SUPERINSTALL FOR DOS Version 1.0 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION PROGRAM USER'S MANUAL LOGISTRAL, INC. _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER Copyright 1994 Logistral, Inc. SuperInstall is a trademark of Logistral, Inc. All products mentioned in this manual are trademarked or copyrighted by their manufacturers. Software Licence LICENCE AGREEMENT When used in this Licence: "We" and the "Author" mean "Logistral, Inc.". The "Trademark" means the mark "SuperInstall". The "Software" means the program and related text files and printed materials distributed by the Author under the Trademark. This Shareware Licence gives you a limited period to evaluate the Software. It also tells you how you can use the Software after the evaluation period ends, and *encourages* you to distribute it so that others can evaluate it. By using the Software, you agree to all of the terms, conditions and disclaimers in this Licence. Ownership The Author owns, or has licenced from the owner, all copyrights and trade secrets in the Software, and owns the Trademark under which it distributes the Software. Among other things, this means: [1] The Software is not public domain software and is not free. Your rights to it are only those provided by this Licence. [2] The rights granted by this Licence are on the condition that you will not modify, reverse compile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Software, in order to use or disclose any secret information of the Author that it contains. How and why to register You may evaluate the Software for 30 days after you first run any part of it on a computer. To use the Software after your evaluation period ends, you must register your use of the Software by completing the ORDER FORM and sending it to the author together with the registration fee it indicates. After your register the Software, you will have the right to use the Software on any number of machines, so long as there is no possibility that more than one copy will be used at a time. You will have the right to use the Software royalty-free to develop any number of installations, of any number of software titles, of which you are the author or publisher. Use of the Software beyond the trial period is copyright infringement unless you register and pay us the registration fee. Such use also threatens the continuation of the shareware revolution, which has benefitted users by its "try before you buy" philosophy and by slowing increases in software prices. i Software Licence Shareware enables hardworking shareware authors who don't have the marketing resources of a large software company to market some of the best and most innovative software to be found anywhere. SHAREWARE IS GOOD FOR YOU -- IF YOU LIKE THE SOFTWARE, PLEASE REGISTER YOUR COPY OF IT! Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Remedies [1] THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED TO ALL WHO RECEIVE IT "AS-IS". NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE AS TO IT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. [2] ALL WHO RECEIVE THE SOFTWARE HAVE NO REMEDY FOR INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE SOFTWARE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INCLUDING SUCH FROM NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, EVEN FROM A PERSON WHO HAS NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or the exclusion of consequential damages, so the above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you. Reservation of Rights All of the Author's right, title and interest in and to the Software and the Trademark not expressly granted herein are reserved exclusively by the Author. Miscellaneous This agreement [A] shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Province of Quebec as to its validity, construction and performance, without giving effect to the choice of law provisions thereof; [B] constitutes the entire agreement of the parties as to its subject matter and merges and supersedes all prior discussions, agreements, and understandings; and [C] may not be modified orally. With respect to every matter arising under this Agreement, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts sitting in Quebec City, Province of Quebec. ii Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS LICENCE AGREEMENT........................................i When used in this Licence:..........................i Ownership...........................................i How and why to register.............................i Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Remedies...ii Reservation of Rights...............................ii Miscellaneous.......................................ii TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................iii Chapter 1: Introduction.................................1 Thank You For Using SuperInstall....................1 Our Philosophy......................................1 Major features......................................1 Chapter 2: Using the Keyboard and the Mouse.............2 Keyboard Conventions................................2 Mouse Conventions...................................2 Chapter 3: Setup........................................3 Getting installed...................................3 Ready to go.........................................3 Chapter 4: Reference....................................4 File | New..........................................4 File | Open.........................................4 File | Save.........................................4 File | Save as......................................5 File | Close........................................5 File | Shell to DOS.................................5 File | Exit.........................................5 Configuration | Main................................6 Configuration | Directories.........................6 Configuration | Requirements........................7 Configuration | Boot file modification..............8 Distribution | File selection.......................10 Distribution | Disk set configuration...............11 Distribution | Disk set creation....................11 Options | Colors | Customize........................12 Options | Colors | Load palette.....................12 Options | Colors | Save palette.....................12 Chapter 5: