Next SetupBuilder 5.3 build status [24-Feb-2006]

[NewsArchive]

All,

There will be no SetupBuilder 5.3 update this week. We have added new
"runtime" include scripts and want to be able to test them on a Server
Farm.

This is the current Change log:

Change log for release of SetupBuilder 5.3 Build 1421 (February 24, 2006)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Features/Improvements/Fixes/Workarounds/Changes/Notes:

FEATURE : Add "RT_dotnetframework_x86.sbi" include script to automate the
installation of the .NET Framework 2.0.

FEATURE : Add "RT_vc2005redist_x86.sbi" include script to automate the
installation of the Visual C++ 2005 Runtime Libraries.

FEATURE : Add "RT_msi31redist_x86.sbi" include script to automate the
installation of the Windows Installer 3.1 (v2).

IMPROVEMENT: "#def - Get Value from INI File" supports constants and
compiler variables now.

IMPROVEMENT: "#const - Get Value from INI File" supports constants and
compiler variables now.

IMPROVEMENT: [SB#602222] Add "Skip Invalid Patch" File Properties option.
File patching will be skipped during the file installation
process if the file to be updated is not a valid update
candidate.

IMPROVEMENT: Add [SB5_RUNTIMES] compiler variable.

IMPROVEMENT: Script comment size increased to 512 bytes.

IMPROVEMENT: Add "Silent restart" option to "Reboot/Restart System" script
function.

FIX : "#def - Get Value from INI File" was not working as expected.

FIX : Script Editor: vertical scroll bar thumb resizing issue.

FIX : Dialogs Visualizer: Canceling a Define Wizard Dialog made the
Script Editor read-only.

FIX : [SB#602221] "Send Install Event Entry" item could not be
deleted from within the Script Editor.

FIX : "Add RegistryRunOnce Entry" item could not be deleted from
within the Script Editor.

FIX : "Get System Information" - ".NET Status" function did not
detect the final .NET 2.0 Framework.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friedrich Linder
CEO, Lindersoft
www.lindersoft.com
+1.954.252.3910

"point. click. ship" - that's SetupBuilder 5

[NewsArchive]

Update:

We have added a brand new interface to support "configurable" runtime
include scripts. The upcoming SetupBuilder 5.4 Developer Edition will
provide the following built-in "point and click" runtime include scripts:

* RT_sql2005expr.sbi - SQL Server 2005 Express redistribution
* RT_dotnetframework_x86.sbi - .NET Framework 2.0 redistribution
* RT_msde2000a.sbi - SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine redistribution
* RT_msi31redist_x86.sbi - Windows Installer 3.1 (v2) redistribution
* RT_vc2005redist_x86.sbi - Visual C++ 2005 Runtime redistribution
* More to come...

This is the latest internal Change log:

Change log for release of SetupBuilder 5.4 Build 1425 (February 28, 2006)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Features/Improvements/Fixes/Workarounds/Changes/Notes:

FEATURE : Add "RT_sql2005expr.sbi" runtime include script to automate
the installation of SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.

FEATURE : Add "RT_dotnetframework_x86.sbi" runtime include script to
automate the installation of the .NET Framework 2.0.

FEATURE : Add "RT_vc2005redist_x86.sbi" runtime include script to
automate the installation of the Visual C++ 2005 Runtime
Libraries.

FEATURE : Add "RT_msi31redist_x86.sbi" runtime include script to automate
the installation of the Windows Installer 3.1 (v2).

FEATURE : Add "RT_msde2000a.sbi" runtime include script to automate the
Microsoft(R) SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000)
Release A installation.

IMPROVEMENT: If an "Include Script" is variable, display a "Include Script
Compiler Variables Configuration" in the #include script...
compiler directive dialog.

IMPROVEMENT: "#def - Get Value from INI File" supports constants and
compiler variables now.

IMPROVEMENT: "#const - Get Value from INI File" supports constants and
compiler variables now.

IMPROVEMENT: [SB#602222] Add "Skip Invalid Patch" File Properties option.
File patching will be skipped during the file installation
process if the file to be updated is not a valid update
candidate.

IMPROVEMENT: Add [SB5_RUNTIMES] compiler variable.

IMPROVEMENT: Script comment size increased to 512 bytes.

IMPROVEMENT: Add "Silent restart" option to "Reboot/Restart System" script
function.

