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Unattended deployment

This page shows how to install, configure and license the MultiTaction Canvus client on many computers, or on a wall computer, without anyone at the keyboard. It brings together facts from the installation, configuration and licensing pages into one recipe.

Overview

  1. Install Canvus silently.
  2. Put a system-wide mt-canvus.ini in place and lock it.
  3. Activate the license from the command line, or install a license file.
  4. Set Canvus to start, and restart, without user action.
  5. Check the result in the log.

Install silently

Windows

The Windows installer is an Inno Setup installer. Run it as an administrator with the standard Inno Setup switches:

mt-canvus-client-<version>.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /LOG="C:\Temp\canvus-install.log"

The installer:

  • installs Canvus to C:\Program Files\MT Canvus (use /DIR="<folder>" to change it);
  • installs the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable quietly and never restarts the computer;
  • does not start Canvus after a silent install;
  • creates a desktop shortcut for all users;
  • registers the canvus://, canvus+ssl:// and canvus+tcp:// link types, so canvas links open in Canvus;
  • writes the MT Launcher pipeline file (see auto-start and restart);
  • turns on Windows Error Reporting local dumps (see diagnostics and crash reporting);
  • merges an existing system-wide mt-canvus.ini with the settings of the new version.

Upgrading an existing installation

When an earlier version is installed, the installer asks whether to uninstall it first, and it shows this question even in silent mode. For an unattended upgrade, uninstall the earlier version first, then install the new one:

"C:\Program Files\MT Canvus\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART

Keep a copy of %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\canvus\mt-canvus.ini before you uninstall. Uninstallers of older versions could remove it.

Ubuntu

Install the package with apt, so that it fetches the system libraries it needs:

sudo apt-get update
sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y ./mt-canvus-client-<version>-Ubuntu-24.04.deb

The package:

  • installs Canvus to /opt/mt-canvus-<version> and points /opt/mt-canvus and /usr/bin/mt-canvus-app at the version installed last;
  • keeps earlier versions side by side, so you can roll back;
  • creates /etc/MultiTaction/canvus/mt-canvus.ini from the example configuration if the file does not exist, and otherwise keeps it and merges it with the settings of the new version (from Canvus 26.10.4);
  • removes /etc/MultiTaction/canvus/mt-canvus.ini only when you purge the package (apt purge mt-canvus).

macOS

Copy MT Canvus from the disk image to /Applications. See install on macOS.

Put the configuration in place

Which file Canvus reads

Canvus reads one configuration file. It looks for these files in order and uses the first one that exists:

  1. The per-user file:
    • Windows: %APPDATA%\MultiTaction\canvus\mt-canvus.ini
    • Ubuntu and macOS: ~/MultiTaction/canvus/mt-canvus.ini
  2. The system-wide file:
    • Windows: %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\canvus\mt-canvus.ini
    • Ubuntu and macOS: /etc/MultiTaction/canvus/mt-canvus.ini

The files are not combined. Once a per-user file exists, Canvus ignores the system-wide file for that user.

For a managed deployment, use the system-wide file and make sure no per-user file exists.

  • Ubuntu: the package creates the system-wide file. Replace it with your own before or after you install the package. The package keeps your file.
  • Windows: the installer does not create a system-wide file. Copy yours to %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\canvus\mt-canvus.ini before anyone starts Canvus. When Canvus starts and finds no configuration file at all, it creates a per-user file, and that file then hides any system-wide file you add later.

You can also point Canvus at a file of your choice with --mt-canvus-config <file>. The file must exist, or Canvus exits with code 1. Canvus does not create or merge a file given this way.

Lock the configuration

Add lock-config=true to the [system] section:

[system]
lock-config=true

With a locked configuration, the Settings page cannot save changes. Without it, a user who saves a change in the Settings page while Canvus is reading the system-wide file creates a per-user file, and from then on that user no longer gets your system-wide settings.

Updates and your settings

On the first start of each new version, Canvus merges the configuration file with the example configuration of that version. Your values are kept and new settings are added. Keep your own master copy of mt-canvus.ini under version control, and compare it with the merged file after an update. See configuration file.

Choose the user interface mode

Canvus picks single-user or multi-user mode at every start. It uses multi-user mode when the computer has a MultiTaction (NetBridge) touch source or when screen.xml has more than one window. To fix the mode, set it in [system]:

[system]
; true for walls and shared touch screens, false for desktops and laptops
multi-user-mode-enabled=true

The setting needs a restart. See single user or multi-user mode.

