GatherBird Setup Creator

Version 2.0

Document last updated on October 5, 2008

Anyone can create installs with GatherBird Setup Creator.

Try it free for 45 days!

Upgrades are free after purchase.

Contents

What is Setup Creator?

Why you need Setup Creator?

Why you DON’T need Setup Creator?

Quick Start

Getting Started

Adding Files

Install Directory Tab

Menu and Desktop Shortcut Tab

Execute Tab

Project Options

Associate programs and file extensions

Create Registry Entries

Build Your Install

What the End User sees when running your installation

Upgrade installations

The Uninstaller

Feature List

Update History

System Requirements

Difference between the demo version and the registered version

How to Register

Upgrade Policy

License Agreement

Company Information

What is Setup Creator?

Setup Creator is a straight forward way to create installation programs to distribute your Windows applications. Setup Creator places all your executable and data files into a single self extracting executable which can be run as an install under Windows 95/98/ME and NT/2000/XP/2003 Server and Vista/Longhorn. Setup Creator supports the basic features needed in an installer and is far easier to use than those big expensive installers.

Why you need Setup Creator?

Setup Creator is simple, reliable, and has the functionality most people need.

Installations you create will run under Windows 95/98/ME and Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Server.

There are NO advertisements or references to “GatherBird” in your produced installations.

Installations can be produced in English or Portuguese.

The uninstall program is automatically created for you.

See the full feature list for more ... Feature List

All this and it is so easy.

Why you DON’T need Setup Creator?

Setup Creator is not as comprehensive as the full featured expensive installers.

There is no scripting language.

There are no options to configure the uninstall process (it is auto generated).

It only creates a single self extracting exe install. It will not split the final installation program to span floppy disks or create multiple smaller files.

It does not automatically support installations through pre defined templates. For example, it will not automatically create an install after being pointed to a Visual Basic project file.

Quick Start

1. Choose the Wizard menu option to create a new project.

2. Answer the questions in the 4 Wizard screens to finish the Wizard.

3. Add the files you want to install by using the Add File button.

4. (Suggested) Select the main application program you are installing from the file list. Go to the Menu and Desktop Shortcut tab and select the boxes for Place shortcut on desktop and Create shortcut in menu.

5. Check under the Options menu to see if there is anything to your liking.

6. Run the Create Setup Executable option under the Build menu.

7. You are done.

Getting Started

A new project file needs to be created for every installation program you wish to generate. The project file will hold the list of files you want included in your installation and various options for the install. To create a new project select New Project from the File menu (or select Open Project to open a project you have created previously).

Hint: You can use the Wizard at any time, even to start a new project.

For new projects the Project Name and the Directory must be entered. The Directory determines where the project file will be stored on your computer. It is also where the final installation executable will be produced.

A project file will be created with an extension of .GatherBirdSetupProject. You shouldn’t explicitly enter a file extension in the Project Name field.

Hint: The down arrow on the Directory edit box shows your previous choices for this field.

Hint: Selecting a file from Windows Explorer which has a .GatherBirdSetupProject extension will automatically run Setup Creator and load that project

The Wizard screens will now appear allowing you to enter the basic information needed to create your installation.

If you would like your application to appear in the Windows “Start” menu check the Create “Start” button menu item. The Menu Group Name controls the name and how your application will be positioned in the Windows start menu, for example:

There are basically two poplar choices of how people like to organize their applications in the menu on the end user’s machine. The first choice is to just have single menu item which is usually is the product name, such as: SuperAddressBook

Or, multiple products could be organized under a company name for example: SoftwareInc\SuperAddressBook and SoftwareInc\SuperScreenSaver

The Menu Group Name is also used to reference your application when Setup Creator places the uninstall link in the “Add/Remove programs” list under Windows.

The Custom Bitmap allows you to select a bitmap graphic that will appear on the screens during the install process. This is not required.

Hint: To easily create a bitmap for your installation that will fit well on the installation screens create a copy the “CustomBitmap.bmp” file found in the installation directory of Setup Creator. Then edit the new bitmap file and select it as your custom bitmap.

