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1996-12-05
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INSTALLATION PRO
================
Version 3.3
Release B
Copyright (C) 1990-1996
BMB Software
P. O. Box 1071
West Springfield, MA 01090-1071
Phone: (413) 746-9478
FAX: (413) 746-9523
BBS: (413) 731-1155
Table of Contents Page
================= ====
Introduction................................................ 1
Getting Started............................................. 1
Product Description......................................... 1
System Requirements......................................... 2
Installing the Software (from diskette)..................... 2
Editing Keys................................................ 3
Creating a Title............................................ 3
Product Name................................................ 3
Product Version............................................. 3
Installation Screen Title................................... 4
Selecting Screen Colors..................................... 5
Title Color................................................. 5
Menu Color.................................................. 6
Query Line Color............................................ 6
The Installation Diskette Set............................... 6
Number of Diskettes......................................... 6
Insert Alert................................................ 6
Volume IDs.................................................. 6
Checking Target System...................................... 7
Viewing an Inro File........................................ 7
Checking for Free Disk Space................................ 7
Checking Target System Base RAM............................. 8
Continuing with Less RAM.................................... 8
Checking for DOS Versions................................... 8
DOS Versions................................................ 8
CPU Type.................................................... 9
Math Co-Processor........................................... 9
Continuing w/o a Math Co-Processor.......................... 9
Monitor Type................................................ 9
Default Source Drive........................................ 9
Default Destination Drive................................... 10
Creating Directories........................................ 10
Directory Creation Messages................................. 10
Copying Files............................................... 12
Source Files................................................ 12
Destination................................................. 13
Copy Codes.................................................. 14
Scrolling Region............................................ 15
File Viewing................................................ 16
Name of Viewing File........................................ 16
Viewing Disk Number......................................... 17
Executing Another Program................................... 17
File Execution.............................................. 17
Execution Disk Number....................................... 18
Re-Booting Target System.................................... 18
Security/Other Function..................................... 18
Security Command Line....................................... 18
Security Drive.............................................. 19
i
Table of Contents (continued) Page
================= ====
Before or After............................................. 19
Check ICA................................................... 20
Modifying System Files...................................... 20
Modifying AUTOEXEC.BAT...................................... 20
Primary Path................................................ 20
Secondary Path.............................................. 21
Adding AUTOEXEC.BAT Lines................................... 22
Modifying CONFIG.SYS........................................ 22
CONFIG.SYS FILES Option..................................... 22
CONFIG.SYS BUFFERS Option................................... 22
Adding CONFIG.SYS Lines..................................... 22
Custom BATCH................................................ 23
Directing the Output File (for the INSTALL.EXE program)..... 23
Output File Spec............................................ 23
Terminating................................................. 24
The INSTALL Program......................................... 24
The Introductory Screen..................................... 25
The NEEDS Screen............................................ 26
Source Drive Screen......................................... 28
Destination Path Screen..................................... 28
Insert Diskette Screen...................................... 29
Performing Security/Other Function.......................... 29
The AUTOEXEC.BAT Screen..................................... 30
The CONFIG.SYS Screen....................................... 30
The File Viewing Screen..................................... 31
Re-Booting Screen........................................... 31
The Final Screen............................................ 31
File Compression............................................ 32
Splitting Files............................................. 33
Examples.................................................... 33
BLDSPLIT.................................................... 37
File to Split............................................... 37
Fit to Floppy............................................... 38
Vol. Labels?................................................ 38
Drive?...................................................... 38
All Same?................................................... 38
KBytes?..................................................... 38
Error Messages.............................................. 39
ii
Introduction
Thank you for trying BMB Software's Installation Pro, herein
referred to as IPro. Registering the software will enable you
to obtain free technical support by phone, FAX, and BBS.
Should you need clarification for an answer to a question
while using Installation Pro (herein referred to as IPro)
press the <F1> key for help. If that does not give you
enough information, then please read the manual carefully
before calling for support. Best method to obtain help is
to FAX questions to BMB Software or post a message to SYSOP
on the BMB Software BBS. Thank you.
Getting Started
If you downloaded this program as a .ZIP archive file, then
just create subdirectory (like \IPRO) and unZIP the file
into that directory and run MAKEINST to start the program.
If you obtained IPro on diskette with an INSTALL program on
it, then the INSTALL program will place the files in the
directory that it (optionally) creates. You may then read
the defaults from the INSTALL.EXE program on diskette to see
how that INSTALL.EXE program was generated.
If during the installation process, you were presented a file
for viewing, then that file will reside in the same directory
as Installation Pro. If so, this file is an ASCII file and can
be PRINTed or TYPEd from the DOS prompt.
Product Description
The Installation Pro product is made up of one file called
MAKEINST.EXE. This file's name is a acronym for MAKE
INSTall. This program will generate a customized
executable file (named INSTALL.EXE by default) for
installation of your software product after answering a series
of questions about your software product requirements.
There are no script files to copy along with the installation
program. You don't need any compiler or specific computer
language knowledge because there is no compiling to
perform to get your executable. You don't have to spend
time editing source code, compiling, and maintaining your
installation program. This leaves more time to spend on
your software product or other area of your business.
Making big or small changes is easy. Just read the defaults
from the INSTALL.EXE program that you want to make
changes to and all your previous answers will appear as the
1
default answers in the MAKEINST.EXE program. Now all
you have to do is change the ones you wish.
System Requirements
The following requirements are required or strongly suggested:
- IBM AT/286/386/486/586 computer
- MS-DOS or PC-DOS version 2.1 or later
- Hard disk
- One floppy drive (360K or better)
- 80 column monitor (color monitor preferred)
Although MAKEINST.EXE will run on a monochrome monitor, the
color chart used for selecting various screen colors will be
difficult to use.
Installing the Software (from diskette)
Installing Installation Pro is very simple because Installation
Pro was used to create its own installation program. It will
create a directory called 'IPro' which will contain the Instal-
lation Pro files.
If you allow the installation program to modify/create your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file at installation time, then Installation
Pro will have added itself to your path statement. This will
allow you to use the MAKEINST.EXE file from anywhere on your
system. If you like, you can put the MAKEINST.EXE file in your
DOS or UTILITY directory if you have one. However, it is best
to have an IPro directory for Installation Pro.
You may install the software in one of two ways:
- Make the drive you are installing from the default drive and
then typing 'INSTALL' without the quotes, or...
- Type the letter of the drive where the installation
diskette(s) is(are). If you are installing Installation
Pro from drive B: then you would type B:\INSTALL
We know that you, the reader, a software developer, will be all
too familiar with these procedures. However these instructions
are not here to insult you, but are for the occasional reader
who may not be familiar with MS-DOS PC-DOS
systems.
Note: You can force either the INSTALL.EXE program or the
2
MAKEINST.EXE program to monochrome monitor mode by
invoking either program with the /B switch.
Editing Keys
When queried for input from INSTALL.EXE, MAKEINST.EXE, or
BLDSPLIT.EXE, a number of editing keys can be used to facilitate
input. The following keys can be used:
Home Places cursor at beginning of line.
End Places cursor at end of line.
Right-Arrow Moves cursor one place to the right in field.
Left-Arrow Moves cursor one place to the left in field.
Up-Arrow Moves cursor to the previous field.
Down-Arrow Same function as <Enter> key.
Insert Toggles between insert mode and overstrike mode.
Enter Accepts input and moves cursor to next field or
starts program action.
Delete Deletes character at cursor position.
Creating a Title
Product Name
The Product Name you choose should accurately reflect your
software product. It will be displayed at various places in
the generated installation routine depending upon which
options you selected at generation time. You have 20
characters available for a Product Name. Installation Pro's
default for this entry is 'Soft-Product'.
If your product was 'Best Word Processor for DOS', you
might want to use just 'Best Word' as a product name for the
installation routine. Installation Pro will use the correct
grammatical possessive s ('s) or simply an apostrophe if your
Product Name ends in the letter "s."
