Appendix C. Installing Personal Communications

Personal Communications provides four installation options:

Personal Communications also offers the ability to customize the installation procedure. For information on customizing with initialization file processing, including performing silent installations, see Appendix D. Installing Personal Communications Using an Initialization (response) File.

This chapter describes the general installation procedure for all options and the specific procedure for installing to a local hard drive. Typical and custom setups are described in this chapter, as well as silent installation options. Additionally, this chapter provides an introduction to the Microsoft Windows Installer service.

Microsoft Windows Installer

Personal Communications utilizes the Windows Installer service. When the Personal Communications installation image is first run, it examines the target system and, if necessary, automatically installs the proper version of the Windows Installer service.

Setup.exe is the bootstrap loader that calls the Windows Installer service (msiexec.exe) and launches the installation dialogs. For a detailed description of the Microsoft Windows Installer service, refer to the Windows Installer SDK available online at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com. For more information on setup.exe, see Appendix I. IPWI Command line parameters.

Note:
The following should be taken into account when installing Personal Communications:

Typical Installation

Typical installation selects all default features for installation. Features are defined as the specific functions of a program. See Feature Selection for a list of default features. You can customize Personal Communications features by selecting the custom installation option (see Custom Installation).

To start a typical installation, click Next in the installation type panel. A panel appears, indicating that Personal Communications is computing the disk space requirements.

Note:
Once the installation has passed this point, you cannot change the installation type. You would then need to cancel the installation on the Application Data panel, and begin a new installation.

To continue with the typical installation, use the following installation procedure.

  1. The Application Data Location dialog opens. Select from the following application data location options:

    Personal Communications uses multiple configuration files: user-class files can be stored individually by user profile, while system-class files are stored in a common location. Refer to Quick Beginnings for more information about user-class and system-class files and locations.

    If the [UserProfile]\Application Data location is selected, the following profile paths are used:

    Operating System

    User-Class Directory (Current User)3

    System-Class Directory
    Windows Server 2003, XP C:\Documents and Settings\ %USERNAME%\Application Data\IBM\Personal Communications C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IBM\Personal Communications
    Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows server 2008 C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\IBM\Personal Communications C:\ProgramData\IBM\Personal Communications

    If the All Users\Application Data location is selected, the following profile paths are used:

    Operating System User-Class Directory (Current User)3 System-Class Directory
    Windows Server 2003, XP C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IBM\Personal Communications C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IBM\Personal Communications
    Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows server 2008 C:\ProgramData\IBM\Personal Communications C:\ProgramData\IBM\Personal Communications

    If the classic Private directory location is selected, the following profile paths are used:

    Operating System User-Class Directory (Current User)1, 2, 3 System-Class Directory
    Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 C:\Program Files\IBM\Personal Communications\Private C:\Program Files\IBM\Personal Communications\Private
    1If the User Preference Manager (UPM) was set to a directory other than the default directory, Personal Communications will utilize that directory to store the user-class files. System-class files are always stored in the Private directory.

    2For the classic Private directory locations, C:\Program Files\IBM\Personal Communications is the drive where Personal Communications is installed.

    3The FTP Client configuration files are stored in the profile path mentioned the above, under the FTP folder.

    Note:
    For installations on Windows x64 platforms, the directory path Program Files is replaced by Program Files (x86).

    After selecting your application data location, click Next to continue with the installation.

  2. The Ready to Install the Program dialog opens. Click Back to change your previous settings, or click Cancel to terminate the installation process. Click Install to continue with installation.

The typical setup uses the C:\Program Files\IBM\Personal Communications directory for program installation.

Note:
If there is not enough disk space on the C: drive, you are prompted to choose the custom installation setup type in order to choose an alternate installation destination.

After installation is complete, the Installation Complete dialog opens. Click Finish to exit the installation process.

After installation is complete, you are prompted to reboot the computer. You must reboot the computer before configuration changes take effect and you can use Personal Communications.

Notes:
  1. Typical installs the most common features for the applicable emulators.
  2. Typical does not include API sample programs.

Custom Installation

Though the default feature selection for a custom setup is the same as for a typical setup, a custom configuration allows you to modify feature selection for your system. To continue with the custom installation setup:

  1. Click the button to choose Custom setup type. Click Next to continue.
  2. The English language product is automatically installed. Only the system default language locale and English are default. Select any additional languages that you want to install. Click Next to continue. A panel appears, indicating that Personal Communications is computing the disk space requirements.
    Note:
    Once the installation has passed this point, you cannot change the installation type. You would then need to cancel the installation on the Application Data panel, and begin a new installation.
  3. The Custom setup dialog opens and asks you to select the program features that you want to install. Some features have subfeatures available. To view the subfeatures for a particular feature, click the plus sign (+) to the left of the feature name.

    Included in the Custom Setup window are Feature Descriptions. You can view the description of any feature by clicking on that feature and then reading the description section to the right of the feature selection tree. The feature description gives basic information about each feature, as well as the disk space required for installation. For more detailed information on disk space requirements for each feature, click the Disk Space button. For a description of available features, see Feature Selection. For a description of feature installation options, see Feature Installation Options.

