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How to make an installer


mark2004
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I need to copy several files (some .exe and some .txt) to someone's pc and I'd like to do it by just writing a script

that could do everything. It would be even cooler if it could be a wizard type installer where they just click Next through

a couple windows and it does it's thing. How do I make an executable file that has other .exe's and .txt's packaged within it

so that I can copy those files to certain folders???

I have no clue where to even start on this one. If anyone has a nifty little installer program that does something similar, please

post your code. I'd love to be able to put something like that together.

Thanks,

Mark

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I wouldnt make an installer myself...I use Inno Installer...fast...free....no advertisments...its really cool actually...

I prefer NSIS,it's VERY powerful,can do almost everything in a simple scripting language,lot's of User functions,LZMA compression,and the best of all,it's Open Source.

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I prefer NSIS,it's VERY powerful,can do almost everything in a simple scripting language,lot's of User functions,LZMA compression,and the best of all,it's Open Source.

And open source makes it good because??

George

Question about decompiling code? Read the decompiling FAQ and don't bother posting the question in the forums.

Be sure to read and follow the forum rules. -AKA the AutoIt Reading and Comprehension Skills test.***

The PCRE (Regular Expression) ToolKit for AutoIT - (Updated Oct 20, 2011 ver:3.0.1.13) - Please update your current version before filing any bug reports. The installer now includes both 32 and 64 bit versions. No change in version number.

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I have both NSIS and Inno installed on one of my apps has support for both but I rarely use NSIS. I have templates for Inno Setup that make it plain and simple. They are both scriptable but Inno has the advantage of accepting Pascal code for those difficult to do installs as well as a preprocessor and a lot of good include files. There are also a couple of very good front ends for it. The Resource Hacker install package in my signature was created with Inno.

And for danielkza: Yes Inno is open source but that has nothing to do with how good it is.

George

Question about decompiling code? Read the decompiling FAQ and don't bother posting the question in the forums.

Be sure to read and follow the forum rules. -AKA the AutoIt Reading and Comprehension Skills test.***

The PCRE (Regular Expression) ToolKit for AutoIT - (Updated Oct 20, 2011 ver:3.0.1.13) - Please update your current version before filing any bug reports. The installer now includes both 32 and 64 bit versions. No change in version number.

Visit my Blog .. currently not active but it will soon be resplendent with news and views. Also please remove any links you may have to my website. it is soon to be closed and replaced with something else.

"Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!"

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I wouldnt make an installer myself...I use Inno Installer...fast...free....no advertisments...its really cool actually...

i would. i like programs to work just as i want them to :) so if i make something myself, it is much better in my opinion.
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i would. i like programs to work just as i want them to :) so if i make something myself, it is much better in my opinion.

Wrong. A good installer does much more than just place files in a particular location and write a couple of registry entries. It takes a long time to create a good installer so best to stay with the people that specialize in it. And then there is the uninstaller and thats another whole kettle of fish. I've asked this question before but here it comes again

"If it was so simple to write a good installer in AutoIt then why are the AutoIt and Scite installers written with NSIS?"

Generally scripting in a proper installer is easy because all of the difficult work has been done within the installer before you ever started the script.

Edited by GEOSoft

George

Question about decompiling code? Read the decompiling FAQ and don't bother posting the question in the forums.

Be sure to read and follow the forum rules. -AKA the AutoIt Reading and Comprehension Skills test.***

The PCRE (Regular Expression) ToolKit for AutoIT - (Updated Oct 20, 2011 ver:3.0.1.13) - Please update your current version before filing any bug reports. The installer now includes both 32 and 64 bit versions. No change in version number.

Visit my Blog .. currently not active but it will soon be resplendent with news and views. Also please remove any links you may have to my website. it is soon to be closed and replaced with something else.

"Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!"

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Wrong. A good installer does much more than just place files in a particular location and write a couple of registry entries. It takes a long time to create a good installer so best to stay with the people that specialize in it. And then there is the uninstaller and thats another whole kettle of fish. I've asked this question before but here it comes again

"If it was so simple to write a good installer in AutoIt then why are the AutoIt and Scite installers written with NSIS?"

Generally scripting in a proper installer is easy because all of the difficult work has been done within the installer before you ever started the script.

Wrong!

i like files i have written :)

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Wrong!

i like files i have written :)

Then fly at it and when you screw up someones system because you didn't have a clue what you were doing then remember who is responsible.

George

Question about decompiling code? Read the decompiling FAQ and don't bother posting the question in the forums.

Be sure to read and follow the forum rules. -AKA the AutoIt Reading and Comprehension Skills test.***

The PCRE (Regular Expression) ToolKit for AutoIT - (Updated Oct 20, 2011 ver:3.0.1.13) - Please update your current version before filing any bug reports. The installer now includes both 32 and 64 bit versions. No change in version number.

Visit my Blog .. currently not active but it will soon be resplendent with news and views. Also please remove any links you may have to my website. it is soon to be closed and replaced with something else.

"Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!"

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it would be very easy to make an installer with the same features as those 2 mentioned and to look more graphically appealing. I have found my only limiting factor to be that I do not want to make the size of the installer too large so can't use too many graphics.

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it would be very easy to make an installer with the same features as those 2 mentioned and to look more graphically appealing. I have found my only limiting factor to be that I do not want to make the size of the installer too large so can't use too many graphics.

Have you even thought of how much is involved in a proper installer? Here's something to start with. Both of the installers mentioned have been in development longer than AutoIt has. In other words it's taken longer to develop the installers to where they are than it has taken to develop AutoIt. If it was a matter of copying files to a location, write a couple of reg entries and create a shortcut or two (and placed into a GUI) then you should be able to write the code in less than an hour.

The fact is that there is much, much more involved than those simple tasks. Perhaps you plan on using FileInstall() to install a particular dll file which is currently installed in your system32 folder but might not be on someone elses system. Where do you plan on getting the file to include in your installer? From your system32 folder? Big mistake. Does a particular file need to be registered as a shared file? You know how to handle that don't you? And since you know how to do that then I'm sure you also know how to handle that same file on uninstall. You are well aware of files on the unsafe list and know how to do those checks aren't you? I could go on ad infinitum about the things you don't know about installers. Stick with the installers the pro's (people that know how to do it) have spent so much time and effort developing.

Edited by GEOSoft

George

Question about decompiling code? Read the decompiling FAQ and don't bother posting the question in the forums.

Be sure to read and follow the forum rules. -AKA the AutoIt Reading and Comprehension Skills test.***

The PCRE (Regular Expression) ToolKit for AutoIT - (Updated Oct 20, 2011 ver:3.0.1.13) - Please update your current version before filing any bug reports. The installer now includes both 32 and 64 bit versions. No change in version number.

Visit my Blog .. currently not active but it will soon be resplendent with news and views. Also please remove any links you may have to my website. it is soon to be closed and replaced with something else.

"Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!"

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actually i can do all of those things with ease, and you seem a little confused about some of the processes involved in writing an installer.

heres a basic one i wrote last year:

http://www.autohotkey.net/~tic/Amun-1.39.exe

however i have developed it much further now and completely made the gui using per pixel alpha blending and written it in C and have mutiple compression options. i am not yet ready to release this version as it is planned as an installer maker.

Edited by tic
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