Sumatra PDF is a free and open-source document viewer that supports many document formats including: Portable Document Format, Microsoft Compiled HTML Help, DjVu, EPUB, FictionBook, MOBI, PRC, Open XML Paper Specification, and Comic Book Archive file. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of Sumatra PDF from the command line using the EXE installer.
How to Install Sumatra PDF Silently
Sumatra PDF (32-bit Systems) Silent Install (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
- Navigate to: https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/prerelease.html
- Select the 32-bit EXE Installer
- Download the file to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
- Enter the following command:
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" - Press Enter
After a few moments you should see the Sumatra PDF Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
| Software Title: | Sumatra PDF (32-bit Systems) |
| Vendor: | Krzysztof Kowalczyk |
| Version: | 3.3.0 & Newer |
| Architecture: | x86 |
| Installer Type: | EXE |
| Silent Install Switch: | SumatraPDF-3.x.y-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" |
| Silent Uninstall Switch (ProgramFiles) | "%ProgramFiles%\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe" -uninstall -s |
| Silent Uninstall Switch (UserProfile) | "%LocalAppData%\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe" -uninstall -s |
| Download Link: | https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/prerelease.html |
Sumatra PDF (64-bit Systems) Silent Install (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
- Navigate to: https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/prerelease.html
- Select the 64-bit EXE Installer
- Download the file to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
- Enter the following command:
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-64-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" - Press Enter
After a few moments you should see the Sumatra PDF Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
| Software Title: | Sumatra PDF (64-bit Systems) |
| Vendor: | Krzysztof Kowalczyk |
| Version: | 3.3.0 & Newer |
| Architecture: | x64 |
| Installer Type: | EXE |
| Silent Install Switch: | SumatraPDF-3.x.y-64-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" |
| Silent Uninstall Switch (ProgramFiles) | "%ProgramFiles%\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe" -uninstall -s |
| Silent Uninstall Switch (UserProfile) | "%LocalAppData%\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe" -uninstall -s |
| Download Link: | https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/prerelease.html |
Sumatra PDF (32-bit Systems) Silent Install (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
- Navigate to: https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/download-prev.html
- Select the 32-bit EXE Installer
- Download the file to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
- Enter the following command:
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-install.exe /s - Press Enter
After a few moments you will find Sumatra PDF entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
| Software Title: | Sumatra PDF (32-bit Systems) |
| Vendor: | Krzysztof Kowalczyk |
| Version: | 3.1.2 & Older |
| Architecture: | x86 |
| Installer Type: | EXE |
| Silent Install Switch: | SumatraPDF-3.1.2-install.exe /s |
| Silent Uninstall Switch: | "%ProgramFiles%\SumatraPDF\uninstall.exe" /s |
| Download Link: | https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/download-prev.html |
Sumatra PDF (64-bit Systems) Silent Install (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
- Navigate to: https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/download-prev.html
- Select the 64-bit EXE Installer
- Download the file to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
- Enter the following command:
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-64-install.exe /s - Press Enter
After a few moments you will find Sumatra PDF entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
| Software Title: | Sumatra PDF (64-bit Systems) |
| Vendor: | Krzysztof Kowalczyk |
| Version: | 3.1.2 & Older |
| Architecture: | x64 |
| Installer Type: | EXE |
| Silent Install Switch: | SumatraPDF-3.1.2-64-install.exe /s |
| Silent Uninstall Switch: | "%ProgramFiles%\SumatraPDF\uninstall.exe" /s |
| Download Link: | https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/download-prev.html |
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
Change Default Installation Directory
You can also change the default installation directory by using the following command line parameters. In this example, I’m installing Sumatra PDF to “C:\SumatraPDF”
Sumatra PDF 32-bit Systems (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-install.exe -s -d "C:\SumatraPDF“ |
Sumatra PDF 64-bit Systems (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-64-install.exe -s -d "C:\SumatraPDF" |
Sumatra PDF 32-bit Systems (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-install.exe /s /d "C:\SumatraPDF" |
Sumatra PDF 64-bit Systems (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-64-install.exe /s /d "C:\SumatraPDF" |
Install Search Filter
Sumatra PDF 32-bit Systems (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" -with-filter |
Sumatra PDF 64-bit Systems (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-64-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" -with-filter |
Install Shell Preview
Sumatra PDF 32-bit Systems (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" -with-preview |
Sumatra PDF 64-bit Systems (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
SumatraPDF-3.x.y-64-install.exe -s -d "C:\Program Files\SumatraPDF" -with-preview |
Register Sumatra PDF as the Default PDF Viewer
Sumatra PDF 32-bit Systems (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-install.exe /s /register |
Sumatra PDF 64-bit Systems (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-64-install.exe /s /register |
Enable Optional Components (pdffilter,pdfpreviewer,plugin)
Sumatra PDF 32-bit Systems (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-install.exe /s /opt |
Sumatra PDF 64-bit Systems (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
SumatraPDF-3.1.2-64-install.exe /s /opt |
Disable Automatic Check for Updates
Sumatra PDF with Automatic Updates Check Disabled (Version 3.3.0 & Newer)
- Open Windows PowerShell by Right-Clicking on Windows PowerShell and selecting Run as Administrator
- Enter the following command:
(Get-Content "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF-settings.txt") | ForEach-Object { $_ -replace "CheckForUpdates = true" , "CheckForUpdates = false" } | Set-Content "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF-settings.txt"Sumatra PDF with Automatic Updates Check Disabled (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
- Open Windows PowerShell by Right-Clicking on Windows PowerShell and selecting Run as Administrator
- Enter the following command:
(Get-Content "$env:APPDATA\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF-settings.txt") | ForEach-Object { $_ -replace "CheckForUpdates = true" , "CheckForUpdates = false" } | Set-Content "$env:APPDATA\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF-settings.txt"How to Uninstall Sumatra PDF Silently
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Enter one of the following commands:
Sumatra PDF Silent Uninstall (Version 3.3.0 & Newer) – Program Files
"%ProgramFiles%\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe" -uninstall -s |
Sumatra PDF Silent Uninstall (Version 3.3.0 & Newer) – User Profile
"%LocalAppData%\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe" -uninstall -s |
Sumatra PDF Silent Uninstall (Version 3.1.2 & Older)
"%ProgramFiles%\SumatraPDF\uninstall.exe" /s |
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.