Adobe Acrobat XI Installer Script stops sending commands

[j3musu]

Before anyone bothers asking, yes I've already searched the forum, and I haven't had much luck. And yes, I've gone through the help documentation as best as I can without losing my mind, and I haven't found a solution. Now, onto the issue...

I've been using AutoIT recently to write very basic installation scripts to automate software installations. I'm not a programmer, and I'm new to AutoIT, so my knowledge is limited, but I've had no issues and everything has worked, and I've had no issue understanding the basics of the application. However, as of today I ran into an issue on Windows 7 with a simple installation script for Acrobat XI. The script works fine on Windows 10, but for some reason on Windows 7, when it reaches the portion to enter the serial number, it will stop sending commands/keys. This is the only application I've run into this issue with so far. My current script is as shown: 

 

#RequireAdmin
Run("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro\Adobe Acrobat XI\Setup.exe")
WinWaitActive("Setup", "Select the language")
Send("{ENTER}")
WinWaitActive("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro - Setup", "Splash")
Send("!n")
WinWaitActive("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro - Setup","Default PDF Viewer")
Send("!n")
WinWaitActive("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro - Setup","I have a serial number")
Send("{TAB 3}")
Send("xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx")
Send("!n")
WinWaitActive("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro - Setup", "Please select a setup type.")
Send("!n")
WinWaitActive("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro - Setup" ,"Destination Folder")
Send("!n")
WinWaitActive("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro - Setup", "Setup is ready to begin installation.")
Send("!i")
WinWaitActive("Adobe Acrobat XI Pro - Setup", "Setup Completed.")
Send("!f")

 

- Like I said, very basic. Once it reaches the prompt with text "I have a serial number", it does nothing else from that point. I confirmed that the tab number was correct, but it just isn't sending the tabs or other send commands. I tried modifying it to use ControlSend rather than relying on sending a certain tab number, and that didn't work. I made sure I was sending ControlSend to the correct controlID. I also tried messed around with Focus and WinActivate commands, but the issue doesn't seem to be related to lack of focus on the window either. I also attempted using ControlClick to select the serial number text box, and then run a Send command to enter the text. I ran the installer using ShellExecute rather than Run as well, with no luck. Nothing seems to work. As far as I can tell, there's no issue with the script itself, it just stops sending anything once it reaches that window. I've tried it on multiple machines and within a virtual machine, so it isn't related to a specific machine or hardware. And, as I already mentioned, it worked within Windows 10 without a single complaint.

Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

- James

[JLogan3o13]

@j3musu welcome to the forum. For Acrobat XI you should be run the Adobe Customization Wizard to select your configuration choices (very straight forward wizard). The wizard spits out an .msi and .mst file, which allows you to run the install silently, removing the need to automate the GUI. This is how I do it:

ShellExecuteWait('msiexec.exe', '/i <path to your msi> TRANSFORMS=<path to your mst> /qn')

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by JLogan3o13

[j3musu]

Ah, good catch! I used the Microsoft version of that (OCT) to install Office 2013, but for some reason it didn't even cross my mind that there might be a similar wizard available for Acrobat. I feel silly for overlooking it. Thanks so much! I'll give it a shot when I can get back around to it and update to confirm it works. 

I am curious however as to why the script is pausing in the first place? Using the customization wizard is definitely a better method, but I'd like to know for educational purpose if anyone has an idea. If not, no worries. 

[j3musu]

I was able to install the customization wizard and configured it this morning. I added it to my batch script and it worked like a charm, as expected. Thanks again for your assistance. 

[JLogan3o13]

Glad you were able to get it working, @j3musu