MindQuake Plugins & Examples

HTTP Actions plugin updated to 2.1.0.0

16 May 2013 18:41:37 GMT

Two new actions were added to the HTTP plugin:

HTTP.ResumeDownload()
HTTP.ResumeDownloadSecure()

With these new "Resume" actions, you can continue an aborted or failed download, continuing to transfer the remainder of a file.

Custom callbacks and use of the StatusDlg supported.

Now compiled also for TrueUpdate, Visual Patch and older versions of AutoPlay Media Studio and Setup Factory.

Unicode Actions plugin updated to 2.0.3.0

3 May 2013 16:35:40 GMT

A new version of the Unicode actions plugin was released.

Changes were made to the code to make it more robust while converting encoded files. The Unicode.ReadToTable() action was rewritten.

The new release is available as a separate download or as part of the "Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio 8" package.

Encoding Actions plugin updated to 2.0.1.0

3 May 2013 01:05:00 GMT

A new version of the Encoding actions plugin was released.

Changes were made to the code to make it more robust while converting encoded files. The Encoding.ReadToTable() action was rewritten.

Metro Page Transition updated to 1.0.6.0

30 Apr 2013 19:30:00 GMT

The Metro Page Transition was updated, bringing a new feature:

Each page can now show a transition from right to left and from left to right (as well as top to bottom and bottom to top, if you have the enhanced version) without needing to duplicate pages to achieve this effect.

Until now, you needed to duplicate the page, using one copy for each desired setting, and jumping to the instance with the desired effect. Although each page can usually have only a single setting for a transition, the Metro page transition now can be overridden via one line of Lua code at runtime, and no page duplication is required when designing the project. This makes things much easier to maintain.

Clicking the image below will take you to a demo project:

The right/left transition is free, and if you want the up/down transition as well as other features, you can get the Enhanced Version by making a donation.

The Metro page transition is part of the "Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio 8" package.

SQLite3E Actions plugin updated to 2.0.1.1

29 Apr 2013 19:00:00 GMT

SQLite3E Actions plugin updated to version 2.0.1.1

This is a bugfix release. The former version did not contain the proper actions XML, so the code completion and wizards would not work correctly in the editor.

ODBC Actions updated to 2.9.0.0

24 Apr 2013 18:45:00 GMT

Lua 5.1 ODBC Actions plugin updated to version 2.9.0.0

The current release of the ODBC actions plugin adds a new function: ODBC.GetLastException(), which allows to retrieve the error message from a SQL server when an exception happens. Exceptions are triggered when there is a syntax problem with the SQL statement, for example, so the error message can provide hints regarding wrong data submitted. Exceptions can also happen when there is a processing/memory problem on the server side.

Sample use demonstrating the new action:

result = ODBC.ExecuteSQL(sCommand);
if (result ~= 0) then
  -- ExecuteSQL signalized an error
  error = Application.GetLastError();
  -- what error?
  if (error == 12002) then
    -- SQL exception
    Dialog.Message("ODBC Plugin", "SQL Exception: ".. ODBC.GetLastException(), MB_OK, MB_ICONSTOP);
  elseif (error == 12006) then
    -- memory exception
    Dialog.Message("ODBC Plugin", "Memory Exception: ".. ODBC.GetLastException(), MB_OK, MB_ICONSTOP);
  else -- some other kind of error
    Dialog.Message("ODBC Plugin", "ExecuteSQL failed (" .. error .. ")", MB_OK, MB_ICONSTOP);
  end
end

Subscription Validation released

18 Apr 2013 13:16:57 GMT

This software package allows a software publisher who uses TrueUpdate or Visual Patch with his products the easy implementation of a subscription validation. The update client will submit the serial number to a remote server, performing an online check of the subscription. The encrypted reply will contain among other information a status code which can be used to prevent the updater from proceeding if the subscription is expired, or deny the download of updaters/patches if the serial number was blacklisted.

What do you need?

TrueUpdate or Visual Patch
Crypto Actions plugin or Mcrypt plugin (part of this package)
PHP-enabled web server
MySQL database server

What does this package provide?

Update clients build with TrueUpdate can check the state of a subscription before attempting to download a newer version;
A patch built with Visual Patch can verify that the user's serial is entitled to the patch;
Optional geolocation tracking of update checks;
Optional automatic blacklisting of serials if requests for a single serial number come from several countries, indicating a leak of the serial on the internet;
Integration with the Serial Number Validation system, or can be used stand alone;
Custom reply per serial, which can be any string or number you might want to use to control which updates are available to the user.

Documentation

The full documentation is available online, and can be read before downloading and installing the package.

Evaluation

You find full documentation, lots of screen captures and tips, as well as the download link to the installer for the evaluation of this software package at this address. After deploying the PHP pages on your web server, you need to request a free license file that will enable the programs on your server for 14 days.

Pricing

The cost for this package (full featured Setup Factory demo project, PHP programs for installation, import of serial numbers using text files, administrative web interface, Mcrypt plugin for PHP-compatible 256-bit AES encryption) is only US$ 49.95. Considering the development time this package can save you, this is a steal.

Licensing terms

This software package is licensed per developer and per domain where the system is deployed. The license file for the PHP does not expire. If you change providers, as long as your domain name does not change, the license will continue to work.

HTTP Actions Plugin released

13 Mar 2013 17:30:00 GMT

HTTP Actions Plugin

There are already several HTTP actions available in AutoPlay Media Studio 8 and Setup Factory 9, and this plugin adds two more to them.

HTTP.SubmitMultipart() and HTTP.SubmitSecureMultipart() can be used to submit multipart/form-data to remote web servers, which means that now you can easily upload files to servers without using the FTP protocol.

