The %REG1 to %REG5 variables in Visual Installer

In this blog post we explained how to use variables in Visual Installer. Many variables get their values automatically from known locations in Windows Registry, but there are also some variables in Visual Installer that can obtain their values from locations in Windows Registry that you specify.

The %REG1 to %REG5 variables
There are five variables in Visual Installer that can obtain their values from keys and value names in the Windows Registry that you specify. They have the following names: %REG1, %REG2, %REG3, %REG4, and %REG5.

How to specify a location in Registry to read
To specify a key and value name in the Registry for any of these variables, you must first open the Variables dialog box in Visual Installer’s editor. You can do this by first opening the Registry or INI files tab in Visual Installer’s editor, and then click on the Variables button, that is located at the bottom right of the editor:

The Variables button

The following dialog box will be opened if you click on the button:

List with variables

If you scroll to the bottom of the list, you will find the User variables section:

List with variables - The User variables section

As default, these variables are empty but you can specify a key and value name for them by clicking on the Change values button (in the bottom left), and then specify the information in the Change contents for variables dialog box that is opened:

The 'Change contents for variables' dialog box

To specify a key and value for example for the %REG1 variable, you need to enter the information at the %REG1 text box in the User variables section. For example like this:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SamLogic\Visual Installer\10.5 :: Path

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SamLogic\Visual Installer\10.5” is the key and “Path” is the value name. You can read more about this format in Visual Installer’s User Guide.

In the picture below we have specified keys and values for both the %REG1 variable and the %REG2 variable:

A key and value name has been specified for the REG1 and REG2 variables

You can click OK to save the keys and value names. In the Variables dialog box you will now see the information that you entered in the previous dialog box in the Contents column of the variable list. You can also see the current value for the variable (that is read from the Registry) by hovering the mouse pointer over the variable name, as shown in the picture below:

Shows the tip text function

During the installation, the %REG1 to %REG5 variables will read its contents from the end-users Registry. If no contents is available, the variables will be empty.

See also
> Your project’s bitness affects where the %REG1 to %REG5 variables get their values
> Variables in Visual Installer

Your project’s bitness affects where the %REG1 to %REG5 variables get their values

As explained in this blog post, the %REG1 to %REG5 variables in Visual Installer get their values from the Windows Registry. But you should be aware of that there are two Registry in Windows – a 32 bit Registry and a 64 bit Registry – and your project settings will decide which of these Registry to use.

If you start Visual Installer’s editor and open the Setup options dialog box and the 32/64 bit tab, and look in the Bitness (32 or 64 bit) frame, you will see that there are two options that decide if the installation project is a 32 bit project or a 64 bit project (see the picture below):

The Setup options dialog box

If you install 32 bit files you should select the first option (The program that will be installed is 32 bit) and if you install 64 bit files you should select the second option (The program that will be installed is 64 bit). The first option is always selected as default.

These options will also affect where the %REG1 to %REG5 variables get their values. If you have selected The program that will be installed is 32 bit, the variables will get their values from the 32 bit Registry and if you select The program that will be installed is 64 bit, the variables will get their values from 64 bit Registry.

There are two Registry editors in Windows
You should also be aware of that there exist two Registry editors in Windows. One of them handles the 32 bit Registry and one of them handles the 64 bit Registry. The filename of the Registry editor is always the same, regedt32.exe, but you can launch the different versions from different folders in Windows:

32 bit version: C:\Windows\SysWOW64
64 bit version: C:\Windows\System32

See also
> The %REG1 to %REG5 variables in Visual Installer
> The ‘Program Files (x86)’ and ‘SysWOW64’ folders explained

Which video formats does CD-Menu Creator support?

In CD-Menu Creator you can add a video clip or a movie to a menu interface. You can show the video directly in a menu window, or you can show the video in a separate window that is opened when the end-user clicks on a menu button.

Supported video formats
Using a video in a menu interface may improve the end-user´s first impression of your product, but when you select a video to a menu you should be aware of the following two things:

– Not all video formats are supported by CD-Menu Creator
– Not all CODECs are supported by default in Windows

We recommend you to choose a video that is saved in the MPEG or WMV format. Or an AVI video that you know uses a basic CODEC (coder-decoder) that all Windows support. Be aware of that many AVI videos has been created with a CODEC that not all end-user´s Windows support by default. The end-user must have same CODEC installed in the computer that was used when the video was created, otherwise the video can not be shown.

Avoid MPEG-4
Today many create videos in the MPEG-4 (MP4) format, but it is not recommended to select a MPEG-4 video to a menu created with CD-Menu Creator. Although many end-users will have a media player that can play the MPEG-4 video, the necessary CODEC is often not available for other software without a separate installation of the CODEC. So therefore, to reduce the risk for problem, we recommend you to avoid MPEG-4 files with CD-Menu Creator.

We recommend you to test the menu in an empty Window
To be sure that the video you added to a menu will be played without any problem, we recommend you to test the menu in a computer with an empty Windows (a computer where only Windows but no other software has been installed). It can be a virtual computer or physical computer.

By testing the menu and the video in a computer with an empty Windows, you will discover if the video is dependent of a CODEC that is not installed by default in Windows.

Summary – Supported video formats / filename extensions
When you select a video file to a CD-Menu Creator menu, you should select a file with one of the following filename extensions:

.MPG or .MPEG : (MPEG) Recommended format, works almost always.
.WMV : (WMV) Recommended format, works almost always.
.AVI : (AVI) Works if a proper CODEC has been chosen to the video.

If you have a video file with the .MP4 filename extension, we recommend you to convert it to one of the video formats above. There are many conversation programs that can be downloaded from the Internet that makes the conversion. Or even better, if it is possible, contact the source and try to get the same video in one of the video formats mentioned above.