Is there a way to programmatically Send (a single file) To Compressed (zipped) Folder from an NSIS script?
In my search, I found reference to opening such folder using:
rundll32.exe zipfldr.dll,RouteTheCall %filename%
But I haven't been able to find the opposite.
I also found references to creating a compressed (or zipped) folder by writing a fully fledged program in C++, VB, C#, or VJ# but that is not what I am interested in. I am interested in a simple call from an NSIS script.
Is this possible at all?
While it is possible to use the CompressedFolder feature to create zip files and NSIS can call native API's and COM interfaces, I can't really say that it would be a good idea. Some people don't like the CompressedFolder feature and disable it. It is probably better to include a command line zip tool in your installer and call that.
So to answer the question; yes it is possible, but calling COM from NSIS is a big pain and the code would break on machines where the CompressedFolder feature has been disabled.
Related
Just out of curiosity, I would like to understand the behaviors of those self contained installer programs and try to write a simple installer myself.
I did some search on Google and did not really find a useful article explaining it. However AFAIK, an installer should have a small chunk of code residing in the top of the executable. It pulls data out from the rear of the executable and interprets them as files according to an inventory file (probably xml?). Other operations such as writing register entries can also be specified in the inventory file.
Now is my guess of the file structure true? If so I think I just need to read about the PE format and then it would be conceptually easy for me to implement it. If my guess is wrong, I would love to know how exactly it works.
Thanks for your time!
Normally installer packages are self-contained compressed executables (SFX) that contains:
A small installer executable
A compressed file structure with files to extract
Some configuration files (xml, ini, json, properties) to define file destinations, registry entries, desktop/start menu shortcuts, instalation modes
Extra files (dll, icon/image resources) to make the installer work.
For MSI packages, it's a bit more complex. It's a propietary format packaged as a SQL database in a COM structured storage file. It contains also a virtual file system inside the installation package (file access using file streams).
You can review some free tools and check many typical features to make installer executables like:
Wix (For MSI installers) http://wixtoolset.org/
Nullsoft Installer (NSIS) http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Main_Page
Inno Setup http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php
For Windows it's pretty much
Declarative: MSI, AppX, ClickOnce
Imperative: any number of third party tools, scripts and home grown EXEs
MSI is typically your best choice. The runtime is already part of windows so when you double click the MSI database MSIEXEC takes over. The point of the declarative models is to separate what needs to be done from how you do it. The imperative models are basically some simple to complex framework to write procedural code to do the actual installation work.
It's far to broad of a question to ask in detail how any of these work at a low level. For MSI it's all in the Windows Platform SDK documentation on MSDN.
I would like to convert the VB Script ( .VBS file) into EXE. If any one has any idea on how to convert VBS to Exe, Please share with me.
Some VBS IDEs allow this by default (vbsedit is one example) and there are also lots of tools that would do the conversion I even found a web page for that purpose. The list is quite long, if you google vbs to exe you will find many more.
Please keep in mind that this is not a compilation. Most will either pack the scripting host and the exe together or even just be the vbs file in a self extracting archive (you could also do this yourself with 7zip e.g.) This means the code will probably still be easily obtainable so it is not save to use this with cleartext passwords.
I also found this tool which claims to encrypt/obfuscate the script, but I cannot say how secure it really would be.
As a side note: If you encrypt the script any error message will be with the completely wrong line number, which confused some people I know who used these methods. So for debugging always use the original script.
Is their a way to zip a file without VB Script.I got a lot of examples on web to zip file or folder using vbs but i want to do it in a single BAT file.
Yes and no. There is no built in way to do this inside windows. You can use a external application like vbscript, a exe file like 7zip, rar, lots of resources can do this. Since windows is application poor when it comes to command lines is not really surprising. But no you do not need the VB Script for anything.
Just not so easy out of the box. Maybe makecab could do it for you? As a general rule you have a hard constraint in your question. A single BAT file which in general can not do almost anything without the support of hundreds of preinstalled or commonly installed other applications.
Could you specify a the constraints a bit better. Tel WHY you need this particular constraint? And what does it mean as even most of the bat command you use require more than one file.
I'm currently trying to make a download/install file for a CD, and I've never done this or written any type of coding before so I'm somewhat at a loss. When we last created an installer package (I wasn't employed yet) we used InstalShield, but that was decades ago, and we can't afford the 500$+ price to get it again.
