Unattended Installation
Paint.NET supports unattended installation so Paint.NET can be installed without user interaction. There are two facilities provided for unattended installation:
- MSI-Based Deployment is designed for use with Active Directory and Group Policy in order to install Paint.NET on multiple user systems on an administrated network.
- Automatic Installation is useful for general scripting or automation purposes for personal use.
MSI Deployment
You can download MSI files directly from the GitHub releases page. These can be used for AD/GPO deployment. (Note that the /createMsi command-line parameter has been removed as of version 4.3.3.)
Warning
The x86 MSI (PaintDotNet.x86.msi) will not function on 64-bit systems, so plan your deployment accordingly.
Automatic Installation
To perform an automatic installation, use the /auto or /skipConfig command-line parameter detailed below.
Command-Line Syntax
The setup package supports the following command-line syntax, where Paint.NET.4.0.Install.exe is the setup package downloaded from the Paint.NET website:
Example Syntax
Paint.NET.5.0.Install.exe [/skipConfig | /auto] [PROPERTY=VALUE...]
Configuration Options
/skipConfig
Skips configuration of options and install directory. Uses MSI properties in the following order of precedence:
- Supplied via command-line
- Read from HKLM\Software\Paint.NET
- Default values
/auto
Like /skipConfig, but does not show the final wizard page that details the result of installation. This option provides a completely automated install that requires no user interaction.
PROPERTY=VALUE
Sets an MSI property named PROPERTY to equal VALUE. Multiple property values can be specified. See below for a list of applicable properties.
Note
If VALUE has a space in it, enclose the entire PROPERTY=VALUE text inside quotation marks. For example, to set the hypothetical TEST property equal to "1 2 3", you would specify "TEST=1 2 3" on the command-line, including the quotation marks.
For a default automatic installation, it is sufficient to use the /auto command-line option. Further customization is possible by changing the values of the MSI properties, where "1" is used for enabling a behavior or action, and "0" is used for disabling it:
| MSI Property Name | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
TARGETDIR |
%PROGRAMFILES%\Paint.NET |
Specifies the directory to install Paint.NET into. %PROGRAMFILES%, usually stands for C:\Program Files. |
CHECKFORUPDATES |
1 |
Enables (1) or disables (0) automatic update checking. |
CHECKFORBETAS |
0 |
When checking for updates, also check for pre-release ("beta") versions. |
DESKTOPSHORTCUT |
1 |
Create a shortcut on the desktop for launching Paint.NET. |
PROGRAMSGROUP |
[blank] |
This configures which Start Menu Programs group the Paint.NET shortcut will be placed into. By default this is blank, which places the shortcut among other shortcuts such as Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer. This setting can be used to place the Paint.NET shortcut into a group such as "Graphics Applications" or something similar. If you want to place Paint.NET in a group-within-a-group, use syntax similar to that for file paths. For example, to place Paint.NET into the "Graphics" group inside of the "Applications" group (i.e., "Start menu -> All Programs -> Applications -> Graphics") specify "PROGRAMSGROUP=Applications\Graphics". |
Examples
To install Paint.NET with the default options, to the default installation directory, with no user interaction:
Paint.NET.4.0.Install.exe /auto
To install Paint.NET to a directory called D:\PDN, without creating a desktop shortcut:
Paint.NET.4.0.Install.exe /auto TARGETDIR=D:\PDN DESKTOPSHORTCUT=0
To install Paint.NET to a directory called E:\Image Apps\Paint.NET, and to check for betas when checking for updates:
(Note that the entire TARGETDIR parameter must be enclosed in quotations when the target directory contains one or more space!)
Paint.NET.4.0.Install.exe /auto "TARGETDIR=E:\Image Apps\Paint.NET" CHECKFORBETAS=1