Activate the license

Each computer needs its own activation. From Canvus 26.10.4, Canvus identifies a computer for licensing by the machine ID of its operating system. Computers installed from one disk image must each have their own machine ID first. See which computer a license belongs to.

Choose one method:

  • Online, from the command line: run Canvus once with the activation key, as the account that will run Canvus. The command exits with 0 on success and 1 on failure.

    The license is saved for that account only, in ~/MultiTaction/Licenses on Ubuntu and macOS or %LOCALAPPDATA%\MultiTaction\Licenses on Windows. Do not run it with sudo: the license is then saved for root and Canvus does not find it. To license every account on the computer, copy the saved .html file to /etc/MultiTaction/Licenses on Ubuntu and macOS or %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\Licenses on Windows.

    /opt/mt-canvus/bin/mt-canvus-app --activate <key>

    "C:\Program Files\MT Canvus\bin\mt-canvus-app.exe" --activate <key>

    For a key that covers more than one product, add --product-type canvus_meeting_room or --product-type canvus_desktop_laptop. See activate your license from the command line.

  • Offline: create a request file with --create-license-request <key>, get the license file from the MultiTaction portal on a computer with internet access, and copy it to the license folder. To license every account on the computer, use the system-wide license folder. See generate a license request while offline and where is my client license.

Only online activation needs the license service. After activation, Canvus runs without internet access until the license expires. See network requirements.

Note

On a computer with no valid license, Canvus opens the license wizard. With --disable-dialogs, or when a window in screen.xml is stay-on-top or bypasses the window manager (the default for frameless windows), Canvus does not open the wizard. It writes the reason to the log and exits with code 3 (or 7 for a license that is for an older version).

Auto-start and restart

Windows with MT Launcher

The installer writes an MT Launcher pipeline file to %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\launcher\apps\mt-canvus-<version>.ini. It starts Canvus with these settings:

Setting Value Meaning
arguments --disable-dialogs No pop-up dialogs or license wizard. Separate more arguments with commas.
restart-on-crash true MT Launcher restarts Canvus if it crashes
restart-limit, restart-period 3 restarts in 10 s (defaults) More restarts than this mark the pipeline as failed
required true A failed Canvus stops the pipeline

Each install writes a new file for its version and removes the .ini files of earlier versions. MT Launcher hides tiles for versions that are no longer installed. Reapply your own edits after every update.

MT Launcher does not start at Windows sign-in by itself: its installer adds only a desktop shortcut. To start it at sign-in on a wall computer, copy the MT Launcher desktop shortcut into the Startup folder of the account that runs the wall (type shell:startup in the Run dialog), or into shell:common startup for every account.

To have MT Launcher start Canvus without a tap, set the tile in %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\launcher\launcher.ini:

[autostart]
tile=mt-canvus-26.11.0.1588
timeout=10

tile is the pipeline file name without its extension, and timeout is the wait in seconds before the start (default 60). The file name includes the Canvus version, so update tile after every Canvus update.

Ubuntu

The package adds Canvus to the applications menu but does not start it at login. The mt-canvus.sh launcher does not restart Canvus after it exits. To start Canvus at login on a wall computer, add /opt/mt-canvus/bin/mt-canvus.sh to the startup applications of the desktop session that runs the wall. Always start Canvus through mt-canvus.sh, not through mt-canvus-app. See install on Linux.

Lock down a wall

For a public or unattended wall, combine these settings:

Goal How
No pop-up dialogs --disable-dialogs, or frameless stay-on-top windows in screen.xml
Users cannot change settings [system] lock-config=true
Users cannot exit Canvus from the welcome screen [welcome-screen] allow-exit=false
Open a canvas at start Pass the canvas link as an argument, for example canvus://<server>/<canvas-id>. Canvus opens it on the first workspace instead of the welcome screen.
Return to the welcome screen after inactivity [system] inactive-timeout in seconds (default 14400)
Close idle menus [system] menu-timeout in seconds (default 15)
Control crash reporting See diagnostics and crash reporting

Check the result

  1. Start Canvus once and open the newest log file (see log files).
  2. Check the line Loading MT Canvus settings from <path>. It names the configuration file Canvus uses. If it names a per-user file, delete that file.
  3. Check the exit code if Canvus stops. See exit codes.