Product Version
This entry asks you to enter the version of the product for
which you want to generate the installation routine. You
may enter any seven characters for your Product Version. It
3
may begin with a 'V' for Version, a 'T' for a Test version, or
any other letter or no letter at all. You may even blank out
the entire entry for no version number at all. Some example
entries are 'V1.2b', 'T0.91', 'X3.3ab', etc.
Installation Screen Title
Installation Pro automatically creates a screen title for you
from the following responses:
- Product Name
- Product Version
- Title Color
When you answer the first two questions, Product Name and Product
Version, Installation Pro creates the following title that will
appear in your installation routine during the entire course of
the installation. If your response to the Product Name question
was 'Installation Pro' and your response to the Product Version
question was 'V1.2a' then the following title would have been
created for you:
"Installation Pro V1.2a Installation Program"
The above title could then be edited to anything you would like
as a title. Remember, that if you go back to a previous question,
i.e., the Product Name or the Product Version question, the
edited title will be replaced by the Installation Pro created
title and you will have to re-edit your custom title.
The title color question comes after the title question and you
can use the F1 help key to view a color combination chart for the
available foreground and background colors.
The title banner has been broken down into three lines and there
are 4 thirty-four character fields that can be used to display
any information about your company or any other information that
you choose. The title banner will appear in one of the following
formats according to the information you entered:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗│
│║ The Centered and Bold White Title ║│
│╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝│
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
No top or bottom information was entered.
4
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Top Left Info Top Right Info │
│ The Centered and Bold White Title │
│ Bottom Left Info Bottom Right Info │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Top and bottom information was entered. It can be both left
and right but only right or left is required.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ The Centered and Bold White Title │
│ │
│ Bottom Left Info Bottom Right Info │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
No top information was entered. Bottom information was entered.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Top Left Info Top Right Info │
│ │
│ The Centered and Bold White Title │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
No bottom information was entered. Top information was entered.
(Note: The maximum title length is 70 characters. The title
will appear in a double-lined box in your choice of
colors, shadowed on a dithered white background.)
Your company name could also appear in the title. The BMB
Software company name will not appear anywhere in the
installation routine but it is embedded in the .EXEs along
with your registered serial number.
Selecting Screen Colors
Title Color
Enter the color combination you want for your installation
screen title. To get help about the possible color combina-
tions entries, press function key F1 on your keyboard. This
action will cause a color chart of the 127 possible color
combinations that are available to you, to be displayed on
your monitor. Then, remember the number of the color
combination that you wanted and press any key on your
keyboard. This will return you to the entry screen where
you may enter the number you selected.
BMB Software has picked color combinations that are tasteful.
Moreover, these colors will also display on monochrome monitor
should Installation Pro fail to detect the monitor type. There
are a few systems out there that do not completely comply with
the IBM video standards. And, a few large computer companies
have made systems with monochrome CGA monitors and graphic cards.
5
While some of the color combinations may be recognizable
on these systems, BMB Software has precluded this condition by
selecting black as the foreground color on colored backgrounds
or brightly colored foreground colors on dark backgrounds.
However, if you know what type of system your installation will
run on, then use any color combination you like.
When Installation Pro detects a monochrome monitor, it will
display all of the screens in color combinations of 7 and 112.
Menu Color
Most of what applies for title color, applies for menu color
also. The menu is the box that appears at the bottom of the
installation screen and allows the user to make choices
concerning the installation.
Query Line Color
The query line is a line that pops up and prompts the user
for input. You can only select a color combination for the
input area of the question. This selection is similar to the
previous two.
The Installation Diskette Set
Number of Diskettes
This entry is a simple one. You enter the number of dis-
kettes that your software product requires for installation.
Remember to leave about 100K of space on one of the
diskettes (preferably the first one) for the install program
plus space for any 'README.DOC' or such files if they are not
already on your volume set, either in ASCII or in a
self- extracting compressed archive file. You may want to
leave this 'README.DOC' file in an ASCII format on your
installation set even if you are using a compressed format.
This will allow for a quick file update without having to
re-compress your archive.
Insert Alert
Answer 'Y' to the 'Insert Alert' question if you'd like a
couple of musical notes to play alerting the user to insert
another diskette into the drive.
Volume IDs
Selecting Volume ID checking is a good way to ensure that
the correct diskette is placed in the drive during installation
6
of your software product. Installation Pro will check the
Volume ID of the diskette before performing any copy
operations on it. Volume IDs can consist of any character
that is valid under MS-DOS rules for Volume IDs.
Examples of Volume IDs are:
IProV32-1
IProV32-2
BMBINST1
MYPROG2
The volume label must also end with the number of the diskette
that it is on. For example: VOLUME-1 or NEWSOFT31
Installation Pro will compare the Volume ID on the diskette by
converting all lower case letters to upper case and removing
leading, trailing, and embedded spaces on both the Volume ID
on the diskette and the Volume ID that you entered in response
to the MAKEINST.EXE program question(s).
If there's a match, then the installation will continue. If
there's a mismatch, then Installation Pro will ask the user to
insert the correct diskette and try again. The user will also
have the option to quit the installation at that time.
It is a good idea to put the phrasing "Disk m of n" (where m
is the disk number and n is the total number of diskettes in
the installation set) on each diskette in the installation set.
This will enable the user to easily find the correct diskette
to insert. You may also want to identify the diskette that has
the INSTALL program on it.
Checking Target System
Viewing an Inro File
There is an option to view an introduction file at the beginning
of the installation. When this option is used, the volume
checking feature must also be used. This option allows the user
to check for certain things before beginning the installation.
IPro will ask where this file resides. It must reside on one
of the installation diskettes and preferably the first one.
The user has the option to quit the installation on the
following screen.
Checking for Free Disk Space
If you select this option, then Installation Pro will check the
amount of free space on the destination disk drive that the
user selects. If that amount is less that what you specified,
7
then the user will be informed and given the opportunity to
select another disk drive or quit the installation routine.
The minimum free disk space allowed is 100,000 bytes. The
maximum allowed is 32,000,000. The value entered is in
bytes. Remember, if you are using file compression for your
software product, that the amount of free space needed is for
the un-compressed files on the destination disk drive. If you
are also copying the INSTALL program to the destination
disk drive, then don't forget to add its program size to the
total. If your software creates files when first started then
don't forget to allow for that too. You may also want to
allow for temp files, etc.
Checking Target System Base RAM
If your software product requires a minimum amount of RAM
in the target system, then select this option. The value
entered is in kilobytes. The minimum value allowed is 128K
bytes of base RAM. The maximum value is 16 megabytes of memory
or 16384K. If you enter 8192 kilobytes for a system require-
ment, IPro will assume 1024 kilobytes (1M) is base and shadow
memory and the remaining 7 megs is extended memory.
If Installation Pro finds less base RAM in the target system
than the amount you specified then the user will be informed
that more base RAM must be added to the system before the
user will be allowed to continue with the installation
procedure. The exception follows:
Continuing with Less RAM
You may elect this option if you want your user to continue
the installation procedure when Installation Pro has detected
less RAM than you specified. The user will be informed that
more RAM is needed to execute your software product but may
continue with the installation and add more RAM and a later time.
Checking for DOS Versions
If your software product executes with any version of DOS
then you may not need this option. However, even if you
do not elect this option, Installation Pro will always check
that the target system has at least DOS version 2.00 as a
minimum because that is what Installation Pro requires for
its own execution.
DOS Versions
DOS version numbers are composed of a major version and
8
a minor version separated by a period. DOS version 3.3 has
a major version number of 3 and a minor version of 30.
The major version is a single digit while the minor version
is a double digit.
CPU Type
The target system's CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be
checked if your software product requires a CPU that is
greater than the Intel 8088 or 8086 CPU. If your software
product will execute on the 8088 type (compatible) of CPU
then there is no need to check since this is the minimum for
any IBM PC or compatible. If your software product
requires an 80286 or 80386+ type of CPU then you may
check the target system for that type of CPU. If a lesser
CPU is detected than what you require, the user is informed
and the installation process is terminated.
