New Poll - Read! :)

The URL for VirtualTreeView is: http://www.lischke-online.de and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VirtualTreeview (with the latest version 2.6.5)
It's a bit hard to use at first, but very powerful.

all these great ideas. *sweet*

Agree, page control isn't a good idea, for a start only one person can really work on the thing. Don't like the idea of MDI.

Personally I think a tree view down the left, list view in report mode on the right that shows files for the project. All options pages as modal dialogs. I've attached a simple mock-up to give you a better idea of what I mean.

Think things like set compression should be at a file level not project. Also think all file related bits should be in one dialog, that's how I've done it in my wizard (so I would think that), don't see the point making them go to different locations to pick the file and then setup it shortcut.

Not sure why you want to use a virtual tree view when you're only going to be using it for perhaps a dozen items, if it's just going to be used for section navigation.

Oh, if you meant that get all the screens going and then think about how to save and load, then if I were coding I definately wouldn't do that. I think you have to know how this is going to work, even if it's not coded, to be able to know how things should be stored internally.

I wanted to do those screens as to define what we want the interface to do. When coding you have to start differently. It's just that our views on the interface are very different (I think).
The treeview on the left is nice, I have it myself in TibEd. Then on the right, like you have your grid, you have all the options. Doing it inside a seperate form isn't very handy - you have to click, close, etc. It's much handier when it 'seamlesly' integrates. Perhaps that was the whole idea of Frames in Delphi? Mmm perhaps Frames might be the way to go. Everyone gets their own frame (every page/item in the tree).
But we have to make some sort of TNSISProject base class first, with child members, etc. Perhaps I should make the VPatch GUI opensource, it has something similar.

Frames don't work in the way you may be thinking. Nothing to do with multi-pages, they're a container, bit like a super panel, that you add you're controls to, the frame can then be used a bit like a composite component. But if you're thinking do that and then, say, add them to the pages of a notebook then you'll have problems linking them up to the toolbar and menu.

Having a dialog requires no more typing from the end user than if the form was "integrated", for example either way when you're adding a file you'll still want OK and Cancel options.

One program I've written in the past uses multiple forms shown in a form container. So my main form has the section side panel on the left and the frame container on the right in which you you create an instance of the forms in.

oh delphi is nothing for me so i`ll be just the listener for this round. however if trying to explain how the interface shall be, make some picture of it. it`ll be more understable for all of us (i think) more people can write their feelings from it... bye 😉 (sorry my english)

kinda sounds like the old slate blue: all on one form, seamlessly integrated.

Never saw the old version of Slate Blue, but the main differnece is probably that it's completley gui/wizard based, you never normally see the script. When you want to amend a project it loads everything back up and you amend it visually.

You should check out ISTool. Its a script editor for Inno Setup. Its one of the best script editors I have ever seen (even though Inno Setup is a little bloated).

Rob

the project readme. change the extension to .doc before running.

Cool. If you guys need an Website Guy and/or a project writer, I would be glad to help. I can even write .pdf files!!!!!

-Duane

I'm not absolutely clear on the C++ scripting core part?
And is the final language 'set'?

Someone on a different thread (I think) thought that MAKENSIS should be written with a C++ "core" (thought it already was, that was somehow self updating. How he thought that was going to work he didn't ellaborate on. I think this can be safely ignored for now, I would think the same goes for allowing RAR and CAB files to be output. Unless someone want to rewrite MAKENSIS and it's components.

the RAR/CAB thing was used only to explain how the installer could be split up; i didn't mean that the actual split files would be these file types.

Might have misunderstood or misread your post, sorry. What I was really trying to say that any enhancements to the NSIS compiler side of things I would have thought are outside the scope of creating a NSIS GUI, apart from anything else no one I've seen reply to this thread has VC++ experience (unless I've missed someone). However if a VC++ person joins in then I'm sure there would be quite a few bits and pieces that people would like changing/implementing.

i read the nsis gui project. sounds good. and about the file splitting i know that this feature must be implemented in the nsis compiler. just thought that justin will read it and writes some comment. bye, trace 😁

liquidmotion: my communication skills increasing... 😉
(i laughed 10min. after i read it... thanx)

we should make some advertising sentence,
(just for fun) like:

...NSIS will never die!😎

or

...behold, here comes the NSIS

or

...let the NSIS control your mind😱

Have we got a name yet? 😕 🙄 😎 😁 😉 😛

NSIS GUI PROJECT
GUI COALITION
NSIS COALITION
sTARfUCKERS iNC. 🙂
MORPHEDMEDIA.COM - (SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION)

ANY OTHER GOOD SUGGESTIONS? AND WHY IS MY CAPS LOCK ON?

and also, i need a simple one line post from each person who is in, and what they want to do. nothing big, just so i know 🙂

Also I suggest that if anyone is interested helping code the project then they should also detail what languages they have experience in (and obviously have access to) and the version they're running (e.g. Delphi 6 Professional)

Help with the specifications and user interface design. I'll sure I'll be able to spend some time on coding regardless of work, although work obviously dictates how much time.

Delphi 5/6 Enterprise, VB 6 Enterprise (but not keen on using VB for this project, however that depends on others).

Marc

Hey, I wouldn't mind helping if you need any extra help.

I have Vis Studio 6 Enterprise (VC++, VB, etc), Borland C++ 5, Delphi 6 personal. Most of my coding is in c/c++ because most of the code I write has to run on Windows/Solaris/Linux/FreeBSD. I've spent a lot of time with VB, and am semi experienced with Delphi but learning it quick.

With your VC++ experience you sound like a good candidate for updating the look of the NSIS installer/uninstaller. If that would be of interest to you. The idea was to give it a facelift making it look more like the current versions of the Wise/Installshield.

i can code in: ASP, HTML, some JAVASCRIPT, VB, some VC++, learning Delphi, flash & photoshop (not really coding).

tools i have: photoshop 6.01, flash 5, golive 5, delphi 5 ent., delphi 6 ent, vc++ ent., vb ent., basically everything 🙂

i propose delphi to be our language, since it produces stand alone exes while mainting a RAD interface. if we need to use commercial components, we can all chip in to buy it/them.

once people stop posting their skills and applications, i will write up a list of members.

also, http://www.morphedmedia.com/forums has a forum setup for the gui project.

Updating the look of the installer is fine, but do we really want to proceed that path? In order to get the look truely up to date, it's going to add some overhead to the program. It's going to require fairly significant changes which will need to be done repeatedly (unless of course we get them into the official release)

If we do change the look of the installer to be more like InstallShield/Wise, then you're going to have to add several features to make it work. (some of these I've mentioned in other threads and would like to see in there anyway)

Delphi is a good choice for the development language. Sounds like a lot of people know it already, and it's not really that difficult to learn for the rest. (btw, you can download the personal edition for free so there is no reason not to have it 😉 )

Keeping it up to date would be a problem (which is probably why the NSIS DLL isn't based on the latest version, at least I don't think it is) and it will also make it a bit larger. However it does currently look rather old fashioned and personally I wouldn't distribute anything other than freeware with it because of this, users like to see you following the latest trends.

It doesn't have to be a 100% clone of either Wise or Installshield just have their general look. So for exmaple, the sidebar graphic could be optional in which case the size shouldn't be much different to the current version. Adding the XP manifest settings to the resource file only add just over 500 bytes.

Hopefully then it might become the standard release.

I can code in Delphi (I have v5 and v6), Visual Basic (but trying to get rid of it because of the upcoming .NET monopoly) and the HTML/PHP/Java bunch. And I know some C/C++ but not enough to actually create anything.

I've created a sort of framework today, it's code-only, no GUI, it's a base class which is going to contain all script settings.

It's called NG (that directory on my HD must have a name...).
Have we found a suitable OS-license yet? Because I put a '(c) by me until we have a license' inside.

i can code in c/c++, vc++ (win32api just little but i`m learning), HTML(DHTML), JavaScript, Flash5, CorelDraw and Photo-paint.

tools i have: Adobe Photoshop 6.0, Visual Studio 6.0 ENT, CorelDRAW 9.0, Flash 5.0, atc... 😉

i coded in Turbo Pascal 7.0 few years ago but i don`t know anything from it now 😉

time for a poll. answer this in the order in which the questions are posted please:

1) Which language should the GUI be written in?
2) What kind of GUI should it be (ultimate,wizard,etc)?
3) what do you want to do in the project?
4) a name for the project/group.

my vote:

1) delphi
2) ultimate
3) www,manage,coder
4) <beer>happiness</beer>

thanks,