After we’ve created the installation script, we can
begin the process of modifying and customizing it to fit our specific
needs. As we’ve seen, the Installation Expert and Script Editor allow us
to modify our installation scripts. In this section we’ll look at how
to modify installation scripts using the Installation Expert. But first
let’s look at the installation attributes.
Installation Attributes
You need to consider six sets of installation attributes when modifying installation scripts, as follows:
Installation Interface Enables you to configure the settings used by the SMS Installer–generated executable during installation. Application Files Enables you to configure specific components to install based on the type of installation you select. Runtime Support
Enables you to configure uninstall support and to add components for
Visual Basic or Visual FoxPro. The Visual Basic components you select
will affect how the Watch Application Wizard performs. User Configuration Enables you to set up the program groups and icons and to configure file associations for the installation. System Configuration Enables you to change or reconfigure the system environment during the installation process. Advanced Configuration
Enables you to configure such items as the screen settings that will be
displayed during the installation, language settings, and patch
settings, as well as global attributes that will control the actual
installation file.
You can configure these attribute sets in the Installation Expert interface.
Select an installation attribute and click Properties to display its
Properties dialog box, where you can customize the installation script
through a relatively user-friendly graphical interface.
Modifying the Script
In this section we’ll
customize the settings for our SMS Installer–generated executable file
using the Installation Expert. In this example we’ll also modify the
script by editing the installation attributes to facilitate an
“unattended” installation.
To modify the script using the Installation Expert, follow these steps:
1. | From
the Installation Expert interface, select Installation Interface from
the list in the Installation Attributes section and then click
Properties or double-click Installation Interface to display the
Installation Interface dialog box, shown in Figure 1.
| 2. | In
the Media tab you can specify whether the SMS Installer–generated
executable file will be a single file, used for network or Web
distribution; or multiple files, used for floppy disk–based
installation. For this example, verify that the Single File Installation
option is selected. This will cause SMS Installer to generate a single
executable file when we compile our script. If you choose Floppy Based
Installation, you must also select the appropriate disk size in the
Settings section at the bottom of the Media tab.
| 3. | Select the Application tab, shown in Figure 2.
In this tab you can specify the application name that will be used in
wizard pages and in the welcome page. This name is also displayed with
the program icon. The name you use should be descriptive of the product
being installed. You can also enter or modify the default directory that
the application will be installed to. This option should be set to the
top-level directory used for the application installation. If
appropriate, select the Place Default Directory Under Program Files
check box to place the default directory in the Program Files folder.
SMS installs the application in the Program Files folder on Windows 95
and later by default.
| 4. | Select the Dialogs tab, shown in Figure 3.
This tab represents the dialog boxes the user will see when the script
is run at a client computer. (You can also create your own custom dialog
boxes and have them displayed through Script Editor.) To suppress all
the dialog boxes that
are displayed to the user for an unattended installation, clear all the
screen options in this tab. The only item that the user will see will
be a progress bar indicating that the installation script for the
application is running. To enable uninstall or rollback support, select
the Back Up Replaced Files option. If you want to facilitate a “silent”
installation, you can also enable this option through Script Editor.
Note You
can effect a fully silent installation—one that doesn’t display the
progress bar or any dialog boxes—by running the compiled script on the
client with a “/s” switch. If you’re using SMS to distribute the SMS
Installer file, be sure to include the “/s” switch on the command line
for the program you create. Fully silent installations are best used on
Windows computers, such as servers, which are rarely in a logged-on
state. Performing a silent installation on a user’s workstation can
cause problems because the user will be unaware that anything is
happening. Unpredictable results can occur if, for example, the user
decides to log off or restart the system while the script is running. |
| 5. | Select the Graphics tab, shown in Figure 4.