Math Co-Processor
If your software product requires a math co-processor for its
execution then you may elect this option. This option will
check the target system for the presence of a math co-
processor and will inform the user if one is required and
none was found. The installation process will terminate
unless the following option is exercised:
Continuing w/o a Math Co-Processor
Select this option if want to allow your user to install your
software product, which requires a math co-processor, even
if they don't have the required hardware, namely a math co-
processor. Installation Pro will inform the user that they will
be allowed to continue with the installation but must add a
math co-processor at a later time. If this option is not
selected and you require a math co-processor then Installation
Pro will inform the user that a math coprocessor was not found
on the target system and will terminate the installation process.
Monitor Type
Select monitor checking if you wish to have Installation Pro
check for a minimum monitor type. You can check for a CGA,
EGA, or VGA graphics as a requirement for your software.
If your software will run on anything, then there's no need to
check. An 'Continue with a lesser monitor' option is available
to you.
Default Source Drive
9
The default source drive is the diskette drive that will be the
Installation Pro default source drive for the installation of
your software product if Installation Pro is unable to find the
source drive on its own. This drive should be drive A:.
However, the user will still have the option of changing the
source drive at installation time.
Default Destination Drive
The default destination drive is the drive on which you want
your software product installed. Normally, this will be the
C: drive on the target system. This is also the drive that
Installation Pro expects to find the AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS system files.
Creating Directories
There are three possible answers to the Create Directories
question. They are 'N', 'Y', and 'Z'.
The 'N' answer stands for 'No' and you will not be asked for
the number of directories to be created nor their names.
The 'Y' and 'Z' answers stand for 'Yes' answers and you will
be asked for the number of directories to create and their
names.
However, the 'Z' response will also ask you for the directory
file extension name while the 'Y' answer will not. In other
words, if you want to create directories with file extensions
then answer 'Z'. The de facto standard for DOS directories
is to create them without extensions, but you may create
them with extensions if you like.
Directory Creation Messages
If you answered 'Y' or 'Z' to the create directories question,
then IPro asks if you want messages to inform the user that
one or more directories alread exists and what the user can
do to prevent from overwriting existing files. If you know
you are updating files and the directory will most likely
exist, then you can answer 'N' the this question.
Creating directories with Installation Pro is very easy once
you understand the mechanism. A total of fourteen
directories/subdirectories can be created by the installation
routine on the target disk drive. Fourteen directories right
off the root directory can be created or one directory off
the root and thirteen levels of subdirectories off of the
first. Any combination of the previous two scenarios is possible.
10
A directory that will be created right off the root must begin
with a '\' (backslash) character. This tells the installation
routine to create a directory right from the target drive's root.
Next, to create a subdirectory off the previously created
directory, you simply enter its name. To create another
directory at the same level, you enter its name preceded by a
'+' (plus sign). This tells the installation routine to create
another directory at the same level as the previous one.
Here are a couple of examples:
Let us say you want to create a directory off the root
directory called 'MYPROGS'. You also want to create two
directories off of that one at equal levels called 'MYDATA'
and 'MYTEXT'. The graphical tree would look as follows:
ROOT
C:
\
|
+--MYPROGS--+
|
+---MYDATA
|
+---MYTEXT
The entries required to create the previous illustration are as
follows:
\MYPROGS
MYDATA
+MYTEXT
Note: The first entry is also known to Installation Pro as
the primary directory.
Let us say you have entered the following 9 entries to create
directories:
\PROGS
DATA1
+DATA2
+DATA3
TEXT
\PROGS2
LIB
+BIN
SRC
The resulting directory tree created from the previous 9
11
directory entries would look like this:
ROOT
C:
\
|
+---PROGS---+
| |
| +---DATA1
| |
| +---DATA2
| |
| +---DATA3---+
| |
| +---TEXT
+---PROGS2--+
|
+----LIB
|
+----BIN----+
|
+----SRC
You cannot go back one level without going all the way to
the root directory.
This should not pose a problem in most cases. If you
wanted to create the TEXT directory off of DATA1 instead
of DATA3, just create DATA2 and DATA3 first and then
create DATA1 and then TEXT.
Copying Files
Copying files requires three parameters as follows:
source file(s)
destination
copy code (Abbreviated 'CpC' on entry screen.)
A Copy Operation consists of one of each of the above.
Each diskette in the installation set of diskettes can contain
up to three of the above Copy Operations.
Source Files
Source files are the files that will be copied. They are your
software product's files.
The source parameter is a file specification consisting of 21
characters. It may contain wildcards and subdirectories.
12
Valid examples are:
*.*
MY*.EXE
*.COM
MY*.*
SUBDIR\*.*
DATA\*.DAT
MATH\*.EXE
ONLYTHIS.FIL
The source file specification should never begin with a
backslash character. In fact, Installation Pro will not let
you put one in because it will put one in at installation time.
However, if you have a subdirectory on your installation
diskette, you may start the source file specification with a
directory name followed by a backslash and then the name of
your file. For example:
SUBDIR\*.DAT
INSTALL would add the source drive and a backslash to it making
it look like the following file specification:
A:\SUBDIR\*.DAT
Destination
The destination parameter for your files consists of one or
more directories/subdirectories only. Do not enter drive
letters, filenames, or wildcard characters. The destination
should match the first directory you created, that way any
change that the user makes at installation time will be
reflected in the destination by Installation Pro.
Let us say, for example, the primary directory that you
wanted to create was '\MYDIR' and this was also your
destination specification, and then the user changed the
default destination drive (C:) to D: and the primary des-
tination to '\USER'. INSTALL would then copy your files
to 'D:\USER' and this change would also be reflected in the
changes to the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files if
those options were exercised.
Note: INSTALL will only make changes to the AUTOEXEC.BAT
and CONFIG.SYS system files if the primary directory
was utilized in those files and only if those changes
do not already exist in the user's system files.
If you have a destination of \MYDIR\SUB1, you can only use
13
the X and the E copy codes if \MYDIR is your primary directory.
Copy Codes
Copy codes (abbreviated CpC on the input screen) control
the file copying operation during installation. The codes are
always active even when their corresponding options are not
selected. For example, let us say, you chose to check for a
math co-processor in the target system and one was not
detected, and you allowed the user to continue the
installation without one, then if you had a copy code of 7 for
a copy operation, the files would not be copied.
| Omitted-\
| Omitted---> Replaced with bargraphs.
| Omitted-/
The following table tells you what the valid copy codes are
and what their function is:
- C Copies files. Wildcards allowed.
- X Does not copy a file but executes it on the source
drive. The file is executed from the destination's
primary directory or a subdirectory that is off the
primary directory, so if the executable file generates
output to a default directory, then the output goes
here. Generally, this is the code to use for executing
self-extracting archives files. No wildcards allowed.
- E Copies a file and executes it in the primary destination
directory/subdirectory on the destination drive. Use
to copy a self-extracting archive file and then
executing it from where it's been copied. This will
leave the file at the destination. No wildcards allowed.
- 3 Copies files only if an 80386 or an 80486 is detected
on the target system. Wildcards allowed.
- 5 Copies files only if an 80286 or greater CPU is detected
on the target system. Wildcards allowed.
- 7 Copies files only if a math coprocessor is detected in
the target system. Wildcards allowed.
- F Marks the first part of a multi-part self-extracting
archive file. Always changes the file extension to .EXE.
- G Similar to copy code 'F' but retains the file name
extension that it found for this file part.
- I Marks an intermediate part of a multi-part self-extracting
archive file.
- L Marks the last part of a multi-part self-extracting
archive file. This will also cause the file to execute.
The file will be deleted after execution.
- M Similar to copy code 'L' in that it marks the last part
of a multi-part file. However, the file will not execute
14
and will not be deleted afterwards.
