Creating shortcut with NSIS - nsis

I am trying to create an installer using NSIS, installing just the program that I have made works just fine but when I add code to the script to install a shortcut as well things aren't working.
I am very new to this program and what happens is the "Start in:" property path is incomplete but if i add the "\IndieBrowser\IndieBrowser\bin\Debug\IndieBrowser.exe"" at the end it just turns a lot of things into folders.
Full code:
!include "MUI2.nsh"
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_INSTFILES
!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE "English"
Section "Desktop Shortcut" SectionS
SetShellVarContext current
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\IndieBrowser.lnk" "$INSTDIR\IndieBrowser\IndieBrowser\bin\Debug\IndieBrowser.exe"
SectionEnd

Here is an example:
; Create application shortcut (first in installation dir to have the correct "start in" target)
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR\bin"
CreateShortCut "$INSTDIR\bin\${NAME}.lnk" "$INSTDIR\bin\${NAME}.exe"
; Start menu entries
SetOutPath "$SMPROGRAMS\${NAME}\"
CopyFiles "$INSTDIR\bin\${NAME}.lnk" "$SMPROGRAMS\${NAME}\"
Delete "$INSTDIR\bin\${NAME}.lnk"

Related

!define MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY_VARIABLE does not create variable - NSIS

I'm trying to create an NSIS script which copies various files to two different locations that can be specified.
I have checked the documentation and other StackOverflow entries but do not come up with a solution.
My Problem is that I want to define a second variable for a directory. In this directory sample files and projects shall be copied.
When trying to compile the NSI I get the following error/warnings:
3 warnings:
unknown variable/constant "APPDIR" detected, ignoring (C:\Users\max\Desktop\PortablePlayer\so.nsi:29)
unknown variable/constant "APPDIR" detected, ignoring (C:\Users\max\Desktop\PortablePlayer\so.nsi:33)
unknown variable/constant "APPDIR\Testfile.txt" detected, ignoring (C:\Users\max\Desktop\PortablePlayer\so.nsi:43)
Here is my script that I'm using:
!include "MUI.nsh"
Name "MyApp"
OutFile "MyApp-Installer.exe"
InstallDir "$PROGRAMFILES\My App"
; Installation Directory for the App
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY
; Installation Directory for the samples and projects
!define MUI_PAGE_HEADER_SUBTEXT "Choose your custom Samples Folder"
!define MUI_DIRECTORYPAGE_TEXT_TOP "To separate your App and your samples and projects you can choose a different folder than the installation directory"
!define MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY_VARIABLE $APPDIR
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_INSTFILES
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_FINISH
!insertmacro MUI_UNPAGE_CONFIRM
!insertmacro MUI_UNPAGE_INSTFILES
!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE "English"
Section ""
SetOutPath $INSTDIR
File Testfile.txt
SetOutPath $APPDIR
File Testfile.txt
FileOpen $0 "$DESKTOP\Hello_world.txt" w
FileWrite $0 $APPDIR
FileClose $0
WriteUninstaller "$INSTDIR\MyApp-Uninstaller.exe"
SectionEnd
Section "Uninstall"
Delete "$INSTDIR\Testfile.txt"
Delete "$INSTDIR\MyApp-Uninstaller.exe"
RMDir $INSTDIR
Delete "$APPDIR\Testfile.txt"
SectionEnd
For debugging I tried to write the value of $APPDIR into a textfile but it only writes $APPDIR instead of the value.
If I change it to $INSTDIR it prints the correct path for $INSTDIR.
How can I initialize the variable for $APPDIR?
If I try to initialize it on the top, it is there but empty, so the installer fails after succesful compilation of the script.
Running Win 7 with NSIS 2.5.1
Can anybody please shed some light on what is wrong?
Thanks!
The MUI_DIRECTORYPAGE_VARIABLE define tells MUI that you have a custom variable that you want to use but MUI does not create the variable, you have to do that yourself near the top of your script:
Var APPDIR
So it should look something like
Var APPDIR
!include "MUI.nsh"
!define MUI_DIRECTORYPAGE_VARIABLE $APPDIR
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_INSTFILES
!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE "English"
Section
DetailPrint $APPDIR
SectionEnd
Edit: The name of the define is MUI_DIRECTORYPAGE_VARIABLE not MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY_VARIABLE like you have in your example...

