Within a corporate environment, the need may arise to mass deploy the ClickShare Desktop App on Microsoft Windows-based machines.
This can be achieved by copying the Windows Installer Package (MSI) file to the target machines and executing it, silently, thru Windows command scripts (see below for the instructions). It's important to remember that this Windows Installer Package file needs to be installed with Administrator privileges.
As an alternative, the ClickShare Desktop App can be installed by downloading the software from this link (available for both Windows and Mac users). This needs to be done by every individual user (so, no bulk install) and with the advantage that no administrator rights are needed and that the app can be updated automatically when new updates are made available.
Instructions
A typical scenario is that the IT administrator creates a Windows command script file that triggers a silent installation of the ClickShare Desktop App using msiexec.exe.
This script is deployed together with the latest Windows Installer Package file of the ClickShare Desktop App to the target machines and then triggered to execute using the Windows command prompt with Administrator privileges.
Examples:
- Silently install the ClickShare Desktop App and automatically accepts the EULA
C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe /I <Filename>.msi /QN ACCEPT_EULA=YES - Silently install the ClickShare Desktop App, including App-based Conferencing and automatically accepts the EULA
C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe /I <Filename>.msi /QN ACCEPT_EULA=YES APP_BASED_CONFERENCING=YES - Silently uninstalls a previously installed ClickShare Desktop App
C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe /X <Filename>.msi /QN
For a list of all available parameters the installer accepts, see KB 3329.
Having a problem uninstalling the ClickShare Desktop App ver 4.3.0.8, see KB 4796.
Troubleshooting
When encountering issues installing the ClickShare Desktop App using the Windows Installer Package file we suggest you follow the below instructions.
- Open a Command Window (with Admin rights)
- Browse to the folder where the ClickShare Desktop App msi file is stored using cd
- Type
C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe /i ClickShare_Installer.msi /l*v ilog.txt - This will create a log file called "ilog.txt" in the current working directory with the detailed Windows Installer Package logs.
The ClickShare Desktop app will install to the following location on your laptop by default:
%LocalAppData%\ClickShare
Example:
The machine wide installation mechanism of the ClickShare App (MSI) has been modified to follow security standards for these types of deployments. The current design ensures the installer is deployed to the “Program Files” folder and that for any user logging into the system, the App is setup in the userdata folder. In these locations, additional permissions on the deployment folders and files are no longer needed. Auto-update (if enabled) happens for each userdata location separately, as soon as a user logs in to his profile. Allowing the deployment in any other location would mean additional permissions and exceptions to ACLs need to be introduced, which we deem less secure. Hence we have deprecated the parameter that allows to deploy to a specific location.
If still higher security is required please check with your IT department, There are several third-party applications that are capable of providing additional security checks to verify the publisher of an executable. for example AppLocker but these should be implemented by the company IT admin team.
If you encounter an error message popup while installing the ClickShare Desktop App with the Windows Installer Package file, please consult KB 4698 for troubleshooting assistance.
If you encounter an issue with the ClickShare Desktop App not starting correctly, please consult KB 4533 for troubleshooting assistance.
