How to install DataSnipper for multiple users via the command line

Which version are you installing?

 

Not sure which version you have? If your installation package is a .zip file containing a license.txt, you're on version 25 or earlier. If you received a standalone .msi file with no license file, you're on version 26+.

Prerequisites

1. You have your DataSnipper Setup.msi installer file (provided by your DataSnipper contact). 
2. For version 25 and earlier only: you also have the license.txt file included in your installation package.
3. msiexec.exe is available on your Windows machine (included with Windows by default).
   
   
   Please refer to this article: How to install DataSnipper for single-use
   
   

System Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
RAM	16 GB minimum	32 GB recommended
Processor	2.5 GHz	2.5 GHz or higher
Storage	1 GB free	1 GB free
OS	Windows	Windows
Excel	Microsoft Excel 2010 or later	Microsoft Excel 2010 or later

File path length limit: 260 characters (versions older than v6) or 400 characters (v6.1 and later). Read more here.

Administrator Privileges

Running the installer in silent/quiet mode (/quiet) typically requires administrator privileges. If you encounter "access denied" errors, make sure you are running Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator (right-click > "Run as administrator").

Version 26 and Later

Version 26 uses server-side authentication. Users log in through DataSnipper after installation, so there is no license key to embed during install. This makes deployment significantly simpler.

The v26 installer downloads directly as a standalone .msi file (e.g. datasnipper-core-auto-stable-v26.1.21.msi). There is no .zip archive to extract.

Financial Statement Suite (FSS): In v26, FSS has its own separate installer. The installation process is the same as below, just use the FSS .msi file instead.

 

Command Line Options

Installation Steps

1. Locate the .msi file. For manual installs, it will typically be in your Downloads folder (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\datasnipper-core-auto-stable-v26.1.21.msi). For SCCM/Intune deployments, place it on an accessible network share.
2. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator (required for /quiet mode). Navigate to the folder containing the .msi file:

cd C:\Users\YourName\Downloads

Run the install command:

Common error: If you run the command from a different directory without specifying the full path to the .msi file, you will get "This installation package could not be opened." Either cd to the folder first or use the full file path in the command.

3. Run the install command:

msiexec.exe /i "datasnipper-core-auto-stable-v26.1.21.msi" /quiet

Or using the full path without changing directory:

msiexec.exe /i "C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\datasnipper-core-auto-stable-v26.1.21.msi" /quiet

Or with a custom install directory and logging:

msiexec.exe /i "datasnipper-core-auto-stable-v26.1.21.msi" /quiet APPDIR="C:\Program Files\DataSnipper" /L*V "C:\Logs\datasnipper_install.log"

4. Open Microsoft Excel. DataSnipper should appear in the Excel ribbon.

5. First launch: each user will be prompted to log in to DataSnipper with their organization credentials. This is a one-time step that authenticates the user against your organization's server-side license. No manual license file is needed.

Tip for IT teams: Since authentication happens in-product on first launch, you can push the MSI silently via Intune, SCCM, or Group Policy without needing to distribute or manage license files. Users handle the login step themselves.

Version 25 and Earlier

These versions use a local license key that must be embedded during installation. Without it, DataSnipper will show a "missing/expired license" error.

Important: Read all steps fully before executing. If the license key is not included in the install command, DataSnipper will not function correctly.

Extract the Installation Package First

Version 25 and earlier installers are delivered as a .zip archive. You must extract (unzip) the contents before running the installer. Right-click the .zip file and select "Extract All..." or use your preferred extraction tool. Running the .msi directly from inside the .zip (without extracting) will fail.

After extraction, you should have at least:

• Setup.msi (the installer)
• license.txt (your license key)
  
  

Your License key

Your license key is in the license.txt file included in your installation package (provided by your DataSnipper contact). It is a long string of characters containing your organization's license information. The full, exact contents of license.txt must be used. Partial or modified strings will be invalid.

Command line install options

Installing DataSnipper via Command Line

1. Extract the .zip package (see above). Make sure the files are fully extracted to a folder on disk, not opened directly from the .zip.
2. Open license.txt and copy the entire string of characters. This is your license key.
3. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator (required for /quiet mode). Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files:
4. Run the install command, pasting your license key after the = sign:

   msiexec.exe /i "Setup.msi" /quiet LICENSEKEY=<paste_your_license_key_here>

   Or using the full path without changing directory:
   
   

   msiexec.exe /i "C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\DataSnipper_v25.2.18\Setup.msi" /quiet LICENSEKEY=<paste_your_license_key_here>

5. Follow the setup steps as normal. If you used /quiet, the installation will complete silently.
6. Open Microsoft Excel. DataSnipper should appear in the Excel ribbon. Click Import Documents to verify the installation is working correctly.
   
   If DataSnipper does not appear, try enabling it in Excel's add-in settings or contact support.
   
   

Open Excel

Open Microsoft Excel, and DataSnipper should be visible in the Microsoft Excel Ribbon! Import any file by clicking Import Documents to verify a full installation.

 

If this is not the case, try enabling DataSnipper or contact support.