NSIS do things if section is not checked

I have created an NSIS Installer which works fine. Now I want to add another section called "install as update" which only will do things when it is NOT checked.
Why:
When the full version is installed, it will overwrite certain files which contain the activation codes of the software.
I can do it otherwise, and make a section called "install full version", but that makes less sense.
Section /o "Install as update" SecUpdate
*if(checked == false){
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR\data"
File "data\ConfigFile.xml"
File "..."
File "..."
File "..."
File "..."
File "..."
File "..."
File "..."
*}
SectionEnd
*these two lines represent what I would like to do.
If a section is unchecked then the code in it will not execute no matter what you do so you have to put the code somewhere else. A hidden section is a good solution:
!include LogicLib.nsh
!include Sections.nsh
Page Components
Page InstFiles
Section "Program files"
SectionIn RO
;SetOutPath ...
;File ...
SectionEnd
Section /o "Install as update" SID_UPDATE
SectionEnd
Section -OverwriteActivation SID_OWACTIVATION
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR\data"
File "whatever.xml"
SectionEnd
Function .onSelChange
${If} ${SectionIsSelected} ${SID_UPDATE}
!insertmacro UnselectSection ${SID_OWACTIVATION}
${Else}
!insertmacro SelectSection ${SID_OWACTIVATION}
${EndIf}
FunctionEnd

Require Component Installation with MUI

As a new NSIS user, I have defaulted to the HM NIS Edit wizard to create my installers so far. The default output takes advantage of MUI, which has been very useful to me. It also, however, includes a components page from the MUI macro library, so I cannot pick and choose which components are mandatory. I have looked at this question: How to make a SectionGroup mandatory in NSIS script, but I'm not sure where to put it in my code below, or even how to modify the wizard's output code to include it. The installer is for several apps with distinct (selectable) executables that all require the same (ideally mandatory) support files.
; HM NIS Edit Wizard helper defines
!define PRODUCT_NAME "Product"
!define PRODUCT_VERSION "1.0"
!define PRODUCT_DIR_REGKEY "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\App1.exe"
!define PRODUCT_UNINST_KEY "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\${PRODUCT_NAME}"
!define PRODUCT_UNINST_ROOT_KEY "HKLM"
; MUI 1.67 compatible ------
!include "MUI.nsh"
; MUI Settings
!define MUI_ABORTWARNING
!define MUI_ICON "${NSISDIR}\Contrib\Graphics\Icons\modern-install.ico"
!define MUI_UNICON "${NSISDIR}\Contrib\Graphics\Icons\modern-uninstall.ico"
; Welcome page
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_WELCOME
; Instfiles page
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_INSTFILES
; Finish page
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_FINISH
; Uninstaller pages
!insertmacro MUI_UNPAGE_INSTFILES
; Language files
!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE "English"
; MUI end ------
Name "${PRODUCT_NAME} ${PRODUCT_VERSION}"
OutFile "Setup.exe"
InstallDir "$PROGRAMFILES\Product"
InstallDirRegKey HKLM "${PRODUCT_DIR_REGKEY}" ""
ShowInstDetails show
ShowUnInstDetails show
Section "Support Files" SEC01
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
SetOverwrite try
File "..\Support\File\Path\file.txt"
SectionEnd
Section "App1" SEC02
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
SetOverwrite try
File "..\App1\File\Path\App1.exe"
SectionEnd
Section "App2" SEC03
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
SetOverwrite try
File "..\App2\File\Path\App2.exe"
SectionEnd
In short, I need to know how to make the Support Files section mandatory, without losing the GUI. My only experience, though, is with the above-mentioned wizard.
The SectionIn instruction is used to assign sections to install types (Combobox on the components page) but it can also make sections read-only:
Section "Support Files" SEC01
SectionIn RO ;Make it read-only
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
SetOverwrite try
File "..\Support\File\Path\file.txt"
SectionEnd