IMPROVEMENT: "Wait" installer dialog is more responsive to redrawing events
if external programs are running and the "Wait" option is used.

IMPROVEMENT: "#set compiler variable" compiler directive: add "Include
Script Compiler Variable Configuration" option.

FIX : "#def - Get Value from INI File" was not working as expected.

FIX : Script Editor: vertical scroll bar thumb resizing issue.

FIX : Dialogs Visualizer: Canceling a Define Wizard Dialog made the
Script Editor "read-only".

FIX : [SB#602221] "Send Install Event Entry" item could not be
deleted from within the Script Editor.

FIX : "Add RegistryRunOnce Entry" item could not be deleted from
within the Script Editor.

FIX : "Get System Information - .NET Status" function did not detect
the final version of the .NET 2.0 Framework.

FIX : Script Editor: possible duplicate items in Include Script Tab
problem.

FIX : [SB#602271] Under certain circumstances Internet Shortcut
creation failed (create folder problem).

FIX : Under certain circumstances uninstall did not remove folders
recursively created by the installer.

CHANGE : Selecting a variable in the Setup Editor's "Script Variable"
list highlights the script line that defines the variable.

CHANGE : Script Editor: cosmetic Include Script Tab modification.

CHANGE : "#set compiler variable" compiler directive: Value can be an
empty string now.

CHANGE : "msde2000a.sbi" include script is obsolete now.

CHANGE: : Increment version number to 5.4.

REGRESSION : [SB#602241] The delete key no longer worked in the Script
Editor.

--
Friedrich Linder
CEO, Lindersoft
www.lindersoft.com
+1.954.252.3910

"point. click. ship" - that's SetupBuilder 5

[NewsArchive]

Excellent! This will make this easier for all of us. ;-)

--
Russ Eggen
www.radfusion.com

[NewsArchive]

:)

My goal is to provide both "point and click" runtime include scripts for
SetupBuilder 5.4 Developer Edition and the runtime binaries. The include
scripts are part of the installation. The runtime binaries can be
downloaded from our web site (powered by the SetupBuilder web installer).

But at the moment I don't know if our web server can handle the additional
XX gigabytes of runtime downloads per month. And I still have to study
all the redistribution licenses.

BTW, updated runtime include list:

* rt_sql2005expr.sbi - SQL Server 2005 Express redistribution
* rt_dotnetframework_x86.sbi - .NET Framework 2.0 redistribution
* rt_msde2000a.sbi - SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine redistribution
* rt_msi31redist_x86.sbi - Windows Installer 3.1 (v2) redistribution
* rt_vc2005redist_x86.sbi - Visual C++ 2005 Runtime redistribution
* rt_mdac28_x86.sbi - Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8 SP1 redistribution
* More to come...

--
Friedrich Linder
CEO, Lindersoft
www.lindersoft.com
+1.954.252.3910

"point. click. ship" - that's SetupBuilder 5

[NewsArchive]

By the way, SetupBuilder 5.4 can automatically handle all the required
"reboot and continue" actions. For example, install SQL Server 2005
Express on a standard Windows 2000 SP4 machine.

The "point and click" rt_sql2005expr.sbi runtime include script handles
the following:

1a. Check if SQL Server 2005 Express (or older SQL version) is available.
1b. If not, check if Windows Installer 3.x is available
1c. If not, install MSI 3.1 and "reboot and continue"

2a. Check if .NET Framework 2.0 is available
2b. If not, install .NET Framework 2.0

3a. Check if MDAC 2.8 is available
3b. If not, install MDAC 2.8 SP1

4a. Install SQL Server 2005 Express and "reboot and continue"

5a. Continue with your installation

The "configurable" runtime include scripts make it possible to disable
specific features (e.g. skip MDAC checking/redistribution, etc.). There
is no need to modify the include scripts to do this.

And how many lines of code do I have to write to include SQL Server 2005
distribution to my installation? Just add one line:

[ Initialize Setup ]
! --- Define commonly used constants ---
#include script "Common Definitions.sbi"
! Add the following line to your script
#include script "rt_sql2005expr.sbi" [Custom Configuration]

--
Friedrich Linder
CEO, Lindersoft
www.lindersoft.com
+1.954.252.3910

"point. click. ship" - that's SetupBuilder 5