The end user of your install will see the custom bitmap. In this example it is circled below on the installs Welcome screen.

The next screen in the Wizard allows you specify the Welcome screen text that the end user will see when they first run the install.

Hint: To show text in bold, colored, underlined, or different fonts create the Welcome screen text in Microsoft WordPad. Then copy and paste the text into Setup Creator’s welcome text window.

This screen is not required and can be prevented from being shown in your installation by un-checking the Show a welcome screen checkbox.

The next screen in the Wizard allows you specify the License Agreement screen text that the end user will see when they run the install.

This screen is not required and can be prevented from being shown in your installation by un-checking the Show a license screen checkbox. A “Yes, I agree with all the terms and conditions of the license agreement” check box is always demanded before the installer will continue (if enabled).

Note: The Wizard screens are intended to show what the end user of your install will see. Checking the “Yes, I agree with all the terms and conditions of the license agreement” option on this wizard screen has no effect.

Use the Destination Directory screen to default the directory presented to the end user at install time. The end user will be able to change this default. The “C:\program files” example is used to show what would typically be the Windows default on the end users machine.

Note: The Wizard screens are intended to show what the end user of your install will see. Hitting the Browse button on this wizard screen has no effect.

The Default Root and Destination Directory option tells Setup Creator what installation directory to suggest to the user running the install. The options for Default Root are:

<Program Files> will usually default the installation directory displayed to the user running the install to “c:\program files”.

<Document and Settings> will default to either “C:\Documents and Settings\All Users” or C:\Documents and Settings\UserName” depending on whether the user chooses to install for all Windows users or just for the user running the install.

<Desktop> will default to either “C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop” or “C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Desktop”.

<BLANK> will tell the installer to not suggest a destination directory.

For most people the destination directory would be simply c:\program files\<Your Application Name> or organized under a subdirectory such as c:\program files\<Your Company Name>\<Your Application Name>. Do not enter the “c:\program files” in the destination directory field; it is there to show what typically would be displayed to the end user. Note that other install programs refer to the destination directory as the target directory.

The sub-directory entry is useful if you would like to organize many installs under a specific sub-directory (like a company name). For example, if you are creating multiple installation programs they could each be organized on the end user’s machine as:

c:\program files\GreatApp

c:\program files\GreateGame

or

c:\program files\SoftwareInc\GreatApp

c:\program files\ SoftwareInc\GreateGame

For example:

Hint: Windows does not allow the characters / : * ? “ < > | be used in directory names. The \ (backslash) will always be a directory name separator and can not be part of a directory name.

Adding Files

This is the main screen of Setup Creator.

Add the files you want included in the install by using the Add File button. Conversely, if you would like to remove a file from the install first select the file from the list box and then hit the Remove File button.

Hint: You can use the insert and delete keys to add and remove files from the Files list box.

Hint: You can also drag multiple files to the file list box from Windows Explorer or select multiple files from the open file dialog box that appears after clicking the Add File button.

Hint: You can select multiple files in the list box and edit their properties as a group.

Each file that is included in your project will be installed on the end user’s computer and is automatically removed by the uninstaller if the end user uninstalls your program. The entire uninstall process is automatically created for you and will be placed on the end users computer.

Note: The automatic creation of the uninstall can be disabled (see project options).

Hint: You can click on the file list box header “Files caption” to sort your files in a different order.

Install Directory Tab

Each file you include in the project can have several associated options. To change the options for a particular file first select a file or a group of files from the list. After selecting the file from the list the Options for file(s) selected right settings will show that particular files characteristics.

The Destination Directory options allows file to be copied to one of four places on the end users computer. The four choices are:

<Destination Directory>

This is the directory that is chosen by the end user. For example “c:\program files\MyAppName”

<Windows Directory>

This is the Windows directory which is typically “c:\Windows” or “c:\WINNT”

<Windows System>

This is the Windows systems directory which is typically “c:\Windows\system” or “c:\WINNT\system32”

<Common Files>

This is the Windows common directory which is typically “c:\program files\common files”

The option to place you files in a subdirectory off of the root directory can be enabled by checking the Place file in sub directory from root checkbox. The file will be extracted to a sub-directory off of the root directory you have chosen. The directory will be created by the installation program.