The above copy codes are the only valid codes for
copy operations. Installation Pro will not accept any other
characters.
When using copy code 'F' to mark the first part of a multi-
part file, you should mark the last part of the file with the 'L'
copy code. This 'F' code will rename the file with an .EXE
extension. The 'L' code will close the file after the last part
has been appended, execute it, and then delete it. You can
see that this pair of codes was meant to be used with self-
extracting archive type of files.
Similarly, the 'G' copy code should be paired with the 'M'
copy code. The file will retain the name that was marked
with the 'G' code, and the 'M' code will append the last part
to the file and close it. No file execution or deletion will
occur. This pair of codes could be used for a large database
that you do not want to compress or can't compress.
Installation Pro will prompt you for the source, destination,
and the copy code for each copy operation for each diskette
in the installation set. You may have nine copy operations
per diskette and up to nine diskettes. This gives you a total
of 81 copy operations per installation diskette set. You
could also use the Installation Pro's file execution feature at
the end of your installation to execute another program
which could be another installation program (possibly named
INSTALL2.EXE) which could install another nine diskettes,
etc. Again, using Volume IDs could ensure that the correct
diskette has been inserted in the source drive when many
diskettes are involved.
When all copy operations have been entered and you are
satisfied that they are correct, answer "Y" (Yes) to the
question:
"Are ALL copy operations complete?"
This will take you to the next input screen. Answering "N"
(No) will take you back to the first copy operation for
diskette number 1.
Scrolling Region
During the installation process, the screen may rearrange
itself because of the possibility of scrolling. When this
happens, the title portion of the screen repositions itself at
the bottom of the screen below a line of up-arrows. This
15
action keeps the installation screen title on the screen at all
times. The copy codes that can make this happen are 'E',
'X', and 'L'.
File Viewing
If you elect this option, you will be asked for the name of
the file and where it is located. This file will automatically
pop up in a scrollable window during the installation process
for the user's viewing after all copy operations have been
performed.
This unique feature of Installation Pro has a variety of uses.
It can be used to:
- Convey the latest features of your software.
- Alert the user about errors or omissions in the documentation.
- Inform the user of subtle bugs for this release.
- Advertise.
- Remind the user to fill out his/her registration cards, etc.
- All of the above.
The use of this feature can reduce the number of support calls
from users who fail to read the installation documentation.
The file is limited to plain ASCII text and can be up to
15,000 lines long. Each line of text can be up to 78 characters
in length. You may want to space indent each line to provide
some white space for ease in viewing.
Name of Viewing File
The file specification for the name of the file to view con-
sists of a directory and the file name and file extension. In
most cases, you do not need to have a directory name before
the file name. If you include a directory name, then it must
not begin with a "\" (backslash) character.
If your viewing file will be viewed from a diskette, then the
file must reside in the root directory of the diskette unless it
is preceded by a subdirectory name. In that case, there must
be a corresponding directory on the diskette which holds the
viewing file.
Here's an example:
README.DOC
SUB\READ.ME
If your source drive is A:, then Installation Pro will compose
16
the above file specifications to:
A:\README.DOC
A:\SUB\READ.ME
If the viewing file will be copied to the destination drive
during installation, then the file must be in the main directory
that was created by Installation Pro. And again, if the viewing
file specification contains a directory, it must be only one
level down from the main directory. Some examples are:
README.DOC
TEXT\READ.ME
If the destination drive was C:, and the main directory was
NEWDIR then Installation Pro will compose the file specification
to:
C:\NEWDIR\README.DOC
C:\NEWDIR\TEXT\READ.ME
It will be quicker to view a file that is on a hard disk than
one that is on a diskette. If the file is copied to the
destination drive and directory for viewing it will also remain
there afterwards and the user may TYPE or PRINT it after
installation.
Viewing Disk Number
If you're going to have the user view a file from one of the
installation diskettes, then just enter the number of the
diskette where it can be found. If it's on the last disk,
Installation Pro will read it after all the copy operations are
finished. If the viewing file will be copied to the desti-
nation, then enter zero and Installation Pro will look for it on
the destination drive:\directory.
Executing Another Program
When Installation Pro is finished installing your software
product, you have the option to either execute another
program or give the user the option to re-boot the target
system. Obviously, you can't do both; at least not easily.
File Execution
If you select this option, then you will not be able to give
the user the re-boot option for the target system. Instead,
you will be asked for the name of the file that you want
executed. The file can be a .COM, .EXE, or .BAT file. IPro
17
will not check to see if the file exists first, so anything
can be put in the file specification, such as switches and/or
placeholders.
Execution Disk Number
The rules for the location of the program that will be
executed are the same as the ones for File Viewing. See
that topic for more information.
Re-Booting Target System
If you did not elect File Execution, then you have the option
of giving your user the ability to re-boot the target system at
the end of the installation process. Giving the user this
option will place an additional choice in the menu allowing
the user to WARM RE-BOOT the target system by selecting
it from the menu. The menu's default choice will be to
"Quit" the installation. No matter what choice the user
makes, a message will be displayed at the end stating
whether the installation was successful or not.
Security/Other Function
This option can be used for a variety of reasons. If you
need to execute copy protection software, file de-
compression software, or other program necessary for
installation of your software product, then this is the option
you want to exercise.
If you answer "Y" to the question about executing an
other/security program then you will be asked three addi-
tional questions. Answering "N" will skip the next three
questions. The word "security" will be used for simplicity
throughout this chapter but can mean file de-compression,
etc.
Security Command Line
You have 40 characters that you can enter for your com-
mand line for execution of your required program. The
following placeholders are valid for program command line
parameters:
Placeholder Parameter
----------- -----------
%S Is replaced by the source drive that the
user selected for the installation.
%D Is replaced by the destination drive that
18
the user selected for the installation.
%P Is replaced by the destination path, that is,
the \directory that the user selected as their
primary path for installation.
%B Is replaced at installation time with the
default boot drive letter that you entered
at installation generation time.
%Q Is replaced by the directory name number two
if you entered one at installation generation
time.
As an example, we will use the following sample command line to
execute a copy protection program:
EVMOVE %S %D /Z
Installation Pro would translate (replace the placeholders with
actual program values) this line to look like this:
EVMOVE A: C: /Z
if A: was what the user selected as his/her source drive, and C:
was the user's designated destination drive. Adding %P just
before the %D in the sample line above would yield:
EVMOVE A: C:\MYDIR /Z
again if C:\MYDIR was the user selected drive:\directory path.
Security Drive
This is the diskette number that your security/other program
resides on. Of course, if it has been copied to a hard drive,
then the security diskette number would be zero (0).
Installation Pro will prompt the user to insert the correct
diskette to execute the program. Installation Pro will always
append the source drive and a backslash to the beginning of the
command line if the security/other program is on a diskette.
If the source drive was B: our sample command line would end up
looking like this:
B:\EVMOVE A: C:\MYDIR /Z
Nothing else on the line will change except the placeholders.
Before or After
19
This tells Installation Pro when to execute the security/other
program. 'Before' means to execute the program before the
copying of the files. 'After' means to execute it right after
the file copying operation(s).
Check ICA
In the Security/Other Function area, you can check the ICA.
Any one of the ICA's (Intra-application Communications Area)
16 bytes can be checked for any value. This allows Installation
Pro to know if the Security/Other function executed successfully.
You can also put in your own custom error message (40 characters)
or leave it blank and Installation Pro will put one in for you.
Modifying System Files
The term 'System Files' in this section refer to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT and the CONFIG.SYS files.
If you choose to modify either of the system files, and one or
both files does not exist, Installation Pro will create them
for you on the default destination drive that you specified as
the default destination drive. The user cannot change this
drive during installation.
In most cases, drive 'C:' will be what you want. However, if
you are distributing software to known system configurations,
you may want to change this drive letter to something other
than 'C:'.
