exe" or ".msi"), enter the file name of the installer file (e.g. "myappsetup.exe" or "myappsetup.msi").

Command Line Args

Enter any command line arguments you wish to supply to the setup executable. Note this field will normally be blank for ".msi" based installers.

Install Timeout

Enter the maximum time, in minutes, to wait before giving up on the installation.

Keep Installation Files

If checked, the OptiTune agent will leave the installer files on the local hard drive, to allow easier repair operations of the application.