Category: Tips

With Visual Installer you can set initial settings for your application in different ways. One simple method is to store the settings in an INI file. INI files have existed since the first Windows version, and are still used today because they are simple to use and support all basic features for storage of settings that are needed.

In Visual Installer’s editor there is a dedicated tab that is used to handle data to INI files. The name of the tab is “INI files” and in the tab there are four buttons:

New file : Creates a new file.
Add section : Adds a section to the INI file.
Add value : Adds a value name and a value (for example a text string) to the INI file.
Variables : Shows a list of variables that can be inserted in the INI file.

To add/create a new INI file in your Visual Installer project, follow the steps below:

Step by step – How to add/create an INI file in your Visual Installer project

1. Open the “INI files” tab in Visual Installer’s editor.
2. Click the New file button in the “INI files” tab. The button is located in the bottom left.

3. Enter the filename of the INI file in the dialog box that is shown. E.g., “MySettings.ini“.

4. Click OK.
5. A message box with a question is now shown, with the following text:
“Do you want the INI file to be created in the main destination folder of the installation?”
6. Answer Yes.
7. Now click the Add section button in the “INI files” tab.
8. Enter a section name. For example: “Directories“.

9. Click OK.
10. Now click the Add value button in the “INI files” tab.
11. Enter a value name and a value in the dialog box that is shown. For example:

12. Click OK.
13. The result, that is shown in the “INI files” tab, will look something like this:

You have now created an INI file with some contents for your installation project. The INI file will be created in the main destination folder during the installation and the variables used in the INI file will be replaced with actual values when the INI file is created.

%DESTDIR that is used above is a variable that will be replaced with the installation’s main destination folder path during the installation. You can read more about %DESTDIR here.

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.

With the 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 / 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

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

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 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

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:

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

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.

In 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