Deployment
Correctly setting up Xrev Transmit in a multi-user environment
Setting up Xrev Transmit so that multiple users share the same settings and Transmittal history is very simple. Below outlines the recommended steps, read on to see the different ways to achieve this:
Manually install Xrev Transmit on one machine first (if you haven't already)
Setup your Settings for Xrev Transmit (you can do this after you've shared your settings as well) - EG: All your Format Types, Naming Rules, General Settings, Transmittal Template etc.
Copy the XrevTransmit.sdf (database) from your local machine to a network share where all users in the company have full Read/Write permissions to.
Install the software on all the other machines and update their config file to point to the XrevTransmit.sdf file you just placed on your Network share. You can choose to do this manually or as part of the installation process as outlined below.
The software cannot function correctly if a user doesn't have full access to the database. Permissions on editing settings can be controlled in other ways.
Automating Installation
Xrev Transmit may be downloaded as a Windows Installer package (.msi), or as a Full Installer (.exe) setup application which includes additional components. See the Getting started section for more information.
Each of these installers can be automated using command line arguments.
Windows Installer package (.msi)
The Windows Installer package (.msi) can be executed with msiexec and exposes the following public properties which can be set on the command line:
Property | Meaning |
---|---|
DATAFILEPATH | Configures Xrev Transmit to use the specified database file |
SERIAL | Activates the license for the specified Serial Number during installation |
LICENSE | Activates the specified License Code during installation |
SHOWPRIVILEGEDCOMMANDS | Specifies whether to show or hide privileged commands in Xrev Transmit |
Info
The Settings and Manage Transmittals commands are Privileged commands.
Note
Property names are case sensitive and must be specified in upper case.
Example: Specifying the DATAFILEPATH
msiexec /i XrevTransmitSetup_3.0.0_x64.msi /q DATAFILEPATH="\\SERVER\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf"
Info
The /q option suppresses the installer's user interface
Note
Since the DATAFILEPATH value in the above example contains a space character it must be enclosed in quotes
Example: Activating a license with a Serial Number during installation
msiexec /i XrevTransmitSetup_3.0.0_x64.msi /q SERIAL=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-X
Example: Disabling privileged commands during installation
msiexec /i XrevTransmitSetup_3.0.0_x64.msi /q SHOWPRIVILEGEDCOMMANDS=0
Info
The SHOWPRIVILEGEDCOMMANDS property can be set to 1 or true to show privileged commands, or 0 or false to hide these commands. The true or false values are case in-sensitive. Privileged commands are shown by default.
Example: Generating an installation log file
msiexec /i XrevTransmitSetup_3.0.0_x64.msi /q /log Install.log
Full Installer (.exe)
Use the /CompleteCommandArgs option to pass property values to the Windows Installer packages. This option must be followed by a list of arguments enclosed in quotes. If any of these arguments require quotes then those must be escaped using another set of quotes.
Example: The following command will install Xrev Transmit, configure it to use the database located at \\SERVER\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf and disable privileged commands:
XrevTransmitSetup_3.0.0.exe /q /CompleteCommandArgs "DATAFILEPATH=""\\SERVER\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf"" SHOWPRIVILEGEDCOMMANDS=0"
Sharing your settings manually
All Xrev Transmit Settings are stored in the XrevTransmit.sdf database file. By default this file is installed in the following location:
C:\ProgramData\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf
To share your settings (via script):
Close down all instances of Autodesk Revit,
Navigate to:
C:\ProgramData\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf
NOTE:
ProgramData is by default a hidden directory, so you may not be able to browse to the folder, however if you type the address into the address bar, it will be there.
Copy it to a Network Location that all computers can access and have full read/write permissions to access.
NOTE:
If you’ve already configured the Settings or Transmittal Template on one machine, ensure you use that machine as the source.
Open Windows > Run, Simply press the Windows Key and type “Run”
Enter the following Command Line:
“C:\Program Files\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.exe” DATAFILEPATH=”\\SERVER\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf”
The path in Green is the Network Location where you copied the XrevTransmit.sdf file.
Select OK to run the command. Your settings have now been updated. Simply run this command line on each machine to configure all the others.
To share your settings via Copy/Paste of the Config File
Close down all instances of Autodesk Revit,
Navigate to:
C:\ProgramData\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf
NOTE:
ProgramData is by default a hidden directory, so you may not be able to browse to the folder, however if you type the address into the address bar, it will be there.
Copy it to a Network Location that all computers can access and have full read/write permissions to access.
NOTE:
If you’ve already configured the Settings or Transmittal Template on one machine, ensure you use that machine as the source.
Copy the XrevTransmit.exe.config file to the same network location or anywhere you have full privileges to edit it (it requires administrator privileges to edit it in its current location).
Open the XrevTransmit.exe.config file by double clicking on it or simply open it in Notepad or similar text editor (we recommend Notepad++).
Find the DataFilePath setting:
DATAFILEPATH="\\SERVER\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.sdf"
Replace the bit in between the quotation marks with the Network Location where you copied the XrevTransmit.sdf file to.
Save and close the file.
Copy this config file back to C:\Program Files\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.exe.config and overwrite the original.
This requires Administrator privileges.
For all additional installs, before starting Revit or Xrev, just update the config file on each workstation (Repeat Steps 4-9).
The XrevTransmit.exe.config file is version specific to each release of Xrev Transmit. During a standard installation this file is upgraded. Do not overwrite the config file with a previous release copy or the software will not load.
Quickly Copy Settings to Multiple Computers
You can very easily create a batch file that copies this file for you, to save time navigating around the folders. This way it should only take a few seconds to update each workstation that Xrev Transmit is installed on.
To do this create a new text file and change the file extension from .txt to .bat,
Right Click and Edit the batch file,
Add the following strings, but substitute the first part in quotation marks with your actual file location.
xcopy /y "\\SERVER\Xrev Transmit\XrevTransmit.exe.config" "C:\Program Files\Xrev Transmit\" pause
Save the file.
You will still need Administrator privileges to run this batch file.
Run the batch file on each machine by double clicking it.
Note
The XrevTransmit.exe.config file is version specific. During a standard install this file is upgraded. So after each upgrade, be sure to re-copy this file back to your shared location, to prevent overwriting a newer config with an older version. Otherwise, you will receive an error message on load.