An update of Visual Installer 2022 is now available

There is now an update of SamLogic Visual Installer 2022 available. The version number is 12.0.10, and we have fixed some bugs and made som minor improvements in the new version. We have also added some new script commands to Visual Installer’s script language:

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

These new script commands give more flexibility when external programs are run or documents are opened during an installation. See this blog post for more information.

How to download the update
If you have Visual Installer 2022 and a 12 months maintenance plan or an active subscription on Media Tools / Development Tools you can download the update from the following download page:

> Download – Visual Installer 2022 – Latest update

If you have an older version of Visual Installer, for example Visual Installer 2018 or Visual Installer 2020, you can upgrade to the latest version of Visual Installer from this order page:

> Upgrade to Visual Installer 2022

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

Visual Installer 2022 / Enterprise supports batch files & build servers

In the Enterprise version of Visual Installer 2022 it is possible to build a setup package without any interaction with a graphical user interface. The build process is invisible, and you use command line parameters and switches to handle the build operations. And errors that occur (if there are any) are returned via a log file that contain detailed error descriptions and error codes etc.

Build servers
The silent build processes via command line parameters / switches makes it easy to call Visual Installer from build servers. A build server is useful if you work in a team and your team want to, for example, compile applications or build setup packages in one operation.

Batch files
You can also utilize this function from local batch files (for example from traditional .BAT files). You can add one line of code for each setup package that you want to build, in the batch file. For example:

VI.exe C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip /BUILD /BUILDFOLDER:C:\MyCreatedSetups\Setup1

More information
In the following tip on our website you can read how to use this function in Visual Installer:

> Tip: Visual Installer’s command line parameters

How to test if a specific version of Access is installed

Logotype - Microsoft AccessIn this blog post we described how to check if Microsoft Access is installed in a computer by using script code in Visual Installer. But if you want to check if a specific version of Access is installed. Is it possible?

Yes. It is. It is possible to check if a specific version of Access is installed in a computer. To achieve this, you can extend this conditional test:

IF ACCESS_INSTALLED

with a version number, like this:

IF ACCESS(15)_INSTALLED

In the example above, Visual Installer will check if Access version 15 (Access 2013) is installed. The conditional test gives True if Access version 15 is installed and False if it is not.

How to check for a specific bitness of Access
Symbolic image: 32 / 64 bitIt is also possible to check if a specific bitness (32 or 64 bit) of Microsoft Access is installed in a computer – in addition to the version number. For example, to check if a 64 bit version of Access 2013 (version 15) is installed, you can use the following script:

IF ACCESS(15)_64BIT_INSTALLED

If you instead want to check if a 32 bit version of Access 2013 is installed, you can use the following script line:

IF ACCESS(15)_32BIT_INSTALLED

If you want to check which bitness of Access that is installed, regardless of the version number, there is another conditional test than you can use. For example, to check if any 64 bit Access is installed in the computer, you can use the following conditional test:

IF ACCESSBIT=64

In the same way you can check if any 32 bit Access is installed in the computer, by using this conditional test:

IF ACCESSBIT=32

Examples
Below are some script examples that shows how to use the conditional tests:

// Example 1 – Tests if Microsoft Access 2013 is installed in the system
IF ACCESS(15)_INSTALLED
  RUN %DESTDIR\Install-Access2013-Tools.exe
END IF
 
// Example 2 – Tests if a 32 bit version of Microsoft Access 2013 is installed in the system
IF ACCESS(15)_32BIT_INSTALLED
  RUN %DESTDIR\Install-Access2013-32bit-Tools.exe
END IF
 
// Example 3 – Tests if any 32 bit version of Microsoft Access is installed in the system
IF ACCESSBIT=32
  RUN %DESTDIR\Install-Access-32bit-Tools.exe
END IF

  
Access version numbers
In this blog post you will find a list with available version numbers for some of the conditional tests described above.

Visual Installer 2022 has now been released

We have now released a new version of our installation tool Visual Installer. The name of the new version is SamLogic Visual Installer 2022 and the version number is 12.0. Some new features in the new version are:

Windows 11• Supports the new Windows 11.
• Supports Visual Studio 2022 (Visual Basic 2022 + Visual C# 2022).
• Supports AutoCAD 2021 and 2022.
• If you install many shortcuts you can now choose which shortcut will be most featured.
• All binary files has been code signed with a digital certificate from Sectigo.
• New conditions in the script language than handles Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel.
• New script commands for uninstallation of shortcuts (will give you more flexibility).
• New file functions in the “File list” tab in Visual Installer’s editor.
• The installer displays more information to the end-user during the registration process.
• You can now specify a minimum size in pixels for your installation window.
• There is now an Enterprise version of Visual Installer available – with even more functions!

A detailed list of new features in Visual Installer 2022 is available on this web page.