Additionally, as a form submission with files may take some time to complete, support for the built-in progress screen (StatusDlg) as well for custom progress controls via Custom Callback functionis provided. Callback and StatusDlg is not supported in the standard HTTP.Submit() actions, as these are expected to return almost instantly.

Now available for AutoPlay Media Studio 8 and Setup Factory 9 only, as a 32-bit plugin.

The plugin can be ported back to Lua 5.0 for use with earlier versions of AutoPlay Media Studio, TrueUpdate and Visual Patch. Please contact me if you wish to discuss the development.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: Microsoft Office Access Runtime

27 Dec 2012 16:06:38 GMT

A new dependency module for Setup Factory was published today, which may be used to verify if support for Microsoft Office Access can be found on the target computer. This dependency will detect any of these technologies:

Microsoft Office Access Runtime 2007
Microsoft Office Access Runtime 2010 (x86)
Microsoft Office Access Runtime 2010 (x64)
Microsoft Office Professional 2007
Microsoft Office Professional 2010

If none of the required technologies can be found, Microsoft Office Access Runtime 2007 will be offered for installation. This dependency will add about 56.2 MB to your installer. If you chose to install the Microsoft Office Access Runtime 2010 instead, it will add 175 MB.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: SQL Server 2012 Express SP1

22 Dec 2012 01:02:24 GMT

SQL Server Express 2012 SP1 (Database Only) - x86 and x64 versions

A new set of dependency modules for Setup Factory was made available today, for Microsoft's SQL Server 2012 Express SP1. You can now check for the existence of SQL Server 2012 (any version) on the target computer, and install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the Express release as required.

This version of SQL Server does no longer support Windows XP. The oldest operating accepted to install SQL Server 2012 Express SP1 is Windows Vista SP2.

The installers for SQL Server 2012 Express SP1 are offered for download, if they cannot be found on the development computer, and an internet connection exists.

A sample project is included in the package, and can be used to build a simple test setup for testing of the dependency modules.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: SQL Server 2008 R2 Express Edition SP2 with Advanced Services

19 Dec 2012 03:51:00 GMT

A new set of dependency modules for Setup Factory was released, and they can be used if you need to deploy SQL Server 2008 R2 Express Edition SP2 with Advanced Services (32-bit) on your client's computer.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Express needs the .NET 3.5 Framework SP1, as well as Windows Installer 4.5. These modules are already shipping with Setup Factory 9, however some minor changes have been made to the installation scripts, so they work better in the installation procedure of SQL Server 2008 R2, and support for Windows 8 was added to the Windows Installer 4.5 script. The "Advanced Services" version of SQL Server 2008 R2 needs Windows PowerShell, so a dependency module for this technology is also included in the package. All installers can be run in passive mode, rebooting the computer only when needed. For example, if no reboot was performed on a 32-bit platform after Windows Installer 4.5 was just successfully installed, the installation of SQL Server 2008 R2 will fail. The new dependency modules for .NET 3.5 Framework SP1 and Windows Installer 4.5 make sure that the whole installation is performed as smooth as possible.

If an internet connection can be detected during the installation, missing runtimes will be offered for download, and deployed into the proper dependency folders.
The original installer for SQL Server 2008 Express R2 with Advanced Services was slipstreamed to include Service Packs 1 and 2, required to allow an error-free installation on Windows 7 x64 or Windows 2008 Server x64.
The modified installer is provided as a self-extracting package, having a size of 976 MB.

A sample project is also included, and a test setup for SQL Server 2008 SP2 can be built at the end of the installation of this dependency package.

Custom Screen for Setup Factory 9: Tile on the Windows 8 Start screen

10 Dec 2012 19:19:54 GMT

If you wish to offer the possibility of creating a tile on the Windows 8 Start screen, you can use this custom screen, which reproduces the functionality of the stock "Select Shortcut Folder" but features an additional checkbox. On other operating systems, this checkbox won't be shown.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 U1

6 Dec 2012 19:02:23 GMT

New dependency modules to add runtime support for applications developed with Microsoft Visual C/C++ 2012 Update 1.

The installer offers to install both 32-bit and 64-bit dependencies, and downloads the runtime installers if not yet present at the expected folder.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5

6 Dec 2012 16:08:15 GMT

Dependency module for Setup Factory

A new dependency module for Setup Factory is available for download from my server, and can be used to check for the .NET Framework 4.5 on the target computer. This script can use the web installer (dotNetFx45_Full_setup) to download and install the proper binaries for the .NET Framework, or you can include the standalone installer (dotnetfx45_full_x86_x64) in your setup.

If the .NET Framework 4.5 cannot be found by the dependency module or is outdated, the bootstrapper will be started in passive mode, displaying some progress screens as data is being downloaded. After the framework finished installing, your installer will continue. If a reboot is required after the installation of the framework, the installer will resume after the reboot.

Taming the creation of tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen

4 Dec 2012 14:03:42 GMT

Taming the creation of tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen

When you run your installer built with Setup Factory on Windows 8, by default it will create a tile on the Start screen for each executable which has a shortcut in the Start menu. In other words, if you create a shortcut in Start menu, Start menu > Programs, or Start menu > AppFolder, a tile will be added on the Start screen. While useful, this of course may not be desired at all times.

Furthermore, if in the past you were creating two shortcuts pointing to the same executable, but with different command line parameters, now in Windows 8 only one tile will be created by default. You will still have those two shortcuts on the "All apps" page, though. And, if you have a shortcut in the Start menu to something that is not an executable, no tile will be created on the Start screen. Today, you can find a solution for this problem on my web site.

The dll offered on my web site can be used on 32 or 64-bit releases of Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2010, Windows Server 2012 or newer. As the Windows 8 SDK does not create binaries compatible with Windows XP, the dll cannot be used on XP and on Windows Server 2003. On these platforms, you would simply call Shell.CreateShortcut() as usual.

SQLite3 Actions plugin released

20 Oct 2012 15:00:00 GMT

SQLite3 Actions Plugin

AutoPlay Media Studio 8 ships with an action plugin for SQLite 2.x databases. This new plugin offers support for SQLite 3 databases, while keeping the same actions and syntax. If you want to upgrade an existing project from the original SQLite to the current version, you do not need to rewrite your code to match the object syntax used in LuaSQL.

Additionally, there is a SQLite3E version of this plugin, where the "E" stands for encryption. With this new offering, you can now secure your SQLite database, using strong 256-bit AES encryption.

The plugin is available for AutoPlay Media Studio 8 and Setup Factory 9, in 32-bit and 64-bit builds, allowing you to construct a native x64 setup containing an encrypted database (which could be used for data displayed in the installation configuration).

Settings Migration Utility released

23 Sep 2012 17:02:37 GMT

Settings Migration Utility

A new utility was published, which is useful if you are about to migrate your existing development environment to a new computer. If, for example, your company provides you with a new computer, and you are continuing your former work with AutoPlay Media Studio, Setup Factory, or any other Indigo Rose product on it, you have now a small program to make the migration or your generated content much easier.

This utility allows you to save your custom settings, projects, themes and screens, storing them in a compressed backup file, which can then be quickly restored on the new computer as needed, even if the new computer uses a different operating system or user account (user name). Of course, restoring the backup archive on the original computer is also possible, like in the case when you accidentally overwrote a custom theme or screen.

This utility is available for free on my web server, and does not require installation. Comments are always welcome.

Metro Page Transition released

13 Aug 2012 23:31:09 GMT

Metro Page Transition

This new page transition for AutoPlay Media Studio 8 slides the next page into view from the right or from the left. It allows to keep parts of the page static, so that the page transition appears to affect only a region of the page.

This page transition is part of the "Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio 8" installer (release 2.3.0.0 or more recent), and a template with the project pictured above will be deployed if the Metro package is selected for installation.

Serial Number Validation updated to 1.0.6.0

18 Jul 2012 14:40:00 GMT

Some minor corrections were done to the PHP pages of the Serial Number Validation system:

Under certain conditions, the hardware key would not be logged in the database.

If you want to update the file on your server, please fetch the latest installer from the Customer Downloads area, then perform deploy the PHP files on your local computer (do not re-install, or you will overwrite your current configuration). Finally, replace serial_verify.php manually on your web server via FTP, renaming the file if needed.

ODBC Actions updated to 2.8.0.0

18 Jul 2012 02:33:13 GMT

Lua 5.1 ODBC Actions plugin updated to version 2.8.0.0

The current release of the ODBC actions plugin adds a new function: ODBC.IsOpen(), which allows to check if the connection to the database is currently active.

ODBC Actions updated to 2.7.0.0

2 Jul 2012 16:57:13 GMT

Lua 5.1 ODBC Actions plugin updated to version 2.7.0.0

The current release of the ODBC actions plugin adds a new function: ODBC.SetQueryTimeout(), which allows to set the number of seconds before a query attempt times out. The default value for query timeouts is 15 seconds. Not all data sources support the ability to set a query timeout value. If you set a query timeout value of 0, no timeout occurs; the communication with the data source may hang. This behavior may be useful during development.

This action is available in the full, registered version - not in the evaluation.

Serial Number Validation updated to 1.0.5.0

31 May 2012 01:44:30 GMT

A couple of enhancements were done to the PHP pages of the Serial Number Validation system:

The serial_verify.php script now performs a fuzzy hardware fingerprint comparison instead of exact match of identifications, allowing minor changes in hardware without counting the fingerprint as a new installation.

A change was done in the serials_upload.php script to avoid possible import of carriage returns from serial numbers text files.

If you want to update the files on your server, please fetch the latest installer from the Customer Downloads area, then perform deploy the PHP files to your local computer (do not re-install, or you will overwrite your current configuration). Finally, place the new versions of the scripts on your web server via FTP, renaming the files as you use them.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: Visual C/C++ 2010 SP1

5 May 2012 03:35:05 GMT

New dependency modules to add runtime support for applications developed with Microsoft Visual C/C++ 2010 SP1, based on the modules that ship with Setup Factory 9.

The installer offers to install both 32-bit and 64-bit dependencies, and downloads the runtime installers if not yet present at the expected folder.

LuaFileSystem 1.5.0 for AutoPlay Media Studio 8

5 May 2012 03:33:04 GMT

LuaFileSystem is a Lua library developed to complement the set of functions related to file systems offered by the standard Lua distribution.

LuaFileSystem offers a portable way to access the underlying directory structure and file attributes. This version 1.5.0 was compiled from the source to work with AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.

Serial Number Validation updated to 1.0.4.1

28 Apr 2012 01:08:12 GMT

The MCrypt Actions plugin, part of the Serial Number Validation package, was updated to version 1.0.4.1 today.

An error was found in the way the padding was handled in the 256-bit AES PHP-compatible MCrypt action. This error could result in an incomplete decrypted string, if the ciphertext would meet certain requirements.

All users of previous versions are urged to update to the latest release to avoid problems. It is not required to replace the PHP pages on your web server, but you may want to install them locally, then upload the serial_verify.php and offline.php files manually (using the file names you use in your environment).

Crypto Actions updated to 2.2.2.0

28 Apr 2012 01:02:01 GMT

The Crypto Actions plugin was updated to version 2.2.2.0 today.

All users of previous versions are urged to update to the latest release to avoid problems.

Crypto Actions updated to 2.2.1.0

10 Nov 2011 23:21:52 GMT

A new version of the Crypto plugin was released today. This version adds a function to retrieve the hardware fingerprint of the local computer, which can be used for serial number validation or as a password for encryption.

