The best way to open an Excel File from a menu

You can open different kinds of document types from buttons in menu interfaces created with the CD-Menu Creator and USB Menu Creator tools. One document type that can be opened are Excel documents, and if you choose the menu command Open Excel File (see the picture below) you will get access to some special functionality that can be useful when handling Excel files. You can for example send command line parameters (switches) to Excel.

Open Excel File

With the Open Excel File command you can open the following types of Excel files: .XLS, .XLSX, .XLTX, .XLSM, and .XLTM.

You can open different kind of Excel files with the button command

By entering command line switches in the Parameters text box in CD-Menu Creator / USB Menu Creator, you can control how Excel files are opened in Microsoft Excel. For example, if you enter /r in the Parameters text box, the Excel file is opened in read-only mode.

Read more about available command line switches for Excel here:

> Command-line switches for Excel (opens a page on Microsoft’s website)

See also
> How to open a PDF document from a menu
> CD-Menu Creator’s button commands explained

Create your own Christmas e-card with MultiMailer

Christmas e-cards

Christmas is fast approaching and it’s time to send Christmas cards to friends, acquaintances, customers and other contacts.

With our e-mail newsletter tool MultiMailer, you can both create your own Christmas e-cards and send them easily as e-mails. You can create your Christmas e-card either by using ready-to use e-card templates/examples or by using MultiMailer’s built-in visual e-card wizard. Read more in this blog post:

> Create your own Christmas e-card with MultiMailer

How to create button groups with titles in a menu

In the menu creation tools CD-Menu Creator and USB Menu Creator there is a function you can use to place buttons in groups and add a title to each group. If you have many buttons in a menu this will help your user find the correct button faster. Below are two menu examples that show how it may look like:

Example 1: One column with buttons + two groups with buttons + Exit button
Menu example 1

Example 2: Two columns with buttons + four groups with buttons
Menu example 2

It is easy to create button groups and add titles to the groups. In this step by step tip on our website we will describe how to create button groups with titles.

See also
> How to handle menu interfaces with many buttons

How to see if a file in Visual Installer’s file list is code signed

Today it is very important to code sign binary files (for example .EXE and .DLL files) that are distributed to other computers. By code signing your files you will protect your files against viruses and malware and avoid deterrent warning messages in Windows.

In our setup tool Visual Installer it is easy to check if a file in Visual Installer’s file list is code signed or not. You can check if a file is code signed by right-clicking on the file in the list with files in the File list tab in Visual Installer’s editor, and thereafter choosing the Show file information menu item in the menu that appears. The following dialog box will be shown:

The 'File information' window in Visual Installer

To the right of the Code signed? text field there will be a Yes if the file is code signed (has a digital certificate). Otherwise the text will be No.

The name of the organization that the digital certificate is issued to is displayed to the right of the Organization text field in the same frame.

See also
> Tip: How to code sign a setup package in Visual Installer
> What is Code Signing / Digital Signature / Digital Certificate?
> Extended Validation (EV) Code Signing
> SamLogic uses a digital certificate from Sectigo for its software

How to change font for Visual Installer’s and CD-Menu Creator’s editor

Using one and the same font in a software with all versions of Windows, graphic cards, displays and DPI settings, and expecting the result always to be perfect, is nearly an impossible mission. And then you must also take into account that people also prefer different fonts.

FontsIn Visual Installer and CD-Menu Creator (our tools for creation of installation packages and menu interfaces) you can change the font for the editor. We have included a couple of fonts that you can choose among, so you have the possibility to choose a font that suits your system best.

Too large font size?
If you have problem with a too large font size in the editor – so large that all letters is not visible because they not fit in the reserved text area – you can try to change the font for the editor. This may solve the problem.

How to change the font for the text in the editor
In Visual Installer you can change the font by choosing the Editor options menu item in the Special menu – and then opening the Font tab in the dialog box. In CD-Menu Creator you can change the font by choosing the Options menu item in the File menu – and then opening the Appearance tab in the dialog box. Via these tabs you can change the font for the editor.

See also
> How to change font size for the tip text in a menu

How to run a program or open a document via script

In the previous two blog posts we described how to run a program or show a document after an installation, when running a setup package created with Visual Installer. It is also possible to run a program or open a document via Visual Installer´s script language.

One benefit of using script for running a program or opening a document is that you can use a conditional check before you run/open the file. You can for example run different versions of a program depending on which operating system the installation is run in. For example:

// Run only in Windows 10
IF OS=WIN10
  RUN %DESTDIR\MyWin10App.exe
END IF
 
// Run only in Windows 11
IF OS=WIN11
  RUN %DESTDIR\MyWin11App.exe
END IF

  
In the same way you can open and show a particular document based on a condition. For example:

// Open and show only in Windows 10
IF OS=WIN10
  SHOW_AFTER %DESTDIR\For_Win10_Users.pdf
END IF
 
// Open and show only in Windows 11
IF OS=WIN11
  SHOW_AFTER %DESTDIR\For_Win11_Users.pdf
END IF

  
The RUN command above (example 1) is executed immediately and the SHOW_AFTER command above (example 2) is executed when the installation is completed. Read more below.
  