The sub directory can be one or more directories for example “data” or “data\pictures”.

Hint: After entering a sub-directory the sub-directory name is stored in the dropdown list box to allow you to select it for other files without having to type it over and over.

Menu and Desktop Shortcut Tab

Place shortcut on desktop will place a shortcut link to that file on the desktop (an icon on the Windows desktop). For example:

Place shortcut in menu will place a shortcut in the Windows Start button menu. For example:

Run when user logs into Windows will place a shortcut to that file in the Windows “start” menu under the programs\startup folder. Shortcuts in the startup folder are executed when Windows boots or when the user logs in.

If any of the above options are checked then the Text Description is required. This text description will be placed on the desktop or in the Windows “Start” button menu as the description.

Execute Tab

The Ask to run after user completes install option will allow a user to run any executable you are installing (usually your main application) when the installation completes. The option shows as below:

The Register as COM (run regsvr32) will run the regsvr32 utility for COM objects you are copying to the system. The uninstaller will run “regsvr32 –u” for these files when the end-user uninstalls you application.

The Run after files installed allows you to run any executable that you included in your install. These files will run without prompting the user. It may be useful to run an executable to enact a feature that Setup Creator does not support. The executable is run after all the files are copied.

Project Options

When a project is open then the Options|Project Options menu item can be selected. These Option are global in nature, they are not related to the options that apply to each individual file.

When the Create an Uninstall is checked then an uninstall program will be automatically generated and placed in the destination directory. A text file called “Install_Log.txt “ will also be placed in the destination directory. It controls the uninstall process. When the Create an Uninstall option is NOT checked then no uninstall program will be placed on the end users machine. Also, nothing will be entered in the Add/Remove Programs utility under Windows.

If the user cancels the installation while it was in progress the uninstaller will be called. However, the cleanup of the partial installation on the end users computer will only occur if the Create an Uninstall option was checked.

Prompt for reboot after install is complete will ask the user to reboot the computer after the install has completed. To the end user the prompt will show as

Checking the Password protect installation options will force a password to be entered before the install will run. The password option also scrambles the data files and all text used by your installation with a 64 bit encryption algorithm making it impossible to extract any files from the installation program without the password. The end user will see the following screen when they first run the setup executable.

Allow install to run on these Operating Systems will deny the ability to run the install under certain Windows Operating System versions.

The Require Internet Explorer 5.x or higher options will allow or deny the ability to run your install on a Windows System with early versions of Windows Explorer.

Associate programs and file extensions

Choose Associate programs and file extensions under the Options menu to have the installation program create the registry entries needed to have your application associated with a file extension. This tells Windows to run your application when the user selects a file with a certain extension in Windows Explorer. When a file with that extension is selected in Windows Explorer your application is called with the command line parameter of the file name (with the full path).

Use the Add button to add new file extensions. Only files you have already included in the project are allowed to be associated with a file extension.

Create Registry Entries

Choose Create Registry Entries under the Options menu to have the installation program create registry entries.

On the left side of the window shown below right click an existing registry key to add a sub key. To add a value item under that registry key select the registry key on the left then right click the right window. String, DWORD, and Binary values are allowed. The binary entries must be included by pointing to a file that contains the binary values.

The Setup Creator Environment Options allows you re enable the “Don’t ask me again” message boxes.

You have the option to disable many message boxes at the time they are viewed. This is useful when you feel that you no longer need to see an informational or warning message. The Enable all “Don’t ask me again” warning messages option allows you to see all the message boxes again when you have previously chosen “Don’t ask me again”. Here is an example of one of the “Don’t ask me again” warnings:

Build Your Install

Under the Build menu select Create Setup Executable to build the final install program. This is where Setup Creator compresses your files and organizes the information from your project into a self extracting executable. The final executable can be renamed if you desire.

Either a message indicating success or error information will be displayed when the compilation is finished.