This action is available in the full version only, and is not compiled into the evaluation version.

Serial Number Validation updated to 1.0.1

10 Nov 2011 23:15:54 GMT

The Serial Number Validation toolset was upgraded to release 1.0.1.0. This new version adds optional hardware fingerprinting to the serial number validation, meaning that repeated installations on the same computer would not decrement the amount of remaining installs.

Full details available here.

Full web help documentation available online.

Serial Number Validation

5 Oct 2011 19:37:08 GMT

A new set of tools for users of Setup Factory was released recently. If you are a software publisher and use Setup Factory to deploy your products, you can now use a system to verifiy the number of installs for a certain serial number, pre-select options or chose packages based on the reply of your web server, and much more.

Using this system, you can validate your serial numbers in real time. You define if you want to limit the total numbers of installs, the installs during a certain period, etc.

What do you need?

A PHP-enabled web server and your own domain (on a shared or dedicated server)
MySQL database server
Setup Factory 9 or AutoPlay Media Studio 8
Crypto Actions plugin or Mcrypt plugin (part of this package)

What does this package provide?

You can control the maximum number of installations for any serial number;
You can set the number of weekly installations;
You can set the maximum number of bimonthly installations;
You can set the maximum number of yearly installations;
You can perform geographic tracking;
You can automatically blacklist serials;
There is offline activation, using email for retrieval of the required activation code, if the computer where the product is being installed is not networked;
You can set a custom reply per serial, which can be any string or number you might want to use to control which packages are available to the user, or which should be preselected as default.

Evaluation

Pricing

Licensing terms

ZipEx Actions updated to 1.0.2.0

1 Oct 2011 13:05:44 GMT

The ZipEx actions plugin was updated today. The new version does not freeze the host application any longer during long operations, causing "Not responding" notices or static screens.

Additionally, you can now use the StatusDlg actions as well with this plugin, if you want a simple way to retrieve feedback about the compression or decompression operations that are being performed by the plugin. This means that you can use both a custom screen and the StatusDlg for displaying progress of the operation, like shown in this installer:

The new build is available for both Lua 5.0 and Lua 5.1.

Language Actions plugin released

13 Sep 2011 23:03:45 GMT

A small plugin was released today to assist developers who want to detect the display language of the operating system, which may be different to the system locale.

From the operating system help:

"The system locale determines the default character set (letters, symbols, and numbers) and font used to enter and display information in programs that don't use Unicode. This allows non-Unicode programs to run on your computer using the specified language. You might need to change the default system locale when you install additional display languages on your computer. Selecting a different language for the system locale doesn't affect the language in menus and dialog boxes for Windows or other programs that do use Unicode."

This new plugin does exactly help you to detect the language in menus and dialog boxes for Windows. It also allows you to find out the original language of the operating system, before a multilingual user interface pack (MUI) or a Windows language pack (LIP) was applied.

The actions plugin is available for both Lua 5.0 and Lua 5.1.

Wow64 Actions updated to 1.0.4.0

10 Sep 2011 17:32:09 GMT

A new action is now available in the Wow64 plugin: Wow64.RegistryGetAccess().

This new action emulates the function Registry.GetAccess() as provided in the Indigo Rose development products, however this version obviously allows to work on the 64-bit registry view from a 32-bit application.

The version 1.0.4.0 of the Wow64 actions plugin is available for download for both Lua 5.0 and Lua 5.1.

UpdateHelper Actions & Windows service updated!

12 Aug 2011 20:12:45 GMT

New versions of the UpdateHelper software bundle were released today.

The UpdateHelper software bundle allows to perform privileged tasks from an application running at user level (as invoker). Using the UpdateHelper software, a user can perform actions like these and more:

Create or delete folders under Program Files without triggering the UAC
Copy, install or delete files in folder under Program Files or System32
Create or delete registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Set or delete values in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Access 64-bit registry keys from your 32-bit AutoPlay application
Run applications as administrator silently, without showing the UAC dialog

The UpdateHelper actions plugin, now available for AutoPlay Media Studio 8, communicates with a Windows service over an encrypted channel. This Windows services executes the privileged tasks and reports the result back to the plugin.

With this software bundle, you can now delete registry keys or perform administrative tasks directly from your AutoPlay application.

Full help and documentation is available online.

A demonstration project for AutoPlay Media Studio 8 is also available for those who want to perform a quick test.

Socket Object for Lua 5.1 updated to 2.1.6.0

7 Aug 2011 02:54:10 GMT

The Socket object plugin for AutoPlay Media Studio 8 was updated today. The new version brings new event variables to all three Socket events - On Accept, On Read and On Close.

All three events have now two event variables:

e_Sock: a number, representing the handle to the socket.
e_IPAddr: a string, containing the IP address of the remote socket that connected locally, sent data, or was disconnected. If for any reason the remote IP address cannot determined, this variable will contain "0.0.0.0".

The full plugin documentation is now available online. The bundled CHM was updated, including these new variables in the new screenshots:

New category for sample Lua code added

28 Jul 2011 00:59:15 GMT

I recently added a new category to the web site menu: Example code. In this category, you will find Lua script excerpts, that usually can be used in more than one product.

