Software Installation Guide - Freedom Scientific
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Software Installation Guide


Installation

When installing one or two copies of JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion, the easiest option is to manually run the installer and follow the prompts. In environments where you need to install for many users, such as a university or government agency, manual installation can become tedious and time consuming. To help speed up the installation process in enterprise environments, Freedom Scientific software offers a wide range of options to assist IT personnel with automating the installation process.

Choosing a Setup Package

The setup packages for JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion are available as either a Connected or Offline installer.

The Connected installer is a small setup package that downloads all necessary components and language files over the internet. The computer you are installing on must be able to access the public internet in order to use this setup type. The latest Connected installer for each product is always available from the following pages.

The Offline installer allows you to install the software when you want to avoid connecting to the internet to access components, or if you will be installing on computers in your organization with limited internet access. The Offline installer is quite large as it contains everything necessary to install the product in a single executable. You can download the Offline installer for each product (JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion) from the following page.

Customizing the Installation

Both the Connected and Offline setup packages offer several command line arguments you can use to customize how the software is installed. If your deployment infrastructure supports the use of executable installers, the easiest way to customize the installation process is to run one of the offline installers with the command line options you need. Available command line options are described in the following sections. You can also run the setup package with the /Help or /MoreHelp options to Display a dialog box containing additional information about the available command line arguments. For example,

c:\package.exe /help

Selecting a Setup Type

Use the /Type argument followed by an option to specify the setup type to use instead of the default. For example,

c:\package.exe /type Silent

Available setup types include:

  • Silent – Silently installs a typical installation without displaying any installation dialog boxes or prompts.
  • Repair – Repairs an existing installation. During the repair, progress dialogs are displayed and a clicking tone is played. At the end, you are prompted to restart the computer.
  • SilentRepair – Silently repairs an existing installation without displaying any installation dialog boxes or prompts.
  • Uninstall – Uninstalls an existing installation.
  • SilentUninstall – Silently uninstalls an existing installation without removing shared components.
  • SilentSharedUninstall – Silently uninstalls an existing installation and the shared components.

Note: If you want to install the software without any prompts, you can also use the /silent command line argument instead of /type silent. For example,

c:\package.exe /silent

Selecting Languages

You can tell the setup package which product languages you want installed, as well as specify the language used by the installer if you want dialogs and prompts displayed during setup.

To install specific languages, use the /language command line argument followed by a comma delimited list of the three letter language codes of the product languages to use during a clean install instead of only the Operating System Language. During an install, the first product language specified will be used to determine the language of the shortcuts, the default synthesizers, and the default braille drivers. For example,

c:\package.exe /Language deu,enu,esn

The German, English, and Spanish product languages are installed along with the German shortcuts, default synthesizers, and default Braille drivers. For actions like an update or a repair, the previously installed product languages will be used and this option will be ignored.

The following language codes are supported:

  • Arabic: arb
  • Danish: dan
  • German: deu
  • English: enu
  • Spanish: esn
  • Finnish: fin
  • French: fra
  • French Canadian: frc
  • Hebrew: heb
  • Hungarian: hun
  • Italian: ita
  • Belgian Dutch: nlb
  • Dutch: nld
  • Norwegian: nor
  • Brazilian Portuguese: ptb
  • Russian: rus
  • Slovak: sky
  • Swedish: sve
  • Turkish: trk

To specify the language used by the installer, use the /InstallerUILanguage command line argument followed by the three-letter language code you want to use for the installer user interface instead of the operating system language. For example,

c:\package.exe /InstallerUILanguage enu

All dialogs and prompts are displayed in English.

Disabling External Services

When installing JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion on computers in highly secure environments such as hospitals, banks, or government agencies, administrators can disable product features that connect to the internet. This ensures compliance with security policies while maintaining core product functionality.

During installation, you can apply one of the following command line arguments to control which features are enabled or disabled.

DisableExternalServices

Use this command line argument to turn off all product features that connect to the internet, allowing the product to run fully offline. For example:

c:\package.exe /DisableExternalServices

When this option is used, all program files are still installed; however, features requiring Internet access are disabled at startup. This includes:

