Problem:
FlexApp packaging Tableau 2023.2 (Also applies to Tableau Prep Builder 2023.2)
Because Tableau Server can be hosted on-premises, or in the cloud, Tableau Desktop can be installed in a variety of ways to suit your particular environment & Tableau Licensing needs. Before attempting to capture, please read the following and put together the options you want for the installer process flags. Important: You should work closely with your Tableau Server Administrator to come up with the proper installation options for licensing & your environment.
Tableau Desktop Command Line Options and Properties:
https://help.tableau.com/current/desktopdeploy/en-us/desktop_deploy_cli_ref.htm
Tableau Licensing Options:
https://help.tableau.com/current/desktopdeploy/en-us/desktop_deploy_license_usage.htm
Tableau Virtual Desktop Installer Options:
https://help.tableau.com/current/desktopdeploy/en-us/desktop_deploy_license_deactivate.htm
Solution:
Step 1.
If you do not have a tableau desktop MSI-based installer file, just a *.exe file, you need to do the following:
1. Download the Wix Toolkit to extract your MSI and VC++ installers from the .EXE File.
We will use the binaries from 3.11.2 Toolkit for this, as mentioned here on Tableau's site.
https://github.com/wixtoolset/wix3/releases/download/wix3112rtm/wix311-binaries.zip
Extract the wix311-binaries.zip file to a location on your hard drive, cd into it using an administrator CMD.EXE, and use "Dark.exe" to extract the MSI and VC++ runtimes from the .EXE file:
Dark.exe <path_to_the_Tableau_exe_installer> -x <output_folder>
The c:\output folder will contain a folder named "AttachedContainer" that will include the MSI and VC++ EXE Files.
For our purposes, we will be doing a relatively simple setup for VDI.
Make a file called Install.bat in the same folder as the MSI and *.exe's.
First put in the two commands to run the VC++ Redistributable files with silent, minimal interface, and no system restart flags. Lastly, we will add the actual Tableau installation command with the Flags we will use for a basic VDI installation, using login-based license management, with no Tableau server defined:
vcredist2013_x64.exe /install /passive /norestart
vcredist2019_x64.exe /install /passive /norestart
msiexec.exe /i tableau-setup-std-tableau-2023-2.23.0611.2007-x64.msi ACCEPTEULA=1 ATRENABLED="1" ATRREQUESTEDDURATIONSECONDS="43200" SILENTLYREGISTERUSER="true" SYNCHRONOUSLICENSECHECK="true" AUTOUPDATE="0" LBLM="required" /L*V "Tableau-DesktopMSI.log"
On a clean 6.8.5 or higher FlexApp Package Console image, start a capture in High-Compatibility Mode.
1. Once it starts, run the Install.bat file we created. When it's complete, a Tableau Login window will open.
2. Close the window by clicking Exit.
3. Go back to the CMD.exe prompt, and paste in:
cd "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau 2023.2\bin"
uninstallanchorservice.exe "Tableau Software Inc" "Tableau 2023.2"
It will look like this:
Now, close the CMD.exe window and click Finish in the FPC to save the FlexApp.
4. To avoid License errors, we must now add a Post-Activation Script to the package.
5. Click on Activate to playback the package. The Tableau Desktop icon should appear on the desktop.
6. Create a file on the FPC desktop and call it AnchorFix.cmd.
7. Using Notepad, add to the file these 2 lines:
cd "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau 2023.2\bin"
installanchorservice.exe "Tableau Software, Inc" "Tableau 2023.2"
8. Add the file to the FlexApp by clicking on Add Scripts while the package is still activated:
9. On the Package Scripts page, click the drop-down and add a "Post Activation" type of script. Browse to your user's desktop folder. Select the AnchorFix.cmd, and click the Red "Add Script" button.
10. Repeat steps 4-9 using the two commands from Step 3 in a new file named AnchorServiceRemove.cmd, which will be added as a Pre Deactivation script. (Not pictured below)
Then "Ok" to save it to the package, followed by the deactivate button.
Now, deploy your FlexApp, and Test.
Note: This same recipe be used with Tableau Prep Builder 2023.2 as well, however if you are deploying both at the same time to the same user, we recommend putting them into one package for best results.
The change for Tableau Prep Builder is only different in that the binary location is different for "uninstallanchorservice.exe" and "installanchorservice.exe".
After Capture, run:
cd "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau Prep Builder 2023.2\resources\app\tableau-1.3\build\Release-x64"
uninstallanchorservice.exe "Tableau Software, Inc" "Tableau Prep Builder 2023.2"
Post-Activation Script:
cd "C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau Prep Builder 2023.2\resources\app\tableau-1.3\build\Release-x64"
installanchorservice.exe "Tableau Software, Inc" "Tableau Prep Builder 2023.2"
Product: FlexApp
Product Version: 6.8.5+
Expires on: 365 days from publishing
Updated: June 28, 2024