Miscellaneous................................14 How to Get Technical Support........................14 Tools of the Trade..................................14 iii Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 1: Introduction Thank You For Using SuperInstall We at Logistral, Inc. would like to thank you for choosing SuperInstall, our installation program generator. We are confident that you will find that this practical and versatile software meets your needs. The purpose of this guide is to help you get the most out of SuperInstall in the shortest possible time. We know that you are eager to begin, but please take time to read through this guide before you start using the software. Our Philosophy While most installers force you to write scripts for even the most basic installation, SuperInstall uses a menu driven approach. You answer a few basic questions about your application and SuperInstall does the rest. The program's user interface conforms to industry standards. It is intuitive and easy to use. We designed SuperInstall as a flexible tool, capable of handling most software installation tasks. We believe that software normally should not require the development of a custom installation program or a complex installation script. Major features Menu driven interface - No scripts! Superior file compression - ZIP 2.0 compatible! CUA-compliant user interface - Modern and intuitive! 1 Chapter 2: Using the Keyboard and the Mouse Chapter 2: Using the Keyboard and the Mouse Keyboard Conventions Just to make sure we are on the same wavelength, here are a few conventions for the keyboard: Press Tab to move the cursor from one field to the other in sequence. Press Shift-Tab to move the cursor backwards through the fields. Press Enter to accept a dialog. Press F1 to bring up a context-sensitive help screen. Press F10 to activate the menu. Press Esc to leave a menu or back out of an option or dialog. Mouse Conventions Move the mouse until the pointer on the screen is over the menu, the field or the command you want to select. Click the left mouse button to select. 2 Chapter 3: Setup Chapter 3: Setup Before you setup SuperInstall on your computer, you should make a backup copy of your master disk. Getting installed Insert the SuperInstall master disk in drive A (or drive B). Then log onto drive A by typing: A: [Enter] Now you can start the Setup process. Type: INSTALL [Enter] Once the installation has started, you should simply follow the instructions shown on the screen. Along the way, you will be asked to confirm information about the directory where the program is to be kept on disk. Normally you should accept the suggested directories by pressing [Enter]. Depending on the diskette format being used, the installation program may need to access files which are stored on another diskette. The program will prompt you to change diskettes if that is necessary. Check the file README.TXT for late-breaking information, corrections and notes of special interest. Who knows, the answer to your first question might just be there. Ready to go Now you can load SuperInstall. Type: SINSTALL [Enter] 3 Chapter 4: Reference Chapter 4: Reference To create an installation, you will circulate through all menu options under Configuration and Distribution. But before you may start, you will need to create a definition file or open an existing one. This will enable several new menu options. File | New Select this menu option to create a new definition file. The file will be given the temporary name 'UNTITLED.DAT'. File | Open Select this menu option to open an existing definition file. You will see a dialog box. In the Name field, enter the name of the file you want to open. You may enter a fully qualified filename (i.e. 'C:\SINSTALL\MYSOFT.DAT') or simply 'MYSOFT.DAT' if the file is in the current directory. To get a list of files matching a file specification, enter the file specification in the Name field and press Enter. You can also select a file from the list. Press Tab to move to the Files window, use the arrow keys to highlight the file you want to open and press Enter. To change the current directory or navigate the subdirectories on your disk, press Enter on the '..\' file specification and select the subdirectory you want to make current. File | Save Select this menu option to save a definition to disk. If you were modifying a definition file, this option will save the definition file under its current name, overwriting a previous version. If you were working on a new file, you will be prompted for a filename. The default filename is 'UNTITLED.DAT', you will want to enter a more descriptive name. You may enter any valid DOS filename, preferably with the '.DAT' extension. 4 Chapter 4: Reference File | Save as Select this menu option to save a new definition to disk, or to save a modified definition to another filename. You will be prompted for a filename. The default filename is 'UNTITLED.DAT', you will want to enter a more descriptive name. You may enter any valid DOS filename, preferably with the '.DAT' extension. The Files window offers a list of existing definition files so you can enter a unique name. File | Close Select this menu option to close the definition file that you are working on. If the definition file has been modified, you will be asked if you want to save it. Choose Yes to save it, No to close without saving (loosing your work) or Cancel to return to the program without closing the file. File | Shell to DOS Select this menu option to exit to DOS momentarily. Most of the memory occupied by SuperInstall will be made available so you can run large programs. To resume using SuperInstall, type: Exit [Enter] You should not run TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs from within SuperInstall. If you need to run such a program, it should be loaded before you launch SuperInstall. File | Exit Select this menu option to exit SuperInstall. Careful! Make sure that you save your file first, or all your work will be lost! 5 Chapter 4: Reference Configuration | Main Select this menu option to provide general information about your program. Enter the name of your program in the field Application name. The installation program will display this information when it is run. For example: 'MySoft version 2.0'. Enter the author's name in the field Author name. For example: 'John Smith'. Enter your company's name in the field Company name. For example: 'GoodSoft, Inc.'