BarryB
30th September 2004 18:12 UTC
HM NIS Edit doesn't help
I read at http://hmne.sourceforge.net/ that "...[the HM NIS Edit] Script Wizard will help you to create standard Setup programs with only few clicks..." I can't even find anything called a Script Wizard in HM NIS Edit.
I imagine some installers being pretty simple and not requiring reading long documentation. For now, I'd settle for one that just downloads and unzips a file, and maybe adds a directory to PATH. A desktop icon would be nice too. It seems like it should take only "a few clicks" to create such an installer, but it looks like it would take a NSIS beginner a lot more effort than that.
Anyone have any tips on how to quickly create a simple installer, or should I start reading the NSIS documentation from the beginning?
Sorry if this sounds like a no-effort question, but the first thing I'd use the installer for is a program I created called EZ TAR which was inspired by the long GNU tar instructions and lack of a good, free, self explanatory tar GUI, and I'm getting the same bad vibes from NSIS and HM NIS Edit.
Thanks,
Barry
Joel
30th September 2004 20:15 UTC
Run HM NIS Edit, then press Ctrl+W.
Is in the File menu.
BarryB
1st October 2004 02:58 UTC
Thanks! I thought it would be in "NSIS" or "Tools" or that "?" would help me. I still had to randomly explore to figure out how to save an executable installer, but I got lucky that time. I figured out how to compile it, then I executed the command under "command line" from the lower window, and then I read the end of the output at the command line, and saw a path next to "output," and that was the executable installer.
Now I have to dig into the documentation to figure out if I could add to the PATH environment variable. Hmmm... I thought I asked for a desktop icon but I don't see one. That should be easy enough to look up.
Joel
1st October 2004 16:51 UTC
In the normal installation of HM NSIS, the installer can left a desktop icon.
If you don't have one, you can make one, with Windows Explorer.
BarryB
2nd October 2004 08:27 UTC
The first things I found in my search for a way to programmatically add to Windows' Path environment variable were the "set" command and a Perl module. Unfortunately, with those methods the new Path entry only lasts until the command prompt is closed and it isn't reflected in Windows' System Information GUI. Then I tried the following from http://search.cpan.org/~lgoddard/Tk-...aller/Win32.pm :
"If you are looking for a means to update the Windows Path variable, have a look for PathTool.exe, a tiny Windows 32-bit executable by Luke Bailey (luke@notts.flexeprint.com). This tool can also be used to add new, persistant environment variables to the system."
I'm not sure if that email address is still valid, and I don't want to bother Luke if I don't have to, so I searched Google for PathTool and found the following:
Webpage: http://files.chatnfiles.com/The%20Pi.../010/files.htm
File: http://files.chatnfiles.com/The%20Pi...0/PATHTL22.ZIP
Webpage: http://riverbbs.net/cds/share/5/diag/PATHTL23.ZIP
File: http://riverbbs.net/files/output/792.Html
Webpage: http://www.legypt.net/general/index/..._3/utility.htm
File: http://www.legypt.net/general/files/...Y/PATHTL23.ZIP
Webpage: http://www.brado-bbs.de/ra214c.htm
File: ftp://node:node@brado-bbs.dyndns.org...pz/patht23.exe
(The following might be from a different author)
Webpage: http://www.digievo.co.uk/software.asp?category=1
File: http://www.digievo.co.uk/downloads/pathtool.zip
Has anyone tried any of those? Any other suggestions on what to use to programmatically add a directory to Path on Windows?
Thanks,
Barry
pengyou
2nd October 2004 09:50 UTC
The NSIS Archive shows how to manipulate the path:
http://nsis.sourceforge.net/archive/....php?pageid=91
BarryB
2nd October 2004 10:26 UTC
Thanks, those archives are great.
The latest version of those path manipulation functions is at http://nsis.sourceforge.net/archive/...ances=0,11,211
BarryB
2nd October 2004 13:20 UTC
I didn't see that "last updated" date. this was updated more recently, but I like the extra option in this one. Maybe I'll combine the two.