Autodesk Software Deployments 101

IMAGINiT Tricks Tutorial: This article demystifies a time-saving method for rolling out software, and also explains how easy it is to reconfigure a software deployment after it has been built.

Move a Software Deployment

One of the most common complaints about software deployments is that they break or do not work if you move them. It is true that if you move a software deployment from one computer to another, or to a different location on the same computer, chances are the deployment will not work. However, it is fairly simple to fix or heal the deployment once you understand what needs to be fixed.

There are four items that need to be updated whenever a deployment is moved, renamed, etc. The items consist of two files and two shortcuts.

In many cases, I build my deployments on the fastest computer I can find (or multiple computers) to speed things up, then later move them to a server for deploying to the users. The administrative image path entered into the deployment dialog (the second item in the numbered image above) is hard-coded into these four items and needs to be updated with the changes.

In each software deployment folder, you will find three folders and a shortcut.



The AdminImage folder contains the two files that need to be updated, as well as the software being deployed. The Tools folder contains the shortcut that is used to modify the deployment package after creation. The other shortcut to be modified is the one in the root folder and is used to start the installation of the software. (This shortcut will be the same name as you entered for the deployment configuration name [the first item in the numbered image above]).

Modify the shortcuts. Select the shortcut, click the right mouse button, and select Properties.



In the Properties dialog box, select the Shortcut tab if it isn't already selected. The path in the Target and Start In will reflect the path that was originally used in the Image file location. These paths need to be updated to the new location. Note: In the Target path, there are two places that need to be updated. The Shift key and right arrow key will aid you in selecting the text to replace.

In this example I have moved the software deployment from \\SERVERNAME\Deployments to \\NEWSERVER\Deploy.



Tip: After moving the deployment to its new location, navigate (using Windows Explorer) to the root folder through the UNC share and select the path, type Ctrl+C to copy the path into your clipboard, then use Ctrl+V to paste the new path to the AdminImage folder. This method will ensure you do not misspell or mistype the path.

As previously mentioned, the Target path has two references to the path to the AdminImage location. The Properties box cannot be resized, and it can be difficult to navigate the Target path to the second entry. Use the right arrow key to navigate to the second location, then hold down the Shift key while continuing to use the right arrow key to select the original path. Use Ctrl+V to replace the old path with the new path. This process is much easier than highlighting the text with the mouse.


Note: The second reference to the path location of the AdminImage folder is after the setup.exe.

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