Note: The user will always have the final option of whether
to let the changes to their system files take place.
If the user elects not to have Installation Pro make the
changes to the system files, Installation Pro will leave
the changes in files named AUTOEXEC.BTA and CONFIG.SSY
in the primary installation directory.
Modifying AUTOEXEC.BAT
If you choose this option then you will be allowed to make up
to 5 modifications to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Those are options
are:
Primary path
Secondary path
Additional line 1
Additional line 2
Additional line 3
Primary Path
20
Installation Pro will add the primary path to the path in
the user's AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Installation Pro will not add this primary path to the user's
current path statement if it finds that it is already there.
If the path is longer than 70 characters, Installation Pro will
create an additional path statement appending the original to
the newly created one.
The path that you enter should correspond to the primary
directory that you created in the Create Directories section.
When they correspond, any change that the user makes during
installation will be reflected in this path also. If they do
not correspond, Installation Pro will not change this path to
reflect a change that the user might have made during the
installation process. This may give you a file path that is
invalid, since it may not exist.
If you want to leave the path statement in the user's
AUTOEXEC.BAT file alone, then enter a zero (0) as the primary
path.
Secondary Path
The secondary path is similar to the first.
It contains the primary path in addition to a secondary
directory. This secondary directory should be one of the
directories that you created for your installation. This
secondary path can change if the user elects to change the
destination directory where your product is installed.
However, since the user can only change the primary directory,
only that part of the secondary path will change. Here's an
example:
You chose the default destination drive as drive C: and to
create two directories for your software product as follows:
\NEWDIR
DATA
During an installation in which the user accepts all the
defaults that you specified, the paths added to the user's
AUTOEXEC.BAT file will be:
C:\NEWDIR
C:\NEWDIR\DATA
Now suppose the user changes the default destination drive
21
from C: to D:, and changes the primary directory from \NEWDIR
to \MYDIR, then the following paths would be added:
D:\MYDIR
D:\MYDIR\DATA
As you can see from the previous examples, your software
would still be able to create files in your DATA subdirectory
even though the primary directory was changed. Remember, the
user is only allowed to change the primary directory.
Adding AUTOEXEC.BAT Lines
Whether you've elected to add paths to the user's system files
or not, Installation Pro will allow you to add three additional
lines to the system files. These can be lines that start
TSRs, do some type of file maintenance, or any other task that
should be done at start up time. These lines will be added to
the tail end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Installation Pro will
check to see if these lines already exist in the AUTOEXEC.BAT
file before trying to insert them a second time.
Modifying CONFIG.SYS
Installation Pro will modify your user's CONFIG.SYS system
file if you want it to. Installation Pro can do a variety
of things to the CONFIG.SYS file.
CONFIG.SYS FILES Option
If you do not want Installation Pro to touch the value of the
FILES variable in the user's CONFIG.SYS file, then enter a
zero for the value of FILES. If you want to check that the
FILES value is at least a certain value that you specify, then
enter that value in response to the FILES question.
Installation Pro will never reduce the user's FILES value to
a lesser one. However, it will increase it to a value that
you specified if that value is greater than the user's.
The maximum value allowed is DOS's maximum value of 255.
CONFIG.SYS BUFFERS Option
Installation Pro can do the same thing to the value of the
user's BUFFER variable in CONFIG.SYS as it was able to do to
the FILES variable above. The rules are similar.
The maximum value allowed is DOS's maximum value of 99.
22
Adding CONFIG.SYS Lines
Adding lines to the CONFIG.SYS system file is as easy as it is
for adding lines to the AUTOEXEC.BAT system file. You can add
up to three lines. These lines will be added to the tail end
of the user's CONFIG.SYS file. These lines can be used to
install drivers that your software product may require for
operation.
Custom BATCH
Answering 'Y' to creating a custom batch file will proceed
by asking you a series of questions about the following:
Time
Where
The 'Time' question is for how many seconds to display an
informational message to the user. That message informs the
user what is being created and where it is being placed.
The 'Where' question asks if you want the batch file placed
in the root directory of the boot drive or in the primary
directory that was created.
The questions that follow these two batch file questions
will actually compose the batch file. One hundred and sixty
five characters are allowed. Placeholders can be included
in the file, giving an actual file output greater than the
one hundred sixty five characters.
Directing the Output File (for the INSTALL.EXE program)
When you've finished answering all the questions for your
software product that Installation Pro requires, Installation
Pro will write an output file named INSTALL.EXE.
If file named INSTALL.EXE already exist in your default
directory, then Installation Pro will ask you if you wish to
overwrite this file. If you answer "Y", then Installation Pro
will write the new one over the old one, destroying it in the
process. If you answer "N" to the overwrite question,
Installation Pro will prompt you for a file specification.
Output File Spec.
The output file specification that you enter can be solely a
file name or can include a drive and directory. You may want
to keep all your INSTALL.EXE programs in the same directory
and code them by product and disk size. Some examples:
23
IPRO13.5 Installation Pro V1.3 for 5¼ diskette
IPRO13.3 Installation Pro V1.3 for 3½ diskette
You could later rename these files to INSTALL.EXE when you copy
them to diskettes. In this way, the files are always available
for reading, saving you the time of reconstructing the entire
installation process from scratch when only a very small change
is required.
Terminating
When Installation Pro has finished writing its output file,
INSTALL.EXE, it will display a message on the screen that
INSTALL.EXE or, if you renamed the output file, then that name,
has been successfully created. The output file is then ready
to be placed on a diskette to install your software product.
If you keep an INSTALL.EXE file in the directory where you are
generating installation routines, MAKEINST.EXE will always ask
you if you want to overwrite INSTALL.EXE. Then if you choose
not to overwrite it, MAKEINST.EXE will ask you for a file
specification. This file specification could even be
A:\INSTALL.EXE.
=================================================================
The INSTALL Program
The INSTALL Program (full name is INSTALL.EXE) is that program
which is generated by Installation Pro. The MAKEINST.EXE
program is that part of Installation Pro which generates
INSTALL. The INSTALL Program does more than just check the
target system hardware and install your software product.
INSTALL introduces your product in grammatically correct
language. It helps the user along with informational messages,
and checks all user input. INSTALL will not allow the user to
err.
INSTALL is invoked by typing its name. The following command
line switches are valid when invoking INSTALL:
Switch Purpose
------ -------
/D Starting INSTALL with a /D switch will prevent
install from finding the disk drive that INSTALL
was started from and instead will use the drive
letter that you specified during installation
generation time as the default source drive.
This letter can still be changed by the user.
24
Useful for CD-ROM installations or if the
INSTALL program resides on a different drive
than the application files.
/B Starting INSTALL with a /B switch will force
INSTALL to use monochrome colors.
During the entire installation process, the title that you
created at installation generation (IG) time, will be displayed
on the user's screen.
We will step through the installation screens one at a time and
see what is actually happening behind the scenes.
Events that occurred during the installation generation phase,
i.e., during the time that you were answering the questions
from the MAKEINST.EXE program, shall be herein known as IG time.
The Introductory Screen
The first screen the user will see is the introductory screen.
This screen will inform the user about what is to come. The
screen title, the one which you created during the generation
phase, displays at the top of this screen.
The first line after the title area will read "INSTALL prepares
Soft-product to run from your hard disk by:" If you renamed
the generated INSTALL.EXE program to INSTALLH.EXE then the first
line after the title area will begin with INSTALLH instead of
INSTALL. The INSTALL program will find its own executable name
and use it in the top line.
The Product Name that you entered for your software product will
appear in the top line where Soft-product appeared.
Following the top line, are bulleted items that may display on
the screen depending on your choices of options at IG time.
The first bulleted item is:
Installing Soft-product's files.
Again, the name you selected for your software product at IG
time is the name that will display in this bulleted item. Let
us say you chose 'Big Business' for your software product's
name, then the first bulleted item would look like the following:
Installing Big Business' files.
Installation Pro will display grammatically correct possessives.