The new Lua code examples that were added are:

Command Line Arguments
Shows how to process command line arguments passed to applications built with AutoPlay Media Studio, or how to parse options passed to TrueUpdate clients, Setup Factory installers, or patches built with Visual Patch.
Single Instance
This sample code shows how to make sure that only one instance of your application can be started at the same time. The code for AutoPlay Media Studio and TrueUpdate can be adapted to the other applications with minor changes.
Center Dialogs
Setup Factory 9 brought the possibility to use different sizes for dialogs in the same installer. The thing is, when you jump from a small dialog to a bigger one, the upper left corner (the origin) of the window is kept, instead of centering the windows one in relation of the former. This script allows you to do just that: it does not matter if you jump from a big dialog to smaller one, or from a normal sized dialog to a bigger one - the center of the dialog will remain on the same spot, keeping dialogs always centered.
Find Java home
A consise Lua code sample to find where the Java runtime environment is installed, if it can be found.
Find RegAsm
A short script to find an instance of the .NET component registration utility on the computer, so you can successfully register something for COM Interop. Can be used in Setup Factory or wherever you need this.
GetFileVersion for MSI
The function MSI.GetFileVersion() works on *.exe and *.dll files only. This script shows how you can retrieve the same info from a MSI package.

New scripts will be added in the future. If you need a specific sample script, please let me know.

Example: How to use encrypted volumes in AutoPlay Media Studio

7 Jul 2011 21:07:35 GMT

Sometimes you may want to hide your resources from prying eyes, so they can't be copied directly from the CD you published, or from the temporary folder. Using an encrypted volume with OTFE (on-the-fly encryption), you can access these files after the file was mounted as a virtual drive.

The example project shows how to pick a free drive letter and mount an encrypted volume created with FreeOTFE, while hiding this drive from Windows Explorer, load resources from the virtual drive and finally dismount it when the application is closed.

The example project is available both in source code (*.apz) and as a executable.

Socket Object updated to 2.1.4.0

4 Jul 2011 21:04:12 GMT

The Socket Object was updated to version 2.1.4.0

Enhancement: This latest version of the Socket Object allows to specify a custom size for Socket.Ping() operations. The default amount of data sent in an ICMP package is 32 bytes, but now you can attempt to send smaller or larger data packages.

The update is available for both versions, AutoPlay Media Studio 7.x and AutoPlay Media Studio8.

Adobe AIR Dependency Module updated to 1.0.1.0

20 Jun 2011 15:21:43 GMT

The detection script was updated so it would correctly find newer releases of Adobe AIR than version 2.6.

The detection script now uses the MSI Upgrade Code, which should make detection hassle-free.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: Adobe AIR

5 Jun 2011 15:57:08 GMT

This dependency modules allows to detect and install support for rich internet applications using Adobe AIR.

Please note that you need a license from Adobe to bundle the AIR runtime installer into your setup. Also, the installer for AIR does not allow to bypass the EULA screen.

You need to download the AdobeAIRInstaller.exe and place it into the dependency sub folder before you can use this module in installers built with Setup Factory.

Dependency module for MSI Factory: SQL Server 2008 R2 Express

2 Jun 2011 15:00:00 GMT

A new set of dependencies for MSI Factory, to deploy SQL Server 2008 R2 Express. In this package, you will find:

SQL Server 2008 R2 Express (Database Only) for both 32 and 64-bit platforms;
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Web Installer)
Windows Installer 4.5 for both platforms

Task Scheduler Actions released

1 Jun 2011 15:00:00 GMT

sometimes you may want to run a certain program on end user's computer, like for example invoke the trueupdate client software every 7 days or at each logon, without triggering the annoying uac warning dialog. with the aid of the task scheduler, you can do so, but setting up new tasks is not very intuitive. this lua script was written in an attempt to make the creation of new jobs in the task scheduler much easier while you are deploying your product with setup factory.

if you ask the user for his windows password, you can create a task for running the trueupdate client (for example) silently until update available at each logon, showing the wizard only when a new version is found - without showing uac prompts.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: SQL Server 2008 R2 Express

26 May 2011 15:00:00 GMT

A new set of dependencies for Setup Factory, to deploy SQL Server 2008 R2 Express. In this package, you will find:

SQL Server 2008 R2 Express (Database Only) for both 32 and 64-bit platforms;
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Web Installer)
Windows Installer 4.5 for both platforms

The Windows Installer dependencies were slightly modified, because the installation of SQL Server will fail if no reboot is performed after MSI is updated 4.5.

Crypto Actions updated to 2.2.0.0

28 Apr 2011 22:55:33 GMT

The Crypto actions plugin for AutoPlay Media Studio 8 and Setup Factory 9 was updated to version 2.2.0.0. The new build brings two new actions:

Crypto.MCryptString(string Text, string Key, string IV);
Crypto.MDecryptString(string Text, string Key, string IV);

These functions allow 256-bit AES string encryption and decryption, compatible with the mcrypt functions as found in PHP. This means that now you can exchange encrypted text with an web server running PHP.

The Lua 5.0 version of the Crypto plugin will be updated soon to reflect these changes.

ODBC Actions updated to 2.6.0.0

24 Apr 2011 15:32:45 GMT

The ODBC Actions plugin was updated to version 2.6.0.0.

Change: The ShowOdbcDialog parameter, present in the actions ODBC.OpenDSNConnection() and ODBC.OpenDirectConnection() was modified.

Attentention: If you used this parameter in your scripts to control the visibility of the ODBC connection dialog, you have to revise your scripts!

The parameter was a boolean before, and was changed to string. With the boolean, a true would cause the ODBC connection dialog to appear always, while false would hide it always, even when the connection failed. The absence of the parameter would cause the dialog to be shown automatically, only when needed.

As a new parameter was added to these actions to allow the control of multiple database connections, it became necessary to change the parameter to a string, which now works as this:

When setting it as "show", the ODBC connection dialog will be shown always, with "hide" it always will stay hidden, even if the connection parameters were incorrect, and "auto" will cause the dialog to be shown only when needed.

The latest changes made to the plugin were also ported to the Lua 5.0 version (for AutoPlay Media Studio 7, Setup Factory 7 and 8, TrueUpdate 3 and Visual Patch 3).

