WISE Help

[SnappyJY]

Hello,

I know very little about installs but enough to be dangerous.  I have setup an install with a batch file that will do what i want it to do but i would like to put install dialogs around it and have it listed in add remove programs.  This is what i need the isntall to do.

1.  Copy a file to C:\program files

2.  run setup.exe ( for adobe reader and Sign it plugin.  was able to put these 2 installs together)

3.  After setup completes, copy another file to C:\programs files...(very long location).  but cannot be copied until #2 is complete or the directory will not be there.  cant make the directory because it iwll conflict with the original install. 

I have an MSI that i can use instead of setup.exe if that makes a difference.  I have wise package studio 7 pro but am not sure how to do this.  I would like to be able to put all the files into one msi or exe so that i can just execute it and not have to worry about batch files.  I need something a little more professional and can also be removed from add remove programs. 

I figure out how to package everything and put it in a directory but how do i execute it and do it int he correct order.  Any ideas or help will be appreciated. 

Thank You,

Jon

[Edward Tippelt]

First of all, I would not recommend embedding Adobe Reader into another install. Adobe Reader is pretty much a standard component of all builds nowadays, so deploy it separately so that there is no risk of it accidentally getting removed along with the other components you previously installed.  If you are in a corporate environment rather than a software development environment, then surely Adobe Reader is part of the core applications layer?

A second point is that I see no reason why you cannot implement your step 3 ahead of step 2.  An MSI install will not be affected by the pre-existence of any of its installation folders at the time of install. The only time when it might be an issue, is if the file you are adding is intended to replace a file that the MSI installs - which again is a bad idea should the file in the MSI be a key file, in which case your "replacement" will be repaired back to the original version when the app is next started.

As you have WPS, the solution to your installation requirements could be achieved by writing the master install in Wisescript, and using the wisescript code to install and run each part of your installation in sequence. Since Wisescript logging can be turned on and off within the install script, you could log all the parts of the install that you want to uninstall later, but turn off logging for the Adobe Reader install, so that Adobe Reader is excluded from the uninstall process. This is not an issue as Adobe Reader will create its own entry in Add Remove Programs.

I don't know what your batch file is written to do, but you may find that Wisescript can perform some or all of the functions required, which might make your installation even more elegant.

As VBScab pointed out, the work required to hand hold you through every step in your requirement would take more time than we have available, but if you have specific questions then come back to us.

[Migration User]

To be frank, there is too much work involved in "talking" you through the steps required. In any event, you run into a problem straight away, in that you cannot have an MSI execute another MSI (MSI chaining notwithstanding). You should use your deployment mechanism for that part.

The command line you need to execute an MSI to install is:

MSIEXEC /i [path_to_and_name_of_MSI] TRANSFORMS=[path_to_and_name_of_MST] /l*v %temp%\[path_to_and_name_of_log_file] [other arguments]

[SnappyJY]

That makes sense.  it is a little above my abilities which is what i was afraid of.  the version of adobe is paramount that it does not cahnge which is why i want to have it removed if someone removes this install.  CHanging the version will make hte end product not work.  I just install not develop and think that is a bad way to do it as well.  However it is what it is.  Adobe has a repackaging utility that i used to repackage and supress some features.  In there you can also setup a program to run from within the package.  It works really well and i have not been able to break the new package.  It installs adobe reader first then installs CIC sign it.  WHich is perfect. 

The modified adobe package can be run from either setup.exe or acroread.msi so pick your poison.  In order for the CIC part to run the package was given a location to find the exe for CIC.  My batch file moves the CIC.exe to C:\Program files.  It then executes setup.exe which calls a silent install for adobe and CIC due to the changes i made to the package.  The install begins and completes without errors and works great.  A directory for CIC was created during the install.  There is a seperate file that needs to be moved to that directory in order for this program to work properly but can only be copied after the installs have completed.  This ends the installation.

Maybe the better explanation of what and why will make things easier.  If it is still to complicated to help me out on the forum than i fully understand.  I do appreciate both of you taking hte time to respond.  Thank you and Happy Hollidays

Jon

[Edward Tippelt]

I do not know what target audience your software is aimed at, but as I mentioned before, most corporates will be keeping their versions of Adobe Reader bang up to date due to the continuous stream of software vulnerabilities that are being discovered. In addition, the standard Adobe Reader install in machines sold to end-users has the auto-update flag turned on, so pretty much all end users are likely to have versions of Adobe Reader that update regularly.

Frankly, as you have already noted, locking an application to a particular version of Adobe Reader is fatally stupid, as no corporate will adopt a fixed version due to risk from undiscovered vulnerabilities, and end users will be unaware of what is going on most of the time.

Does your installer check for a pre-existing install of Adobe Reader, and what version it is? Do you have a process to uninstall the old version, reboot the machine, then continue with your installation?  Unless you are running the very latest release of Adobe Reader (V9.3?) then in many cases, you are going to need to downgrade the customer version to an earlier release, and this WILL NOT be popular. A reboot will also be necessary.  As far as I can recall, there is no option in Adobe Tuner to configure the Reader install to downgrade existing versions, so it will be entirely up to you to do it.

You don't mention which operating system you are testing on, but if your intention is to deploy to Vista or Windows 7, you will need to test carefully on both 32 bit and 64 bit editions, as the admin users no longer have admin rights by default, and therefore an installation will request elevation of rights at the beginning of the install, to allow changes to be made to restricted areas such as the Program Files folder (normally read-only )

I would NOT put temporary installation files such as CIC.EXE in the Program Files folder. Since it looks like CIC.EXE is not required after installation, why not just run it from the same source location as your Adobe MSI or EXE is running from?  If you must install it somewhere, what is wrong with the TEMP folder?

Is there a reason why your separate file must be deployed after the Adobe and CIC stuff?

Would it not make sense to include it in the Adobe package with Tuner?

As your developers have clearly not given any thought to the issues that will emerge with users upgrading Adobe Reader, they really need to go back to the drawing board and find a more viable solution. One solution that you may wish to consider is to use the Symantec Workspace Virtualisation client and create your install as a virtual application. That way it should be able to co-exist with other versions of Adobe already on the target machine, and the whole install could be pre-prepared by you and shipped as a virtual app.

[SnappyJY]

All our users are remote and have to have adobe 8 installed or they cannot perform a very important function of their business.  All of them already have adobe 8 and nothing newer.  THis install will be on Win XP but am sure that it iwll also go to Win 7 at some point.  We are trying to upgrade everyone from adobe 8 to 9.4 and CIC 6.2 to 7.4.  We are doing this because of Win 7.  Adobe 8 and CIC 6.2 are not compatible.  Alot of politics involved with going back to the developers and quite frankly we are happy to have something taht works.  I turned off the updates in adobe tuner.  I didnt see where i could put that file copy in but will go back and look.  If that is the case your right that is easier.

I put the CIC.exe in that folder because there are times where support has to reinstall that file.  By leaving it there we all know where it is and it really doesnt harm anything.  I could put in another location but every PC has this location so it seemed easier.

That file has to be copied after the install becuase the directory does not exist.  I could try and make the directory but it seemed just as easy to copy after the install.  Plus im not sure if it will conflict with the install but that is a simple test.  I appreaciate your comments and agree with you.   

[SnappyJY]

I was able to wrap this into the adobe install and it works great.  Thanks for your help.