25
If you chose to create directories at IG time, then the next
bulleted item will display as follows:
Creating a directory on your destination disk.
or
Creating directories on your destination disk.
Depending on the number of directories you chose to create, one
of the above bulleted items will display on the user's screen.
The next two bulleted items will display on the user's screen
based upon which system files you chose to modify/create at IG
time. If you chose to modify/create the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and
the CONFIG.SYS file then two bulleted items will display on the
user's screen as follows:
Creating and/or modifying your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. (optional)
Creating and/or modifying your CONFIG.SYS file. (optional)
The last bulleted item to appear will be:
Displaying the latest release notes.
Of course, it will only display if you chose the file viewing
option at IG time.
INSTALL will then tell the user that he/she will be given step-
by-step instructions. Following this line, a menu will appear
with the only choices that the user can make. For this screen
it will be either 'Continue' or 'Quit.'
To make that choice, the user must either press the corresponding
letter of his/her choice, in this case, a 'P' or a 'Q' (case
makes no difference) or, highlight his/her choice on the menu
with the arrow keys and pressing the <Enter> key. If the user
selects to 'Continue' then he/she will move to the next screen.
If the user selects to 'Quit', then the screen area below the
title area will be cleared and message will appear stating that
'Soft-product' has NOT been installed. The user will return to
the operating system.
The NEEDS Screen
This screen deals with the minimum requirements necessary to
properly install your software product.
The first line after the title area on this screen is as follows:
26
To install Soft-Product on your hard disk, you will need:
Again, the name you chose for your software product at IG time
will display in this line.
Next, the first bulleted line of this screen will always tell the
user how many diskettes are in the installation volume set by
displaying:
The Soft-Product installation diskette. (1)
or
The Soft-Product installation diskettes. (2)
Either one of the lines above will be displayed depending on the
number of diskettes in the installation volume set. The number
of diskettes in the volume set will appear at the right of the
line enclosed in parentheses.
If you specified an amount of RAM to check for, then the
next bulleted line may look like:
512K of memory or more.
or
640K of memory.
If you are checking for less than 640K of memory, then
Installation Pro will say that it will check that the user's
system has nnnK of memory or more. However, if you are checking
for 640K of memory, then Installation Pro will not say 'or
more' since 640K is the maximum memory that DOS will look
at.
Another bulleted item will appear if you selected the checking
of free space on the destination disk. If so, a line similar
to the following will appear:
500,000 bytes of free disk space.
The number 500,000 will actually be the number that you
specified at IG time.
If you elected to check for the DOS version at IG time, then
a bulleted line similar to the following will appear:
DOS version 3.10 or greater.
27
This line will appear even if you elected not to check for the
DOS version. In that case it will check that the target system
has at least DOS version 2.0 as a minimum so that the
installation program will run correctly.
The next two bulleted lines will appear if you elected to check
for CPU type and a math co-processor. If you chose both, you
will get two lines displayed that are similar to the following:
An 80268 CPU or greater.
A MATH Co-processor.
You'll only get one of the above lines if you only selected
one of the options.
Source Drive Screen
This screen asks the user from which drive he would like to
install your software product. In almost all cases, Installation
Pro will be able to find the drive from which the installation
routine was started. It will make this drive the default drive
for the installation. If this is satisfactory to the user,
he/she has only to press the <Enter> key and the installation
routine will proceed to the next screen. If it is not
satisfactory to the user, he/she may press the <D> key to change
the source drive or select 'Change Drive' from the scrolling bar
menu and press <Enter>. This new drive will become the default
drive for reading the installation diskettes if Installation Pro
finds it to be a valid drive.
The drive selection example on this screen will never be the
same drive as the default drive. Installation Pro will always
pick another drive for the example selection.
Destination Path Screen
The path [drive:\directory] where you software will be installed
is the next item that the user must decide. Normally, the user
will just accept the default and continue to the next screen.
However, if the user wants the install your software on another
drive and/or directory, then he/she must select the 'Change PATH'
item from the menu or press the <P> key. The user will then be
prompted for a path.
Installation Pro will accept only valid drives from the user.
It will also accept only one directory. If the user enters more
than one directory or a drive that is not a valid drive, he/she
will be informed of the problem in a pop-up window.
If the user changes the default directory then all changes to
28
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files will reflect this change.
Installation Pro will check for the validity of the user's
choice and will check the destination drive for write protection
and free space.
Insert Diskette Screen
If you selected This screen will ask the user to insert diskette
m of n diskettes. The diskettes in the installation volume set
should be marked somewhere on the diskette's label with the
following:
Diskette 1: Disk 1 of n
Diskette 2: Disk 2 of n
(where m is the diskette number and n is the number of diskettes
in the installation volume set.)
A bargraph may appear while the diskettes are being copied.
A bargraph will only appear if the total number of copy
operations is greater than one. The bargraph is based on the
total number of copy operations and not file sizes, so the
graph may not show a true percentage of completion but it
will show that progress is being made. Wildcards in copy
operations will only increment the graph by
1/total_copy_operations. An additional bargraph will be
displayed for copy codes of F, I, L, G, and M.
As soon as Installation Pro has finished with a diskette, it
will prompt the user to insert the next diskette in the series.
If you answered 'Y' to the 'Insert Alert' question then a little
tune will play when the user is prompted to insert the next
diskette. This will continue until all the diskettes have been
processed. When the last diskette has been processed, the user
will be shown one of the following screens depending on the
options selected at IG time:
The AUTOEXEC.BAT File Screen
The CONFIG.SYS File Screen
The File Viewing Screen
The Re-boot Screen
The Successful Installation Screen
Performing Security/Other Function
A message will be displayed indicating that Installation Pro
is performing a security (copy-protection) function or other
function of your choosing. This other function may be file
decompression or other function needed by you software product
29
for proper installation. This message and action can occur in
one of two places but not both.
Just before Installation Pro is ready to copy files according
to the copy operation command parameters that you gave it during
IG time, if you exercised the security/other function option,
then the message will be displayed and the action will take
place at his time. Of course, for this function to occur at
this time you would have had to specify "B"efore to the "When
to execute" question and not "A"fter.
If you answered "A"fter to the Before/After question then the
message and action will occur immediately after all the file
copying operations have been performed. This would be a good
time to execute a decompression utility with a wildcard operation.
Make sure that this process works and is not dependent on DOS
or DOS's directory for needed commands. If this child process
crashes the system, Installation Pro will not continue
(obviously). Your needed programs should be supplied on your
diskettes. Be careful that these programs will execute with
all versions of DOS from the minimum you allowed at IG time.
Installation Pro will prompt the user to insert the correct
disk for this operation to be performed even if this diskette
is not in sequence with the file copying operations. Checking
for volume labels is always a good idea when you have more than
one diskette in your installation diskette set.
The AUTOEXEC.BAT Screen
The user's AUTOEXEC.BAT system file is modified at this time if
you elected this option at IG time. The user has the option of
'Continue'ing the installation, letting Installation Pro make
the modifications to his/her AUTOEXEC.BAT file, or selecting
the 'Skip' option from Installation Pro's menu. When selecting
the 'Skip' option, the primary directory will contain the
modifications that would have been made had the user not selected
the 'Skip' option. These changes will be placed in a file named
'AUTOEXEC.BTA'.
Note: The changes to the AUTOEXEC.BAT are placed in a file
similarly named but with the last two letters of the
file extension reversed.
The CONFIG.SYS Screen
The user's CONFIG.SYS system file is modified at this time
if you elected this option at IG time. The user has the
option of 'Continue'ing the installation, letting Installation
30
Pro make the modifications to his/her CONFIG.SYS file, or
selecting the 'Skip' option from Installation Pro's menu.
When selecting the 'Skip' option, the primary directory will
contain the modifications that would have been made had
the user not selected the 'Skip' option. These changes will
be placed in a file named 'CONFIG.SSY'.