. You may select the name you wish the installation program to display: the author's name, the company's name or both. Use the checkboxes to indicate your preference. If you want the installation program to display a "README" file, you must provide its filename in the field README file. For example: 'README.TXT'. The file can be shown Before or After the installation. Use the checkboxes to indicate your preference. If both Before and After are checked by mistake, the file will be shown once, before the installation. If you want to run another program automatically when the installation is complete, enter its filename, for example: 'CONVERT.EXE'. This option is particularly useful when you wish to run a conversion program or if the installation of your software requires actions than cannot be handled by SuperInstall. Normally, you will want to ask the user first about running this program, by marking the appropriate checkbox (Prompt). Enter the question you want to ask the user in the field Ask. Configuration | Directories Select this menu option to provide information about the directories required by your program. Enter the directory where your program will normally be installed on the user's computer in the field Default directory . For example: 'C:\MYSOFT'. If your program also requires subdirectories below the main directory, to separate documentation files from data files, for instance, select the button Subdirectories. A new dialog box will appear. Select New to add a subdirectory. Enter the directory name in the field Subdirectory name. For example: 'DATA' if you want a subdirectory named 'C:\MYSOFT\DATA'. It is important for the subdirectory name not to be fully qualified, as the user may override the default directory. 6 Chapter 4: Reference In some very rare cases, you may find it necessary to create directories outside the default main directory. In that case you would provide a fully qualified directory name, for example: 'C:\BACKUP'. We strongly recommend that you use this feature judiciously. After you have added a subdirectory, it will be included in the list of subdirectories. You may edit entries from that list by selecting the button Edit or erase entries by selecting the button Delete. Configuration | Requirements Select this menu option to provide the system requirements of your program. If your program requires a specific microprocessor class, use the CPU radio button control to select the appropriate type. The default is 8088, which means the program has no specific CPU requirement. Note: More advanced microprocessor types are considered as meeting the requirement. For instance, if you select 80286, then your program will run on computers equiped with an 80286 but also on those with an 80386, 80486, or Pentium. It will not run on 8088-class computers. Note: There is no option for 80486 CPUs or better because software for those microprocessors will also run on computers equiped with an 80386. If your program requires a specific graphics card, use the Video radio button control to select the appropriate type. The default is No graphics for programs that run in text mode (most DOS programs). Note: Again, computers with better graphics capabilities than your strict requirements will be able to run your program. For instance, if you select EGA then computers with EGA, VGA and better graphics will run your program while CGA systems will not. If your program has special requirements like a math coprocessor, a mouse or a joystick, use the Various checkbox control to indicate these requirements. Check these items if your program absolutely requires those equipments, as opposed to merely supports them. You may indicate your program's memory requirements in the Base (RAM), EMS and XMS fields, expressed in Kilobytes. For example: '512'. 7 Chapter 4: Reference If your program requires a minimum DOS version, you should specify it in the DOS version field, as a whole number. For example: '330' for DOS 3.3, or '500' for DOS 5.00. If you check the box Abort if not satisfied, then the user will be informed if his computer does not meet one or more of the system requirements of your program (they will be listed), and the installation will abort. If you do not check the box Abort if not satisfied, then the user will be prompted before the installation proceeds. For example: 'This program requires 512K RAM free. Do you want to continue?' The user may choose to abort the installation or continue. Note: If Abort if not satisfied is checked and Install is unable to identify the graphics adapter present in the system, the user will be asked if he/she wants to proceed with the installation instead of aborting the installation right away, which would prevent installation on a computer with a non-standard video card. SuperInstall can detect and identify most graphics adapters, however. Configuration | Boot file modification Select this menu option if your program requires modifications to the user's CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Enter the number of buffers required in the field Buffers and the number of file handles required in the field Files. For example: '20'. The default value is '0', which means no special requirement. If your program requires an environment variable to bet set, enter it in the field Environment. For example: 'MYSOFT=/C /MD /G20' would add the line 'SET MYSOFT=/C /MD /G20' to the user's AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Note: The command SET is added automatically. This is particularly useful for programs which can obtain default parameters from an environment variable. If you want to add the directory where the program is installed to the PATH statement, use the appropriate checkbox control to indicate your desire. Normally, the user will be prompted before those changes are made to his/her configuration. In very rare cases you may want to force those changes without prompting, use the appropriate checkbox control to indicate your decision. This may be useful if your program's market is beginners who would be confused by a question about changes to CONFIG.SYS. It is often considered rude to make 8 Chapter 4: Reference changes to the configuration files without the user's authorization, so we strongly recommend that you use this feature judiciously. Note: Backup copies of the user's original CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files will be preserved. 