TARGIT Windows Client - Architecture and Installation

TARGIT Windows Client

This article describes the architecture of the TARGIT Windows client and how to install it.

 

The client architecture of TARGIT Decision Suite

TARGIT Decision Suite 2018 and newer versions include a new Client Installer.

It is a small application that must be installed on any client machine that should run either the Windows client or the Management client.
(Please refer to FAQ Article for help on Citrix/RD Environments).

The Client Installer may be obtained directly from the TARGIT server by opening “https://[server name]:1301/install” and installed by running the downloaded installer.

The Client Installer is a one-time installation and is automatically upgraded whenever the TARGIT ANTserver is upgraded.

Once the TARGIT Client Installer is installed it may be launched from the Windows Start menu – the shortcut is named “TARGIT”.

To be able to launch the Windows or Management client, the Client Installer only needs a server name.

This may be provided to the Client installer in two ways:

  1. Opening the application and manually entering the server name in the Client Installer’s user interface and click “Login” to launch the Windows client or the Management icon next to the server name to launch the Management client.

  2. Opening the application by entering the following command in Windows Run or by creating a shortcut/link; “TARGIT://[server name]/” to open the Windows client and “TARGIT://[server name]/manage” to open the Management client.

When the Client Installer connects to the server specified, it receives a build number from the server and the Client Installer checks whether that build of the client is already installed on the client machine.

If it is, the client is launched, if it is not installed, the client is downloaded from the server.

Note that in order to launch TARGIT Management from the Client Installer, this option must be enabled when installing the Client Installer.


In TARGIT Decision Suite 2018 or later versions when the client is downloaded a shortcut is placed in Windows Start on the client machine.

The shortcut is named “TARGIT ([server name])”.

If the shortcut is clicked, it opens the Windows client and connects to the specific server.

The fact that clients are no longer registered applications in Windows, also opens up for the opportunity to run multiple client builds of 2018 or later on the same client machine.
This is as simple as providing the Client Installer with another server name.

 

The figure below depicts the flow when installing and connecting to a server:

Client_install_illustration.png

 

How to make a clean client install of TARGIT Decision Suite


Install the Client Installer as mentioned above.
Once installed, the easiest way to get users to connect to a server is to distribute a link through e-mail (TARGIT://[server name]/) and once the user clicks on the link, the Client Installer connects to the server and a shortcut is made in Windows Start for future use.

Silent installation is also supported.
If another location than standard is wanted for the client files, the Client installer may be installed using the InstallFolder parameter, e.g. Clientinstall.exe InstallFolder=D:\.

If the user should have access to TARGIT Management the ‘CanManage’ parameter can be used, e.g. by using Clientinstall.exe CanManage=1.

Be aware that the InstallFolder and CanManage parameters are case sensitive.

To see a list of additional standard parameters, please launch the Client Installer with the “/?” parameter from the command prompt - “C:\ProgramData\TARGIT\ANTServer\ClientUpdate\ClientInstall.exe /?”).

 

Client Offline Installer


We recommend using the standard installer that provides automatic client updates.
If needed, it is possible to install a version of the client manually with an offline installer.
This client prevents automatic updates - if the server is upgraded, the connection to the server will not work until the client is manually upgraded to the matching server version using the offline installer.

Note that you have to select deployment method and keep it.
You cannot install the client with the recommended automatic deployment method and then upgrade using the offline installer.
Changing deployment method requires you to uninstall the client.

 

How to upgrade client from 2017 or earlier


To upgrade a client to TARGIT Decision Suite 2018 or later, the previous version must be uninstalled first. After successful uninstall, the Client Installer should be installed and the instructions above should be followed.


Configuration options
In TARGIT Management multiple options are available for keeping clients updated. On the ‘Setup’ tab select ‘Front-end’ to manage the settings.

Update clients automatically
This setting is enabled by default and makes sure that clients are automatically updated when the server is updated. This setting should only be disabled if you want to handle the update procedure manually.
We do not recommend changing this setting.

 

Include scalable map component
To make sure that scalable (GIS) maps load in the client, the separate component must be installed on all client machines and the server by calling the web service “https://[server]:1301/installgis”.
The component is not installed by default on all machines because of the size of the component (>100 mb) and the time it takes to install it.


Shortcut name in Windows Start


By default the shortcut name in Windows Start that is created the first time you connect to a new server is “TARGIT ([server name])”.
This may be changed by entering a text for the shortcut in this field.
Note that if the user has already connected and received the default shortcut, an additional shortcut is added to Windows Start if another server name is entered.
Since the real server name has not changed, both shortcuts will continue to work.

 

Shortcut icon in Windows Start


By default the shortcut icon in Windows Start is the default TARGIT icon used for the TARGIT Windows Client.
This may be changed to your own customized icon.
Note that if the user has already connected and received the default shortcut, an additional shortcut is added to Windows Start if another server name is entered.
Since the real server name has not changed, both shortcuts will continue to work.

 

Redirect to server


This field is used to update the shortcut on all clients if migrating the TARGIT ANTserver to another server.
Before going into production on the new server, simply write the name of the new server in this field and whenever a client connects, the shortcut on the client machine is updated to point to the new server.
In this way a migration of the server will not impact users.

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