ActiSetup 4.5 Help

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I...

Answers

1.1 - How do I localize the bootstrapper or customize the bootstrapper messages?

Follow the steps below:

Browse to the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.
Select the build configuration you want to localize.
In the property grid, under the category Bootstrapper, select Strings and click the [...] button on the far right.
Select a string to view its ID and value and edit the value to change the string. You should never change the ID of a string in this list. You should also never need to add or remove strings.

You should also configure the bootstrapper strings for the English language, since some strings, like the operating-system error message, may not exactly apply to your installation.

1.2 - How do I configure my own required components?

Many applications depend on external components. These can range from the latest version of Internet Explorer to the .NET Framework runtime. In ActiSetup, you can tell the bootstrapper (if enabled) to search for specific components and install them if they cannot be found. The install location can be a web URL or a local path.

To configure required components for the selected build configuration, follow these steps:

Browse to the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.
Select the build configuration to which you want to add required components.
In the property grid, under the category Bootstrapper, select Required components and click the [...] button on the far right.
A window will pop up showing a list of the current requirements. Any requirements added by the project wizard have a URL for their installer path.

To add a new requirement, click the arrow next to the Add button and choose RequirementFromTemplate to add a predefined component, or CustomRequirement to add your own custom requirement. Template-based requirements have a URL for their installer path, meaning that they will automatically be downloaded by the bootstrapper.

To specify a local install path for a requirement, so that the bootstrapper doesn't have to download it, set the Installer path properties to @@SrcPath##\YourRequirementPath. @@SrcPath## references the path where the MSI installation is located. Don't forget to include the redistributable as a support file if you choose to have a local install path. You can also use @@WinDir## for the windows directory or @@SysDir## for the system directory. These special paths can also be referenced for the Search file property of a requirement.

1.3 - How do I enable or disable the bootstrapper?

To enable or disable the bootstrapper, follow these steps:

Browse to the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.
Select a build configuration for which you wish to configure the bootstrapper.
Expand the Bootstrapper category in the property grid.
Set the Enable property to True to enable it or False to disable it.

1.4 - How do I make the bootstrapper silent?

You can make the bootstrapper silent, in that it does not request any input from the user. To do this, follow these steps:

Browse to the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.
Select a build configuration for which you wish to configure the bootstrapper.
Expand the Bootstrapper category in the property grid.
Set the Suppress user interface property to True to make the bootstrapper silent.

1.5 - How do I provide a help file for the bootstrapper?

Specifying a readme file for the bootstrapper involves several steps.

Browse to the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.
Select a build configuration for which you wish to configure the bootstrapper.
Expand the Bootstrapper category in the property grid.
Set the Help file property to the filename of your help file, including the extension but not the full path.
Go to the Support Files tab.
Right-click inside the list and choose Insert Files.
Locate your help file, select it, and click Open.

2.1 - How do I include the .NET Framework, Windows Installer, or any other redistributable with my setup?

To include the .NET Framework with your installation (assuming you've already created a build configuration), follow these steps:

Browse to the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.
Select a build configuration for which you wish to configure the bootstrapper.
Expand the Bootstrapper category in the property grid.
Select Required components and click the [...] button on the far right.
Click the arrow next to the Add button and choose RequirementFromTemplate.
Choose .NET Framework 1.1 and click OK.
At this point, you can just leave it so that the .NET Framework is downloaded from the web. However, in this example we'll configure the .NET Framework to be included with your installation.
In the property grid showing the properties for your requirement, select Installer path (Win9X). Set this path to "@@SrcPath##\dotnetfx.exe" (without the quotes).
Set the Installer path (WinNT) property to the same value as Installer path (Win9X).
You've just specified that the .NET Framework redistributable will be located in the source directory of your installation, in the file dotnetfx.exe.
Click OK to close the requirement editor.
Go to the Support Files tab.
Right-click inside the list and choose Insert Files.
Browse for the ActiSetup installation folder, then go to Redist, Microsoft .NET, select dotnetfx.exe, and click Open.
You've now configured your installation to search for the .NET Framework (version 1.1) and install it from the source media.

2.2 - How do I package my installation for the web?

A web installer differs from a regular installer in that the user downloads only the bootstrapper which downloads the rest of the setup files which are located on a web server. A web installer is also usually digitally signed.

To configure a web installer for any build configuration, follow these steps:

Browse to the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.
Select the build configuration in the list.
In the property grid, expand the Bootstrapper category.
Set the Enable property to True along with the Enable web installer property.
Set the Base URL property to the web folder where your installation files will be located. For example: http://www.server.com/~app . Don't forget to upload your CAB files and your MSI file to that location when you release your installer.
Collapse the Bootstrapper category and expand the Distribution media category.
Set the CAB compression property to LZX. This makes your cabinet files as small as possible.
Set the File storage method to Compressed, in external CAB files.
Build your configuration and test it.

Don't forget to distribute only the bootstrapper and related files to your users. Don't include the cabinet files or MSI file with your web installer. Instead, upload them to the specified web location.

2.3 - How do I digitally sign my installation?

ActiSetup makes it easy for you to digitally sign the bootstrapper, MSI file, and cabinet files in your installation. First, make sure you are in the Distribution section in the Project Explorer.

To sign the bootstrapper:

Select a build configuration in the list.
In the property grid, expand the Bootstrapper category.
Set the Certificate file property to a path to a .spc file or browse for a .spc file by clicking the [...] button to the far right.
Set the Private key property to a path to a .pvk file or browse for a .pvk file by clicking the [...] button to the far right.

