Posted on

Where is the Start button in Windows 8?

Many users that have tested Windows 8 were very surprised the first time they run Windows 8. It differs a lot from previous versions of Windows, and the first thing many wondered was: where is the Start button?

The truth is that there is no Start button anymore! It has been removed! And there is no Start menu either. In this article you can read why:

> Why Were the Start Button & Start Menu Removed in Windows 8?

The article also informs you about how to bring back the Start button (and Start menu) by using third party software.

Posted on

Setup of a VB 6.0 program

Many programmers still use VB 6.0
There are still lots of people that develop software with VB 6.0 (Visual Basic 6.0). VB 6.0 is an excellent programming language and programming tool that can be used to create a desktop program for the Windows system. A created program starts fast and runs fast also in an average computer, and by using a third party component like CommandBars from CodeJock, the VB6 desktop program can have a modern user interface, even with ribbons!

Not suited for large projects or Internet projects
However, for large projects or for applications that uses the Internet a lot, Visual Basic .NET is the preferable language. And if you are new to programming you should of course choose Visual Basic .NET for your software projects; for example the new Microsoft Visual Basic 2012. VB 6.0 is an old technology, and even if Microsoft still supports it to 100% in their Windows operating systems, this will not last forever.

The Package and Deployment Wizard
Many of our customers use VB6 for their projects, but the setup tool that follows Visual Basic 6.0 – the Package and Deployment Wizard – is quite limited, and it is difficult to create a professional setup program with a modern user interface using that tool. If you want to deploy a setup program with a professional and modern user interface you should use an external setup tool instead of the Package and Deployment Wizard.

Setup of a VB 6.0 program
A complete VB6 application consists of different types of files. For example an EXE file (the main program), ActiveX component files, DLL files, type libraries etc. So it is not possible to just take the EXE file and copy it to another computer. It will not work, unless all support files already have been installed with a previous installation. But to be sure you should always distribute and install all files that are needed to run your program.

It is also very important to install the files to the correct folders on the hard disk, especially in a 64 bit computer / 64-bit Windows. And many files, for example ActiveX components, also need to be registered in the system. Also other information need to be registered. Doing this manually is mostly too complicated, so a setup program is a must.

SamLogic Visual Installer has powerful functions for setup of VB 6.0 programs
Our setup tool SamLogic Visual Installer has powerful functions for setup of VB 6.0 programs. It can install VB6 program files, ActiveX components, DLL files, type libraries, databases, database engines (DAO, ADO, RDO etc.), and other types of files, in an automatic way. By analyzing your VB project file (the .VBP file) Visual Installer will know which files to include in the setup project. Visual Installer will collect the files automatically.

Visual Installer will also add a professional and modern user interface to your installation. Visual Installer can also handle license keys or password protect your installations. Created installations can be code signed and multiple languages can be used for an installation.

Supports Windows 8 and Windows 10
Visual Installer supports new operating systems like Windows 8 and Windows 10, but can also be used to create installation packages for older Windows like Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

More information
If you want to read more about the SamLogic Visual Installer setup tool, you can click on the links below:

> SamLogic Visual Installer – a professional installation software
> Visual Installer can create a setup package for your Visual Basic project

Detailed information about how to import a VB 6.0 project file and create an installation of it is available in this step-by-step tip on our tips & tricks section:

> How to create an installation for a VB6 application

Posted on

How to install an application / app in Windows 8

A few months ago Microsoft released Windows 8 and software developers had once again a new operating system to take into account for their applications and installation of applications. One big difference from previous Windows version is that there is now two different running environments to consider: an environment for traditional desktop applications (Windows Desktop apps) and one environment for the new simpler touch-optimized apps (Windows Store apps).

Different installation methods
The installation method is very different dependent of you want to install a Windows Desktop app or a Windows Store apps. In the following two articles on our web site we describe how to install an application / app in Windows 8 in both environments:

> How to install a desktop application / desktop app in Windows 8
> How to install a Windows Store app in Windows 8

Note. An “application” and an “app” are the same thing. Since the release of Windows 8, Microsoft has started to call “applications” for “apps” in their documentation. An application that is run on the traditional desktop is named “Windows Desktop app” and an app of the new touch-optimized kind (former Metro-style app) is named “Windows Store app”.

Posted on

Special Christmas Offer – SamLogic Media Tools

Christmas OfferUntil December 31st you can buy the SamLogic Media Tools product suite, with 5 of our programs, for only 99 dollar. The suite contains the following 5 programs:

– SamLogic CD-Menu Creator
– SamLogic USB AutoRun Creator
– SamLogic Visual Installer
– SamLogic MultiMailer
– SamLogic Image Resizer

Read more on this page.

Posted on

Android – The Rise to Success

In this article on our website we inform about how to create an email newsletter that can be read on a smartphone. We also discuss different smartphone models and different operating systems for smartphones.

Android
One common operating system (OS) for smartphones is Android from Google. Android is a Linux-based operating system designed for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Android is a very popular operating system and is used for example in Samsung Galaxy S2 and Samsung Galaxy S3, which are two smartphone models that have been sold in very large numbers.

75% of All Sold Smartphones
About 75% of all smartphones that were sold the third quarter of 2012 used Android as operating system. 1.3 million devices were activated every day in the same period. Today Android is the world’s most used smartphone OS / platform.

Infographic: Android – The Rise to Success
The infographic below (from MBA Online) gives interesting facts about Android’s rise to success:

Android - The Rise to Success

Posted on

Two new Spanish articles

We have published two new Spanish articles on our international web site. It is the article The ‘Program Files (x86)’ and ‘SysWOW64’ folders explained and the article The ‘Program Files’ folder in different languages that have been translated to Spanish. These two technical articles informs about some important folders in 32 and 64 bit Windows, that is good to know if you install program files and other types of binary files in these systems. Below are direct links to the two Spanish articles:

> Explicación de las carpetas ‘Archivos de programa (x86)’ y ‘SysWOW64’
> La carpeta ‘Archivos de programa’ en distintos idiomas

Posted on

The setup wizard in Visual Installer

The Visual Installer installation software consists of two main parts: the visual editor and the setup wizard. In the visual editor you create your setup project; for example chooses which files to install and chooses which setup dialog boxes to show during the installation. The setup wizard is the setup program that shows these setup dialog boxes for the end-user and installs your files in end-user’s computer.

Setup wizard’s dialog boxes
There are many setup dialog boxes included in Visual Installer that can be showed in the setup wizard. There are for example dialog boxes that show information messages, asks for a destination folder / destination drive, asks for a license key, shows license texts (EULA texts), handles passwords, register the user etc. You can in an easy way choose which dialog boxes to include in the setup wizard / setup program.

Use your own texts and your own pictures
You can specify your own texts and your own pictures for the setup dialog boxes. You can also affect the behaviour for many of the setup dialog boxes. This makes it possible to fine-tune the setup wizard so it suits your needs.

More information
You can read more about the setup wizard and the setup dialog boxes that are included in Visual Installer on this web page:

> Setup wizard – Many ready-to-use setup dialog boxes included