If there are any compiler errors during the installation then a description of the error will be displayed and no installation executable will be created. An example error message is “Error 00001: The menu group name can not be blank when the Start Button Menu is enabled. See 'Start Button Menu Group' under the Wizard'’.

There are also compiler warnings. In the event of a compiler warning a description of the warning will be shown but the setup executable will still be created. An example warning message is: “The license agreement is blank but the license screen is enabled. This is unusual. See the license agreement screen under the Wizard”.

After a successful compilation the installation program can be run by selecting the Run Now button.

What the End User sees when running your installation

If you have chosen to password protect your installation the end user will be prompted to enter a password to continue.

Text from the Welcome String will be displayed to the end user on the first screen of the install.

Then the License Agreement will be displayed. The user must choose to Agree to the license agreement to continue.

If the destination computer is running Windows NT/200/XP/2003 Server and the installer will be making additions to the Desktop Icon, Start menu, Windows start up, or file associations then the user installing the application will be asked whether to create the install for all users on the system or just the user running the install. Installations running on Windows 95/98/ME computers will not be shown this option.

Next, the end user will be able to change the default installation directory.

If you have specified any files to have a desktop icon, be in the start menu, to automatically start, or have a file extension association then the end user will be given the option to override those defaults.

The Make above changes option … For will only appear when the install is run on Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Server systems.

Finally, a summary screen will be shown to the end user. The end user can always use the back button to change any of his previous choices.

The disk space check will display a WARNING message if there is insufficient disk space to copy the files to the system.

Upgrade installations

For upgrade purposes, the installer allows end users to install over a previous installation of your application. A file being extracted from the setup executable will be copied if its date is later than the file that already exists in the destination directory. The “modified date” from the file you included in the installation is compared to the file on the end users computer. When Setup Creator copies files to the end users computer the modified date stays the same as it was when it was included in the installation project.

Hint: You can view the modified dates by right clicking a file in Windows Explorer.

The end user setup process will allow a destination directories that are either empty or will be created as new. If the directory already exists and already contains files but is not a previous installation created by Setup Creator the end user must change the destination directory.

On copying errors the install will prompt the end user to retry the file extraction. For instance this can occur when attempting to copy over an executable file that is currently running during an upgrade.

Also, if the end user selects an install directory that he does not have security permission to create or use then the installer will allow the user to select a different directory.

The Uninstaller

The uninstall process is automatically created by Setup Creator and the uninstall executable is placed on the end users computer. A text file called “Install_Log.txt” is also created in the directory. It contains the information needed for the uninstall executable to run.

Before removing any files the uninstaller will warn users if any files marked for deletion are currently locked by Windows

A Details button is available in the uninstaller enabling the end user to see exactly what steps the uninstaller will take.

During the uninstall process the following situations may occur because the end user changed a start menu, startup, or desktop features of you installed program after the original install.

"Unable to delete desktop shortcut:"

"Unable to remove program group:"

"Unable to delete start menu item:"

"Unable to delete automatic startup menu item:"

If any of the above occurs a Details button will be shown after the uninstall process has completed to show the informational items.

Feature List

• Installations you create will run under Windows 95/98/ME and Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Server and Vista/Longhorn.
• There are NO advertisements or references to “GatherBird” in your produced installations.
• Installations can be produced in English or Portuguese.
• The uninstall program is automatically created for you.
• Easily add files of any size and type to the install.
• Create desktop icons.
• Place items in the Windows “Start” button menu (program group).
• Place items in Windows startup.
• Show a “welcome” screen.
• Show a license agreement.
• Register COM components.
• Create registry entries.
• Associate file extensions with your installed programs.
• Create installs programs far smaller than InstallShield, Wise, and other installers.
• Show a bitmap picture of your choice (like a logo).
• Place an uninstall entry under the “Add/Remove programs” utility in Windows.
• Prompt the user to reboot after the installation is complete.
• Run your own executables as part of the installation.

• Allow your install to run on only specific Windows OS versions.

• Place a password on the installation.