Note: The changes to the CONFIG.SYS are placed in a file
similarly named but with the last two letters of the
file extension reversed.
The File Viewing Screen
If you selected file viewing at IG time, then Installation Pro
displays the file you selected to the user for viewing. The
file that the user views appears in a scrollable window which
is 15 lines high and 78 characters wide. As the user reads
the file he/she may scroll the file through the window by
either pressing the down-arrow key or the page-down key.
The user may re-read the file by pressing the page-up, up-
arrow, or the home key. The end key will bring the user the
end of the file that he/she is viewing.
The user is constantly presented a line of help at the bottom
of the window. When the user is through viewing/reading
the file, he/she may press the <Esc> (Escape) key to exit.
This information is also presented to the user in the
window's bottom border.
Note: Viewing a file from a diskette may be a little slow due
to the diskette drive's limited speed in accessing the
file.
Re-Booting Screen
This screen will only appear if you selected the re-boot
option. If you did select this option then you obviously did
not select the 'Execute a program at installation end' option.
Although it is possible to do both by placing the name of the
file to execute at the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT as an
added line, this is not recommended since this program will
always execute when the user's system is turned on or re-
booted. However, in some cases this may be what you want
to do.
The Final Screen
This screen is Installation Pro's final screen. It states
whether or not your software product was successfully
31
installed.
Centered directly below the screen title, in reverse video,
will be one of the following messages indicating the suc-
cessful or unsuccessful installation of you software product:
Soft-Product has been successfully installed.
or
Soft-Product has not been successfully installed.
Installation Pro will consider your product successfully
installed if all the directories were created and all the
files were copied without error. The latter message will
appear if the user decides to quit the installation before
the files have been copied successfully or if there was an
error reading one of the diskettes.
File Compression
A very good method of saving space on your diskettes is to
use file compression. There are many good file compression
utilities around such as PKZIP and ARC to name a couple.
However, these are commercial products and require licensing.
One product that I use and has no licensing requirements for
commercial use (unless it is integrated with your product and
bundled with it) is LHA213. This product is as good if not
better than most of the other products that I have used. It's
available on most BBS systems as well as on BMB Software's
support BBS at 413-731-1155. Set your modem to 8 data bits,
one stop bit and no parity. The BMB Software BBS uses Hayes
Optima 14.4K baud modems. LHA213.EXE (it itself is a
self- extracting archive file) can be found in filebase zero
in area C.
An advantage of using self-extracting compressed archived
files is that they require very little overhead. The overhead
required for making an archive self-extracting with LHA is
about 1500 bytes. If you were to place an un-packer, an un-
zipper, or the LHA program on a diskette to un-compress the
files it would take approximately 15 to 40 thousand bytes
depending on which one you used. What you gain by
placing a stand alone decompression utility is more
functionality which you really don't need in an installation
routine.
Also, if you had a self-extracting archive that you created
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with the LHA program, and it was larger than available
memory, say 700,000 bytes, it would still execute in the
user's system. That's because only the small overhead
associated with the self-extracting archive is actually running
in the system while it's reading and extracting the
compressed files in the archive.
Splitting Files
Splitting of files is often necessary if you have large
executables or large database files that must be installed on
another system. You can use Installation Pro just to move
large files if you like.
Installation Pro allows the splitting of self-extracting files for
rejoining at installation time. Only self-extracting files can
be rejoined and executed at installation time. Splitting of
files can be done very easily with BMB Software's file
splitting utility BLDSPLIT.
If you have an application that uses more than 10 360K
diskettes you should seriously consider going to higher
density diskettes. The user might be overwhelmed loading
20 or 30 diskettes.
See the BLDSPLIT Chapter for more information on its use.
Also see the Example Runs Chapter for more information
about using BLDSPLIT with Installation Pro.
Examples
Here are some examples for using Installation Pro.
Example 1:
This is an example of how Installation Pro's installation
routine was created. Since Installation Pro will fit on one
360K diskette, the process for creating a 720K 3½ diskette
installation will be similar.
On the first screen, you create the title and version of your
product (in this case, Installation Pro), the colors for your
screen, the number of diskettes (in this case 1), and the
volume name of the diskette. The volume name is not necessary
as there is only one diskette and it must be inserted in order
to run the installation program.
On the second screen we will check for free disk space. In
this case we need less than 300K, but we will use 500K so that
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the user will have enough free disk space to create a couple
of installation routines without having any problems. We will
also check that the user has at least 512K of RAM and DOS
version 2.10 or better. Our default source drive will be
drive A: and our default destination drive (and also the drive
where we can find AUTOEXEC.BAT) will be drive C:. We will not
check for an 80286 or greater CPU nor a coprocessor, since these
are not necessary.
On the next screen we will choose to create one directory on
the user's system for our software product and its name will
be \IPRO.
For the next screen we will answer one (1) to the number of
copy operations question. For the Src. question we will answer
"*.*" (without the quotes, for all files on this diskette) and
for the Dst. (Destination) question we will answer with out
primary directory (and our only one) of "\IPRO".
The next screen will have all "N"o answers for:
File to view
File to execute
Give re-booting option.
Now for the last screen we will choose to modify AUTOEXEC.BAT by
adding our primary directory to the user's path statement in
his/her AUTOEXEC.BAT file. No modifications to his/her
CONFIG.SYS file need be done. We will also answer "Y" to the
"Finished editing ALL screens?" question and INSTALL.EXE will
then be generated in a few seconds.
We then format a diskette and place our newly created
INSTALL.EXE program on it. We then also place the MAKEINST.EXE
file and any README files and other utilities which are needed
on the same diskette following the INSTALL.EXE program. We are
then ready to test this master installation diskette by
inserting it in a drive on some system you want to test install
your software product. If you wish to make a change in the
installation routine, you simply re-run the MAKEINST.EXE program
and choose "Y" for reading defaults from a previously generated
INSTALL.EXE program. You may then simply replace the
INSTALL.EXE program on your master installation diskette
because they will be the same length and will copy over one
another without fragmentation.
Example 2:
In this example. your software product is contained in
one directory and is almost three (3) megabytes in about
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110 files. In this case we suggest that you compress the
entire directory and make it a self-extracting file. To do
this we will use (in this example) the LHA program.
This program is free and can be found on Compuserve
as well as on BMB Software's BBS (in the ARC
library). For this case we will assume that your
software product is in a directory named "\MYDIR" on
drive C: and you wish to have it installed on the user's
system on drive C: and in directory \GREAT.
The following LHA commands would create the self-
extracting file that we need:
LHA a MYCOMP C:\MYDIR\*.*
This creates the MYCOMP.LZH file. This is a
compressed file containing all the files in the \MYDIR
directory on drive C:. The next LHA command will
make this file a self-extracting file:
LHA s MYCOMP
You know have the MYCOMP.EXE file that you need.
At installation time, Installation Pro will execute this file
and your original un-compressed files that were in your
\MYDIR directory will be restored on the user's system.
On the test directory that we used for this example,
which had 112 files and almost 3 megabytes (2.69
megabytes) of space, LHA compressed this directory to
1.12 megabytes. This is a savings in space of more than
50% which will save you approximately 4 360K
diskettes in your distribution installation diskette set.
You can then easily figure that the installation will
require 4 360K diskettes including the 90K or so for
INSTALL.EXE.
When running MAKEINST.EXE, you only need to
remember what you will use for the volumes names if
you decide to use them (it would be very helpful to be
sure that the user inserts the correct diskette at the
correct time) and the number of diskettes that will be
needed. Make sure that the parts of the archive file are
in the correct order. Installation Pro has no way of
knowing if you put the parts in the correct order or how
many parts there are to the file.
Also, you should check for free disk space.
