========================
  NSIS 2.0 - Readme File
 ========================


 Introduction to NSIS
 ==============================================================================

 NSIS, which stands for "Nullsoft Scriptable Installation System", is a free
 scriptable win32 installer/uninstaller system that doesn't suck and isn't
 huge. It was originally created by Nullsoft to distribute Winamp and its
 plug-ins, but is now a system used to distribute hundreds of applications.

 NSIS creates installers that are capable of installing, uninstalling, setting
 system settings, extracting files, etc. Pretty much anything. Because it's
 based on script files, you can fully control every part of your installers.
 The script language support variables, functions, string manipulation, just
 like a normal programming language - but designed for the creation of
 installers.

 Even with all these features, NSIS is still the smallest installer system
 available. With the default options, it has an overhead of only 34 KB. NSIS
 installers don't bother decompressing themselves three different times,
 telling the user to "please wait". They get to the point and get the job
 done.

 NSIS is released under an open source license (it is actually the zlib/libpng
 license, which is approved by opensource.org). What does this mean? It means
 that if you want to add the functionality you need to NSIS, you can. It means
 if you want to make your own custom version of NSIS (or some product that
 includes NSIS), and sell it, you can. Or if you just want to distribute your
 software using NSIS, you sure as hell can. NSIS 2 is now being developed by a
 team of open source developers.

 The result of all of this is an installation system that lets you compile
 nice little scripts into tiny installers. Many features are supported, and
 the whole thing just works pretty damn well (at least, we think).

 Here's a short list of some of NSIS' features:

 - SuperPiMP(tm) technology (so advanced, so amazing, we won't even tell you
   what it is)
 - Generates self contained executable installers
 - Support for ZLib, BZip2 and LZMA data compression (files can be compressed
   individually or together)
 - Uninstall support (installer can generate an uninstaller)
 - Customizable user interface (dialogs, fonts, backgrounds, icons, text,
   checkmarks, images etc.)
 - Classic and Modern wizard interface
 - Fully multilingual, support for multiple languages in one installer. More
   than 35 translations are available, but you can also create your own
 - Page system: You can add standard wizard pages or custom pages
 - User selection of installation components, tree for component selection
 - Multiple install configurations (usually Minimal, Typical, Full), and
   custom configuration
 - Installer self-verification using a CRC32 checksum
 - Small overhead over compressed data size (34 KB with default options)
 - Ability to display a license agreement in text or RTF format
 - Ability to detect destination directory from the registry
 - Easy to use plug-in system (lots of plug-ins for creation of custom
   dialogs, internet connections, HTTP downloading, file patching, Win32 API
   calls etc. are included)
 - Installers can be as large as 2GB
 - Optional silent mode for automated installations
 - A preprocessor with support for defined symbols, macro's, conditional
   compilation, standard predefines
 - A lovely coding experience with elements of PHP and assembly (includes user
   variables, a stack, real flow control, etc.)
 - Installers have their own VMs that let you write code that can support:
    - File extraction (with configurable overwrite parameters)
    - File/directory copying, renaming, deletion, searching
    - Plug-in DLL calling
    - DLL/ActiveX control registration/deregistration
    - Executable execution (shell execute and wait options)
    - Shortcut creation
    - Registry key reading/setting/enumerating/deleting
    - INI file reading/writing
    - Generic text file reading/writing
    - Powerful string and integer manipulation
    - Window finding based on class name or title
    - User interface manipulation (font/text setting)
    - Window message sending
    - User interaction with message boxes or custom pages
    - Branching, comparisons, etc.
    - Error checking
    - Reboot support, including delete or rename on reboot
    - Installer behaviour commands (such as show/hide/wait/etc)
    - User functions in script
    - Callback functions for user actions

 Completely free for any use. See license.


 NSIS License
 ==============================================================================

 Copyright (C) 1999-2004 Nullsoft, Inc.

 This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied
 warranty.  In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
 arising from the use of this software.

 Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
 including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
 freely, subject to the following restrictions:

 1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
    claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
    in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
    appreciated but is not required.
 2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
    misrepresented as being the original software.
 3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.


 NSIS Websites
 ==============================================================================

 NSIS Website: .... http://nsis.sourceforge.net/home/ 
 NSIS Archive: .... http://nsis.sourceforge.net/archive
 NSIS Forum: ...... http://forums.winamp.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=65
 Bug Tracker: ..... http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=22049&atid=373085