Contents
InstallWiz -- The Pushbutton Application Installation Builder

Version 1.4  August 1995

Overview	What this program is all about.

Building an Installation	The steps to follow in creating an Installation.

Configuration Screens	How to use each of the tab screens.

Command Buttons	How to use the buttons at the bottom of the window.

Registration	How to register this program with the author.

Registration Form	See and print the registration form.

History of This Product	Bug fixes and new features implemented in this and other versions.


Overview

InstallWiz is a graphical front-end for the installation utility InstallWare 4.0.  Using this utility, you can easily create fairly sophisticated installation processes, write the INF file needed by InstallWare, and build the distribution disks.  All of this occurs without understanding how the INF syntax works (although it helps!).

The interface consists of a series of dialog screens that allow you to set the different options, controls, textual information, files, directories, and all of the other options that determine the way InstallWare handles your application's installation.

When you first run the program, or select the Clear button, all fields are set to default values.  The file selections are empty.  To personalize the configuration to meet your needs, you must change these settings and add files.  Once this is complete, you can save the entire InstallWiz setup to a disk file for later use.


Building
Building an Installation

InstallWiz contains controls for setting all of the many options supported by InstallWare.  Most of these controls are obvious, but a few may seem obscure to anyone who is not familiar with the syntax of InstallWare.  To get help on the specific usage of the controls supported in this utility, consult the online help that is included in the InstallWare product.

Preparing for the Installation

Before starting to configure your installation, you should be prepared with some information:

Whether you want to have an initial README file.

The location of all of the files to be installed on your system.

The location and layout of the files on the destination system.

Whether or not a file will be executed after the installation is complete.

If any large files need to be Fragged before you start.

What Program Manager groups need to be created, and which icons will be contained in them.

Whether any INI file modifications need to be made.

The name of your application.

How much space it will need on the destination system.

What size floppies will be used.

It is important to know as much as possible about your installation up front, since some selections cannot be undone.


Screens
The Configuration Screens

Although it doesn't really matter which dialog you begin at, the most basic configuration is contained in the Options section.  This is shown by default, so lets begin there.

Options

The major part of this dialog is the five check boxes at the top of the dialog.  As with most check boxes, placing a check enables the feature (or makes it true).  The last check box, 'Prompt for Reboot/Restart' controls whether or not the group below it is enabled.  When this control is selected, you can modify these options, otherwise they are disabled.

Files

All of the files that will be installed are declared in this dialog.  The controls on the left side of the screen let you move to different drives and directories.  At the bottom of these, is a list box that contains all of the files in the selected directory.

The right side of the dialog contains a combo box on top and a list box below.  The combo box contains a list of all of the directories that will be used on the destination system.  The current directory being configured is shown.  Three directories are listed by default.  They are the WINDOWS, WINDOWS\SYSTEM, and the BASE directory.  The first two should be obvious.  The BASE directory is the directory that is specified by the user at the beginning of the installation.

You can add other directories that will be located off of  the BASE directory by pressing the New Dir button and supplying the name of the directory.

The other buttons (in the lower center part of the dialog) control how files get added to the large list box on the right side of the screen.  The files in this list will be made part of the installation.

Window

This dialog determines how the windows used in the installation will be presented.

Controls

The control screen lets you configure some basic control options.  When you enter the name of the Readme file, be sure to type in the entire path.  A Browse button is available to simplify this process.

ProgMan

This is the dialog that is used to indicate Program Manager groups and the icons that will be included in them.  The upper group is used to specify groups.. Press the New Group button to create a new group, and press the Edit Group button to edit the group that is currently being displayed.  The text that you specify will be used to name the group and will appear in it's title.

The lower group provides for the definition of any icons that will be included in the Program Manager group that is currently shown above it.  The New and Edit Icon buttons work as described above.  The two edit boxes at the bottom of the screen are where you supply the command line that is relative to the current icon and the filename of  the icon you want to be displayed in the group for the item.  If you do not specify an icon filename here, the first icon found in the executable will be used.

IMPORTANT: Remember to use the location macros as defined in the InstallWare help when specifying command lines and file names.  Do not use absolute path references, since they will probably not be valid on the user's machine.  If you do not specify a path or a macro, the file must be in the DOS PATH.

ExtCmd

Any external commands (which are run after the files have been copied) that you will use are defined here.  The top edit box is used to supply the command itself.  The buttons below it are used to modify the commands and the list of commands once they are entered.  Clear Cmd clears the Command Line edit box.  Add will place the command into the list box.  Update changes the definition of the current command in the list to match what is entered in the Command Line edit box.  Delete removes the current command from the list.  Be sure to check the check box at the bottom of the screen if you want the command deleted after it has run.

INI Files

This dialog allows for the modification of INI files.  Fill in the edit boxes and press the Add Entry button to add it to the list in the combo box.  Selecting an INI file setting from the combo box will make it current, and update the edit boxes so that they may be edited.

Misc

This is the dialog that contains all of the controls that didn't seem to fit anywhere else.  Most of them are obvious.  The Registration String is where you enter the code that is supplied to registered users and allows InstallWare to show the caption that they have specified.