  • Automatic updates – Notifications are disabled, the Check for Updates option is unavailable, update settings are grayed out, and script updates are not applied automatically.
  • Voice Assistant – Activation using a wake word or keystrokes is disabled, no icon is displayed, and the Startup Wizard option is removed.
  • Message Center – Notifications and access options are unavailable.
  • Error Reporting – All related settings are disabled, and no prompts are displayed following application crashes.
  • Anonymous Usage Data Collection (Telemetry) – All related settings are disabled, and users are not prompted to opt in during the Startup Wizard.
  • Support Tool – The tool can still be run to collect system details, however only the option to manually send the report is available.
  • Research It – All menu options and keystrokes are unavailable.
  • Add/Remove Voices – All menu options are unavailable.
  • AI Based Features – All menu and keystroke access to AI features (including Picture Smart, AI Labeler, Vispero Companion, and Page Explorer) is disabled. Note that Vispero Companion remains accessible through a web browser.
  • Product Activation – Internet-based activation remains available following installation; however, periodic license verification checks and automatic license updates do not function.
  • JAWS Tandem – Keystrokes and menu options for establishing a Tandem Center session over the internet between two computers running JAWS are not available.

Note: Use of the product in remote access or virtual environments remains supported even with external services disabled. Additionally, Tandem Direct is still available for establishing a connection over an internal network between two computers running JAWS.

DisableExternalAIServices

For environments that restrict the use of AI specifically, use this command line argument to disable only AI-based features. For example:

c:\package.exe /DisableExternalAIServices

When this option is used, all program files are installed; however, access to AI-based features (including Vispero Companion, Page Explorer, Picture Smart, AI Labeler, and Voice Assistant) is disabled at startup.

All other Internet-connected services remain available.

For more information on how AI services handle data, see the AI Privacy Statement.

Advanced Customization Using AdditionalSettings.ini (Optional)

For more granular control over installed features, you can use an AdditionalSettings.ini file. This file allows administrators to define detailed installation behavior, including:

  • Options
  • Individual components
  • Configuration changes
  • ConfigNames
  • Domains
  • Key assignments

To extract an AdditionalSettings.ini file from any installer, add the /ExtractAdditionalSettings command line argument along with the folder and file name to extract to. For example,

c:\package.exe /ExtractAdditionalSettings “c:\FS setup\AdditionalSettings.ini”

This generates a sample configuration file with comments that document how to configure specific customizations.

IMPORTANT: After making any required customizations, ensure the AdditionalSettings.ini file is located in the same directory as the installer before starting installation.

Extraction Modes

You can extract different versions of the configuration file depending on your needs by adding one of the following types to the /ExtractAdditionalSettings command line argument:

  • Default – Generates a template file with all options commented out.
  • DisableExternalServices – Generates a configuration file that disables and prevents installation of all Internet-connected features.
    • This option should not be used together with the /DisableExternalServices or /DisableExternalAIServices command line arguments.
    • It is intended for administrators who require more granular control (for example, enabling Error Reporting while disabling other services).
  • DisableExternalAIServices – Generates a configuration file that disables and prevents installation of AI-based features.
    • This option should not be used together with the /DisableExternalAIServices or /DisableExternalServices command line arguments.
    • It is intended for administrators who want selective control (for example, enabling Voice Assistant while disabling other AI features).

Picture Smart Specific Configuration

For additional control over Picture Smart, you can manually add the following settings to the AdditionalSettings.ini file:

  • IsPictureSmartEnabled – Set to 0 to disable or set to 1 to enable.
  • IsPictureSmartRestricted – Set to 0 to use the default AI functionality or set to 1 to restrict Picture Smart to legacy functionality.

For example, If Internet-connected features are disabled but users still require AI-generated descriptions for visual content (such as charts or work-related images), you can enable Picture Smart by adding the following lines to AdditionalSettings.ini:

[AppConfiguration]
IsPictureSmartEnabled=1
IsPictureSmartRestricted=0

Using /Layout to Download Installation Files for Offline Deployment

For even greater customization, you can use the /Layout command line option with the Connected installers for JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion to download the individual MSI files to a specified folder. For example,

C:\Package.exe /Layout “C:\FS setup\OfflineSetup\”

You can then use scripts or other install automated tools to sequence these files for installation on offline computers.

When you use the /Layout command, a dialog box displays with two options: Options and Layout. By default, /Layout extracts files in the same language as the system language. Select the Options button if you want to change the language or extract installers in multiple languages. Select the Layout button to begin downloading files.

You can also add the /Language command to automatically download install files for specific languages. For example,

c:\package.exe /Language deu,enu,esn /Layout “c:\FS setup\OfflineSetup”

The installer files for the German, English, and Spanish product languages are downloaded to the c:\FS setup\OfflineSetup folder.

Finally, the /Layout command creates an “Example MSI scripts” folder, which contains batch files that run the installers in the proper sequence with the necessary flags. These scripts demonstrate how to install using this approach.

Note: The /Layout command only works properly with the Connected installers, available by default on the Freedom Scientific Downloads pages. It does not work with Offline installers.