Currently I'm trying to work off the old download package we have. There is the Windows Installer Package (made by InstalShield) called CD Cat v6.msi, and then another file called CDcatv6.exe (which launches a window for the customer to browse options) and then a file called Data.cab which has all the files for the entire catalog in it.
I was thinking perhaps I can just replace a lot of those files with the current information. Replace the CDcatv6.exe file with my v7.exe file (but change the name so its CDcatv6.exe) and then replace all the files in the Data.cab file with the current ones. But that's turning out to be a huge issue.
I did a bit of searching to learn what a .cab file was, and downloaded the Cab File Maker 2.0 (after quite a bit of searching!). I'm having a difficult time using it though, as it wants all the files that I put in it to make the .cab to be in .ddf format. I have no idea what that is, much less how to make it. I tried using 'save as' to do it, but since all the files I need are PDF's there's no option for it and I cant export the files to it either.
I tried looking at other ways that people made Cab files, but I don't know many of the file types or programs their talking about. I'm not a programmer by any means, but I have to learn quick I guess, so any information on how to do this will help greatly. Is it even possible to replace all the files seamlessly and have it work properly? Or is there an easier way to create a fill that the customer can click on and have it download to their desktop?
I don't think simple editing of Data.cab will work. There is installer logic stored in other InstallShield files. It could work if and only if the file set is the same, I mean no files changed its names, no new files added, no new registry entries required etc.
To create a CAB file, use cabarc.exe from Microsoft Windows SDK.
Creating a brand new installer may be a better option. Look at this tools for creating installers:
Advanced Installer
NSIS
WiX toolset (with tutorial)
You best solution is to use dark.exe (part of the WiX toolset).
This will enable to you decompile the MSI and CAB files, edit the installer source as XML and then recompile this into a new executable. Unfortunately this route is not for the faint of heart and what you save on price will cost you in time.
I'm curious how your company created an MSI decades ago, but Sasha is right about time and money trade-offs. However if you're working with Visual Studio, you might try the InstallShield Limited Edition for Visual Studio. It may have enough capabilities to suit your needs.
Thanks for pointing to CABARC, that looks exactly what i was looking for, due to information on:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/bb417343(v=msdn.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN#top
That make me look how to download it, but i found this post:
Where can I get the cabarc utility?
Where it explains CABARC may be obsolete and there is another utility called MAKECAB that cames with Windows 11, i had try it at command line and it is there.
Thanks a lot.
I would like to create an installer of my program.
However because the installation is quite complicated, I need something more advanced than installshield limited edition.
I have to run another installer from my current one. It doesn't matter if the user press "cancel" or installs the program, I just need to run it.
I have to install a directory structure on user computer which has a lot of files, that's why i'm going mad with wix: 100 files and I should write all of them with my hands in that xml file? Are we mad?
I have to install files from point 2 into a registry key. That's why I was using wix
I played with nsis long time ago and I liked it, but the language is not so nice.
Wix has "similar" problem. I would love using something like C# and things like that otherwise I'll stick with wix but I need a way to add files faster to xml file, can't add 100 files manually.
Any suggestion?
You can give Advanced Installer a try. It has folder synchronization, which means it can batch add contents of folders, with the possibility to filter out certain file name patterns, for example you'd want to filter *.pdb files and add all the rest to the project automatically.
I use it myself and never had a problem.
Wix Heat can generate the wxs source files for you.
You should look at InnoSetup. It has an IDE available that allows drag and drop of files (and multiple select in a file selection dialog), can launch other applications (including additional setup files), create and modify registry settings, and supports pretty complex scripting if needed. It's pretty easy to use, and the documentation is pretty good. It comes with pretty comprehensive sample installations, too.
The installation scripts are created by the IDE and then compiled into an installer, so the script source is editable by hand if needed. It's also not XML, but more like an INI file, so it's a little easier to work with manually as well.
Best of all it's free, and so is the IDE.
I would go back to using NSIS, if you use the HMNSIS editor http://hmne.sourceforge.net/ to write your scripts you can use the Wizard mode to make a list of the files and directory structure you will use in your installer.
Running other installers and registry settings are also easily done with NSIS.