Socket Object updated to 2.1.3.0

24 Apr 2011 15:22:29 GMT

The Socket Object was updated to version 2.1.3.0

Enhancement: This latest version of the Socket Object allows to specify timeouts for Socket.Ping() operations, in the same way as the former enhancement already did for Socket.Open() actions. The default timeout is 1000 milliseconds, however now you can perform scans in your LAN much more faster, by setting a lower timeout.

The latest additions made to the plugin were also ported to the Lua 5.0 (AutoPlay Media Studio 7) version.

Crypto Actions updated to 2.1.0.3

24 Apr 2011 15:11:59 GMT

The new version of the Crypto actions plugin (available for both Lua 5.0 and Lua 5.1), features faster and better file encryption and decryption actions.

Although the former versions of the plugin worked correctly, I was made aware that there could be issues when processing very large files, typically larger than 400 MB. As there is a great amount of RAM required to perform the actions, it was possible to receive "Out of Memory" errors. This new build fixes this issue, and it is now possible to encrypt and decrypt files of virtually any size. If you process files with a former version of the plugin, don't miss this update.

The latest updates were also applied to the Lua 5.0 version (for AutoPlay Media Studio 7, Setup Factory 7 and 8, TrueUpdate 3 and Visual Patch 3).

Multithread Plugins released

1 Mar 2011 15:10:55 GMT

With the aid of two plugins, one Actions plugin and one Object plugin, true multithreading is now available for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.

Until now, if you needed to run an external program and get the exit code, your AutoPlay application would need to wait until the external application ended processing. With the Multithread plugins, you can now start any number of external applications, continue to work in your AutoPlay application, and still retrieve the exit code when any of the external application is terminated.

Not only can you retrieve the exit code, but you also can set a maximum amount of time for the external application to run. If the application is still executing when the time runs out, the program is terminated and a specific return code is sent to your AutoPlay application.

Although multithreading, semaphores and process synchronization is a fairly complex matter, all this is kept "under the hood". You will need to use only two actions - one for each plugin, to start and monitor external applications successfully. The provided documentation includes step-by-step instructions how to use the plugins in your project. A sample project is also available on the web page.

Socket Object updated to 2.1.1.0

10 Feb 2011 15:46:24 GMT

The Socket object for AutoPlay Media Studio 8 was updated today.

Correction: When a connection attempt using Socket.Open() failed, the socket would not allow new connection attempts (on same or different addresses or port numbers).
Enhancement: Socket.Open() now has an optional fourth parameter, which allows to set a custom timeout period. The default value for attempting a connection is defined as 20 seconds, but if you want to wait less or longer, you now can set a different timeout value. If left blank or set to 20 seconds, the action will perform exactly as usual.

ZipEx Actions Plugin released

9 Feb 2011 17:02:45 GMT

A new actions plugin was released today. it is compatible with autoplay media studio 8.0 and setup factory 9.0, and is available in both 32 and 64 bit versions.

the zipex actions plugin allows you to:

create new zip archives, and password protect the contents with a zip 2.0 compatible password, or you can use aes 128 bit or aes 256 bit encryption, which is winzip compatible;
decompress zip archives, which were were protected using the zip 2.0 password, or strong aes encryption (as created with winzip);
create self-extracting zip archives, which will be using aes 256 bit encryption in case you set a password;
append files to an existing zip archive without recompressing the whole contents;
retrieve a table of all files contained in a zip archieve, with their file names and sizes (compressed and uncompressed);
test if a rar archive can be decompressed;
decompress rar archives, which can be multi-volume and/or password protected;
retrieve a table of all files contained in a rar archieve, with their file names and sizes (compressed and uncompressed).

most actions allow to invoke a callback function, so you can give some visual feedback in your application or installer while the compression action is working in the background.

ImageEx Object updated to 1.2.0.0

20 Jan 2011 23:19:41 GMT

The ImageEx object was updated today to version 1.2.0.0 (for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0)

This new build allows reflections, like a mirror effect, below the image that is currently loaded. The loded image may or not have transparency - the reflection will mirror the source correctly.

You can adjust the height and the opacity of the reflection, to match your needs. This can be done in the updated Properties dialog, or with three new actions:

ImageEx.SetReflection(string ObjectName, boolean Reflection)
ImageEx.SetReflectionHeight(string ObjectName, number Height)
ImageEx.SetReflectionOpacity(string ObjectName, number Opacity)

This new version is available now, as evaluation or as a free update for all users who paid for the plugin in the past.

ODBC Actions updated to 2.5.0.0

8 Jan 2011 15:03:41 GMT

The ODBC Actions plugin was updated to version 2.5.0.0.

The new version allows simultaneous database connections - two connections are allowed for the evaluation plugin, and up to five connections for the registered version. With this new ODBC plugin, it is possible to copy data from one database to another, for example, which makes this plugin much more powerful than before.

Also, the trial period was increased to two weeks, giving evaluating users more time to test the product.

Warning: This plugin will require a new unlock code.

If you are currently using the registered version, you will need to send me the "Hardware key" that is shown in the new activation dialog. I will send you a proper license code as soon as possible. The new activation system is more forgiving about hardware changes, and a new license might not even be required if you need to reinstall your operating system.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: Crystal Reports 2005

30 Dec 2010 15:00:00 GMT

This is a dependency module for Setup Factory, and should be used when your application needs the Crystal Reports 2005 Runtime (also known as Crystal Reports for .NET Framework 2.0 (x86)) to work properly.

If the Crystal Reports 2005 Runtime cannot be found by the dependency module, the MSI installer will be started in passive mode, displaying a quick progress screen before the first dialog of your installer is displayed. This runtime module requires that the .NET Framework 2.0 is already present on the target system.

Both MSI installers for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the Crystal Reports 2005 runtime are included, as well as detection scripts for the .NET 2.0 Framework for both platforms. If you already have the Crystal Reports runtimes and don't need them, you can download the installer containing only the detection scripts.

