Bytessence Install Maker 5.40 - (09Jan2013) - new release

[Inf0Byt3]

Hello,

A new version of BIM has been completed. This release does not bring too many features as it is focused at fixing some bugs from version 5.0. If you are using BIM it's recommended to re-pack your files with this version.

Changes in version 5.1

-Added update checking feature for the main program
-Added options to stop installation if the minimum/recommended requirements are not met
-Added option to create shadow effects for the installer header text
-Fixed a problem with the installers not detecting existing locked files
-Fixed the installer not checking the installation path for malformed/invalid addresses
-Fixed the installer not checking the Start Menu entry name for invalid characters
-Fixed a problem with the installer always using the default installation path for the principal component
-Fixed uninstaller asking for admin rights on Win95
-Fixed some potential vulnerabilities
-The (un)installer will automatically try to elevate its privileges if needed
-Improved the accuracy of the progress and time calculations for both main program and the installers
-The 'Create Quicklaunch shortcut' option is not shown on Win7 anymore

P.S. If you have the time, some translations for the installer module would be very nice .

[Inf0Byt3]

A new version of BIM has been released to fix some bugs (thanks all for the reports).

Changes in version 5.2:

-Fixed the installer not creating links in the Start Menu group if the uninstaller support was turned off
-Fixed the main program writing unnecessary script data in the installers
-Fixed the task moving procedures
-Fixed task removal confirmation string displaying the wrong text
-Fixed the main program not defaulting the missing settings
-Fixed the uninstaller not removing nested registry keys correctly in some cases
-Added 2 new variables: <UserDesktop> and <UserStartPrograms>
-Added an option to allow only a single instance of BIM to be run
-Added 10 updated translations
-The <Desktop> and <StartPrograms> variables change their scope depending on what the user chooses (for all users or just for the current one)
-Files that are created using the 'Copy file' task are now automatically uninstalled
-Nested folders are automatically created for tasks involving file creation
-Update checking is done inside a thread now so the interface does not freeze
-Moved the update options in a separate tab in the settings dialog
-Made other minor changes

Please let me know if you find any bugs.

[MachineCode]

I know you just released this, but is there a way to check how much HD space is available on any given drive? My app requires 1 GB of free space on the system drive, even if the user installs my app on another drive. Can BIM check for that somehow? Thanks.

[Inf0Byt3]

For now, the free space check is done by summing up the size of your program's files and comparing this sum with the total free space on the drive that contains the installation folder. I can try to add options to specifically request extra space on system / non-system drives for the next version.

[MachineCode]

Sorry, what I meant was: my app is only 2 MB in size (exe + docs), but during its runtime it requires up to 1 GB of free space, for scratch/temp files. So, there's no point in letting it install if the user doesn't have 1 GB of free space, because my app won't be able to do its job. And no, the location of the free space can't be user-specified; it uses only the Windows %TEMP% folder for various reasons (corporate restrictions being the main one).

[srod]

Surely in that case, rather than disrupt the installation, your program should generate a 'run-time' error instead. Perhaps a warning during installation that some disc-space should be freed up would suffice?

[MachineCode]

Perhaps a warning during installation that some disc-space should be freed up would suffice?

That's exactly what I'm requesting for BIM -- a warning during installation.

[srod]

[Inf0Byt3]

I see... This shouldn't be too hard to add. The option could fit very well in the requirements dialog. I'll add it for the next version which will be out this coming week. Thanks for the suggestion.

[LuCiFeR[SD]]

That's exactly what I'm requesting for BIM -- a warning during installation.

But why? what is the point? It is better for your own program when it starts to notify the user of a lack of free space and ways to remedy that problem! This is not an issue with BIM and a request that should not even be entertained IMHO.

[Little John]

Hi,

I want to create an installer with Bytessence InstallMaker 5.2.
Besides other things, it should create an association for the file extension fx.
My respective dialog currently looks like this:



I encountered two problems:

a) I don't actually know what I am supposed to enter in the field "Explorer command description". Shouldn't I enter the wanted command itself?

b)With the settings shown in the above picture, the installer creates the following association:

"C:\Programme\FlexLink\FlexLink.exe" "/e "%1"

But this is not what I want, and it doesn't work with my program. The red " shouldn't be there. Am I doing something wrong, or is this perhaps a bug in Bytessence InstallMaker 5.2?

Regards, Little John

[IdeasVacuum]

...your syntax for arguments is a little unusual Little John, but maybe you could get what you want by adding the /e to the Executable path field?

Executable path:
<Main>FlexLink.exe/e

Full command to pass to executable:
"%1"

or perhaps a variation of the whole thing as the Executable path might work -would need to play around with the speech marks or better, if possible, predefine a variable:
<Main>"FlexLink.exe/e ""%1"""

[Inf0Byt3]

I can confirm it's a bug. Will have this fixed as soon as possible. Regarding the "Explorer command description" field, anything you write in it will be shown when you right-click an associated file. It has nothing to do with the command itself. An example of description would be "Open with MyProgram".

Thanks for the report.

[Little John]

Hello Inf0Byt3,

thanks for the confirmation.

In the meantime I found out, that everything works fine if I enclose /e in quotes, so that it reads in the second field of the above dialog:

"/e" "%1"

After installation, the resulting entry in the registry then is

"C:\Programme\FlexLink\FlexLink.exe" "/e" "%1"

The quotes before and after /e are not necessary, but they also do no harm.

Regarding the "Explorer command description" field, I expressed myself badly in the previous post. Now I recall the proper word for what I was thinking of: verbs.
In the registry, each file type can be associated with several verbs such as new, open, print etc., and each verb is associated with a particular command:



So I thought that in the dialog, I had to specify the verb with which the given command should be associated. Now you explained that the field actually is for the description. I think this implies, that Bytessence InstallMaker automatically uses open as verb in this context, doesn't it? If this is true, maybe it could be mentioned somewhere in the documentation?

Thanks again for your good work!

Regards, Little John

[Little John]

Hello Inf0Byt3,

under Installer -> Advanced tasks I added several items to the list.
When I move items up or down in the list, the content of the moved items changes!
I observed this with items of the task type "Add registry key".

Regards, Little John