Knowledge Base

Managing Patches Centrally
Depending on your company administration policies, three different approaches to the central patch management can be considered:

Portion of the application is installed centrally, on the server, so that the files can be updated in the single central location instead of doing it on every workstation
Local patch downloads are disabled and instead a patch is downloaded to central location and launched on every workstation through the script
Local patch downloads are enforced, even if user chose to disable them manually.

Method 1: Partial central install on the server
This method involves running usual installation of Carlson product on the server as if it is a regular workstation.

The installation path should be a folder which is accessible through the network share.
Next the product is installed on the workstations using the "Remote install" option:
User will then get a prompt to select the location where the program is installed on the server:
This will result in a smaller local installation with vital updatable files located centrally.
The update process is performed on the server by ether installing patch manually or running "Check for updates" from Programs menu.

Methods 2 & 3: Using Windows mechanisms to control local installation of the patches by the end-users
The setting controlling whether the local install on the user workstation is automatically checking for updates is located at the following location in registry (the below was written for Carlson 2015 on IntelliCAD 8.0, substitute as needed):
On 32-bit Windows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Carlson Software\SurvCADD\2015\ICAD8
On 64-bit Windows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Carlson Software\SurvCADD\2015\ICAD8
The value name is NONET and value "1" (string) disables automatic update. Value of "0" or no value allows automatic updates.
Domain administrator can configure these settings to be changed using group policies on the domain server:

Run "Group Policy Management" tool located in Control Panel, Administrative tools
Navigate to your domain, Group Policy Objects
Create new policy by right-clicking and selecting "New"
Give policy a fitting name
Right-click on policy and select Edit
Right-click on Startup, select properties
Click on Show File and copy your script (see below) into the folder which opens
Click "Add" and select the script you copied

Other methods for running scripts on startup or login will work as well, as long as they are configured to run with Administrative rights.
Save the following snippets into batch file (.bat or .cmd) and place them where your launching setup is looking for it.
To re-enable automatic check for updates (for 32-bit Windows):
reg delete "HKLM\Software\Carlson Software\SurvCADD\2015\ICAD8" /f /v NONET
To disable automatic check for updates (for 32-bit Windows):
reg add "HKLM\Software\Carlson Software\SurvCADD\2015\ICAD8" /f /v NONET /t REG_SZ /d 1
Patches are delivered using InstallShield PackageForWeb tool. These packages can be installed interactively by user as long as they are launched by a script with Administrative rights. User interaction with patching process can be controlled in the following manner.
To minimize interaction, but still provide user with information on patching progress, please use the following switches:
Patch_file.exe -s -a minimal
To avoid any interaction, resulting in unconditional delivery of the patch as needed, please use the following switches:
Patch_file.exe -s -a stealth