Example: Email Client (AutoPlay Media Studio)

9 Dec 2010 02:36:17 GMT

In this example for AutoPlay Media Studio, I show how you can receive and send email messages, without the use of plugins or external applications. Of course, you need to inform POP3 and SMTP servers in order to read and send messages.

This sample application shows how to:

Check for new mail
Receive the message headers and body, separating the text/plain and text/html parts
Send messages (with attachment!)

Available as source code (*.apz) and as finished Web/Email executable.

Dependency module for Setup Factory: .NET 4.0 (Web Install)

19 Nov 2010 16:35:15 GMT

This dependency module works with Setup Factory 8 and 9, and can be used to check for the .NET Framework 4.0 on the target computer, and install it if not found. This script uses the web installer (dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe) to download and install the proper binaries for the .NET Framework, and will add less than 1 MB to your installer.

64 bit versions for selected plugins now available

19 Nov 2010 16:13:00 GMT

With the release of the first beta of Setup Factory 9 (details here), I am now offering selected action plugins built for 64 bit installers.

If you are going to build installers targeting 64 bit operating systems, using the new "64-bit platform" found in Setup Factory 9, you can use these plugins:

ODBC Actions (both ODBC and MySQL for Lua 5.1), evaluation and full versions for customers;
Crypto Actions, evaluation and full versions for customers;
Unicode Actions, free
Encoding Actions, for current customers only.

You can select the platforms you wish to deploy during the installation, like shown in this capture:

I don't expect any problems with these new versions, but should there be an issue, please contact me, as usual.

Example: Cascading Menus

26 Oct 2010 17:58:03 GMT

In this new example for AutoPlay Media Studio, I show how you can build cascading, "spry" menus in your applications.

Example showing horizontal custom root buttons

Instead of using the habitual list box, combo box, etc., why don't you offer a more dynamic way to navigate the content of your project, or allow your user to select something? With the provided Lua script and two working examples (one for vertical root buttons, and another for horizontally arranged root buttons), you'll have no problem in implementing these menus quickly.

Fade Page Transition updated!

14 Oct 2010 18:57:53 GMT

The Fade page transition was changed so now it works better on older operating systems like Windows XP and 2000.

The new version is included in the current Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio installer.

Example: Shortcuts as features (Setup Factory)

9 Oct 2010 01:29:03 GMT

In this example for Setup Factory, I show how you can offer the creation of shortcuts to the application being installed in the "Select Packages" screen. The end user can select where he wants the shortcuts to be placed. The easy step-by-step instructions and the sample project explain how you can use this in your own installer.

Example: Multilanguage (AutoPlay Media Studio)

9 Oct 2010 01:25:38 GMT

A new example project for AutoPlay Media Studio shows how to exchange the text of various objects on the pages of a project, allowing to change the language of the whole application on-the-fly. This demonstration project shows how to display text in:

English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Turkish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Thai, Korean, Romanian, Danish, Traditional Chinese, Hungarian, Czech, Hebrew and Japanese.

Available as source code (*.apz) and completed project (*.exe).

Fade Page Transition released!

27 Sep 2010 17:24:33 GMT

A new page transition for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 was released today. You can now perform a smooth crossfade transition from the current page to the next. The step and the speed of the transition can be adjusted in the properities dialog.

This new transition is offered for free as part of the "Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0" package.

Skin Actions now free!

22 Sep 2010 02:44:19 GMT

The Skin Actions plugin is now available for free from the website. It is compatible with AutoPlay Media Studio 6.0 and 7.x only, as AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 already has the same skinning engine built-in, giving even better results than possible with this plugin. For users who decided not to update - enjoy!

Wow64 Actions updated to 1.0.1.2

10 Aug 2010 15:14:10 GMT

Some nice enhancements were made to the code of the Wow64 Actions plugin:

Constants Wow64.KEY64 and Wow64.KEY32 defined, for setting the registry view to operate on;
Dynamic loading of API functions Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection and Wow64RevertWow64FsRedirection.*
Replacement of the API functions RegDeleteKeyEx and RegGetValue.*
Wow64.RegistryGetValue now returns an empty string ("") upon failure, instead of nil.

* With these new enhancements, the plugin can now be loaded on old operating systems like Windows 2000 and 32-bit Windows XP. Of course, the functions themselves may be executed only when supported by the operating system, but now it is possible to build installers on Windows XP designed to run on current systems.

Wow64 Actions Plugin released!

22 Jul 2010 04:02:25 GMT

A new actions plugin is available for applications using Lua 5.0:

AutoPlay Media Studio 7
Setup Factory 8
TrueUpdate 3
Visual Patch 3

The purpose of this plugin is to access files and folders controlled by the File System Redirector and to read and write registry keys that are subject to Registry Redirection, both on 64-bit operating systems. These functions can also be used on 32-bit operating systems.

The following actions are included:

DisableFsRedirection: Disables file system redirection for the calling thread;
RevertFsRedirection: Restores file system redirection for the calling thread;
RegistryCreateKey: Creates a "key" in the user's Registry;
RegistryDeleteKey: Deletes a "key" from the user's Registry;
RegistryDeleteValue: Deletes a "value" from the user's Registry;
RegistryDoesKeyExist: Determines whether or not a particular Registry key exists;
RegistryGetKeyNames: Returns a table containing the names of all of the sub keys for a particular key;
RegistryGetValue: Returns a specific Registry value's data;
RegistryGetValueNames: Returns a table containing all the values within a specific sub key;
RegistryGetValueType: Returns a specific Registry value's type;
RegistrySetValue: Sets the data of a specific Registry value.