NSIS Installer Start Menu Directory

I have an NSIS installer that has the start menu folders hard-coded using this code...
Var SMDir ;Start menu folder
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_STARTMENU 0 $SMDir
Section -StartMenu
!insertmacro MUI_STARTMENU_WRITE_BEGIN 0
CreateDirectory "$SMPrograms\MY Program\My Folder"
CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\My Program" "$INSTDIR\start.exe"
CreateShortCut "$SMPROGRAMS\MY Program\My Shortcut.lnk" "$INSTDIR\start.exe"
CreateShortCut "$SMPROGRAMS\My Program\Uninstall.lnk" "$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe"
This all works apart from on the 'Choose Start Menu Folder' it doesn't let me change the default installation directory.
Is there a way to fix this or alternatively how can I skip this page but still trigger the StartMenu section?
If you don't want a startmenu selection page at all just remove !insertmacro MUI_PAGE_STARTMENU ... and the two !insertmacro MUI_STARTMENU_* macros in the -StartMenu section.
If you want to allow the user to choose the directory then you must use the variable and not hardcode the path:
outfile test.exe
name "SM Test"
requestexecutionlevel user ;Single user/"Just me" installer
!define MUI_COMPONENTSPAGE_NODESC
!include mui2.nsh
Var SMDir ;Start menu folder
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_COMPONENTS
;!define MUI_STARTMENUPAGE_DEFAULTFOLDER "MY Program" ;Default, name is used if not defined
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_STARTMENU 0 $SMDir
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_INSTFILES
!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE English
Section -StartMenu
!insertmacro MUI_STARTMENU_WRITE_BEGIN 0 ;This macro sets $SMDir and skips to MUI_STARTMENU_WRITE_END if the "Don't create shortcuts" checkbox is checked...
CreateDirectory "$SMPrograms\$SMDir"
CreateShortCut "$SMPROGRAMS\$SMDir\Myapp.lnk" "$INSTDIR\start.exe"
!insertmacro MUI_STARTMENU_WRITE_END
SectionEnd
Section "Desktop Shortcut"
CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\Myapp.lnk" "$INSTDIR\start.exe"
SectionEnd
(If you are installing as administrator then you should call SetShellVarContext all before accessing $SMPrograms and you should probably not create a desktop shortcut)

Empty box showing up in my installer? How do I remove it?