The Floppy Disk Size section is important in that it controls how other functions in the program perform.  If No Floppy is selected, a Make Disk command (see below) will not partition the files into groups that fit on floppies.  Because of this, you will need to write to a hard disk location or make sure that your entire installation will fit on one floppy.  This will be clearer once you read the Make Disk section.  In addition, the Write INF command builds the disk sections based on the setting of this button.


Buttons
The Command Buttons

Load

Loads a selected InstallWiz setup and updates all of the dialogs to the values as they were when last saved.

Save

Saves the current configuration to a selected file.

Write INF

This function will create an APPSETUP.INF file that matches the current configuration in the InstallWiz dialogs.  This button will not be enabled until a Load or Save is performed.  Be sure to set the Floppy Size (as defined in the Misc section above) to the value you will be using on your distribution disks.  A dialog will be displayed, showing you how many disks will be needed for the installation.

Make Disk

Pressing this button will initiate a process to produce all of your distribution disks.   After the button is pressed, a new dialog will be shown in the main screen (overlaying whatever is there).  This dialog will show the progress of the copying process.  To start copying, select the destination of the copy and press Start.  If No Floppy was selected in the Misc dialog, you can specify a drive and directory, otherwise choose A: or B: as the destination.

If you require compressed files, make sure the Compress Destination box is checked.  For this to work properly, you will need to have a copy of Microsoft Compress in the same directory as InstallWiz.  When copying in this mode, the process takes much longer.

Once the copying process starts, press Cancel at any time to stop it.  If you are copying to floppies, you will be prompted to put in new disks as required.

Clear

Resets all of the dialogs to startup condition.  Use this button when you want to start configuring a new project.

Close

Exits the program.

Frag

This button is used to break up very large files into fragments that will fit onto the floppy size specified in the Misc section.  A dialog is displayed which allows you to supply a source file to be fragmented and the destination where the fragments will be written to.  The fragments will be of the size you specified in the Misc section.  In fact, this button is disabled if the No Floppy button is selected in the Misc section.

Note that if you are running the shareware version of InstallWare, this option will not provide access to the FRAG program.

Help

Shows the version of the InstallWiz program and provides access to this online help file.

Hacking the INF file

There are some things you may want to do in an installation that InstallWiz does not support.  It is important to be familiar with the syntax of InstallWare INF files to do unusual installations.  The APPSETUP.INF file is simply a text file that can be edited with NOTEPAD.  You may want to give each file being copied a specific description.  InstallWiz merely numbers the files when it builds the INF file (i.e. File 1, File 2, etc.).  If this isn't what you want, you will have to edit these descriptions manually.  I'm sure there are other subtle items that InstallWiz doesn't do (although I can't think of any), and I'm sure that users will point these out to me.  Feedback is important to delivering a great product, so I will seriously consider any ideas you may have for improving InstallWiz.


Registration

InstallWiz  is Copyright 1994, 1995 by Bob Dolan, All rights reserved.

InstallWiz is distributed as freeware.  This means that it is owned by the copyright holder (Bob Dolan), but that you may use it without cost.  However, all users must register with the author (address below), unless they are registered InstallWare users.  InstallWiz is a front end utility for InstallWare, which is a shareware product.  Contact the author for more information on the entire system.

Please print the registration form and fill in the requested information.

You may contact me electronically in the following ways:

GEnie: DOLAN

Compuserve: 71075,3256

Internet: 71075.3256@compuserve.com

Distribution

If you distribute InstallWiz   to friends, associates, or to a computer bulletin board system (BBS),  you may only distribute the compressed file including the copyright and disclaimer.

Disclaimer

The Copyright Owner hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The Copyright Owner will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if The Copyright owner or an agent of The Copyright Owner has been advised of the possibility of such damages.  In no event shall The Copyright Owner's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software.


Regform
Registration Form

To print this registration form, open the File menu and select Print Topic.

Please register me as a satisfied user of InstallWiz (ver 1.4):

Mail to:

Bob Dolan

P.O. Box 16514

Rochester, New York 14616-0514

Name:_____________________________________________________

Address:___________________________________________________

City:______________________State:_______Zip:__________________

Phone(optional):_____________________________________________

GEnie/CIS/AOL/Internet mail address:__________________________

Where did you get this program (include address or phone number if

possible)?__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Comments:_________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________


Frag

This is a utility that can split very large files into fragments that will fit on floppies.  If the command line parameters are set to do so, the utility can also DeFrag or rebuild the fragments back into one file.

The Frag utility is part of the registered InstallWare system and is not included in the shareware version.  This program is not required to build most installations unless very large files are a part of the process.


History

Version 1.4 Aug 1995

Updates to correspond with the 4.2 InstallWare release.

Version 1.3  Feb 1995

Changes made with the Edit Group button were not being retained.

Program Group name sizes have been increased from 25 to 50 characters.

The file description numbering in the INF file was being reset to 1 at the start of each group.

All files on the destination floppy are now deleted when a Make is performed.

Program Group filenames (GRP) now use the first 8 rather than the last 8 characters.

If a blank icon or group is selected in the ProgMan section it is not used.