Bp Premier installations support silent installations for users and IT professionals that require this functionality. Server and Client modes both support silent installation. This feature is most applicable for the Client installation to be deployed in mass across a large network, substantially reducing the rollout time. Installations can be configured to be deployed in unattended and in parallel, rather than manually, end to end.
IMPORTANT Silent installations are a non-standard installation. Users of this feature should be familiar with Windows batch files and command line usage. Access to the C:\ folder is required.
Silent Install
Silent installs read a configuration file instead of presenting choices to the user through the installation wizard. This means that errors are not presented to the user during installation, and are written to log only. You must also install any required prerequisites according to the most recent System Requirements for your version of Bp Premier before you run a silent installation.
Some system prerequisites are found on the DVD in the path "X\Prerequisites" where X is your computer's DVD Drive. The prerequisites are to support the Microsoft SQL Express component of the Bp Premier installation. Please refer to this link for further information: https://www.microsoft.com/enau/sql-server/sql-server-2017
Silent Update
If you have already installed Bp Premier and need to update to the latest version, you run the Bp Premier Program Update. The update does not require a configuration file, only a /s parameter is required on the command line.
Set up the configuration file for silent install
The configuration file is called BPconfig.ini and can be placed in any folder and then passed on the command line without the preceding /. The folder path must not contain any spaces.
A sample configuration file can be found on the Bp Premier installation DVD at X:\Install\BPConfig\BPconfig.ini, where X is your computer's DVD drive letter.
BPconfig.ini is a plain text file and looks like:
[BP_CONFIG]
AppName=Best Practice Software
CompanyURL=https://www.bpsoftware.net/
Options=3,2,1,1,1,1
ProgPath=C:\Program Files\Best Practice Software\BPS
DataPath=
ServerName=
The file must contain at least the following entries:
[BP_CONFIG]
Options=
ProgPath=
DataPath=
Options
Options represents the options a user would select if stepping through the installation wizard.
Order | Install selection | Options |
|---|---|---|
1 | SQL Server Version | SQL Server Express 2014 = 1 SQL Server Express 2016 = 2 SQL Server Express 2017 = 3 |
2 | SQL Server platform | X86 (32-bit) = 1 X64 (64-bit) = 2 This will almost always be set to 2. |
3 | Installation type | Server = 0 Client = 1 |
4 | Install Medicare Australia On Line? | NoInstall = 0 Install = 1 |
5 | Do you agree with the Bp Premier End User Licence Agreement? | LicenceAgreement = 1 Setting this to 0 will exit the installation. |
6 | Unattended installation | Unattended = 1 Must be set to 1 for a silent installation. |
Options must be listed in the order above, and all options must have a value. For example, 'Options=3,2,1,,,' is not a valid entry.
'Options=3,2,1,1,1,1 ' would install with the following options: SQL Sever Express 2017, 64-bit platform, Client, Install MAOL, agree to EULA, unattended.
IMPORTANT Setting the LicenceAgreement value to '1' indicates acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Best Practice Software End User Licence Agreement , as if you clicked Yes in the installation wizard. Run the installation in non-silent mode to view the EULA.
ProgPath
ProgPath indicates the folder to install the Bp Premier server or client. Best Practice Software recommend setting this to the default install location:
DataPath
DataPath indicates the folder to install the database. Best Practice Software recommend leaving this entry blank to install to the default location:
Run a silent installation
To run a silent installation, pass the config file path as a parameter. The batch file or script needs to be run 'As Administrator' or in elevated mode.
The following example scripts show this notation:
NOTE Do not include the file name (BPconfig.ini) it will be appended to the path in the installer.
Prompts during silent installation
If you have set up the configuration file correctly, the installer will not prompt for any usernames, passwords, or any details from the user at all after the installer begins. If you are prompted to enter a username or password, check the config file is set up correctly and the command line parameters are correct.
Third-party integrations
The silent install option does not configure third-party integrations. If you are running a silent upgrade, particularly if you are upgrading to Jade or later, and you need to enable any third-party integrations, you will need to go to Setup > Configuration > Database > Setup Third-party Integrations and tick the integrations you want to enable.
See Partner Network for more information.
Run a silent program update
Before you start a silent program update:
- Review the known issues to see if any issues may affect your practice, and any workarounds you can apply. Known issues are available here.
- Back up your existing database before upgrading and test that the backup restores successfully. Store the backup file in a known location that is not the server.
- If any laptops have a database downloaded for remote use, upload all remote data to the Bp Premier server.
- Log out all users of Bp Premier and close all instances of the application before you start the upgrade of the server or workstation.
- Upgrade the Bp Premier server first and then ALL workstations at the same time. Workstations that are not upgraded will be unable to access new features following the upgrade of the server.
Run a silent data update
You can run a data update while users are still logged into and using Bp Premier. You only need to run a data update on the Bp Premier server.
To install the comprehensive data update, the silent command-line option would look like:
To install the incremental data update, the silent command-line option would look like:
