razor_x
26th May 2004 17:34 UTC

variable as shortcut...howto
i have an unstaller with several sections all but one are optional.I know i can use getsectionflags to create a specified shortcut,by the section selected.But how would i create a variable named shortcut,based on $INSTDIR?...for example they install to c:\blahblah...i want to make a short cut on the desktop to c:\blahblah c:\whatever.exe.

zimsms
26th May 2004 17:40 UTC

Use the CreateShortcut command. For example:

CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\Shortcut Name.lnk" "$INSTDIR\My.exe"

razor_x
26th May 2004 17:44 UTC

thanks for the reply..but i cant use...

CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\Shortcut Name.lnk" "$INSTDIR\My.exe"

zimsms
26th May 2004 17:59 UTC

Var "MyVar"

in .OnInit
StrCpy $MyVar ""

in a section/function/macro
StrCpy $MyVar "Shortcut Name"
CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\$MyVar.lnk" "$INSTDIR\My.exe"

razor_x
27th May 2004 16:19 UTC

thxz for the reply again.But that wont help me I cant define "shortcut name" i want that to be defined by the user.Somehow have the shortcut be linked to the $INSTDIR by a variable...the exe is always the same but i would like the shortcut named after the folder..anyway to do this?

zimsms
27th May 2004 16:44 UTC

In my previous post you can specify what the name of the shortcut is by populating the variable; for example:

StrCpy $MyVar "Shortcut Name"

The value within the quotes could be any value specified at runtime or compile time. All you need to do is populate it.

For example; if you wanted to make the shortcut name equal $INSTDIR, then do this:

StrCpy $MyVar "$INSTDIR"

If you want it to hold some value from the registry then do this:

ReadRegStr $0 "HKLM" "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" "ProductName"
StrCpy $MyVar "$0"

If you want to get the value from the user, you will need to use the InstallOptions to define a custom page that populates $MyVar with the value you are trying to obtain.

evilO
27th May 2004 16:58 UTC

Hi :)

@zimsms: right, except that a shortcut can't contain special characters, as ':' and '\'.

@razor_x: Assuming your installation directory is at the drive's root, this will remove the first 3 characters and create the shortcut:

StrLen $R0 $INSTDIR
StrCpy $R1 $INSTDIR $R0 3

CreateShortCut "$DESKTOP\$R1.lnk" "$INSTDIR\My.exe"


For instance, if the installation directory is "c:\blahblah", the shortcut will be named "blahblah"

Will that do ??

evilO/Olive

zimsms
27th May 2004 17:12 UTC

True enough evilO! I didn't want to confuse razor_x with string functions. But that is a valid point. All illegal characters will have to be stripped out of the string.

razor_x
27th May 2004 17:15 UTC

thxz alot guys! got it working and learned a few things in the process...

evilO
27th May 2004 17:35 UTC

Cool, so we all made our day ;) !

evilO/Olive

razor_x
27th May 2004 17:44 UTC

just one more question if i had to install to other than the root..could it be done some way?

for example c:\blah works well but what about...c:\program files\blah?

zimsms
27th May 2004 18:15 UTC

Yes you could do that, use the reverse string search for "\" or "/" depending on the platform, the resulting value would be the very last folder name. See the string functions in the NSIS Archive.

I believe it was the "Advanced Search in String" function

Archive:String Functions

razor_x
27th May 2004 18:19 UTC

thxz again :)

zimsms
27th May 2004 18:20 UTC

Your Welcome!

razor_x
27th May 2004 18:56 UTC

well i tried advancedstrstr and doesnt work well for me and i'll tell you why...

Push 0 ;Loops Quantity (0 for one code execution, only accept positive numbers)

Push 1 ;Loops Quantity

razor_x
28th May 2004 06:30 UTC

nvm...

found this function in the archive and works great.

get last directory part

please excuse my newbness.

zimsms
28th May 2004 13:45 UTC

Not a problem, learning something new is always a challenge; especially under deadlines!