Tip: Visual Installer's command
line parameters
Visual Installer's editor (VI.exe) supports some command line
parameters. With a command line parameter you can for example
open
Visual Installer with a specific project file (.VIP file)
loaded from start or open Visual Installer in a special (silent)
build mode where a setup package is created without any user
interaction. The later is very useful if you want to include
Visual Installer in a batch build process; Visual Installer can
build a setup package automatically and with no user
interaction.
Visual Installer supports the
following command line parameters:
VI.exe <project file> /BUILD /BUILDFOLDER:<folder> /LOG:<log
file> /INTERNET or /CD or /USB
Below are all parameters explained in detail:
|
<project file> |
: |
A complete file path to
a project file (.VIP file). If this parameter is
specified, Visual Installer will load the project file
when it starts. If the file path contains
space characters you should enclose the path with
quotes.
|
|
/BUILD |
: |
If this parameter is
specified Visual Installer will operate in a special
(silent) build mode.
|
|
/BUILDFOLDER:<folder> |
: |
If you want to build the
setup package in another folder than specified in the
VIP file, you can specify the folder path here.
|
|
/LOG:<log file> |
: |
Errors during build mode
can be stored in a log file that you specify here.
|
|
/INTERNET |
: |
If you want to change
media type from current project setting to Internet you
can specify this parameter.
|
|
/CD |
: |
If you want to change
media type from current project setting to CD/DVD you
can specify this parameter.
|
|
/USB |
: |
If you want to change
media type from current project setting to USB stick you
can specify this parameter.
|
All folder and file paths that
you specify in the command line must be complete, including the
drive letter (e.g. "C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip"). The
/BUILDFOLDER, /LOG, /INTERNET, /CD and
/USB parameters are only
supported if you also specify the /BUILD parameter, otherwise
these parameters are ignored. All parameter names (switches)
must be entered in uppercase (e.g. "/BUILD"). File and folder
paths can be entered in any case.
The order of the parameters
are also important. They must be entered in the order shown
above. For example, the first parameter must be the file path to
the project file (.VIP file), the second parameter must always
be /BUILD, the third parameter must be /BUILDFOLDER etc.
The /INTERNET, /CD and /USB parameters are
mutually exclusive. You can only specify one of them. If you
don't specify any of these switches, the project setting for
target media is used.
|
| Note. All versions of
Visual Installer support the <project file>
parameter that specifies a path to a project file (.VIP
file). But the build
parameters (e.g. /BUILD) are only supported by the
Professional version of Visual Installer. |
More information about
the /BUILD parameter
If you specify the /BUILD parameter in the command line,
Visual Installer will be run in a silent build mode. Visual
Installer editor's user interface will not be shown and no
user interaction is possible. The build mode is very useful if
you want to include Visual Installer in batch build processes.
When the /BUILD mode parameter is specified, Visual
Installer will open the project file, build the setup package
and return automatically when finished.
Errors can be
handled by using the /LOG parameter. If an error occurs
during the build mode, VI.exe will return the exit code 1
instead of 0 (VI.exe returns always 0 at success), and a
detailed error message is written to the log file.
Setup packages are
normally build (created) in a folder that is specified
in the project file (in the Folder text box in the
Create setup package dialog box) but if you want to have
your setup package built in another folder you can specify it by
using the /BUILDFOLDER command line parameter (e.g.
"/BUILDFOLDER:C:\MyCreatedSetups\Setup1"). You can
read more on this page.
Example 1
|
VI.exe C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip |
This is the simplest way to use a command line parameter with
Visual Installer. If you specify a path to a project file (.VIP
file), the project will be opened automatically when Visual
Installer starts.
Example 2
|
VI.exe C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip /BUILD |
If you specify the /BUILD parameter together with a path
to a project file, the project file will be opened and a setup
package created automatically. When the build process is
finished, Visual Installer will be closed automatically. No user
interface is shown, everything is done invisible.
Example 3
|
VI.exe C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip /BUILD
/BUILDFOLDER:C:\MyCreatedSetups\Setup1 |
If you also specify the /BUILDFOLDER switch together with
a folder path, you can have your setup package built (created)
in another folder than the creation folder specified in the
project file. Additional information is available
on this page.
Example 4
VI.exe C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip /BUILD
/BUILDFOLDER:C:\MyCreatedSetups\Setup1
/LOG:C:\MyLogs\Err.log |
When the /BUILD parameter is specified no visual user
interface is shown. To discover errors you can specify a path to
a log file together with the /LOG switch. If any error
occurs during the build process, an error message will be
written to the log file. VI.exe will also return the exit code 1
if an error occurs. If the build was successful VI.exe will
return 0.
Example 5
VI.exe C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip /BUILD
/BUILDFOLDER:C:\MyCreatedSetups\Setup1
/LOG:C:\MyLogs\Err.log /INTERNET |
In this example we have added the /INTERNET switch
(option) to the command line. This will force Visual Installer
to set the target media type to Internet, regardless of the
setting in the project file. You can also use the /CD and
/USB switch in the same way.
If neither the
/INTERNET, /CD or /USB switches are used in
the command line, the target media setting in the project file
will be used.
Where
is VI.exe located?
VI.exe is the filename of Visual Installer's editor.
VI.exe is installed to the following
folder on your system drive: \Program
Files\SamLogic\Visual Installer. The drive letter is usually
C:. |
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Visual
Installer Tip |
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Requires SamLogic
Visual Installer 2022 or later. |
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