Advanced Techniques in Software Setup: How to Ensure Precision with Installer Controls

Advanced Techniques in Software Setup: How to Ensure Precision with Installer Controls

Joseph Lv8

Advanced Techniques in Software Setup: How to Ensure Precision with Installer Controls

Table of Contents

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Installer Controls

A list of controls that can be used on a installer dialog.

  1. Static Text
  2. Edit Box
  3. Push Button
  4. Image Button
  5. Command Link Button
  6. Check Box
  7. Image Check-Box
  8. Radio Button Group
  9. Radio Button
  10. Group Box
  11. Path Edit
  12. Masked Edit
  13. Scrollable Edit Box
  14. Icon
  15. Image
  16. Horizontal Line
  17. Vertical Line
  18. Combo Box
  19. List Box
  20. List View
  21. Check List
  22. Directory List
  23. Volume Cost List
  24. Directory Combo
  25. Volume Select Combo
  26. Selection Tree
  27. Quick Selection Tree
  28. Quick Selection List
  29. Prerequisite Selector
  30. Progress
  31. Styled Progress
  32. Billboard Host
  33. Adding a Billboard Host control
  34. Adding a new billboard to the project
  35. Hyperlink
  36. HTML Host
  37. Tab Host

Static Text

StaticDisplays static text.

Edit Box

EditRegular edit field for string or integer. If you use the Password flag you will create an edit control for entering passwords. If the “Default Value” field is empty, the default edit control’s value will be set to the value of the property defined in the “Property Name” field.

Push Button

ButtonDisplays a basic push button. For a push button you can set the “Elevation Shield” flag which will add the UAC icon on the button on Windows Vista or above. This is recommended for buttons that trigger actions which need administrative privileges (for example the “Install” button).

Image Button

Image ButtonDisplays a push button that uses images to display its state.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

Command LinkCommand links have a clean, transparent appearance making them suitable in many situations. These buttons can be used when you have to provide a long explanatory description of the action it does. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface page.

Check Box

Check BoxA two-state check box. The check box is used to establish one of two possible states (checked and unchecked). The check box’s property will be empty until the check box is checked (the property’s value is set to the value specified in the “Value” field). Use the “Selected” attribute to set the checkbox’s initial state.

For a check box control you can set the “Push Like” flag which will transform it into a button with two states: pressed and unpressed.

Image Check-Box

Image Check-BoxDisplays a check box that uses images to display its state.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

Radio Button Group

Radio GroupHost for a group of radio buttons. This control has the “Push Like” flag which allows you to transform the radio buttons it contains into push buttons with two states (pressed and unpressed). Also, you can set the “Has Border” flag which removes the radio button group’s grey background and shows its border and the “Text” field’s value (by default “RadioButtonGroup”).

NoteThe value of the radio button group’s property will be set to the selected radio button’s value.

Radio Button

Radio ButtonDisplays a basic radio button. A group of radio buttons enables the user to select a string or integer value for a property from a predetermined list of values.

NoteThis control cannot be placed outside a Radio Button Group

Group Box

Group BoxThe control displays a rectangle, possibly with caption text, that serves to group other controls together on the dialog box.

Path Edit

Path EditThis control displays an edit field that enables a user to select the end section of a path. It supports entering the selected folder name or the entire path in the edit field. A user can also enter a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to a drive that has no drive letter. If the user enters an invalid end segment for the present volume, Path Edit control cannot transfer the focus to the next control.

Masked Edit

Masked EditAn edit field with a mask in the text field. The masked edit can receive only a digit where “#” is used and a digit or a character where “?” is used. In the “Text” field from the “Properties” pane, you can set your own custom format for the data entered in the masked edit box.

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Scrollable Edit Box

ScrollableDisplays an RTF text. A common use for this control is displaying the license agreement.

Icon

IconDisplays a static picture of an icon.

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Image

ImageThe control displays a static .JPEG, .JPG or .BMP picture file.

NoteBy enabling the Enhanced User Interface you can also display animated .GIF or transparent .PNG files. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

Horizontal Line

Horizontal LineDisplays a horizontal line.

Vertical Line

Vertical LineDisplays a vertical line.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

Combo Box

Combo BoxThe control displays a drop-down list of predefined values and an edit field into which the user can enter a value. In order to set the combo box’s values, you can double-click it or from the context menu select Control Data Dialog and add your values. The final value of the combo box (the one that is showed in the combo’s edit field) will be stored in the property specified in the “Property Name” field from the “Properties” pane.

List Box

List BoxThe control is a regular list box that enables the user to make a single selection from a list of predetermined values. These values can be set by double-clicking the control or by selecting from the context menu the Control Data Dialog and adding them. The final value of the list box will be stored in the property specified in the “Property Name” field from the “Properties” pane.

NoteThe “Sort By Index” flag allows you to sort the values in the list box by their index or alphabetically.

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List View

List ViewThe control that displays a single column of values with an icon next to each item. It enables the user to select a single string or integer value for a property from a predetermined list. These values can be set by double-clicking the control or by selecting from the context menu the Control Data Dialog and adding them. The final value of the list view will be stored in the property specified in the “Property Name” field from “Properties” pane.

