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MS Office Forum / Word / Programming / August 2006Install project
HI all, I have just spend 2 hours scanning the NG for info on this. A lot of people seem to praise InnoSetup. So I downloaded it and read the FAQ and some script examples. The main problem I see is that these software are designed to install executable files in (normally) the "Program Files" folder and also provide an uninstall mechanism, both of which are unnecessary when installing templates. I cannot figure out how to tell it to install my templates in the current user Workgroup Templates location (read from the registry?) and to make sure that some of the templates stay hidden once they are installed. (One template is used to invoke the other, and another one is not a template but a database, so they need to be hidden.). I need to make a deployment package for some very inept users who cannot be trusted to follow installation instructions. While I could create a Word file with autoexecuting code that would act as an installation mechanism (this would still require distributing 4 documents instead of one single installation package), it thought I might try to use a "real" install tool so as to look more professional. I also looked at VS 2003, it seemed way too complicated for such a simple install. I would really appreciate it if anybody can give some pointers on InnoSetup (Or any other installation software).  SignatureSalut! _______________________________________ Jean-Guy Marcil - Word MVP jmarcilREMOVE@CAPSsympatico.caTHISTOO Word MVP site: http://www.word.mvps.org Hi Jean-Guy, I must say that when I was looking round, I didn't find any of the commercial installers up to the job of installing Office templates, so I made my own. SignatureRegards Jonathan West - Word MVP www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk Please reply to the newsgroup Keep your VBA code safe, sign the ClassicVB petition www.classicvb.org > HI all, > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > I would really appreciate it if anybody can give some pointers on > InnoSetup (Or any other installation software). Jonathan West was telling us: Jonathan West nous racontait que : > Hi Jean-Guy, > > I must say that when I was looking round, I didn't find any of the > commercial installers up to the job of installing Office templates, > so I made my own. With VB6, VS 2003, VS 2005 or something else? How did you get many files inside one file to be distributed? SignatureSalut! _______________________________________ Jean-Guy Marcil - Word MVP jmarcilREMOVE@CAPSsympatico.caTHISTOO Word MVP site: http://www.word.mvps.org > Jonathan West was telling us: > Jonathan West nous racontait que : [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > With VB6, VS 2003, VS 2005 or something else? VB6. If the customer has Office 2K or later, you can guarantee that they have the VB6 runtimes already installed. > How did you get many files inside one file to be distributed? Put them all inside a Winzip self-extracting archive which automatically runs the installer. SignatureRegards Jonathan West - Word MVP www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk Please reply to the newsgroup Keep your VBA code safe, sign the ClassicVB petition www.classicvb.org Jonathan West was telling us: Jonathan West nous racontait que : >> Jonathan West was telling us: >> Jonathan West nous racontait que : [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> >> With VB6, VS 2003, VS 2005 or something else? Can you please bear with me a bit longer as I foray into the world of programming outside VBA, about which I do not know a lot? > VB6. If the customer has Office 2K or later, you can guarantee that > they have the VB6 runtimes already installed. Good point, If I use VS2003 to compile an exe, I guess that a user with Windows 2000 and Office 2000 would not have the proper dll on his machine, right? Or, is it that once it is compiled as an exe, it does not matter what the user has on his machine (I guess I am asking if a compiled exe is a true stand alone executable file) >> How did you get many files inside one file to be distributed? > > Put them all inside a Winzip self-extracting archive which > automatically runs the installer. So, in a nutshell, you write code that queries the info you need for the installation, copies the unzipped files to the desired location and then deletes the unzipped files. For this to work, you need to know the "starting folder" (where the unzipped files are). If you compile the code so that the resulting exe will be executed by WinZip (or WinRar) after excretion, how do you code for that yet unknown location? Is there in VB6 a method for reading the path were the exe being executed is located ( a sort of "Selfpath" method or property)? Or are you not using an exe at all? SignatureSalut! _______________________________________ Jean-Guy Marcil - Word MVP jmarcilREMOVE@CAPSsympatico.caTHISTOO Word MVP site: http://www.word.mvps.org > Jonathan West was telling us: > Jonathan West nous racontait que : [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Can you please bear with me a bit longer as I foray into the world of > programming outside VBA, about which I do not know a lot? I don't know *that* much more... >> VB6. If the customer has Office 2K or