**More info:

Chapter 20**

Automating Installer VISE

This chapter describes ways to automate the processes of building and controlling Installer

VISE installers. The information is divided into two main topics:

■

“Automating Installer Builds” on page 20-1■

“Automating Installers” on page 20-2Automating Installer

Builds

You can automate the process of building installers by using combinations of the features

listed below.

Build Targets and

Batch Build

Build Targets allow you to set up different kinds of installs and easily switch between them

when building. While the default behavior is to build one Build Target at a time, build

automation can be achieved by using Installer VISE's Batch Build feature. Batch Build

enables multiple Build Targets to be built at once. For details, see:

■

“Build Targets” on page 15-5■

“Batch Build” on page 15-9Batch Files

in the archive and build your installer:

There are two command line switches that can be used with Installer VISE to update filesCommand

Line Switch

Function

- u Causes Installer VISE to update a file in the specified archive.

Example:

D:MyProductBuilderReleaseMyApp.exe

- b Causes Installer VISE to build an installer from the specified archive

and save it at a specified location. This command line switch can

specify the Build Target for the installer.

F:tempfile.vct -b F:tempsetup.exe target1

InstVise.exe F:tempMyProduct.VCT -u MyApp.exeExample: InstVise.exe****Table 20-1: Command line switches for building installers

20–2 Automating Installers

Chapter 20 Automating Installer VISE Installer VISE for Windows

Through a command available in its File menu, Installer VISE can generate a batch file for

you that updates specific files and builds an installer at the location you specify. You can

use this file in conjunction with other batch files to automate your build process.

For details, see

**“Generating a Batch File” on page 6-46.**Automating

Installers

Installer VISE installers can be controlled through the following command line switches,

which for convenience and automation purposes will typically be used in batch files:

Command

Line Switch

Function

-s Causes the installer to silently process any items in its Silent Setup

package. The purpose is to provide an install that can be used with a

batch file; no customer intervention is required and no dialogs are

displayed.

See

page 6-7

-t Causes the installer to use the specified path as the default target

directory.

****Example: setup.exe -s“Creating Packages, Sub-Packages and List Packages” on.****Example:

See

-v Causes the installer to use any runtime variable values present in the

specified INI file.

**setup.exe -t:"C:Program FilesMy Application"“Externally Setting %TargetDir%” on page 19-9.**Example:

See

-r Causes the installer to use the specified INI file to record the

settings made by the user during the install. The recorded install can

then be played back with the -p command line switch.

**setup.exe -v: varsettings.ini“Externally Setting Variables” on page 19-8.**Example:

See

-p Causes the installer to silently play back a previously recorded install

using the user settings stored in the specified INI file. (User settings

are recorded using the -r command line switch.)

**setup.exe -r: recsettings.ini“Recording and Playing Back Installs” on page 20-3.**Example:

See

-l (lowercase L) For use by an application, this command line switch causes the

installer to send progress notification messages to the specified

window.

**setup.exe -p: recsettings.ini“Recording and Playing Back Installs” on page 20-3.**Example:

See

-n For use by an application, this command line switch can optionally

be used in conjunction with the -l switch to identify the installer that

is sending progress notification messages.

**setup.exe -l listener“Monitoring Installer Progress” on page 20-4.**Example:

See

**setup.exe -l listener -n reporter“Monitoring Installer Progress” on page 20-4.**Table 20-2: Command line switches for controlling installers

Recording and Playing Back Installs 20–3

Installer VISE for Windows Chapter 20 Automating Installer VISE

Recording and Playing

Back Installs

This feature enables customers who use your installer to automate the installation process.

For example:

■

your software on multiple computers in a network.

Systems administrators could use record and playback to control installation of■

for inclusion with their products.

Although you might not use this feature as a developer, you might want to provide the

following information to select customers who have a need to control the installation of

your software.

Third-party developers could use the feature to automate your installer as neededHow it Works

and playback does not require the user to repackage the installer with Installer VISE.

Instead, customers can simply run your installer once using a special command line switch

that records all user settings, such as package selection and text input. The installer can

then be launched on another machine and run silently without user intervention.

In contrast to the Snapshot Wizard (see Chapter 14-Using the Snapshot Wizard), recordTo record an install:

1.

setup.exe -r: recsettings.ini

The user settings will be recorded to the INI file specified here.

**Launch the installer with a command line that follows this format:**2.

record for automation purposes.

The resulting INI file can be manually revised to preset runtime variable

values, using the format described in

page 19-8

Password verification (when entry is prompted by the Verify Password

installer screen) is skipped over during playback.

Once an install is recorded, different variations can be created by making

copies of the INI file and modifying the contents as needed.

**Complete the installation process using the selections and input you would like to“Externally Setting Variables” on.**To play back an install:

Launch the installer with a command line that follows this format:

setup.exe -p: recsettings.ini

Be sure to reference the INI file that has the desired user settings.

20–4 Monitoring Installer Progress

Chapter 20 Automating Installer VISE Installer VISE for Windows

Monitoring Installer

Progress

The following information describes how applications can launch one or more installers

and monitor their progress through messages sent by the installers. This feature can be

used in conjunction with the installer playback functionality.

To monitor an installer’s progress, the application source code must:

1.

**Create a message handler.**2.

from the installer.

Associate the handler with a (possibly hidden) window for receiving progress messages3.

setup.exe -l listener -n reporter -p settings.ini

The -l (lowercase L) switch, and the name that follows, signals the request for

progress notification. The name should be the name of a (probably hidden) window

that the application opens for the purpose of receiving and handling notification

messages sent by the installer.

The -n switch, and the name that follows, is optional. If present, the installer will

use the name provided to identify itself in notification messages it sends. Thus, by

naming at command line launch, one application could be monitoring multiple

installers (or multiple applications monitoring multiple launches of the same

installer) simultaneously, without confusion or collision.

The -p switch, and the name that follows, is also optional. It simply illustrates how

the notification feature might be used in conjunction with the playback feature.

**Launch the installer with a command line that follows this format:**Events Reported by

Installers

The events an installer will report are as follows:

■

Begin install■

Successful completion of install■

Cancel or abort install■

**Update of the progress bar (whether hidden or not)**Finding More

Information

For more information on this feature, see the Vise Monitor folder that’s available as part

of the Installer VISE installation. This folder includes the following valuable reference

items:

■

Read Me file■

Sample application■

Sample application project