You can configure this tab to display custom graphics, such as a custom
logo, text boxes that display animation or tips, and so on, in the form
of .BMP files during the installation. Figure 14-19
shows a sample bitmap added, although in our example we won’t add any
graphics. If you select the graphic file and click Details, you can
modify several graphic settings, including the file path and where and
how the graphic is positioned on the screen.
| 6. | Select the SMS tab, shown in Figure 5.
You use these settings during a rollout of our application using the
SMS distribution process. In this tab you can specify whether to have
the installation process generate a status MIF file for status reporting
to SMS 2003. If you choose to create an MIF file, enter the name for
the status MIF files for installation and deinstallation of the
application. You must supply a filename and the .MIF extension for both
installation and deinstallation if you enable rollback or uninstall
support. Select the Create Package Definition File check box if you want
to create a package definition file (.SMS) when creating the package
for distribution through SMS 2003.
| 7. | Click
OK to return to the Installation Expert interface. Select Application
Files and then click Properties to display the Application Files dialog
box, shown in Figure 6.
| 8. | In
the Components tab you can select a list of optional components for the
installation. These options represent components the user can install
during execution of the installation of the script. For example, suppose
a custom Microsoft Access database installation contains three database
files that can be installed. You can identify each database as a
component in this tab. (Then, in the Files tab, you can identify which
database files are associated with each component.) Components are
listed for the user during the execution of the installation script in
the order in which they appear in this tab. You can add, sort, or modify
the list of components using the Move Up, Move Down, Add, and Delete
buttons.
| 9. | Select the Files tab, shown in Figure 7.
The Files tab contains four panes. In the top two panes, locate the
folders or files you want to include in your script. In the lower two
panes, select a location on the destination computer at which to install
these folders or files. You can add or remove files to your
installation. For example, if you needed to include customized Microsoft
Word templates as part of the installation, you could add them here.
| 10. | Click
OK to return to the Installation Expert interface, select Runtime
Support, and click Properties to display the Runtime Support dialog box,
shown in Figure 8.
| 11. | In
the Options tab you can configure uninstall support, which is enabled
by default, and specify the support drivers needed for the SMS
Installer–generated executable file. For this example we’ve left the
default setting for Uninstall Support selected for rollback support.
Note Two
additional tabs are available for the Runtime Support attribute: the
Visual Basic tab and the Visual FoxPro tab. In the Visual Basic tab you
can configure Visual Basic support, including the Visual Basic directory
and application type. You can also select Visual Basic options such as
runtime support. In the Visual FoxPro tab you can configure Visual
FoxPro support, including the Visual FoxPro directory and other options
such as runtime support and OLE Control Extension (OCX) support. Refer
to the SMS Installer Help for more information about these tabs. |
| 12. | Click OK, select User Configuration, and click Properties to display the User Configuration dialog box, shown in Figure 9.
| 13. | In
the Icons tab, specify the name of the program group to which icons
will be added. You can also specify additional icons to be added to the
program group or even delete icons that shouldn’t be added to the
program group. For example, you might choose to remove an Uninstall icon
that the original setup program included in the program group but that
you don’t want to expose to the user.
| 14. | To
verify modifications to file associations and INI files, select the
Associations tab and the INI Files tab. The Associations tab allows you
to specify and modify file associations for files being installed; the
INI Files tab allows you to specify the INI files and their entries
requiring modification during setup. For example, if you know that you
need to modify the net heap size entry in the System.ini file on a
Windows 98 computer after an application is installed, you could do so
in the INI Files tab as part of the installation script.
| 15. | To display the registry changes made during execution of the installation script, select the Registry tab, shown in Figure 10.
| 16. | You
can modify certain registry settings from this tab. For example, in
this TechNet installation, we want to change the setting for the
registered organization. Under Destination Computer, navigate to the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\TechNet\ Domestic\1.0\2003NOV\1033
key, and select RegisteredOrganization.
| 17. | Click Details to display the Registry Key Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 11.
In this dialog box you can make changes to the registry key settings.
Click OK to close the dialog box and click OK once more to return to the
Installation Expert window.
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