Information - Products Archives - Page 4 of 11

2017-02-062019-07-07

You can now specify your own default folder for your project files

You can now specify your own default folder (start folder) for your Visual Installer project files (.VIP files). Normally is the Documents\Visual Installer\My Projects folder used as a default folder for Visual Installer’s project files, but now you can have your own default folder; for example D:\My VIP Projects, or whatever you want to have.

The default folder is used as a start folder when you have no project file opened in the Visual Installer editor, and want to open an existing project file (.VIP file), for example via the File – Open project menu item. The start folder is opened first. Thereafter you can browse to another folder on the drive if your project file is not located in the start folder.

(If you already have a VIP project opened in the editor, the folder where this project file was last saved in, will be used as a start folder.)

How to change the default folder for projects
You can set a new default folder via the Editor Options dialog box in Visual Installer. This dialog box can be opened by choosing the Editor options menu item in the Special menu in Visual Installer’s editor. A new default folder can be entered in the Project folder textbox (in the Miscellaneous tab). See the picture below for an example.

The Editor Options dialog box in Visual Installer

You must enter a full path to an existing folder in the Project folder text box. The drive letter must be included in the path.

If you want to use Visual Installer’s built-in default folder (Documents\Visual Installer\My Projects) as a start folder for your projects again, you can erase the contents in the Project folder text box. You only need to specify a folder in the Project folder text box if you want to use your own start folder.

2017-01-182019-07-07

CD-Menu Creator 2017 has now been released

A new version of our menu designer tool CD-Menu Creator has now been released. The name of the new version is SamLogic CD-Menu Creator 2017 and some of the new features in the new version are:

• The support for Windows 10 has been improved.
• All binary files in CD-Menu Creator are now SHA-2 code signed. Read more.
• You can now create button groups with titles. Read more.
• We have added more symbolic icons for the menu window.
• New menu interface examples have been included.

A more detailed list with the new features is available on this page.

2017-01-172019-07-07

CD-Menu Creator: You can now create button groups with titles

We have added a new function to CD-Menu Creator 2017 that allows you 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

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

It is easy to create button groups and add titles to the groups. In this new tip on our website we will show you how to create button groups with titles.

2017-01-172019-07-07

All binary files in CD-Menu Creator are now SHA-2 code signed

All binary files in CD-Menu Creator 2017 are now code signed using a SHA-2 certificate instead of the older SHA-1 certificate. This will improve the security and reduce the risk for annoying warning messages in Windows. Starting with 2016, Microsoft Windows and web browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge etc. started phasing out the support for the older SHA-1 certificate. In February 14th, 2017 the support for SHA-1 will be reduced even more, and in 2020 the support will end.

All binary files in CD-Menu Creator from year of 2015 and older uses the old SHA-1. In 2016 we updated some files to SHA-2 and in this new release all binary files uses SHA-2. If you plan to distribute a menu during 2017, we recommend you to upgrade to CD-Menu Ceator 2017 first and create the menu using the new version of the tool.

2017-01-052019-07-07

Is it possible to create a menu for a SD memory card using CD-Menu Creator?

We got this question a while ago: is it possible to create a menu for a SD memory card using CD-Menu Creator?

The answer is Yes.

You can consider the SD memory card as a USB flash drive and create a USB flash drive project in CD-Menu Creator. When you plug in a SD memory card into your computer’s port, it will usually get a drive letter, and you can create your menu directly on the memory card (on the drive) in the same way as you do when you create a menu for a USB flash drive.

If you want the SD memory card to support AutoRun, you can use our USB AutoRun Creator tool. For details, read this article:

> Add AutoRun to a SD Memory Card

The menu that you have created and placed on the memory card can be opened in all computers that uses Windows as its operating system. It can not be opened in a Mac or Android device.

2016-11-282019-07-07

How to create a video clip gallery in CD-Menu Creator

There is a picture gallery function available in CD-Menu Creator that can be used to create a gallery with pictures. This function is very versatile and can also be used to create a gallery with video clips. In this new tip on our website we show how:

> Tip: How to use the Picture Gallery to show video clips

2016-10-252019-07-07

How to set file copy options in Visual Installer

If you right-click over a file in the File list tab in Visual Installer’s editor, a local menu is opened. In the menu there is an option with the name File copy options.

If you click on this menu item, a dialog box with the title Copy options for file is shown. The dialog box look like:

Dialog box - Copy options for file

This dialog box is used to set various copy options for files that are copied/installed during an installation. You can for example decide if a version check must occur before the installation, if a file must be registered, if the file should be write-protected after installation etc. Below are all options in the Copy options for file dialog box described:

Check date and time
Checks a file’s date and time before it is replaced. The file will only be installed if it is newer.

Check version
Checks a file’s version number before it is replaced. The file will only be installed if it have a higher version number.

Never replace existing file
If a file with the same filename already exists in a specified folder, the file will not be installed.

Register file
Check this option if a file must be registered during the installation. Some components and DLL files require this.

Turn on write protection
Write protection will be turned on for the file after it has been installed in the hard disk.

Warn if file already exists
An information message box will be shown if the file already exists on the destination drive. The end-user can decide if the file should be replaced or not.

Make a backup if file already exists
If you check this option, a backup will be made of the file if it already exists in the destination folder. The backup file will get the filename extension “.BAK” and it will be placed in the same folder as the original file.

Replace also write protected file
If this option is checked, a file will be replaced also when it is write protected.

Handle the file if it is locked and in use
Sometimes a file can be in use during the setup process, and then it can not be replaced at that moment. If you check this option, the file will be marked in the system to be replaced next time the computer restarts (during the boot process).

Shared file
If a file is shared with other programs, you can check this option. This will prevent the file to be uninstalled by mistake.

Do not copy if same version
If this option is checked a file will not be copied if the version number of the source and destination files are equal.

Never uninstall this file
Prevent uninstallation of the file. If your project is uninstalled, the file will remain on the user’s hard disk.

Instead of right-clicking over a file to open the local popup menu, you can also open the List menu and choose File copy options there. If you need to set copy options for more than one file at once, this is also possible. Just select the files in the file list, and choose the File copy options menu item (either from the List menu or from the local popup menu).

In the Inst column in the file list you can see current copy settings for each file in the file list. More information is available in this blog post.

2016-10-252019-07-07

The ‘Inst’ column in the ‘File list’ tab in Visual Installer

The File list tab in Visual Installer is used to store a list of files to install. The file table contains different columns, and one of them – the Inst column – is used to show current file copy settings for each file in the file list. A letter or a special character shows which copy setting that are set for every file. Below is a list with available copy settings:

D : Check file date before copying the file.
V : Check version number before copying the file.
N : Never replace an existing file.
W : Replace also a write-protected file.
X : Warn if the file already exists on the hard disk.
A : If the file is in use (active) and locked, replace it when the computer is restarted.
B : Create a backup of the file before it is replaced.
R : Register the file in the system.
P : Write-protect the file after installation.
E : If the version number of the source and destination file is equal, do not copy.
* : Never uninstall this file.

How to change copy settings for the files in file list is explained in this blog post.

2016-09-092019-07-07

New button command in CD-Menu Creator: Open Excel File

We have added a new button command to CD-Menu Creator that may be useful for all of you that open Excel files from a menu interface created with CD-Menu Creator. The name of the command is Open Excel File, and it have some special functionality that can not be achieved with the other button commands in an easy way. You can for example send command line parameters (switches), together with a path to the Excel file, to the Microsoft Excel application.

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

By entering command line switches in the Parameters text box in CD-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)

2016-08-242019-07-08

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 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.