• The final setup executable created by Setup Creator starts at only 212K in size. (1/8 the size of what a floppy disk can hold). All files you add to the install will add to the 212K by their size after compression.
• The uninstall checks if any of your installed files are running on the system and warns the user appropriately.
• Each installation program created by Setup Creator checks its own file integrity. You don’t have to deal with files corrupted during an Internet download or by other means.
• Setup Creator does not grab DLLs from your development machine and install them on the end user’s computer.
• Automatically compresses all your installation files

Update History

Version 2.0 Released October 5, 2008

A problem has been fixed. The end user could experience a rare problem if all these circumstances were true. The installation was password protected, the temp file created by the installation happened to be created as del6.tmp or Del1F.tmp (possibly others as well), and the end user was running Symantec Anti Virus.

The installation will now allow retries if files from the installation are being copied over files in c:\windows\system32 directory and are in use by the Windows operating system. Previously the installation would halt with a fatal error.

Version 1.9a Released February 3, 2008

A bug has been fixed that caused GatherBird Setup Creator to crash while compiling a project file. This bug would occur when there were more than 25 errors of a particular kind encountered in the project being compiled. The error message was never reported back to the user due to the crash.

System Requirements

Compatible operating system versions: Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Disk space needed to install: 2 megabytes

Difference between the demo version and the registered version

Installation programs created by an unregistered version of Setup Creator will display a message during the installation that the install was created with an unregistered version. Also, the number of files you can include in the installation is limited to 2, the registered version can install up to 1024 files.

How to Register

You can register by going to www.gatherbird.com and choosing the register option for GatherBird Setup Creator. The payment procedure is handled by PayPal, a popular service owned by eBay that handles credit card and other transactions on a secure server. After paying you will immediately receive a registration key by email which will enable all the features of the software.

10% of your purchase price is donated to Children's Mercy Hospital. http://www.childrensmercy.org

Upgrade Policy

After paying you will also immediately be emailed a login name and password that allows access to our website member’s area. From the member’s area you will be able to retrieve new registration keys at any time. The registration keys will allow you to re-install the application in the event you upgrade your computer or you would like to upgrade to a newer version of the software.

License Agreement

Setup Creator

GatherBird

All Rights Reserved

License Agreement

You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software.

Unless you have a different license agreement signed by GatherBird your use of this software indicates your acceptance of this license agreement and warranty.

Registered Version

One registered copy of Setup Creator may be used by a single person and immediate family for non business use on up to 5 computers or installed on a single workstation used non-simultaneously by multiple people in a business environment, or both.

You may access the registered version of Setup Creator through a network, provided that you have obtained individual licenses for the software covering all workstations that will access the software through the network. For instance, if 8 different workstations will access Setup Creator on the network, each workstation must have its own Setup Creator license, regardless of whether they use Setup Creator at different times or concurrently.

Governing Law

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Kansas.

Disclaimer of Warranty

THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND

WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OR MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. Because of the various hardware and software environments into which Setup Creator may be put, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. Good data processing procedure dictates that any program be thoroughly tested with non-critical data before relying on it. The user must assume the entire risk of using the program. ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.

Demo Version.

This is not free software. Subject to the terms below, you are hereby licensed to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 45 days. If you use this software after the 45 day evaluation period a registration fee is required. Unregistered use of Setup Creator after the 45-day evaluation period is in violation of U.S. and international copyright laws.

Distribution

Provided that you verify that you are distributing the evaluation version you are hereby licensed to make as many copies of the evaluation version of this software and documentation as you wish; give exact copies of the original evaluation version to anyone; and distribute the evaluation version of the software and documentation in its unmodified form via electronic means. There is no charge for any of the above.

You are specifically prohibited from charging, or requesting donations, for any such copies, however made; and from distributing the software and/or documentation with other products (commercial or otherwise) without prior written permission.

Company Information

Internet Web Page

www.gatherbird.com

Contact Kaleen Fields for help on any product installation, usage, or the registration procedure at:

support@gatherbird.com

Send product suggestions to Ben Fields at

president@gatherbird.com