9 Chapter 4: Reference Distribution | File selection Select this menu option to indicate which files your program consists of. These files will be included in the distribution set. Select the New button to enter a file specification. You may enter filenames individually, for example: 'C:\DEV\MYSOFT\PROGRAM.EXE' or use wildcards like ? and/or * to include multiple files matching a single file specification, for example: 'C:\DEV\MYSOFT\*.EXE' Normally you will leave Destination as '\' because you want to place these files in the main directory where the program is being installed, on the user's computer. Or enter the subdirectory name where you want the files installed instead, for example 'SAMPLE' to install in 'C:\MYSOFT\SAMPLE\'. You may enter a description for this file specification, in the field Description. Currently this is for reference only, although future versions of SuperInstall may use this information. Use the radio button control to indicate how you want the files being installed to be processed. You can choose to Always overwrite files already on the system, Prompt the user before you do so, or skip installation of files already on the system by selecting Never. The default is to always overwrite files already on the system. If a file absolutely needs to be on the first disk, use the checkbox First disk to indicate that fact. ReadMe files are an example of such files that have to be on disk one. Those files will not be compressed, so they should be small files and there should be very few of them. The files INSTALL.EXE, INSTALL.DAT, as well as INSTALL.PAL if present, will be included on disk one automatically by SuperInstall and you must not include them in this list of files. You may edit a file specification by selecting the button Edit or remove one by selecting the button Delete. Note: You must make sure that the files specified exist, and are located just where you indicate they are. Files that can't be found by SuperInstall will be ignored. 10 Chapter 4: Reference Distribution | Disk set configuration Select this menu option to indicate for which diskette formats you wish to create distribution sets. It may be your company's policy not to offer 5 1/4" or low-density diskettes, for instance. Use the checkbox controls to indicate which formats will be supported. SuperInstall will create copies of the master disks on your hard disk. Enter the name of the subdirectory where you want to create those copies in the field Create in directory . If this directory does not exist, it will be created. For example: 'C:\DIST\MYSOFT'. Subdirectories will be created below it, for example: 'C:\DIST\MYSOFT\DSK72_1' for format 3 1/2" - 720K Disk 1. Warning: If there are any files in this directory, outdated distribution sets for instance, they will be deleted. The directory for disk one will include the files INSTALL.EXE, INSTALL.DAT, any files you selected to go on disk one (in uncompressed form) and a compressed file named DISK1.BIN. The directory for disk two (if required) will include DISK2.BIN, while disk three (if required) will include DISK3.BIN... You can have up to 99 disks. Note: SuperInstall won't split files, so if one of the files compresses to 400K, you can't use 5 1/4" - 360K disks for distribution. Distribution | Disk set creation Select this menu option to create the distribution set(s) for the disk format(s) you have selected. 11 Chapter 4: Reference Options | Colors | Customize Select this menu option to customize the colors used by SuperInstall. The Colors dialog box appears. The Group list box control on the left displays all groups of user interface elements for which you can customize the colors. The Item list box control presents the individual items part of that group. Select the item you want to change. Now select the foreground and background colors you want for that item. As soon as you make a color selection, you will see it reflected in the sample text window. Choose OK to make the new colors active. You will probably want to preserve the new color selections for future work sessions. Select the menu option Options | Colors | Save palette to save the color definitions. Options | Colors | Load palette Select this menu option to choose one of the color palettes you already defined or one of those provided with SuperInstall. Select the Preview button to see what the highlighted color palette looks like. Select the OK button to make the color palette active, or the Cancel button to exit without changing the color palette. The active palette is saved in the file SINSTALL.PAL and is read automatically when the program is run. If the file SINSTALL.PAL does not exist, default colors will be used instead. See File | Open for a detailed explanation of all commands available in a similar dialog box. Options | Colors | Save palette Select this menu option to save a color definition. You will be prompted for a filename. You may enter any valid DOS filename, preferably with the '.PAL' extension. The Files window offers a list of existing color palettes so you can enter a unique name. Hint: You may also customize the colors used by the Install program. Simply define a palette and save it under the name 'INSTALL.PAL', or copy an existing one to that name, for example: COPY BLUE.PAL INSTALL.PAL [Enter] 12 Chapter 4: Reference SuperInstall will include the file INSTALL.PAL in the distribution set automatically and the program INSTALL.EXE will read it when it is run by your customers. 13 Chapter 5: Miscellaneous Chapter 5: Miscellaneous How to Get Technical Support Technical support is a benefit of registration. Logistral, Inc. offers free unlimited technical support to all registered users. Consequently, unregistered users receive only a bare minimum of support and are not entitled to phone support at all. To obtain technical support, please contact us at: Fax: 418-285-0710 Compuserve: 70313,1071 Internet: pats@novalink.com Logistral, Inc. P.O. Box 483 Donnacona, Quebec Canada, G0A 1T0 Tools of the Trade This software was developed with Borland Pascal and the Turbo Vision application framework from Borland International. This manual was written with Word for Windows from Microsoft Corporation. 14