Personal installations

If the end-users' company cannot support Administrator instances, then each end user must install their own personal instance. When the WebClient installer determines that an end user cannot perform an Administrator install, the installer automatically switches to performing a personal install.

The following table lists the default values that the installer supplies during a personal installation. If the user enters a different value, the installer verifies that the user has write privileges for the new choice.

Table 1. Personal installation default values
Directory Default
WebClient install %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Progress Software\WebClient
Program shortcuts C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Start Menu\Programs\PSC WebClient <release-number>
WebClient application install %APPDATA%\WebClientApps
Note: In some circumstances, the installer might choose a different default:
  • %LOCALAPPDATA%\WebClientApps (non-roaming data)
  • %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\WebClientApps

The lack of Administrator write privileges imposes some limitations on WebClient applications deployed as personal instances. There are common types of files that require Administrator privileges to install, and if you intend to support personal instances of your WebClient application, your application cannot use these types of files. For more information, see System Tasks and personal installations.

InstallShield setup player add-on for personal installations

The WebClient One-Click Install requires the InstallShield Setup Player to run properly. The InstallShield Setup Player is a control provided by Flexera Software that is installed by Internet Explorer as an Add-on. There are applications besides WebClient that might install the InstallShield Setup Player. Once the Add-on is installed, any application can use it for their Web-based installs.

If the Add-on is not present, a personal WebClient installation fails. You can check whether or not the Add-on is installed by choosing Tools > Manage Add-ons > Enable or Disable Add-ons in your web browser. Look for InstallShield Setup Player from Flexera Software in the dialog that appears. However, this installation requires Administrator write privileges.

If the Add-on is not present, you can add it before installing WebClient by having an Administrator install the control directly on the end users' machines. The OpenEdge installation includes the following installer for the Add-on:
OpenEdge-install-dir\webinstall\webclient\web_image\SetupPlayer12.msi
You can distribute this installer to your end-users. An Administrator can use the following command to silently install and register the Add-on:
source-directory\SetupPlayer12.msi /qn

The next time that their web browser runs on the machine, the Add-on is available and a personal WebClient installation can succeed.

If you need to uninstall the Add-on, have an Administrator run this command:
MsiExec.exe /X{80482183-337F-46D1-AF8B-F2686C9E7498}

Multiple installations on one machine

Progress recommends that you do not use both installation types of the same WebClient application on a single machine. If several users on the same machine use a WebClient application, a single Administrator installation uses less resources. You should uninstall any personal installations of an application if an Administrator installation exists.

However, circumstances might cause a machine to host a mix of Administrator and personal instances of WebClient applications. As a result, a user might attempt to use a personal instance of a particular application that they installed before the Administrator instance was installed. You might also have several different WebClient applications installed on the same machine. When there are multiple WebClient installations on a single machine, an Administrator installation has precedence over a personal installation.

For more information about multiple installation types on one machine, see WebClient installation types