Custom Guide

Centralized distribution of Tekla Structures

2016i
Introduction
Tekla Structures consists of the following installations:

Tekla Structures software installation

Tekla Structures environment installation
Localized environments include your country-specific codes and standards.

Installing Tekla Structures software and environments one by one on each user’s
computer is a time consuming task in large companies, and therefore, Tekla Structures
is often installed in a centralized manner across company workstations.

This article clarifies the basic principles of building a centralized installation for the
Tekla Structures installation package. Note that there are separate support articles for
each Tekla Structures version.

Scope of this support article

This article describes two different methods that can be used when installing Tekla Structures in
a centralized manner:

Installing Tekla Structures using setup.exe files, see Method 1.

Installing Tekla Structures using an MSI package, see Method 2.

There are also other methods available, but these methods are not described in this article.

This article is meant for a Tekla Structures main user who prepares installation
packages and determines the correct installation settings for the IT department. The
company IT department can then distribute Tekla Structures into workstations in the
company network.
 The basic assumption is that you have earlier experience in centralized distribution and
that you are familiar with the distribution tools used in your company. The steps to
configure the actual distribution depend on the software you are using. This article only
explains the steps that are Tekla Structures specific, or relevant to a Tekla Structures
main user.

Do not use any self-made batch files for the centralized installation of Tekla
Structures. Tekla Structures installation is designed to be run either interactively by
double-clicking the installation .exe, or in centralized manner as explained in this
instruction by using proper distribution tools.

Hardware recommendations
The hardware recommendations need to be fulfilled on the client computers where
Tekla Structures is going to be installed. Hardware recommendations for Tekla
Structures 2016i can be found in here.

Installation settings in Tekla Structures 2016i

In the interactive installation of Tekla Structures, the user defines the settings in dialog
boxes (installation location and default location for the model folder). In the centralized
distribution, the dialog boxes are typically not visible to the user, and therefore the
settings need to be defined in some other way.

The installation settings are valid for both installation methods explained in this article.
The settings are the same even though they are entered in different ways depending on
the installation method used.

Installation settings for Tekla Structures 2016i final software

Installation folders

By default Tekla Structures 2016i is installed to the C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\

folder and environments to C:\ProgramData\Tekla Structures\ folder. If you want to
install to some other folder, you need to define the location with the following installer
properties:

INSTALLDIR – Software installation folder

 TSMODELDIR - Default location for Tekla Structures models

The software installation folder and the environment installation folder are dependent
on each other:

If your software installation folder is C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\, then

your environment installation folder should be C:\ProgramData\Tekla Structures\.
If your software installation folder is C:\TeklaStructures\, then your environment
installation folder should also be C:\TeklaStructures\.
If you want to use any other installation location, then the software installation folder and
the environment installation folder must the same.

Installation settings for Tekla Structures 2016i environments and service

packs

There is no need to give any additional parameters when installing Tekla Structures 2016i
environments and service packs. The installer internal logic will resolve the proper installation
folder based on the installation data of Tekla Structures 2016i final software.

Installing to a computer where other Tekla Structures versions already exist

Tekla Structures 2016i installation can be done according to this instruction even
though you have some previous Tekla Structures versions installed.

Method 1: Preparing a centralized distribution

of Tekla Structures with Setup.exe files
In Tekla Structures 2016i you can use the original setup.exe files in the silent
installation if your deployment software supports using setup.exe. You do not need to
extract the setup file separately but just run the installer .exe file in the command line
using the appropriate parameters. The prerequisites are installed automatically if they
do not exist on client computers.

You can find more information about the setup.exe settings

here: http://helpnet.flexerasoftware.com/installshield22helplib/installshield2...
Instructions for Project Type “Basic MSI” are valid for Tekla Structures installers.

Enter the settings described in the previous chapter in the command line. Note that it is
essential to enter INSTALLDIR and TSMODELDIR when installing Tekla Structures
2016i software to non-default location. See the examples below.

Examples of a command line command for running setup installation silently

Example 1:
 Install Tekla Structures software and the Default environment. By default, Tekla
Structures is installed to Program Files folder. Environments are installed to Program
Data folder. By default, the Tekla Structures model folder will be
C:\TeklaStructuresModels. The command also creates an installation log file.