I'm using a pretty simple install script for my application and its showing an empty box on the section selection screen. I would like to remove it, or at least know what its for and fill it up.
here is a screenshot
and my install script
; example2.nsi
;
; This script is based on example1.nsi, but it remember the directory,
; has uninstall support and (optionally) installs start menu shortcuts.
;
; It will install ICV-MRI into a directory that the user selects,
;--------------------------------
!include "MUI.nsh"
; The name of the installer
Name "ICV-MRI"
; The file to write
OutFile "ICV-MRI_Setup.exe"
; The default installation directory
InstallDir $PROGRAMFILES\ICV-MRI
; Registry key to check for directory (so if you install again, it will
; overwrite the old one automatically)
InstallDirRegKey HKLM "Software\ICV-MRI" "Install_Dir"
; Request application privileges for Windows Vista
RequestExecutionLevel admin
Function LaunchLink
ExecShell "" "$INSTDIR\mri.exe"
FunctionEnd
;--------------------------------
; Pages
Page components
Page directory
Page instfiles
UninstPage uninstConfirm
UninstPage instfiles
; !insertmacro MUI_PAGE_WELCOME
; !insertmacro MUI_PAGE_DIRECTORY
; !insertmacro MUI_PAGE_INSTFILES
# These indented statements modify settings for MUI_PAGE_FINISH
!define MUI_FINISHPAGE_NOAUTOCLOSE
!define MUI_FINISHPAGE_RUN
!define MUI_FINISHPAGE_RUN_NOTCHECKED
!define MUI_FINISHPAGE_RUN_TEXT "Run MRI when the installer closes"
!define MUI_FINISHPAGE_RUN_FUNCTION "LaunchLink"
!define MUI_FINISHPAGE_SHOWREADME_NOTCHECKED
!insertmacro MUI_PAGE_FINISH
!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE "English"
;--------------------------------
; The stuff to install
Section "ICV-MRI (required)"
SectionIn RO
; Set output path to the installation directory.
SetOutPath $INSTDIR
; Put file there
File "dist\bz2.pyd"
File "dist\library.zip"
File "dist\mri.exe"
File "dist\PyQt4.QtCore.pyd"
File "dist\PyQt4.QtGui.pyd"
File "dist\python26.dll"
File "dist\QtCore4.dll"
File "dist\QtGui4.dll"
File "dist\select.pyd"
File "dist\sip.pyd"
File "dist\unicodedata.pyd"
File "dist\w9xpopen.exe"
; Write the installation path into the registry
WriteRegStr HKLM SOFTWARE\ICV-MRI "Install_Dir" "$INSTDIR"
; Write the uninstall keys for Windows
WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ICV-MRI" "DisplayName" "ICV-MRI"
WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ICV-MRI" "UninstallString" '"$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe"'
WriteRegDWORD HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ICV-MRI" "NoModify" 1
WriteRegDWORD HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ICV-MRI" "NoRepair" 1
WriteUninstaller "uninstall.exe"
SectionEnd
; Optional section (can be disabled by the user)
Section "Start Menu Shortcuts"
CreateDirectory "$SMPROGRAMS\ICV-MRI"
CreateShortCut "$SMPROGRAMS\ICV-MRI\Uninstall.lnk" "$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe" "" "$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe" 0
CreateShortCut "$SMPROGRAMS\ICV-MRI\ICV-MRI.lnk" "$INSTDIR\mri.exe" "" "$INSTDIR\mri.exe" 0
SectionEnd
Section "Desktop Shortcuts"
CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\ICV-MRI.lnk" "$INSTDIR\mri.exe" "" "$INSTDIR\mri.exe" 0
SectionEnd
;--------------------------------
If you want to remove it, !define MUI_COMPONENTSPAGE_NODESC at the top of your script
That box is for the section description.
Take a look at the Modern UI Basic.nsi file:
;--------------------------------
;Installer Sections
Section "Dummy Section" SecDummy
SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
;ADD YOUR OWN FILES HERE...
;Store installation folder
WriteRegStr HKCU "Software\Modern UI Test" "" $INSTDIR
;Create uninstaller
WriteUninstaller "$INSTDIR\Uninstall.exe"
SectionEnd
;--------------------------------
;Descriptions
;Language strings
LangString DESC_SecDummy ${LANG_ENGLISH} "A test section."
;Assign language strings to sections
!insertmacro MUI_FUNCTION_DESCRIPTION_BEGIN
!insertmacro MUI_DESCRIPTION_TEXT ${SecDummy} $(DESC_SecDummy)
!insertmacro MUI_FUNCTION_DESCRIPTION_END
Read more Modern UI Readme, section on Components page descriptions.
The Modern UI components page has a text box in which a description can be shown when the user hovers the mouse over a component. If you don't want to use these descriptions, insert the MUI_COMPONENTSPAGE_NODESC interface setting.
To set a description for a section, an additional parameter needs to be added to Section commmand with a unique identifier for the section. This name can later be used to set the description for this section.

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