There is now an Enterprise version of Visual Installer available

EnterpriseStarting with Visual Installer 2022, there is now an Enterprise version of the installation tool available. The Enterprise version of Visual Installer contains some extra functions that are not included in the Professional and Standard versions. Below are some examples:

– a diagnostic tool (info)
– an extra information tab in the editor for easier access to documentation & updates (info)
– the possibility to change default settings for new projects (info)
– support for batch files & build servers (info)
– a special system utility tool: SamLogic Selector

More information and a comparison with the other versions of Visual Installer is available on the Features page.

You can now choose which shortcut to feature in the Start menu

If you add more than one shortcut to the Start menu in Windows during an installation, and one of the shortcuts is used to open your main application and the other shortcuts are used to open extra tools (when needed), you can now let Visual Installer inform Windows which of the shortcuts that opens your main application.

The shortcut to the main application will be more visible in the Start menu and the other shortcuts will be toned down. By using this new function in Visual Installer you will also eliminate the risk that wrong program is featured in the Start menu. This is a risk if you let Windows itself decide which program(s) that are the most important in your installation. Sometimes Windows makes a wrong guess here.

This is a new function in Visual Installer 2022 and is located in the Program group / menu dialog box in Visual Installer’s editor. A combobox with a list of all program files with shortcuts in the current installation project will be available in the dialog box. From the combobox you can choose which program is your installation’s main program. See the picture below for an example:

The 'Program Group' dialog box

The picture above shows the settings in the installation project for installation of our product MultiMailer 2022. The program file MultMail.exe has been selected as the installation’s main program. The other program files are tools that are seldom used, but they will be in the Start menu in a program group folder, and used when needed.

This new function is especially useful in Windows 11, where recently added shortcuts are featured in an extra clear way. For an example, see below:

Windows 11 Start menu - With MultiMailer

The example above shows how MultiMailer 2022 is featured in the Start menu in Windows 11. The other shortcuts in the installation project are not visible here. Instead they are visible if you click on the All apps button (in the upper right) and opens the program group folder (named SamLogic MultiMailer).

This function will also be useful in older Windows. Recently added shortcuts are featured also there, but in a different way compared with Windows 11.

Visual Installer now display filenames for files being registered during an installation

The installer in Visual Installer now displays the filename of every file that is registered during the registration process. If you have many files in your file list that need to be registered it may take some time in some computers, especially in slow computers, but by displaying the filenames one by one, the user can see that the installation still proceeds.

Registration process

This is a new feature in Visual Installer 2022 and can be turned on and off for each installation project. If you want to turn this function off for a project, you can do it by choosing the Setup options menu item in the Special menu, and clicking on the Various tab and then removing the check mark from the Display filenames for files that are registered checkbox.

As default this option is automatically turned on for your projects.

How to test if Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel is installed

Logotypes - Access and ExcelIn this blog post we described how to check if Microsoft Office is installed in a computer during an installation. But what if Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint is installed, but not Microsoft Access, which is what you want? How to handle this situation in Visual Installer?

In the new Visual Installer 2022 the answer is to use a new script condition that we have added to the script language. The name of the new script condition is IF ACCESS_INSTALLED and with this script condition you can check if Microsoft Access specifically has been installed in the computer. So instead of trying to use the Microsoft Office condition check (as described in the earlier blog post) you can use the new Microsoft Access condition check instead.

Below we show two examples of how to use the new condition:

// Example 1 – Tests if Microsoft Access is installed in the system
IF ACCESS_INSTALLED
  RUN %DESTDIR\InstallAccessTools.exe
END IF
 
// Example 2 – Tests if Microsoft Access is not installed in the system
IF NOT ACCESS_INSTALLED
  MSGBOX “Information”, “Microsoft Access is not installed in this computer!”, 2
END IF

 
You can also test if Microsoft Excel has been installed or not in the same way. Below we show two examples of how to use the Excel condition:

// Example 1 – Tests if Microsoft Excel is installed in the system
IF EXCEL_INSTALLED
  RUN %DESTDIR\InstallExcelTools.exe
END IF
 
// Example 2 – Tests if Microsoft Excel is not installed in the system
IF NOT EXCEL_INSTALLED
  MSGBOX “Information”, “Microsoft Excel is not installed in this computer!”, 2
END IF

 
It is also useful to know if the user has installed a 32 bit or 64 bit version of the Office program. But here you can use the same condition in Visual Installer’s script language as before (see the second half of this blog post for details).

How to create an installation for a Visual C# application

For many years Visual Installer have had built-in functionality to create an installation for a Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic .NET application, and in the latest version of Visual Installer we have added the same functionality for Visual C#. You can now create an installation for a Visual C# application in an easy way.

Besides collecting necessary files and setting correct destination folders for your project, you can also specify minimum system requirements (for example minimum .NET version) for the installation package. If the necessary .NET versions are not installed, the installer can inform and handle the download directly from the installation wizard.

Read more
Here is some more information about the new function:
> Visual Installer 2020: Visual C# is now supported

And here is a step-by-step tip that show how to use the function:
> Tip: How to create an installation for a Visual C# application