Lojyk

Thanks to this thread I've spent the afternoon experimenting with, and documenting for my colleagues, ChemSketch installation and uninstallation. Thought it fair I share what I learned. This is based on me using "ACDLabs202121_ChemSketchFree_Install.zip" which I downloaded yesterday. Unzip it to a folder, open a command prompt there. Creating Unattended Installers At the command prompt, enter setup.exe /a The installer starts up, but after the "Welcome" page you get to choose from 3 options. Install without creating a silent script Install and create ACD silent script (this generates a .TXT answer file, e.g. "silent.txt") Install and create MSI silent script (this generates a .MSI file and a .CAB file, e.g. "script.msi" and "script_0.cab") Choose ACD or MSI, chose where you want to save the output files and what you want to call them, then continue as normal. Installing Unattended ACD silent script (e.g. "silent.txt") At the command prompt, enter setup.exe silent.txt NB: The ACD unattended script file contains the absolute path to the "setup.exe" file, so generate the script fresh for each location you're running the install from. MSI silent script (e.g. "script.msi") with MSIEXEC. At the command prompt, enter msiexec /i script.msi /quiet /norestart NOTE: no matter what method is used to install, at the end it always opens an explorer window to show you the shortcuts in "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ACDLabs Freeware" so it's not truly "silent". Not seen that kind of thing for years. If anyone ever finds a way to suppress this please post it here. UN-Installing Unattended If Chemsketch was installed manually, or by ACD silent script, unattended uninstallation does not seem to be an option. You have either a shortcut in the program group, or the entry in Programs & Features, which both start the interactive uninstaller. Part way through you have the option to remove the program group shortcuts, and the registry entries. If Chemsketch was installed by MSI silent script, then unattended uninstallation is possible. At the command prompt, enter msiexec /x script.msi /quiet /norestart However, it leaves behind the program group folder and registry entries. Bit messy. .