Check List

Check ListThe control is a regular list box with check-boxes, that enables the user to make a multiple selection from a list of predetermined values. These values can be set by double-clicking by double-clicking the control or by selecting from the context menu the Control Data Dialog and adding them. When multiple items are selected, their comma separated values will be stored in the property specified in the “Property Name” field from the “Properties” pane. You can customize the separator token to be used for multiple selected values.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

Directory List

Directory ListThis control displays a part of the path that is currently displayed in the Path Edit control. The Directory List control displays the folders below the directory currently displayed by the Directory Combo control. This control is usually used in a “Browse” dialog (you can see an example in the “BrowseDlg” dialog under “FolderDlg”).

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Volume Cost List

Volume Cost ListThe Volume CostList control presents information about the cost associated with the selection on the different volumes. The control shows all the volumes involved in the current installation plus all volumes that are of the types specified in the attribute bits. If the required disk space exceeds the amount available on some drive, the volume is highlighted in the table. Clicking a column header sorts the volumes according to the chosen column.

Directory Combo

Directory ComboThis control displays a part of the path that is currently displayed in the Path Edit control. It does not show the last segment of the path, that segment is displayed by the Directory List control. For this control you can set the flags RemovableVolume, FixedVolume, RemoteVolume, CDROMVolume, RAMDiskVolume, and FloppyVolume according to your needs.

NoteThis control must use the same property used by the Path Edit control.

Volume Select Combo

volume Select ComboThe control enables the user to select a volume from an alphabetical list of volumes. The types of volumes displayed in the list are specified using bits associated with RemovableVolume, FixedVolume, RemoteVolume, CDROMVolume, RAMDiskVolume, and FloppyVolume control attributes.

Selection Tree

Selection TreeThis control enables a user to change the selection state of features listed in the Feature table. The control is associated with a string valued property that the user can set by a Browse dialog.

Quick Selection Tree

Quick Selection TreeThe Quick Selection Tree is an improvement to the simple Selection Tree. The regular Selection Tree control offers a drop-down menu for each feature where you select whether that feature will or will not be installed. The Quick Selection Tree control replaces the drop-down menu with checkboxes.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

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Quick Selection List

Quick Selection ListThe Quick Selection List is a feature selection control just like the Selection Tree or Quick Selection Tree. In addition to its siblings, this control brings the possibility to prepend an icon to each listed feature.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

Prerequisite Selector

Prerequisite SelectorThe Prerequisite Selector displays the feature-based prerequisites states. It also allows the user to select which prerequisite to install.

Prerequisites are displayed together with additional information like: required versions, versions found on target computer and action that will be performed.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

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Progress

ProgressA bar that changes its length as it receives progress messages. If you set the “Progress 95” flag then the bar is drawn as a series of small rectangles in Microsoft Windows 95 style.

NoteThis control requires a “Display installation progress”subscribed event with the “Progress” attribute.

Styled Progress

Styled ProgressA styled bar that changes its length as it receives progress messages.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

Billboard Host

Billboard HostThis control displays commonly used billboard controls.

The following controls can be placed on a billboard host control:

  • Static Text
  • Scrollable Text
  • Line
  • Group Box
  • Icon
  • Image

Billboard host controls are most typically associated with progress actions. For details, please check the Using Billboards tutorial.

NoteYou can add only one billboard host control on a dialog.

Adding a Billboard Host control

New ControlUse the [New Control ] toolbar button or the Toolbox.

The billboard host control is not actually visible on the dialog. It displays some “views” referred to as billboards that will contain the billboard controls. When the billboard host is added to the dialog it contains a view.

As billboards most common use is to display images or text during a long operation, the billboard host control is automatically subscribed to the SetProgress Event.

To switch among the billboards of the billboard host, select them in the “Billboards” list from the Properties pane.

Adding a new billboard to the project

Select the billboard host control on the dialog and from the context menu choose the “Edit Billboards” option. TheBillboards will be displayed allowing you to create a new billboard or edit an existing one.

HyperlinkThe Hyperlink control displays an HTML link to an address, which opens in the default browser for the computer.

The link label is specified by the “Text” control atrribute. To have only part of the label act as a link, you should mark the link part using the anchor HTML tags - and.

HTML Host

HTML HostThe HTML Host control displays an HTML page from a given URL or a local file. The associated HTML page can be static or dynamic by using JavaScript (embedded or external).

For more information about using the HTML Host control and its APIs read this article .

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface .

Tab Host

Tab HostThe Tab Host control includes a list of child dialogs. The child dialogs’ titles represent the tab’s name in the control, whereas each dialog’s content will be displayed when the user selects its corresponding tab.

With this control the user can choose to navigate to the dialog’s tab inside the Tab Host control, only if he wants to customize its associated settings.

The tabs content and visibility inside the Tab Host control can be defined and conditioned from the “Child Dialogs” Dialog . This dialog can be accesed from the Tab Host control’s “Child Dialogs…” context menu or by double clicking it in the dialog editor.

NoteAdding this control will automatically enable the Enhanced User Interface. You can read more about it in the Enhanced User Interface article.

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  • Title: Advanced Techniques in Software Setup: How to Ensure Precision with Installer Controls
  • Author: Joseph
  • Created at : 2024-10-13 03:19:55
  • Updated at : 2024-10-16 16:26:09
  • Link: https://fox-sure.techidaily.com/advanced-techniques-in-software-setup-how-to-ensure-precision-with-installer-controls/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.