  4. From the Custom Setup dialog, you can change the directory where Personal Communications is installed. Click the Change button to choose another installation directory.
  5. After making your feature selection choices and confirming the installation directory, click Next to continue with the installation.
    Note:
    If there is not enough space on the destination drive, you are prompted to choose another location.
  6. The Application Data Location dialog opens. Select from the following application data location options: See Typical Installation for information on the profile paths used for each application data location. For more information about the location of application data, including workstation profiles, refer to Quick Beginnings. Click Next to continue.
  7. The Automatic Migration Options dialog opens. By default, the Automatic Migration of Profiles box is checked. If you clear this check box, no migration occurs. The migration choices that are available to you are based on the information that you provided in the Application Data Location dialog. For information on the Application Data Location dialog, see .

    By default, the highest level of migration available for your application data location is selected. This is the recommended level of migration for your configuration. You can proceed with the installation using the default migration option, or you can choose another level of migration. For a description of the different levels of migration available for each Application Data Location, see .

    Click Next to continue with the installation.

  8. The Ready to Install dialog opens. Click Install to complete the installation.

Feature Selection

The features and subfeatures available for Personal Communications are described in Table 1. This table also identifies which features are installed by default.

Note:
In the custom setup window, if the icon to the left of the feature name is white, that feature and all of its subfeatures will be installed. If the icon appears grey, that feature or one or more of its subfeatures will not be installed.

Table 1. Feature Selection Tree Contents
Feature Description Subfeatures Available Default
3270 Emulation and Services Your workstation can emulate a zSeries terminal (display, printer, or both). The emulator APIs (such as EHLAPPI, PCSAPI, DDE and ) and utilities (such as Multiple Sessions, Menu Bar, , and Zip Print) are installed. ZipPrint Yes
3270 Emulation and Services Your workstation can emulate an TN3270, TN3270E terminal (display, printer, or both). The emulator APIs and utilities (such as Multiple Sessions, Menu Bar, and Data Transfer) are installed. ZipprintDefaultYes
5250 Emulation and Services Your workstation can emulate an iSeries®, eServer™ i5, or System i5® terminal (display, printer, or both). The emulator APIs and utilities (such as Multiple Sessions, Menu Bar, and Data Transfer) are installed.

Data Transfer

  • iSeries Connection Configuration
Yes
VT Emulation Your workstation can emulate an ASCII terminal. The emulator APIs (such as Multiple Sessions, and Menu Bar) are installed. None Yes
Fonts Additional fonts are available, such as special 3270. Fonts listed in dialog Yes
Secure Sockets Layer Allows encryption and authentication customization.
  • MS CryptoAPI Security
No
Administrative and PD Aids Diagnosis and update tools are included.
  • Log Viewer
  • Information Bundler
    • Internet Service
Yes
Utilities Optional product utilities that can be installed.
  • Convert Macro
  • Menu Bar Customization Utility
  • Multiple Sessions
  • User Preferences
  • FTP client
Yes
Emulator Programming APIs APIs and sample programs.

.NET Interops

  • Register to GAC
  • Interops Sample

Sample Programs for APIs

  • Host Access Class Library for C++
  • Visual Basic
  • Miscellaneous APIs
No
Notes:
  1. The .NET Interops Register to GAC option is only available if the installation program detects that the .NET framework is present. However, the primary FTP client assembly will not be registered in the GAC.

    FTP Client requires .NET Framework v2.0 or higher to be installed on the system.

Feature Installation Options

Each feature and subfeature allows several installation options. To view the options available for each feature, click on the drop down icon to the left of the feature name. Select the desired installation type by clicking on it in the drop down menu. A description of each possible installation option follows:

Note:
If no installation choice is made, features are installed to the local hard drive.

Silent Installation

Personal Communications is installed silently by passing command-line parameters through setup.exe to the MSI (Windows Installer database) package. When running a silent installation, the user does not provide input via dialogs or see a progress bar during the installation process. Instead, installation occurs automatically using either a typical configuration or a custom configuration created during initialization file processing.

Note:
When migrating through silent installation, all active Personal Communications sessions and actions will be closed without any prompting.

For details on initialization file processing, see Appendix D. Installing Personal Communications Using an Initialization (response) File. For information on performing a silent installation using setup.exe command-line parameters, see Appendix I. IPWI Command line parameters.

Upgrade using Refresh Pack update Installer

Prerequisites:

Steps to Install:

  1. Extract the RefreshPack zip file to get RefreshPack update installer, IBM Personal Communications RP1.msi, version 14.0.1.0.
  2. Double click IBM Personal Communications RP1.msi. A message "Welcome to Installshield wizard for IBM Personal Communications RP1" is displayed.
  3. Click Next to go to the next panel.
  4. Click Next to install in Ready to Install the program panel.
  5. Click Install and then click Finish.

Steps to Install Using Managed PCOMM:

  1. After the base version is installed, unzip the RefreshPack zip file to copy the IBM Personal Communications RP1.msi to the WebServerURL location provided.
    Note:
    Please refer to the section Web Server Details under the topic, HACP Server Details in the Quick Beginnings book.
  2. From the PCOMM client, invoke the Start or Configure Sessions - Online. The user gets a notification about the latest available PCOMM version. To upgrade, refer to the Auto-Update of IBM Personal Communications (PCOMM).
  3. Click Update. The application is closed and the installer is downloaded to install the RefreshPack.

Configuration Involved: