Claris FileMaker installation automation script.
A scripted out silent assisted installation for Claris FileMaker on Windows. Requires only minimal configuration and can then be deployed via GPO. No more painful individual user installations.
For information on MacOS automation see MacOS docs.
- 7zip
- Windows 10/11
- Find the FileMaker executable installer for your platform. It will often be the x64 executable directly received from Claris. We are also going to want to have available a networked volume accessible to all applicable users, so paste the executable there for Step 2.
- Extract the executable to the networked volume using 7zip to gain access to its contents in directory form.
Then, copy your Claris FileMaker license file, which should have the extension .fmcert into the Files directory (there should be a .msi file available there).
- Download the repo. This should be to a different location that the network share considered above. Edit the config file to reflect the extraction directory used.
git clone https://github.com/spiritualhost/fm_install.gitThe repo can be downloaded using the "Download ZIP" option under the code dropdown as well, bash and git are both unnecessary.
The config file will be used later in the script runtime to connect to the head directory where the FileMaker files are now located. For example, if the extracted directory made in Step 2 was placed in \\netshare\quelaag and the directory name from Step 2 didn't change (which should match the original .exe name less the extension), the config file would be changed to reflect \\netshare\quelaag\fmp_22.0.2.202_x64.
- Move the edited config file to the root of the repo -- this will allow the script to properly make the network connection from any endpoint on the network that has access.
cd .\fm_install\
mv .\assets\config.bat .You should now be prepared to run the script.
Add a writable network path to the config.bat for the log to be transferred at the end of the script. Logs are automatically generated on non-verbose runs of the script.
- Right click the
fm_install.cmdscript and click "Run as Administrator."
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Open the domain controller for the computers in question.
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Open Windows Administrative Tools and start both Group Policy Management and Active Directory Users and Computers.
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In AD Users and Computers, ensure that all PCs you want to use are in the same Organizational Unit (OU).
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In Group Policy Management, follow the path to get to your specified OU in the left-hand menu, then click the folder. The window should now display three tabs "Linked Group Policy Objects," "Group Policy Inheritance," and "Delegation." Right click on the OU on the left-hand menu and click "Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here..."
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Go down the following path:
Computer Configuration
└── Policies
└── Windows Settings
└── Scripts (Startup/Shutdown)
└── StartupWe do this instead of Logon/Logoff because we want the script to run as SYSTEM so UAC doesn't prevent the installation from happening silently.
Click Properties.
- In the Scripts tab, click Add on the right-hand side of the window, then click Browse. Navigate to the network share where the
fm_install.cmdscript is located and set the file path to its location. Confirm everything and exit the domain controller.
The script will now run for all applicable computers when they next log on.
In many cases, the manual FileMaker installation will include installing additional dependencies, like extensions or fonts, which can also be extremely time-consuming. In order to remain modular, the script blocks installing these additional dependencies are triggered in a binary fashion rather than by default. This will allow different installations to take on the different characteristics appropriate to them. Variables set to 1 will run their corresponding block, whereas those set to 0 will skip the block entirely.
See the for binary options.
Installing the Troi Plugin takes two separate files, TroiPay.txt and Troi_File_Plugin.fmx64, which need to be placed specifically post-installation. The config.bat will need a network path to the folder above both files, as it will look in that folder before copying them.
Installing fonts should be done system-wide for FileMaker installations to allow any applications that need them access. The installation of the fonts takes place with a separate .ps1 script located in the add-dep/ directory. Any fonts present in the font directory path provided in config.bat will be installed and have registry values written for them.
Supported font types: ".fon", ".otf", ".ttc", ".ttf"
# Run this for help
.\fm_install.cmd /h
# Run this for verbose terminal output
.\fm_install.cmd /vIf you don't run the script as an administrator, the installation will stop for a UAC prompt. Don't use the /h flag when running as GPO.
Contributors names and contact info
Ryan Piazza @spiritualhost
This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License - see the LICENSE.md file for details