Enable and disable preferences


Overview

As an administrator, you can remove the ability for users to edit preferences to prevent unauthorized changes. By using a response file, you can disable editing capabilities for preferences after IBM Installation Manager has been installed. Preferences that cannot be edited are shown as disabled in the Installation Manager user interface.

You can include preference keys in a response file before installing Installation Manager silently or create a separate response file to change the preferences after Installation Manager is installed. This example shows how to disable preferences for editing after Installation Manager has been installed.

Disabling a preference is different from disabling the editing capabilities for the preference in the Installation Manager interface.

For example, in Installation Manager, click Files > Preferences > Repositories. Locate Search service repositories during installation and updates. If you check the check box, you are enabling the Search service repositories during installation and updates preference. If you clear the check box, you are disabling this preference. This preference can be enabled and disabled using either the Installation Manager interface or a response file. The preference key used for this preference in the response file is offering.service.repositories.areUsed.

You can disable the editing capabilities for this preference only using a response file. The preference key to disable the editing capabilities for Search service repositories during installation and updates is offering.service.repositories.areUsed_EDITABLE where the preference key has _EDITABLE at the end. When the preference key is set to false, the Search service repositories during installation and updates option is disabled in Installation Manager. When this option is disabled in the interface, you must use a response file to enable or disable the offering.service.repositories.areUsed preference.

See Silent installation preference keys for a list of preference keys and information about using the keys in a response file with the _EDITABLE option.

Not all preferences can be enabled or disabled with the _EDITABLE option.


Disable editing capabilities for preferences

  1. Create a response file.

  2. Enter the preference keys to disable with the _EDITABLE option. For example, the response file to disable the Search service repositories during installation and updates option contains:
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <agent-input>
    <preference name='offering.service.repositories.areUsed_EDITABLE' value='false'/>
    </agent-input>

  3. Save the response file in an accessible location.

  4. Open the command prompt.

  5. Go to the tools directory. See Install as an administrator, nonadministrator, or group for default tools directory locations.

  6. Run the response file using the command:

      ./imcl input /path/to/respfile

    Starting with version 1.4.3, do not use --launcher.ini .ini file as this command option has been deprecated. Commands for versions 1.4.2 and earlier are shown in the Example section.

  7. Repeat steps 4-6 on each computer to disable the preferences for each user.


Results

After disabling the offering.service.repositories.areUsed_EDITABLE preference as shown in the example, when a user opens the Installation Manager user interface and clicks Files > Preferences > Repositories, the Search service repositories during installation and updates option is disabled.


What to do next

To enable editing for a preference after it has been disabled, set the preference to value="true" in the response file. For example, the response file that enables editing the preference offering.service.repositories.areUsed_EDITABLE contains:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<agent-input>
<preference name='offering.service.repositories.areUsed_EDITABLE' value='true'/>
</agent-input>

Change preference selections

After Installation Manager has been installed, administrators can run a response file to change preference selections that cannot be edited by users. For example, you can enable the Search service repositories during installation and updates option and prevent users from clearing the Search service repositories during installation and updates check box after installing Installation Manager.

Enable a preference that cannot be edited by users

  1. Create a response file.

  2. Enter the two versions of the same preference key. Enter the first preference key with value='true' to enable the preference itself. Enter the second preference key with the _EDITABLE option and with value='false' to disable the editing capabilities for the preference. For example, the response file to enable the Search service repositories during installation and updates preference, but disable the option in the Installation Manager interface contains:
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <agent-input>
    <preference name='offering.service.repositories.areUsed' value='true'/>
    <preference name='offering.service.repositories.areUsed_EDITABLE' value='false'/>
    </agent-input>

  3. Save the response file in an accessible location.

  4. Open the command prompt.

  5. Go to the tools directory. See Install as an administrator, nonadministrator, or group for default tools directory locations.

  6. Run the response file using the command:

      ./imcl input /path/to/respfile

    Starting with version 1.4.3, do not use --launcher.ini .ini file as this command option has been deprecated. Commands for versions 1.4.2 and earlier are shown in the Example section.

  7. Repeat steps 4-6 on each computer to change the preferences for each user.

Results

After enabling the offering.service.repositories.areUsed preference and disabling it for editing as shown in the example, when a user opens the Installation Manager user interface and clicks Files > Preferences > Repositories, the Search service repositories during installation and updates option is disabled. However, Installation Manager continues to search service repositories for updates.

Example

Include quotation marks around filepaths that have spaces.

To disable a preference that cannot be edited by users, set the preference key to value="false" in the response file to disable the preference itself. For example, the response file that disables the Search service repositories during installation and updates preference and prevents users from editing it contains:


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