Installation for administrators

Using batch file templates

You can use batch files with installation scripts to distribute software to computers in a network. Each file has one or more commands with command switches that modify options.

An installation script includes paths to the product's setup.exe file. This file must be on your installation media or on the network. You need administrator permissions to install the products.

Batch file templates

Use batch file templates to install Autodesk software products in typical configurations for standalone or network licensed versions. Copy the template and replace variables with appropriate values for the products that you're installing. Variables shared by more than one template appear at the end of this topic.

Note: Although the batch file templates shown here include multiple lines of code, in practice you should write each file as a single line of instructions.

Template for a standalone license

<mediaDriveLetter>\setup.exe /t /qb /language <lang> /c  
<Product ID>: INSTALLDIR="%programFiles%\Autodesk\<Product Name>"  
ACADSERIALPREFIX=<SerialPrefix> ACADSERIALNUMBER=<SerialPostfix>   
ADLM_PRODKEY=<ProdKey> ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=<eula_lang> InstallLevel=5 
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="1"

Example:

C:\setup.exe /t /qb /language en_us /c  
ACAD_MAIN: ACADSERIALPREFIX=123 ACADSERIALNUMBER=12345678   
ADLM_PRODKEY=001M1 ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=US InstallLevel=5 
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="1" 

INSTALLDIR is an optional parameter. It’s not recommended. It can specify a different installation directory from the default location, which can cause problems. <Product Name> specifies the product installation directory, such as Inventor 2021.

Template for a single server network license

<mediaDriveLetter>\setup.exe /t /qb /language <lang> /c
<Product ID>: ACADSERIALPREFIX=<SerialPrefix> 
ACADSERIALNUMBER=<SerialPostfix> ADLM_PRODKEY=<ProdKey> 
ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=<eula_lang> InstallLevel=5 
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="3" 
ACADLICENSESERVERTYPE="Single Server License"
ACADLICENSETYPE="Network License" 
ACADSERVERPATH="<FlexLicenseServer> 000000000000"

<FlexLicenseServer> specifies the network license server.

Template for a distributed server network license

<mediaDriveLetter>\setup.exe /t /qb /language <lang> /c
<Product ID>: ACADSERIALPREFIX=<SerialPrefix> 
ACADSERIALNUMBER=<SerialPostfix> ADLM_PRODKEY=<ProdKey> 
ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=<eula_lang> InstallLevel=5 
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="3" ACAD_LICENSESERVER_DISTRIBUTED="1"
ACADLICENSESERVERTYPE="Distributed Server License" 
ACADLICENSETYPE="Network License"
ACADSERVERPATH="@<server1>;@<server2>;@<server3>;"

<server1> through <serverN> are valid network license servers.

Template for a redundant server network license

<mediaDriveLetter>\setup.exe /t /qb /language <lang> /c
<Product ID>: ACADSERIALPREFIX=<SerialPrefix> 
ACADSERIALNUMBER=<SerialPostfix> ADLM_PRODKEY=<ProdKey> 
ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=<eula_lang> InstallLevel=5 
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="3" 
ACADLICENSESERVERTYPE="Redundant Server License" 
ACADLICENSETYPE="Network License"
ACADSERVERPATH="<server1> 000000000000 27005;<server2> 
000000000000 27005; <server3> 000000000000 27005;"

<server1> through <server3> are valid network license servers with redundant licenses.

Template for installing a suite with a standalone license

When you install an Autodesk suite that includes multiple products, you need a separate code block in the batch file for each product. Each code block includes the product ID for one of the products being installed. However, the same suite serial number and product key are used for all products. The following template shows a batch file for standalone installation of three products.

<mediaDriveLetter>\setup.exe /t /qb /language <lang> /c <Product ID>:
ACADSERIALPREFIX=<SerialPrefix> ACADSERIALNUMBER=<SerialPostfix>
ADLM_PRODKEY=<ProdKey> ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=<eula_lang> InstallLevel=5
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="1" /c <Product ID>: 
ACADSERIALPREFIX=<SerialPrefix> ACADSERIALNUMBER=<SerialPostfix> 
ADLM_PRODKEY=<ProdKey> ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=<eula_lang> InstallLevel=5 
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="1" /c <Product ID>: 
ACADSERIALPREFIX=<SerialPrefix> ACADSERIALNUMBER=<SerialPostfix>
ADLM_PRODKEY=<ProdKey> ADLM_EULA_COUNTRY=<eula_lang> InstallLevel=5
ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE="1"

Variables used in templates

  • <mediaDriveLetter> is the drive letter where the media is mounted or the setup.exe file is stored. 
    Install options used here include /t (execute setup by script) and /qb (display a basic user interface). Others, such as /w (log nonfatal warnings), can be used for Microsoft's Msiexec command line. 
  • <Product ID> is the abbreviated name of the product being installed. Examples: ACM_MAIN for AutoCAD Mechanical, MAX for 3ds Max, and INVENTOR for Inventor. You can find this name inside square brackets in the product section of the Setup.ini file, such as [ACAD_MAIN]. Find the full product name in the product section, such as PRODUCT_NAME=Autodesk® AutoCAD® 2021.
  • <SerialPrefix> is the first three digits of the serial number.
  • <SerialPostfix> is the last eight digits of the serial number.
  • <ProdKey> is the product key.
  • <langlang> is the IETF language tag. Example: en-US for English-United States.
  • <eula_lang> is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard for the country. Example: US for United States.
  • ACADSTANDALONENETWORKTYPE identifies the type of license being installed. It has three possible values: 0 for both network and standalone licenses, 1 for a standalone license, and 3 for a network license.

Analytics usage data

Autodesk Analytics sends usage data to Autodesk for analysis. By default, users in your deployment can opt-in or opt-out later, from an option in their product Help menu. However, during installation you can opt-in or opt-out of Autodesk Analytics for all users in your deployment by including one of the following commands in your installation script.

To opt-out for all users in your deployment, include this command in your script:

Msiexec.exe [product].msi ADAOPTIN=0 ADAOVERRIDED=1

To opt-in for all users in your deployment, include this command in your script:

Msiexec.exe [product].msi ADAOPTIN=1 ADAOVERRIDED=1