Install HotDocs Silently

HotDocs Version:HD6, HD2005, HD2006, HD2007, HD2008, HD2009
Word Processor:Microsoft Word, WordPerfect
Added to Knowledge Base:April 2005
Updated:January 2007

Sometimes, you may want to install HotDocs silently—that is, without viewing any dialog boxes during the setup. For example, network administrators frequently install the same software on multiple workstations, and they may not want to click through the setup dialogs during each installation. The following steps show how you can silently install HotDocs using the default settings.

To silently install HotDocs 6.x or 2005

  1. Copy the installation files from the CD-ROM to a folder on your local workstation or network.

  2. Browse to the folder which contains the copy of the setup files and open setup.ini in Notepad.

  3. In the [Startup] section, type /silent on the CmdLine= line, like this: CmdLine=/silent.

  4. Optionally, add the following line to the [Startup] section to change the default destination folder (where C:\Program Files\HotDocs\ is the destination folder path), like this:

    HDPath="C:\Program Files\HotDocs\"

    .

  5. Save and close setup.ini.

  6. Double-click setup.exe. HotDocs is installed using default settings without prompting you for any additional information.

To silently install HotDocs 2006 or higher

  1. Insert the HotDocs installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. (If the CD browser window appears, close the window.)

  2. Optionally, copy the HotDocs installation (.MSI) file to a folder on your local workstation or network.

  3. Click Start > Run. The Run dialog box appears.

  4. Enter the following command, substituting the correct file name and path for your HotDocs installation (.MSI) file: msiexec /i "D:\HotDocs 2006 Professional Edition.msi" /qn.

    Note: Optionally, you can also add the INSTALLDIR option to the command line to specify a custom destination folder. The following command would install the program files to "C:\Program Files\HotDocs" instead of the default location: msiexec /i "D:\HotDocs 2006 Professional Edition.msi" /qn INSTALLDIR="C:\Program Files\HotDocs\".

  5. Click OK. HotDocs is installed using the default settings without prompting you for any additional information.

Note: The HotDocs installation underwent significant revisions for the HotDocs 2006 release. It was rewritten as a standard Windows Installer (.MSI) installation package, which greatly improves the reliability and ease of deploying HotDocs silently or on multiple workstations. The instructions above describe only a few of the command-line options that are available. For more information about command-line options available with Windows Installer, see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988.aspx.