ExperienceUI for NSIS

I have created a new UI for NSIS. It's formally called the InstallShield UI for NSIS, but for now I'll just call it the ISUI.

I don't have a web site (yet) but I am going to email KiCHIK about it and it should be released soon. I would appreciate help writing an extensive multi-language support system, so if anyone would like to pitch in on that it would be great.

Because of file size limitations on the Winamp forum server, I can't include the setup program here, but KiCHIK should post the file on http://nsis.sourceforge.net.

I can, however, include the screenshot utility (see attached file)

Any ideas, comments, and suggestions are welcome at dandaman32 <at> users <dot> sourceforge <dot> net.

-dandaman32

Send to afrowuk at tiscali dot co dot uk and I can host it for you until Kichik does.

-Stu

Here we are everyone! 🙂

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/imker/dow...ISetup_1.0.zip

-Stu

For the design and implementation, I give you 10/10! This is truly amazing! 😁

Now onto the scripting side of it. Firstly you can fix the problem of having to !include your header file after !defines by using !macro's instead. Have a look at my Self-Extractor header file. Every setting is set via an !insertmacro (which are hidden in-turn by more !defines).

The problem with the text.htm page not being displayed inside your ISUI Readme.html page (on IE), is because you've set a classid that defines a page 'Print' button, whereas you want to display an HTML document! Remove the classid code and it'll work in IE.
Also you do not need ActiveX for this.

-Stu

is there an .nsi example file forthcoming that uses the isui ?
or, do you allready have one in there...
looks great 🙂

is it just me or does the installer leave some files in the temp dir ($plugindir not deleted?) not sure if the problem is with the nsis super packer(whatever the fuck that is) or the installer itself

I like design (yes, 10 points), but:
1) some windows flashes on installer launch and later on page changes, looks bad;
2) it stealed my IE window, where I already wrote a big part of this post;
3) ICQ window (was hidden) suddenly appeared on a short time in the left bottom corner of screen and later in it's normal position (screen right border), but ICQ lost it's XP stype (window corners). I reloaded ICQ and repeated installation start, ICQ bevaviour was absolutely the same as in the first time.
Like Anders I see 4 plug-ins in tmp dir (incuding nsExec).
Installer bugs looks dangerous.
Good news - antivirus check OK.
Win2K Server Rus

I don't think this is legal. The interface is probably copyrighted and you are using a registered trademark of a company.

Unless you have permission for both things, it would recommend you not to release this UI in the current format. Hosting it on the NSIS site or NSIS archive is therefore also not possible.

However, it could be a nice start for a custom UI, if you design your own graphics and use another name.

That's a very good point 🙁
I don't think including notepad.exe in your installer is a good idea either (you should make a shortcut instead through the installer)!

-Stu

Well... is cool alright... but the installer left this window after I cancel the installer..

And the temp folder still having some files, not plugindir...

*sorry double post* 🙁

Thanks for bug reports everyone! 😁

I've written fixes for many of these, and some other behaviors are intentional.

First, I include Notepad to serve as an "example" program. One bug that I noticed is that I had a setup.nsi for Notepad, but it got overwritten when I extracted the setup.nsi file for the main ISUI setup program. This bug was fixed by renaming the ISUI installer setup.nsi to ISUISetup.nsi. The Notepad setup is now setup.nsi.

Second, the temp files bug was fixed by a macro (ISUI_TEMPFILES_DELETE) in version 1.01. This is about to be sent to Afrow UK. Sorry about this...I've had some bad experiences with the $PLUGINSDIR variable, and I just had to use $TEMP instead.

Third, the flashes. This is unavoidable, but nearly nonexistent with fast machines. This is because NSIS resets all of the control colors for the pages when you click Next or Back.

Fourth, the mystery window. (for lobo lunar) The ISUI 1.0 setup program has to minimize all open programs, and your window had the #32770 class (probably) and the setup tried to "minimize" it. This bug is fixed in 1.01 by using a customized "show desktop.scf" file.

Last, the name and UI. First, I did (sorry) start with the Modern UI and added lots more features, but in respect for the NSIS license I did give credit where credit is due ("If you use this software in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be appreciated but is not required.")

Thanks for hosting afrow uk, and thanks once again to all who gave bug reports! Your input is greatly appreciated!

I dont know how attatchments work yet because i'm new to the winamp forums. obviously the screenshot app didn't go through. sorry.

The new version's setup is known to crash sometimes, but this is because of the MSIBanner plugin (sorry, lobo lunar). This has been proven by creating a test program without the ISUI implementation. If you get problems, try again or restart your pc and this should go away. If it doesn't, run setup with the /SafeMode cmd line switch to disable optional plugins.

