PDFCreator Silent Install (How-To Guide)

PDFCreator is an application for converting documents into Portable Document Format format on Microsoft Windows operating systems. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of PDFCreator from the command line using the EXE installer.

How to Install PDFCreator Silently

PDFCreator 4.x Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://download.pdfforge.org/download/pdfcreator/list
  2. Download the PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  3. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  4. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  5. Enter the following command:
    • PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup.exe /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
  6. Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the PDFCreator Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:PDFCreator
Vendor:pdfforge GmbH
Architecture:x86_X64
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup.exe /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Silent Uninstall Switch:See Uninstall Section Below
Download Link:https://download.pdfforge.org/download/pdfcreator/list
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/pdfcreator-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-pdfcreator-powershell/

PDFCreator 4.x (Legacy Setup) Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://download.pdfforge.org/download/pdfcreator/list
  2. Download the PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup_legacy.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  3. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  4. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  5. Enter the following command:
    • PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup_legacy.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
  6. Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the PDFCreator Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:PDFCreator Free
Vendor:pdfforge GmbH
Architecture:x86_X64
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup_legacy.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Silent Uninstall Switch:"%ProgramFiles%\PDFCreator\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Download Link:https://download.pdfforge.org/download/pdfcreator/list
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/pdfcreator-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-pdfcreator-powershell/

PDFCreator 3.5.x Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://download.pdfforge.org/download/pdfcreator/list
  2. Download the PDFCreator-3_5_x-Setup.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  3. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  4. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  5. Enter the following command:
    • PDFCreator-3_5_x-Setup.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
  6. Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the PDFCreator Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:PDFCreator
Vendor:pdfforge GmbH
Version:3.5.x
Architecture:x86_X64
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:PDFCreator-3_5_x-Setup.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Silent Uninstall Switch:"%ProgramFiles%\PDFCreator\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Download Link:https://download.pdfforge.org/download/pdfcreator/list
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/pdfcreator-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-pdfcreator-powershell/

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.


Additional Configurations

Create a PDFCreator Installation Log File

The PDFCreator legacy installers offer the option to generate a log file during installation to assist with troubleshooting should any problems arise. You can use the following commands to create a verbose log file with details about the installation.

PDFCreator 4.x Silent Install with Logging

PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup.exe /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /LOG="%WINDIR%\Temp\PDFCreator4-Install.log"

PDFCreator 4.x (Legacy Setup) Silent Install with Logging

PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup_legacy.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /LOG="%WINDIR%\Temp\PDFCreator4-Install.log"

PDFCreator 3.5 Silent Install with Logging

PDFCreator-3_5_x-Setup.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /LOG="%WINDIR%\Temp\PDFCreator35-Install.log"

Change the PDFCreator Default Installation Directory

You can change the default installation directory by using the following command line parameters. In this example, I’m installing PDFCreator to “C:\PDFCreator”

PDFCreator 4.x

PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup.exe /DIR=C:\PDFCreator /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

PDFCreator 4.x (Legacy Setup)

PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup_legacy.exe /ForceInstall /DIR=C:\PDFCreator /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

PDFCreator 3.5

PDFCreator-3_5_1-Setup.exe /ForceInstall /DIR=C:\PDFCreator /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

Exclude the PDFCreator Desktop Shortcut During Install

The PDFCreator installer creates a desktop shortcut by default. If you don’t want the desktop shortcut, then you can run one the following command line switches to exclude it.

PDFCreator 4.x Silent Install with No Desktop Shortcut

PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup.exe /COMPONENTS="program" /NOICONS /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

PDFCreator 4.x (Legacy Setup) Silent Install with No Desktop Shortcut

PDFCreator-4_x_x-Setup_legacy.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /MERGETASKS=!desktopicon

PDFCreator 3.5.x Silent Install with No Desktop Shortcut

PDFCreator-3_5_x-Setup.exe /ForceInstall /COMPONENTS="program" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /MERGETASKS=!desktopicon

Disable the PDFCreator RSS News Feed

  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter the following command & press Enter:
    • Note: This is a Per User Setting
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\pdfforge\PDFCreator\Settings\ApplicationSettings\RssFeed" /v Enable /t REG_SZ /d False /f

Disable the PDFCreator Usage Statistics

  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter Each of the following commands One at a Time & press Enter:
    • Note: These Are Per User Settings
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\pdfforge\PDFCreator\Settings\ApplicationSettings\UsageStatistics" /v Enable /t REG_SZ /d False /f
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\pdfforge\PDFCreator\Settings\ApplicationSettings\UsageStatistics" /v UsageStatsInfo /t REG_SZ /d False /f

Disable the PDFCreator Show Tips

  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter the following command & press Enter:
    • Note: This is a Per User Setting
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\pdfforge\PDFCreator\Settings\ApplicationSettings" /v EnableTips /t REG_SZ /d False /f

How to Uninstall PDFCreator Silently

Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:

PDFCreator Install and Uninstall (PowerShell)
PDFCreator Silent Uninstall (PowerShell)
  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter one of the following commands:
VersionPDFCreator Silent Uninstall String
4.4.3 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {53B07CBF-8CF1-4398-AD9C-1EDCC62E9B57} /qn
4.4.2 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {1E0CF1C6-D640-4566-8E6F-2C2708422A25} /qn
4.4.1 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {95E99A6B-9728-4009-BEBC-E9EAFEE648E2} /qn
4.4.0 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {26298F35-F58F-4901-AC2E-B89A3C7E7AD5} /qn
4.3.0 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {5BC53DDB-F877-414F-98C3-350FB2D9C2AB} /qn
4.3.0 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {4EDD2692-1836-4670-A332-C6B76627D5E5} /qn
4.2.0 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.2.0 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.3 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.3 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.2 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.2 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.1 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.1 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.0 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.1.0 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.4 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.4 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.3 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.3 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.2 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.2 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.1 (32-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn
4.0.1 (64-bit)MsiExec.exe /x {00010FEF-82A2-497E-983A-7105A0267FA7} /qn

PDFCreator 4 (Legacy Setup) Silent Uninstall

"%ProgramFiles%\PDFCreator\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

PDFCreator 3.5 Silent Uninstall

"%ProgramFiles%\PDFCreator\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.

Jason Bergner

I am an accomplished Software Engineer at Patch My PC, leveraging more than 18 years of hands-on experience in Configuration Manager administration and application packaging. I am driven by a genuine passion for solving complex problems and consistently strive to discover innovative and effective solutions. Sharing my extensive knowledge of application deployments is a true joy for me, and I am honored to contribute to the community here at Silent Install HQ.

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