CoDesigner for PTC Creo Command Line Installation

Command Line Installation Instructions

From version 3.16 and higher, the Altium MCAD CoDesigner installer for PTC Creo supports:

• Silent / single-line installation flow for CoDesigner.

• Specifying the Creo version and custom Creo install path without UI interaction.

Overview

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe supports three kinds of command-line usage:

• legacy forced install

• legacy forced uninstall

• quiet manual-target registration

This document describes the arguments, expected inputs, and practical usage of each mode.

Executable Location

Typical installed location:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin\register\Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe

Depending on environment and deployment history, the product may also exist under:

C:\Program Files\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin\register\Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe

Command Modes

Legacy Forced Install

Long form:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -i "<plugin-install-root>"

Purpose:

• Internal / packaged installer bootstrap flow

• Copies plugin files into the specified CoDesigner installation root

Example:

& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin\register\Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe" `
 -i "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin"

Notes:

• This is a legacy forced flow

• It does not take -creo-version or -creo-path

• It should not be combined with quiet-mode arguments

Legacy Forced Uninstall

Short form:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -u

Alternative uninstall switch used in some places:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -uninstall

Purpose:

• Iinternal / packaged uninstall flow

• Removes plugin registration and installation content according to current uninstall logic

Example:

& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin\register\Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe"`
 -u

Notes:

• This is a legacy forced flow

• It should not be combined with quiet-mode arguments

Quiet Manual-Target Registration

Long form:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -quiet -creo-version <version> -creo-path "<path>"

Short form:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -q -cv <version> -cp "<path>"

Purpose:

• Headless replacement for using Add in the installer UI

• Adds one explicit Creo target path and runs the normal install/update logic without opening the UI

Examples:

& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin\register\Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe" `
 -quiet `
 -creo-version "11.0" `
 -creo-path "C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0\Common Files\text"

& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin\register\Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe" `
 -q `
 -cv "11.0" `
 -cp "C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0\Common Files\text"

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin\register\Altium.Designer. PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe" -quiet -creo-version "11.0" -creo-path "C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0\ Common Files\text" echo %ERRORLEVEL%

Argument Reference

-i

-u

-uninstall​​

-quiet

-q

-creo-version

-cv

-creo-path

-cp

Important Path Contract

For quiet mode, -creo-path / -cp must point to the Creo text directory containing config.pro.

Correct style:

C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0\Common Files\text

Not the higher-level install root:

C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0

The current backend expects the folder that directly contains config.pro.

Quiet Mode Behavior

Quiet mode is intended to replace manual Add in the UI.

Behavior:

• No UI is shown

• One explicit Creo target is added programmatically

• The same install/update logic as the UI path is executed

• Only the specified Creo target is selected for that invocation

Quiet mode should not be combined with:

• -i

• -u

• -uninstall

Exit Codes

Current quiet-mode exit code contract:

0 = success
1 = invalid arguments
2 = invalid Creo target input
3 = registration failure
4 = unexpected internal error

Invalid Usage Examples

Missing quiet switch:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -creo-version "11.0" -creo-path "C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0\Common Files\text"

Missing version:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -quiet -creo-path "C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0\CommonFiles\text"

Missing path:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -quiet -creo-version "11.0"

Conflicting modes:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -i "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium CoDesigner PTC Creo Plugin" -quiet -creo-version "11.0" -creo-path "C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0\Common Files\ text"

Wrong path level:

Altium.Designer.PtcCreo.InstallUI.exe -quiet -creo-version "11.0" -creo-path "C:\PTC\Creo 11.0.1.0"

Practical Notes

• Quiet mode is for one explicit Creo target per command.

• Multiple Creo targets with the same version are valid if they use different text paths.

• Manual/quiet targets are persistent in installations.dat under the active CoDesigner installation root.

• Legacy forced modes and normal UI/quiet flows have historical compatibility behavior around registry roots, so the physical executable path and active install root should be checked carefully when troubleshooting.