Any other comments are welcome on this post and and at my email (see above)

-dandaman32

p. s. i also dropped the nsis superpacker

I am aware that you put notepad in for editing scripts, but the fact that you included the exe would be illegal...
Also being that you have included the Windows XP version of notepad means that it probably won't run properly on Win9x anyway!
Just make a shortcut to notepad.exe instead:
CreateShortCut "$SYSTEM\notepad.exe"

And you'd better create your own UI design. Else Macrovision (the InstallShield company) might be on your back pretty soon...

-Stu

why MSIBanner gives problems? 🙁
It uses the same thread procedure like Banner does...

Afrow UK, you're right. I'll just copy the file from the user's $WINDIR to the install target, and that should clear things up.

The UI file is not the one that is used by the actual IS installers, and it isn't even the same size. It was actually the Modern UI file originally, but I just added more images and stuff. I can legally change one of the color channels by one digit and add a single pixel to the images (I've already customized them a bit) and be out of MacroVision's way. BTW, the Windows XP skin came from Windows XP's annoying forst-time-setup "OOBE" wizard, not from ant IS screenshots or such.

If you guys think the name's a problem, I also agree. I'm totally clueless as to what to name rename it to, so let me know. I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of "experience ui".

-dandaman32 (dandaman32 <at> users <dot> sourceforge <dot> net)

afrow uk:
The activex control is there to make it look cool. I made an IE-compatible version of the page, but for some reason the style sheet doesn't work (no idea why). It works great in firefox, and firefox works so much dang better, so I say everyone should just use that. note that the firefox link in the readme doesn't work (i did .org, not .net) This has been corrected for the next release.

These is a bug. When I set SpaceTexts none, the label control below Directory page edit control become

Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text

sorry, I used that text for a placeholder while I was developing the ui file. It has been removed for the next release.

-dandaman32

just had a look at this after a pm i got from kichik over the weekend and now it makes sense to me...

<kichik> think you can help that guy get some prettier buttons there? =)

i think the skinner plugin needs some love to help that out 😉 (will see if i can get something useable for just buttons in the next week)

-daz

Alright, the InstallShield UI for NSIS is officially done for. It has been renamed to the ExperienceUI for NSIS or XPUI.

All of the code is the same, just open your script in WordPad, HM NIS Edit or similar and replace all of the "ISUI_"s with XPUI_.

The updated file has been sent to Afrow UK, who has agreed to post it until kichik does.

And thanks once again for hosting this afrow uk, you rock! 🙂

-dandaman32

I'm sure I could write you a little javascript to fix the problem with IE.
I shall upload new file soon.

And I'm glad that you amended your ways - very wise choice!

-Stu

Ok,



-Stu

first off, it still leaves files in both $temp and $pluginsdir

why does it have to minimize other windows? (I dont want a program messing with my other windows. It is also hard to get this working for all apps since u cant know how every app works(Some windows minimize to the tray for example, or in an extreme case delete all the files on drive c when u minimize it))

Why is it creating TWO tray icons? (IMHO creating a tray icon is wrong for a setup program)

Minimizer Bug:
Banner and MSIBanner tend to mess up the installer's automatic BringToFront command. That's why the setup app minimizes all other open apps. Since version 1.01, it uses a safer way to do this by using an internal Windows command. If you still have problems, blame Microsoft.

Tray icon bug:
Windows XP is not smart enough to remove the first icon (a balloon trigger) when the remove command is inserted. When you hover your mouse over the icon, however, it disappears. I have seen this happen with other programs too.

Kill IE bug:
The command that closes the Internet Explorer-based music player (the one that only works if your information bar is disabled) for some reason kills the all the IE processes that are running. I think this is because I used nopey's "kill" command. I'll try and clear this up in the next release.

-dandaman32

when u uninstall it asks if u want to remove all files in $instdir, a normal user will not understand this

problem with $temp files not getting deleted is still here

(attached) drawing bug (running xp sp2 (no windowblinds))

Thanks, Anders, I'll try to change it to "the installation directory" instead of "$INSTDIR" in the next release which should be ready soon.

The drawing bug is an issue with RECT ID 1044. I think I will remove this rectangle because it is not used anymore. (it used to be used for the welcome page in the Modern UI)

Here is the first official patch for the XPUI. It contains fixes for the Uninstall Success page and the critical bug that dropped into place when I renamed the program.

Another one is coming; this one will fix the RECT 1044 bug (see prev post) and will update a readme core file.

I will send a setup program to Afrow UK once a few more patches have been cooked up.

-dandaman32

Here is another patch...this one updates the main UI files and adds a few special FX to the readme.

-dandaman32

ps I am still looking for help for a multi-language system...any volunteers?

v2 Uploaded (XPUI)


-Stu