Deploy AutoCAD Map 3D 2011

One of our branch offices has decided to roll out AutoCAD Map 3D 2011 to take advantage of some of the new features and bug fixes. I guess the wait until 2012 is out (a few months) is too long.

I didn’t use GPO for this deployment, due to the amount of add-in’s required, and the amount of time it would take to install at start up.

Instead, I used a combination of scheduled tasks and msi files. This will work for any version of AutoCAD as far as I’m aware. I’ve used it for vanilla AutoCAD, Map 3D and Civil 3D.

I gladly welcome any suggestions on making this better. If you have one, drop me a comment.

First steps

To begin, you need to create deployments on a network share of your product. Ensure that you include the service pack in the configuration.

You’ll also need to extract the supporting programs, Raster Design Object Enabler, and Visual Basic enabler.

To get an .msi out of these programs:

• For the Raster Design OE, run it, and then look in the %temp% location for an .msi file with a name similar to:
  9.tmp_AutoCAD_Map_3D_2011_-_English_(United_States)
• For Visual Basic enabler, start the install but cancel it after you get to the settings screen. Then look in C:\Autodesk for the folder containing the msi file.

Copy both the Raster Design msi and the whole folder for the VBA enabler to your network share.

Scheduled Task

Using a scheduled task, you can get your users to log off their computers at the end of the day, and have the deployment run overnight.

There are separate scheduled tasks for Windows 7 x64 and Windows XP, due to the command differences.

Windows XP

schtasks.exe /create /tn map2011install /tr "\\server\apps\Private\Map3D\Map2011-x86-Standalone\mapdeploy.cmd" /sc once /ST 14:25:00 /s computername /ru "domain\administrator" /rp "password" /V1 /F

Windows 7

schtasks.exe /create /tn map2011install /tr "'\\server\apps\Private\Map3D\Map2011-x64-Standalone\mapdeploy.cmd'" /sc once /ST 10:01:00 /s computername /ru "domain\administrator" /rp "password" /F /RL Highest

These commands will create a named task that runs once at the time specified. It will run your batch file from the network share with the supplied credentials.

• The /V1 makes the task visible to pre-Vista platforms.
• The /F forces creation of the task overwriting if it exists.
• The /RL is the run level of the task, which I’ve set to Highest.

Put a bunch of these in a batch file, replacing the computer names from your pre-defined list, and then run it.

Deploy Commands

These are the commands that run when the scheduled task is executed:

::Run the Map2011 deployment, using the .ini file that was created during your deployment creation
start /wait "Installing Map 3D 2011" \\server\apps\Private\Map3D\Map2011-x86-Standalone\AdminImage\Setup.exe /qb /norestart \\server\apps\private\Map3D\Map2011-x86-Standalone\AdminImage\Map2011-x86-Standalone.ini /language en-us

:: Wait for 33 minutes before proceeding. This is necessary because the /wait of the previous command only affects the "setup" phase of the deployment. 
\\server\apps\Private\Map3D\Map2011-x86-Standalone\timeout.exe 2500

:: Push the Raster Design Object enabler to the client
start /wait \\server.ca\apps\Private\Map3D\Map2011-x86-Standalone\Raster_Design_2011_OE_32.msi /qn /norestart

:: Push the VBA object enabler to the client 
start /wait \\server.ca\apps\Private\Map3D\Map2011-x86-Standalone\AutoCAD_2011_VBA_Enabler_Install_Image\AcVbaInstaller.msi /qn /norestart

:: Copy this support folder, as it causes an issue with other programs; see note below.
xcopy "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Geospatial Coordinate Systems" "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Geospatial Coordinate Systems Temp" /E /C /I /Q /Y

You can find timeout.exe from any of the Windows Resource Kits, or built into Windows 7.

Regarding the xcopy command, see this bug. This affects Map3D 2010 and 2011.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=14174241&linkID=9240857

Additional Features

Enterprise CUIX and Customized Profiles

You may wish to control the interface and settings of your AutoCAD deployment, or provide a standardized layout for all your users. Its possible to work some of this directly into the deployment, but I find its easier to separate it out. You can do this using Enterprise CUIX files, and customized profiles.

Here’s what you do:

• Create a “Deployment” folder somewhere on a network share that all your users can access
• Make a clean install of Map 3D 2011 as your setup system.
• Copy acmap.cuix from the user profile of the account you’re currently on, to your deployment folder.
  This is usually found in a location like this: %userprofile%\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Map 3D 2011\R18.1\enu\support
• Open AutoCAD, type op, and go to the Profiles page. Copy the existing profile, and name your copy “Enterprise Setup” or something similar. Set that new profile as current.
• Go to the Support File Paths section of options, and under menu files, set your main menu file as the acmap.cuix file in your network share.
• Make all the modifications you like to AutoCAD. Menu loads, toolbar placements, options and customizations.
• In the CUI customization, make sure CUSTOM.cuix is not loaded as a partial cui.
• When you’re done, create a copy of your “Enterprise Setup” profile, and name the copy something relevant for your users. Set this new profile as current.
• Now go back into the Support File Paths section, and change the network share acmap.cuix to the Enterprise menu file.
• Make the main menu file the custom.cuix which is found buried in the same windows profile spot listed above.
• Go back to the Profiles window, and export your current profile to an ARG file.
• Put that ARG file in your network share deployment folder.

Now on the desktop, make a copy of the AutoCAD Map 3D 2011 shortcut, and make the target look like this:

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Map 3D 2011\acad.exe" /p "\\Server\Deployment\template-Standard-acad2011.arg"

Put that shortcut in your network share deployment folder too.

Now you can instruct your users to use that shortcut which will automatically load your standardized profile. The changes you made to the CUIX will be read only (by nature of the Enterpise CUIX) however the users can make their own customizations because of the CUSTOM.cuix.

Wake-On-Lan

If you have Wake-On-LAN enabled on your computers, you can add this to your scheduled task batch file to turn on your computers in the middle of the night:

http://www.matcode.com/wol.htm

mc-wol mac_address
timeout 120