Tekla Structures software installation command:

TeklaStructures2016iSoftware.exe /s /v"/qn /lvoicewarmupx

TS2016i_logfile.log"

​Tekla Structures Default environment installation command:

Env_Default_2016i.exe /s /v"/qn /lvoicewarmupx

TS2016iDefault_logfile.log"

Example 2:

Install Tekla Structures software and the Default environment. Tekla Structures and the
environments are installed to C:\TeklaStructures folder. Tekla Structures model folder
will be C:\TeklaStructuresModels2016. The command also creates an installation log file.

Tekla Structures software installation command:

TeklaStructures2016iSoftware.exe /s /v"/qn
INSTALLDIR=\"C:\TeklaStructures\"
TSMODELDIR=\"C:\TeklaStructuresModels2016\" /lvoicewarmupx
TS2016i_logfile.log"

​Tekla Structures Default environment installation command:

Env_Default_2016i.exe /s /v"/qn /lvoicewarmupx

TS2016iDefault_logfile.log"

Note that when installing environments you do not need to separately define the
installation folder for the environments as it is read from the registry values inserted by
the Tekla Structures 2016i software installer.

Note that setting /v is used in the msiexec. You need to have all of the settings in
quotation marks. Also, if for example the INSTALLDIR path includes spaces, you need
to enter the path in quotation marks and use a backslash in front of the quotation mark
 to distinguish these quotation marks from the start and end quotation marks of setting
/v.

Method 2: Preparing the centralized

distribution of Tekla Structures with MSI-files
Checking Tekla Structures prerequisites

When you install Tekla Structures in a centralized manner by running MSI files, it is
essential that all the needed prerequisites exist on the client computers before
installing the Tekla Structures software.

The prerequisites for Tekla Structures 2016i are:

Microsoft .NET 4.5.1 Full

Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable 10.0.40219
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 Redistributable 10.0.40219
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 x86 Redistributable 12.0.21005.1
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 x64 Redistributable 12.0.21005.1
Tekla Warehouse Service
Tekla Warehouse Content
Tekla File Dispatcher

Note: It is expected that Tekla Structures works with a newer version of the same
redistributable. Microsoft .NET 4.5.1 and the latest Visual Studio redistributable installers can
be downloaded from the Microsoft site. You can also extract the installers from the Tekla
Structures installation setup.exe. Microsoft .NET 4.5.1 is included in Windows 8.1 as a part
of the operating system and Microsoft .NET 4.6 is included in Windows 10 as a part of the
operating system.

Tekla Structures 2016i installer contains Tekla Warehouse Content, Tekla Warehouse Service
and Tekla File Dispatcher as prerequisite installers. Tekla Warehouse Content and Tekla
Warehouse Service are not mandatory before the actual Tekla Structures software
installation but they need to be installed to get Tekla Warehouse functionality working. Tekla
File Dispatcher adds proper file association for .tsep files so that .tsep files are opened with
Tekla Structures extension manager.

Extracting the Tekla Structures software installation package

1. Save the Tekla Structures software installation package on your computer. In this
example the Tekla Structures installer is saved in the C:\TS_admin_install folder.
2. Run Command Prompt as administrator.

3. Change the directory to the folder where you saved the installer and run the
installation package with setting /a. By using setting /a, the installation package is run
in the administrator mode. This means that the software is extracted instead of
installed, even though the user interface is very installation-like. To extract prerequisite
packages from setup.exe, add a folder path after the /a setting to extract the
prerequisites to that folder. For example, use this command:

TeklaStructures2016iSoftware.exe /a"C:\TS_admin_install\Prq"

4. The installation shows the language selection. Select the installation language and click OK.

5. The installation initializes and shows the first InstallShield Wizard dialog box. Click
Next.
6. Select the location where you want the system to extract the software installation and then
click Install.

7. Click Finish.
You can now browse into the extraction folder that you defined in step 6. The folder
contains the .msi package and subfolders.

When extracting the setup, if you defined a folder after setting /a, the prerequisites are
extracted to separate subfolders (Prq folder in the image above). You get eight prerequisites
you need to install on the client computers if they do not already exist. Tekla Warehouse
Service installer, Tekla Warehouse Content installer and Tekla File Dispatcher installer include
the newest versions and those need to be installed on the client computers. Tekla Warehouse
Service installer, Tekla Warehouse Content installer and Tekla File Dispatcher installer include
upgrade functionality so they can be installed even if previous versions already exist.
Extracting the Tekla Structures service pack installation package

We recommend that you install the latest Tekla Structures service pack. Repeat the
same extraction procedure as above (steps 1 to 7) for the latest Tekla Structures
service pack, but extract the service pack to a different folder (for example, to
C:\TS_admin_install\extract-SR).

Extracting Tekla Structures environment installation packages

Repeat the extraction procedure (steps 1 to 7) for all environment installation packages
that you need. Environments can be extracted to the same folder as the final software.
Environment installers do not usually contain any prerequisites.

If you are going to install a service pack, use the environment installers released at the same
time as the service pack.

At the end of the extraction process your folder should look, for example, as follows:

Examples of command line commands for running msi installation silently

Example 1:

Install Tekla Structures software and the Default environment. By default, Tekla Structures is
installed to Program Files folder. Environments are installed to Program Data folder. By default,
the Tekla Structures model folder will be C:\TeklaStructuresModels. The command also creates
an installation log file.

Tekla Structures software installation command:

​msiexec /i "Tekla Structures 2016i.msi" /qn /lvoicewarmupx

 TS2016i_logfile.log

​Tekla Structures Default environment installation command:

msiexec /i "Tekla Structures 2016i Default Env.msi" /qn

/lvoicewarmupx TS2016iDefault_logfile.log

Example 2:

Install Tekla Structures and Default environment. Tekla Structures will go to

C:\TeklaStructures folder as well as environments. Tekla Structures model folder will be
C:\TeklaStructuresModels2016. The command also creates an installation log file.

Tekla Structures software installation command:

msiexec /i "Tekla Structures 2016i.msi" /qn

INSTALLDIR="C:\TeklaStructures\"
TSMODELDIR="C:\TeklaStructuresModels2016\" /lvoicewarmupx
TS2016i_logfile.log

​Tekla Structures Default environment installation command:

msiexec /i "Tekla Structures 2016i Default Env.msi" /qn

/lvoicewarmupx TS2016iDefault_logfile.log

Note that when installing environments you do not need to separately define the
installation folder for the environments as it is read from the registry values inserted by
the Tekla Structures 2016i software installer.

It is also possible to use transformation (MST) files to modify and add changes to the .msi
files. However, in Tekla Structures 2016i you can give the needed installation properties as
command line parameters so there is no need to use transformation files.

Configuring the distribution

The rest of the steps in the centralized distribution vary depending on the distribution
software that is used in your company. Therefore, Tekla cannot give you any detailed
instructions.
However, some general tips about the centralized distribution can be given:

Tekla Structures needs to be installed with administrative rights.

We recommend that you set the installations to write log files instead of showing
messages to users.

Validating the installation result

If you want to make sure that the result of the centralized installation is correct, you can
check the following items to validate the installation result.

Tekla Structures desktop shortcut

The Target and Start in fields show the value you gave for INSTALLDIR. If you didn't
give any value, paths should point to C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\2016i\... .

Installed programs and location paths in Control Panel - Programs and Features

You should see all your installations in the Programs and Features list. Set the Location
colum visible to check that the software installation location matches the value you
 gave for INSTALLDIR. The environment installation location depends on the software
installation location.

Content of teklastructures.ini

The content of teklastructures.ini should match your settings in the installation

command. To check this:

1. Browse to your software installation folder (INSTALLDIR).

2. Browse to the subfolder \2016i\nt\bin\.
3. Open teklastructures.ini in a text editor.

The properties you gave in the installation command should match the
teklastructures.ini values in the following way:
INSTALLDIR – XS_DIR
 Environment installation folder – XSDATADIR
TSMODELDIR – XS_RUNPATH

Troubleshooting

If there is a problem that seems to be related to the Tekla Structures installer, but not
to the distribution software, contact Tekla Structures support and provide the following
information:

How the installation was executed; msiexec or setup commands used

Installer log files (can be found from %temp% folder)
If you used .mst files, send those to Tekla Structures support.
Description of the problem

Tags:
centralized distribution
silent install
administrative install
admin install
prerequisites
install
installer