later, you can guarantee that >> they have the VB6 runtimes already installed. > > Good point, If I use VS2003 to compile an exe, I guess that a user with > Windows 2000 and Office 2000 would not have the proper dll on his machine, > right? Correct. > Or, is it that once it is compiled as an exe, it does not matter what the > user has on his machine (I guess I am asking if a compiled exe is a true > stand alone executable file) No. Programs written in VB.NET or C# require the appropriate version of the .NET framework to be installed. While those are downloadable from Microsoft, you can't assume that people already have it. >>> How did you get many files inside one file to be distributed? >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > installation, copies the unzipped files to the desired location and then > deletes the unzipped files. Exactly so. In fact, if you configure the Winzip Self-extractor properly, the deletion of the unzipped files is handled automatically by Winzip itself. > For this to work, you need to know the "starting folder" (where the > unzipped files are). [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > location? Is there in VB6 a method for reading the path were the exe being > executed is located ( a sort of "Selfpath" method or property)? Yes. When you unzip them they are in the same folder as the installer executable. In VB6, the App.Path property gets you the folder where the executable resides. The rest is easy! SignatureRegards Jonathan West - Word MVP www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk Please reply to the newsgroup Keep your VBA code safe, sign the ClassicVB petition www.classicvb.org Jonathan West was telling us: Jonathan West nous racontait que : >> Jonathan West was telling us: >> Jonathan West nous racontait que : [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > of the .NET framework to be installed. While those are downloadable > from Microsoft, you can't assume that people already have it. Ah, yes, the great advantage of managed code... >>>> How did you get many files inside one file to be distributed? >>> [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > executable. In VB6, the App.Path property gets you the folder where > the executable resides. The rest is easy! As you write, the rest is easy... except that I have to re-install VB6 on top of VS 2003 (I have heard that they can co-habit without any problems on the same system). I guess that once you have written one such package it is trivial to adapt it to new projects... Thanks for the info and the ideas. p.s. One last question on this.. Is it easier to query the registry to get to the Word "Workgroup Templates" path or to start an invisible Word instance? SignatureSalut! _______________________________________ Jean-Guy Marcil - Word MVP jmarcilREMOVE@CAPSsympatico.caTHISTOO Word MVP site: http://www.word.mvps.org > As you write, the rest is easy... except that I have to re-install VB6 on > top of VS 2003 (I have heard that they can co-habit without any problems [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > to the Word "Workgroup Templates" path or to start an invisible Word > instance? It can be done either way. The advantages of going the registry route is that it is quicker, once you have written the code. Starting up an invisible copy of Word is time-consuming. The disadvantage of registry route is that you would first have to work out which version of Word is installed, because the registry keys are in different places depending on which Office version you are using. It is possible to find that out by querying the registry, but you would want to test that code very carefully. Also be aware that if the user hasn't changed the various folders in the Tools Options File Locations tab away from the defaults, there is nothing in the registry key at all, and you have to work out the folders relative to the user's profile root folder. SignatureRegards Jonathan West - Word MVP www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk Please reply to the newsgroup Jonathan West was telling us: Jonathan West nous racontait que : >> As you write, the rest is easy... except that I have to re-install >> VB6 on top of VS 2003 (I have heard that they can co-habit without [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > nothing in the registry key at all, and you have to work out the > folders relative to the user's profile root folder. Thanks for your thoughts. So, all in all, the registry way executes faster, but requires more code to cover all eventualities, whereas late-binding with Word will be simple to code, but take longer to execute. Thanks again. SignatureSalut! _______________________________________ Jean-Guy Marcil - Word MVP jmarcilREMOVE@CAPSsympatico.caTHISTOO Word MVP site: http://www.word.mvps.org > Jonathan West was telling us: > Jonathan West nous racontait que : [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > to cover all eventualities, whereas late-binding with Word will be simple > to code, but take longer to execute. That's a perfect summary. SignatureRegards Jonathan West - Word MVP www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk Please reply to the newsgroup Keep your VBA code safe, sign the ClassicVB petition www.classicvb.org |
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