Script commands in Visual Installer that run programs
These three script commands can be used to run programs during an installation:

RUN : Runs a program.
XRUN : Runs a program – with additional options.
RUN_AFTER : Runs a program – when the installation is completed.

  
Script commands in Visual Installer that open documents
These two script commands can be used to open documents during an installation:

SHOW : Opens a document.
SHOW_AFTER : Opens a document – when the installation is completed.

  
The RUN, XRUN and SHOW commands are executed immediately, when the script line is executed, but the RUN_AFTER and SHOW_AFTER commands delays it execution till the installation is completed and the last setup dialog box has been closed.

The RUN_AFTER and SHOW_AFTER commands are new commands that were included in version 12.0.10 of Visual Installer (read more).

See also
> How to run a program after an installation
> How to show a document after an installation

How to show a document after an installation

In this blog post that we posted last week on our blog we described how to run a program after that an installation (created with Visual Installer) is completed. It is also possible to show a document (for example a PDF document) after the installation, and below we will describe how to do that.

In the tip below we assume that you want to give the user an opportunity to open a PDF document with the name ReadMe.pdf. Reading the document is optional, but if the user want to read it, it will be opened when the user closes the last installation dialog box in the setup wizard. Below are the tip steps:

1. Select the document file in the installation project’s file list (ReadMe.pdf in our case).

File list

2. Right click over the selection.

3. Choose the Show this document after installation menu item in the local menu that appear.

4. The dialog box below is now shown:

Show document after installation

5. Confirm that the file path (at Document) is ok.

6. Select the Show check box in the ‘Installation completed’ dialog box option.

7. Check that the text at Check box text is ok.

8. Click on OK.

When your user run the installation, there will be a check box in the last installation dialog box, where the user can decide if he/she wants to read the document or not. See the picture below for an example of how it may look like:

Installation Completed

If the check box is selected, the document that you specified will be opened and shown when the user closes the installation dialog box (for example by clicking on the Exit button).

The dialog box that is shown at step 4 above can also be opened via the Special menu in Visual Installer’s editor.

See also
> How to run a program after an installation

How to run a program after an installation

Sometimes there is a need to start a program immediately after the installation. This is possible with our installation tool Visual Installer.

If the program that you want to run is included in the installation project’s file list, you can follow the steps below:

1. Select the program file in the installation project’s file list.

File list

2. Right click over the selection.

3. Choose the Run this program after installation menu item in the local menu that appear.

4. The dialog box below is now shown:

Run program after installation

5. Confirm that the file path (at Filename) is ok.

6. If you need to send a parameter to the program, enter it at Parameters.

7. Check the other settings. Change if you need.

8. Click on OK.

Now the program file that you selected in the steps above will be run when the installation is completed. It will be run after the last dialog box in the installation is closed.

You can open the Run program after installation dialog box (that is shown at step 4 above) also by choosing the menu item Run program after installation in Visual Installer´s Special menu. The same dialog box will be shown. But there is one difference; if you open the dialog box this way, the file path at Filename will not pre-filled. You need to enter it manually.

The program that you want to run after the installation does not need to exist in the file list. But if you want to run a program outside your setup package, you need to be careful and make sure that it exists at the specified location.

See also
> How to show a document after an installation

How to change font size for the tip text in a menu

Do you want to use a larger font size for the button’s tip text in a menu interface created with CD-Menu Creator or USB Menu Creator? This is possible.

Tip text with normal font size
When you hover the mouse pointer above a button in a menu interface, a tip text is shown in the bottom left or bottom right part of the menu interface. The font size of this tip text can be changed. If you add one of these two prefix before the text in the tip text, you will have larger font size for the tip text:

[L]  : increase the font height with 25%
[XL] : increase the font height with 50%

For example, to increase the font size with 25%, enter the [L] prefix before the text:

[L] This is a tip text.

You can add and edit the tip text via the Add Button and Edit Button dialog boxes in the CD-Menu Creator and USB Menu Creator editor:

The 'Add Button' dialog box

Below you can see the size of the tip text when the [L] and the [XL] prefix are used. In the first example is the [L] prefix used and in the second example is the [XL] prefix used.

Example 1:   [L] – Large font size

Tip text with large font size

Example 2:   [XL] – Extra-Large font size

Tip text with extra-large font size

Tips for improving computer and network performance

Improving computer performance

Does your computer or Wi-Fi feels slow? Below are links to some informative tip articles that will help you to improve the performance of your computer and your Wi-Fi:

Computer:

Microsoft:
1.  10 tips to improve PC performance in Windows

Windows Central:
2.  20 tips and tricks to increase PC performance on Windows 10

Computerworld:
3.  17 ways to speed up Windows 10

PC Mag:
4.  12 Simple Tips to Speed Up Windows

Wi-Fi:

HighSpeedInternet.com:
5.  Improve Your Wi-Fi Speed in 10 Simple Steps

WIRED:
6.  11 Ways to Upgrade Your Wi-Fi and Make Your Internet Faster