This would be about 4 megabytes. You need this much
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because both the self-extracting archive file and the files
that it is producing (extracting) will reside
simultaneously on the destination disk for a short time
(while the self-extracting archive file is executing)
before the self-extracting archive is deleted. There will
be only four copy operations, one per diskette and they
will look like the following:
Source Destination Copy Code
----------- ----------- -----------
MYCOMP.P01 \GREAT F
MYCOMP.P02 \GREAT I
MYCOMP.P03 \GREAT I
MYCOMP.P04 \GREAT L
The directory \GREAT should be the primary directory that you
created. After you have made the INSTALL.EXE program and have
placed it on one of the four diskettes that you will need, you
are ready to run the BLDSPLIT program. When running BLDSPLIT,
the file to be split will be MYCOMP.EXE and you will probably
want to answer "Y" to the "Fit to floppy?" question. This will
split the MYCOMP.EXE file across the four floppy diskettes.
BLDSPLIT will prompt you for installing the next diskette after
it fills it. This is also a good time to put volume names on the
diskettes.
You must remember that the first file part will get a copy code
of "F" (stands for First part tells Installation Pro to open a
file for multi-part input). Parts 2 and 3 will get copy codes
of "I" (stands for Intermediate) and part 4 (the last part) gets
a copy code of "L" (stands for Last part and tells Installation
Pro to close the file after copying and then to execute it.
During this multi-part copying process, a bar graph will be
displayed on the installation screen to show percentage of
copying that is complete.
Example 3
For this example, you want to distribute a database file that
your application keeps in a compressed format. You also have
a little utility that you wish to execute before you copy the
database file to the target system. This utility accepts
parameters and switches. Your database is 1.2 megabytes large
so you decide to split it across 4 360K diskettes. Using
BLDSPLIT, you generate four files on four diskettes. Your
original file was named 'BIGBASE.DAT'. You now have it in four
parts named 'BIGBASE.P01' through 'BIGBASE.P04'. You rename
the first part to BIGBASE.DAT' on diskette number one. This
will be the name that will be used on the target system.
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=================================================================
BLDSPLIT
BLDSPLIT is a BMB Software utility program that can help you
make your installation routine simpler. It is a program than
will split any size file(s) into smaller parts. These parts
may later be rejoined by Installation Pro or the DOS copy
command.
BLDSPLIT will split a file into parts that you determine the
size of, or BLDSPLIT can determine the size for you if the
destination is a floppy drive. BLDSPLIT will split a file in
up to 99 parts. BLDSPLIT will change the name of the file
extension to reflect the number of the part.
BLDSPLIT will display two bar graphs as a visual aid for
determining the completion of the file splitting. One graph
shows the percentage of completion of the file to be split.
The other shows the percentage of completion of the writing
of the split file part.
For example, let us say that you have a self-extracting archive
file that is 900,000 bytes. You could have BLDSPLIT split the
file into 200,000 byte parts. The files would look like this:
The file to split is: PROGRAMS.EXE
The split files would be: PROGRAMS.P01
PROGRAMS.P02
PROGRAMS.P03
PROGRAMS.P04
PROGRAMS.P05
The first four files with extensions of .P01, .P02, .P03, .P04
would each be about 200,000 bytes (200K) and PROGRAMS.P05 would
be about 100,000 bytes (100K). The "K" in 200K represents 1024
bytes. Installation Pro could then rejoin the split parts of
the file to PROGRAMS.EXE and execute it (which will decompress
it).
BLDSPLIT should be executed from the drive:\directory in which
you want the parts of the file to remain. BLDSPLIT dumps the
parts to the default drive and directory. The exception to this
rule is if you are fitting a file to diskettes. In this case,
you can be on any drive and in any directory, and the parts of
the file will go the diskette drive that you designated.
File to Split
At the prompt that asks you for a name of a file to split, you
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enter the file name including any drive and/or directory
associated with it. The file can be write protected because
BLDSPLIT will open it for reading only.
Fit to Floppy
If you answer "Y" to the "Fit to Floppy?" question, BLDSPLIT
will put the file to be split on floppy diskettes. BLDSPLIT
will check for the amount of free file space on the diskette
drive that you specified and place as much of the file to split
as it can on the diskette. It will then ask you to insert
another floppy diskette until the entire file has been placed
on diskettes. Make sure you have enough diskettes to hold the
entire file. The "Y" answer will also cause BLDSPLIT to ask
you if you wish to have it prompt you for volume labels for
each diskette that you insert and will ask you for the diskette
drive that you want to use.
Vol. Labels?
If you answered "Y" to the "Fit to Floppy?" question, BLDSPLIT
will ask you if you want volume labels. If you answer "Y" the
"Vol. Labels?" question, BLDSPLIT will ask you for a volume
label for the diskette after each diskette insertion. Volume
labels must follow the DOS standard for volume label names.
Volume labels can be up to 11 characters in length.
Drive?
If you answered "Y" to the "Fit to Floppy?" question, BLDSPLIT
will ask you for the drive letter. Simply enter the letter of
the drive that you want to use for placing the parts of the file
to split.
All Same?
If you answered "N" to the "Fit to Floppy?" question, BLDSPLIT
will ask you if all the parts of the file to split will be the
same size. If you answer "Y" to this question, BLDSPLIT will
ask you for the number of kilobytes to make each part. The
parts must be at least 1K (one kilobyte) large but also large
enough that it will not require BLDSPLIT to split the file into
more than 99 parts. The last part may be smaller than the rest
of the parts if the bytes remaining for the last part are less
than the part size.
KBytes?
If you answered "N" to the "Fit to Floppy?" question, BLDSPLIT
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will either ask you the "KBytes?" question or the "Enter size
of part n in kilobytes?" question (where n in the part number).
If you entered "Y" to the "All same?" question, BLDSPLIT will
ask you the "KBytes?" question. If you entered "N" to the "All
same?" question, BLDSPLIT will ask you the latter question.
The remaining bytes of the file to be split will be displayed
to the right of the "All same?" or "Drive?" questions.
At the end of the file splitting, BLDSPLIT will display a
message stating if the file has been successfully split or
not.
Error Messages
The following error messages may occur while you are testing
your new installation routine. These explanations should help
you decide what went wrong, what was forgotten, or what
typographical error may have been introduced while you were
generating your installation routine.
L101 -- The error message displayed after this error code
signifies that there was a problem with creating a
directory.
L102 -- The error message displayed after this error code
signifies that there was a problem with the source of
a copy operation.
L103 -- The error message displayed after this error code
signifies that there was a problem with the destination
of a copy operation.
L104;n -- This error code signifies a problem with the source
file of a copy operation.
Note: The "n" following the error code and semi-colon,
is the copy operation number for that particular
diskette.
L106;n -- This error code signifies a problem with the file to
be viewed if that option was selected at IG time.
The "n' following the error code and the semi-colon
is the disk number that Installation Pro was looking
for the file to reside on. 0 is for the hard disk
in the default primary directory, 1, 2, 3, ..., 9 is
the diskette number that it expected it to be on.
L107 -- Indicates a problem reading the source diskette. The
message following this code should explain the problem
in greater detail.
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L108 -- This error code signifies a problem with one of the
system files. The message following this code should
explain in greater detail what Installation Pro was
unable to do for whatever reason.
L109;xx ICA=yyy;zz -- This error occurs if the value that
Installation Pro found at the memory
location that you specified does not
equal the value that you specified.
This error can only occur if you selected
ICA checking.
where xx = The memory value that Installation Pro
found at the designated address.
yyy = The designated memory address.
zz = The value that Installation Pro expected
to find at the designated address.
(NOTE: xx, yyy, and zz are hex values)
L111 message drive: -- Indicates that there was a problem
reading or writing from/to a disk during
the copy operation(s). The problem drive
will be displayed in the message following
the error code. Three attempts will be
made to recover from the error. More
messages will pop up and disappear in
windows telling the user what is happening.
The installation will abort if Installation
Pro was not able to recover from the error.
Thank you all for your inputs, suggestions, and support.
Gerry Bilodeau
BMB Software
P.O. Box 1071
West Springfield, MA 01090-1071
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