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Adobe CS4 Preserialization

Has anyone been able to preserialize Adobe CS4 products without using the --mode=silent switch? We use SCCM to perform the install and let the user start the install when they are ready. We need to be able to have the serial number populated and let the user view the progress bar so they know when the install is finished.
With CS3, I simply created the application.xml.override file, placed it in the appropriate payloads folder, then just kicked off the setup.exe. The user clicked next through the install and everything was fine. This does not work with any of the CS4 applications. I re-read the Deployment guide again to make sure I didn't miss anything, but it doesn't help. It appears that CS4 apps ignore the application.xml.override file altogether and you are forced to use the install.xml which forces you to use the --mode=silent switch. Is there a different mode switch besides silent?
Tried with Indesign, Photoshop, Web Premium and Design Standard. I have been on the phone for hours with Adobe and got absolutely no help whatsoever. Completely worthless! I appreciate any suggestions or help!
Asked 14 years ago 7353 views
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Answers (10)

Posted by: RS|Stian 14 years ago
Orange Belt
0
Have you tried using the Adobe CS4 Deployment Toolkit? I actually made a automated/silent installation of Illustrator CS4 today using this toolkit. When you install the toolkit and launches it you are able to entering vital things such as serial number, install directory and location of source/installation files for the product, features to include/not to include etc. When the customization is finished you will receive two XML files, one for install and one for uninstall. To get these to work properly there is also created two EXE files which is called AdobeUberInstaller and AdobeUberUninstaller.

To deploy the software package I just created one simple Windows NT Command Script for install and one for uninstall. This is a example for installation:

@echo off
echo Adobe Illustrator CS4 is now being installed
echo DO NOT close this window
echo Window will close automatically when the installation has finished

\\server01\Packages\IllustratorCS4\AdobeUberInstaller.exe
I hope there was something similar like this you were looking for.
Posted by: midmorog 14 years ago
Senior Yellow Belt
0
I used the "Adobe Creative Suite 4 Enterprise Manual Deployment Guide" to get as far as I am. I tried to find the toolkit and it looks like I have to call Adobe to get it. I can't find where to just download it and I don't want to call Adobe. They just suck too much.
I
I did use your suggestion with the cmd file and it works great! Thank you for that suggestion. I am not using the uberinstaller, just setup.exe --mode=silent --deploymentFile=install.xml
Sometimes old school methods are the only way... Thanks again!
Posted by: RS|Stian 14 years ago
Orange Belt
0
No problem, nice to hear that you managed a way to deploy the software. If I remember correctly the toolkit is a part of the CS4 Master Collection, I haven't checked whether is available with separate application discs such as Illustrator and Photoshop so that's may be reason why you haven't found it.
Posted by: midmorog 14 years ago
Senior Yellow Belt
0
After several bouts of emailing back and forth answering the same questions over and over again, I finally got an Adobe "engineer" to call me on the phone. He admitted that he and his "senior engineers" got the exact same results that I reported to them. They are going to keep working on the issue and try to find a solution. If they do come up with one I'll be sure to post it here to share with everyone. I've gotten lots of good info from this site and would like to return the favor. For now, though, the old school command prompt is doing the trick.
Posted by: anonymous_9363 14 years ago
Red Belt
0
They are going to keep working on the issue and try to find a solution...which we can guarantee won't involve the use of an industry-standard installer. The arrogance of these people is a vision to behold...
Posted by: frits 14 years ago
Yellow Belt
0
would love to get an answer for this too. as it is causing great difficulty.
we use SCCM and have about 10 distribtion servers country wide. an issue we have is that when you create the XML file it points to the UNC path of the origional source location. found this blog which may help out with that. im still having issues though. http://blogs.adobe.com/OOBE/2009/03/cool_tips_for_deploying_creati.html

currently i can run the installer through the command prompt when i map to the UNC path but not if i just run straight from the UNC.

im finding that CS4 is just a waste of time.
Posted by: troy_in_wi 14 years ago
Orange Belt
0
I am trying to automate installation of Adobe FireWorks 10 CS4 and also used the Adobe Enterprise Manual Deployment Guide to create an install.xml file. The instructions seem pretty simple and straight forward and I've reviewed them several times to make sure I'm doing it correctly.
I CD to my install root folder and run setup.exe --deploymentFile=install.xml . However, I still get the same prompts as I do when installing without the install.xml file. I istill have to choose Trial for my License, still have to Accept the License Agreement, and still have to choose to install All products. What's the point of the install.xml file? Or am I maybe doing it wrong?

Here is the command I'm using:
"C:\MyFolder\AdobeFWCS4\Setup.exe" --deploymentFile="C:\My
Folder\AdobeFWCS4\install.xml"
Posted by: troy_in_wi 14 years ago
Orange Belt
0
My only guess is that it's having a problem because I'm choosing the Trial License instead of actually providing one.
Posted by: troy_in_wi 14 years ago
Orange Belt
0
Yep, that was the problem. Can not use Silent Install or Unattended install using install.xml file if you are selecting the Trial Version. Must have a valid Volume License.

Another thing, the Adobe Log File created is not in a plain text format. It is compressed so you will need a Zip program to un-compress it before you can read their Log File. ... nice(sarcasm added).
Posted by: midmorog 14 years ago
Senior Yellow Belt
0
Just a quick follow up on this issue. Adobe basically said "You are correct. You can't do that in CS4. Thank you for contacting Adobe Tech Support." They finally agreed that it was a problem and that it was their problem, but offered no solution and just closed the ticket. I'm guessing they have no intention of ever correcting the issue.

Here's how we get around it though. It's kinda crude but it works. We install from a cmd file with the following in it:

echo Adobe CS4 Illustrator is being installed.
echo DO NOT CLOSE THIS WINDOW
echo Do not open any programs while installing this software.
echo This window will close when the install is finished.
copy \\servername\sharename\Adobe_Illustrator_CS4\install.xml c:\ /y
setup.exe --mode=silent --deploymentFile=c:\install.xml exit

For some reason we had to copy the install.xml file to the local drive or it would be ignored. The cmd file tells the user that the software is being installed, don't touch your computer, and this window will close when the install is finished. It's ugly, but at least the user has some sort of visual cue that the software is being installed and when it is finished.

Hope this helps someone out!
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