To sign the MSI file and cabinet files:

Select a build configuration in the list.
In the property grid, expand the Main configuration category.
Set the Certificate file property to a path to a .spc file or browse for a .spc file by clicking the [...] button to the far right.
Set the Private key property to a path to a .pvk file or browse for a .pvk file by clicking the [...] button to the far right.

2.4 - How do I create a single-file installation?

A single-file installer is ideal for distribution on the web. Users can simply download a single executable file which contains all of the files necessary to install your application. If this is your preferred method of distribution, follow the steps below to learn how to create a build configuration for a single-file installer.

In the Distribution section, create a new Network build configuration using the wizard.
On the bootstrapper configuration page, browse down the property grid until you find Single-file installer. Set that property to True.
To give your single-file executable a more meaningful name, browse down to the Setup.exe filename property and change that to the name of your self-extracting executable file, as you want it to be seen by your users when they download your file.
Make sure you do not set a per-disk size limit. That is, make sure your installation is configured to be built to only one disk. This is the default for the Network configuration type.
Set your other preferences, such as output path, as you would normally.

The new build configuration you've created will now be built directly to the output path (not the DISK1 subdirectory), and the output will consist of only one file: your self-extracting executable file.

3.1 - How do I prevent a form, like License Agreement, from being shown?

To prevent the license agreement form from being shown, follow the steps below.

Browse to the Property Manager section (under Advanced), in the Project Explorer.
Select the ShowLicenseAgreementDlg property and set it to 0.

To enable or disable any other forms, you can use the other Show properties in a similar fashion.

3.2 - How do I change the license agreement text?

You can change the license agreement text by following these steps:

Browse to the Forms section (under User Interface), in the Project Explorer.
Select LicenseAgreementDlg from the list of forms.
Select the control, in the form designer, that contains the license agreement text.
In the property grid, select the property called Text (RTF) and click the [...] to the right of it.
You can either paste the text into the box or load an external RTF file to change the license agreement text.
Click OK to apply the change.

3.3 - How do I hide or show a control in a form based on a given condition?

Follow the steps below:

Browse to the Forms section (under User Interface), in the Project Explorer.
Select a form.
Go to the Events and Conditions tab.
Go to the Control Conditions tab (at the bottom).
Choose a control you wish to conditionally hide or show from the drop-down list at the top.
Right-click the list and choose New from the menu. A new action 'Show' is created.
Select the new item in the list and change the action and condition accordingly. For example, to hide a control when IAgree = "Yes", change the action to Hide and the condition to 'IAgree = "Yes"'.

3.4 - How do I show or hide the CD key field on the user registration form?

To show or hide the CD key field on the user registration form, follow the steps below.

Browse to the Product Information section (under General), in the Project Explorer.
Scroll down to the bottom of the main property grid and select the Uses CD key property.
Set this property to False.

3.5 - How do I easily change the wizard images?

To change the banner and/or watermark images for the ActiSetup installation wizard, follow the steps below.

Browse to the Data Storage section (under Advanced), in the Project Explorer.
Select ASBMPBannerBitmap (for the header bitmap) or ASBMPDialogBitmap (for the wizard intro bitmap) and edit the Data property.
Select Import new binary data from a file, specifying the bitmap file to import.
Press OK.

4.1 - How do I add files to my installation?

To add files to your installation, follow the steps below.

Browse to the Files and Folders section (under Product Installation) in the Project Explorer.
Select a folder from the tree.
Start Windows Explorer and drag & drop files into the file list on the right.

You can also add files by right-clicking a folder and choosing Add Files.

4.2 - How do I create a shortcut on the desktop or on the Start Menu?

To create shortcuts, follow the steps below.

Browse to the Shortcuts section (under Product Installation) in the Project Explorer.
Right-click a folder in the tree and choose Add Shortcut.
To view a shortcut's properties, select the shortcut in the list and see the property grid on the right.

4.3 - How do I install an NT service?

To add a service, follow the steps below.

Browse to the NT Services section (under Additional Install Actions) in the Project Explorer.
Right-click Install Services and choose New Service.
Give the service a unique name, such as Service1. This is the internal name, not the displayed name of the service.
Select the service to view its properties in the property grid.

4.4 - How do I install an ODBC data source?

To add a data source, follow the steps below.

Browse to the ODBC Resources section (under Additional Install Actions) in the Project Explorer.
Right-click the tree view on the left to add a new driver.
Right-click a driver in the tree view to define a data source for that driver.

You can also add existing drivers and data sources from this machine by selecting Add Existing Driver and Add Existing Data Source from the corresponding right-click menu.

4.5 - How do I install a .NET assembly into the GAC?

To install a .NET assembly into the global assembly cache (GAC), follow the steps below.

Browse to the Assemblies section (under Additional Install Actions) in the Project Explorer.
From the drop-down list at the top, select the component containing the file for which you want to configure an assembly.
Check the Install an assembly for this component checkbox.
Set the Type property to .NET Assembly. Leave all other fields empty or at their original values.

5.1 - How do I scan all the files in my installation for dependencies?

Follow these steps:

Browse to the Other Dependencies section (under Dependencies) in the Project Explorer.
Press Scan Now to scan all the executable files in your project and view their dependencies in the list.
Place a checkmark next to all dependencies you wish to add to the project.
Click Add To Project to add the dependencies to your project.

5.2 - How do I reset all settings to default values?

Please refer to this help topic.

5.3 - How do I request technical support?