All registry operations feature the RegistryView parameter, which allows to set KEY_WOW64_64KEY for operating on the 64-bit registry view, and KEY_WOW64_32KEY for operating on the 32-bit registry view.

Documentation is included in the installer (which you can download here), but can also be downloaded separately from here.

ImageEx Object updated to 1.0.1.1

19 Jul 2010 19:26:12 GMT

The ImageEx object was updated, introducing a correction and a new feature:

The new drop shadow was not staying perfectly centered when source image was rotated. This would cause problems in projects like the clock sample.

A new visual aid was added in design to show the boundaries of the drop shadow, as shown below:

If you installed version 1.0.1.0, you should update to this version for better results.

ImageEx Object updated to 1.0.1.0

19 Jul 2010 02:29:08 GMT

The release 1.0.1.0 of the ImageEx object plugin brings smoother, and adjustable drop shadows:

You can now adjust the horizontal and vertical offset of the drop shadow, the opacity, and the dispersion (the softness of the shadow border).

Here is one example of the better control you have over the drop shadow:

Available now on the product's web page.

ImageEx Object Plugin released!

6 Jul 2010 23:34:45 GMT

This new object plugin for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 allows to rotate, scale and transform images, change the hue, saturation and lightness, the contrast and brightness, apply blur, or add a dynamic drop shadow.

The plugin is very useful if you need to display several similar images, that differ only in angle or size. Now you need to include the source image only once, and can apply the required transformation on the fly!

Unlike several other objects, this plugin allows you to see the effect and transformation you need directly in the development environment, without needing to preview your page first to see the results of your settings. This is a huge time safer, and helps you to achieve the results you need faster.

Here is just one sample of what this plugin can do:

This image was rotated, had its contrast enhanced, and a drop shadow was added.

You can download the version 1.0.0.0 from the web site right now.

Socket Object updated to 2.0.1.2

14 Jun 2010 02:51:54 GMT

If you are using the Socket Object with AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0, please update the plugin. The former build had an error in the digital certificate validation routine.

Crypto Actions updated to 2.0.2.0

9 Jun 2010 17:00:07 GMT

The new build of the Crypto Actions plugin now contains support for Rijndael (256-bit AES) encryption, compatible with the .NET Framework.

New functions: Crypto.RijndaelEncryptString() and Crypto.RijndaelDecryptString().

Example:

-- create a 256-bit secret key from a table containing 32 bytes
key = {};
for i = 1, 32 do
key[i] = i - 1;
end
-- create the initialization vector from a table with 16 bytes
iv = {};
for i = 1, 16 do
iv[i] = i - 1;
end
source = "This is a test";
encoded = Crypto.RijndaelEncryptString(source, key, iv);
Debug.Print(encoded .. "\r\n");
decoded = Crypto.RijndaelDecryptString(encoded, key, iv);
Debug.Print(decoded .. "\r\n");

Full documentation of the new functions are available in the help file. These new functions are available in the full version only, not in the evaluation.

.NET Framework 4.0 dependency module for MSI Factory

4 Jun 2010 17:04:11 GMT

Based on the original .NET 3.5 module, as published by Indigo Rose, here are new modules for the current .NET Framework 4.0.

There are two detection modules in this package:

.NET 4.0 Include - assumes that you include the .NET 4.0 full package installer (dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe) in your bootstrapper, which will add 48.1 MB to your setup.

You can download the installer from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0A391ABD-25C1-4FC0-919F-B21F31AB88B7

.NET 4.0 Download - assumes that you download the web installer (dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe) and that you place it on your own web server. At runtime, the bootstrapper will first download the web installer from your server, which will then download the required files for the detected platform from Microsoft and finally start the installation. This all can be done passively, so no user interaction is required.

You can download the web installer from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9cfb2d51-5ff4-4491-b0e5-b386f32c0992

Installation

Download this file: http://www.mindquake.com.br/files/msi/NET4Framework.zip

Decompress the zip file in the "Bootstrap\Dependencies" sub folder of your MSI Factory installation. When you restart the Bootstrapper Designer, the two new modules will be available.

This dependency module is not officially supported by Indigo Rose. Use it at your own risk, and feel free to modify it to fit your needs better. Feedback is always welcome.

ODBC & MySQL Actions plugins now compatible with AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0

1 Jun 2010 19:00:44 GMT

The ODBC and MySQL Actions plugins were recompiled with the new version of Lua, as used in AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.

Database connectivity is available to users of AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 through the LuaSQL extensions, however in certain cases, the use of actions plugins can make programming easier and more comfortable.

The MySQL was formerly part of the free Utilities bundle, but for Lua 5.1 is was added to the ODBC product. The cost was not changed, and upgrade to the current version is free for all former customers.

The current version is 2.0.2.0.

Details page in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory:
http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/48/odbc-amp-mysql.html

Crypto Actions plugin now compatible with AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0

27 May 2010 18:52:38 GMT

The Socket Object plugin was recompiled with the new version of Lua, as used in AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.

The current version is 2.0.1.1 and the upgrade is free for all former customers.

Details page in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory:
http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/44/socket.html

Socket Object plugin now compatible with AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0

19 May 2010 15:00:00 GMT

The Socket Object plugin was recompiled with the new version of Lua, as used in AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.

The current version is 2.0.1.1 and the upgrade is free for all former customers.

Details page in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory:
http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/44/socket.html

Example: Draw Poker game built with AutoPlay Media Studio

14 May 2010 20:54:20 GMT

A simple draw poker game, where you are dealt five cards. You can hold any number of cards or draw new ones, attempting to get a winning hand. The game plays some sounds and shows simple animations, and can be controlled with the mouse or keyboard.

The exported AutoPlay Media Studio project, without online play, can be retrieved from this URL:

http://www.mindquake.com.br/files/ams/DrawPoker.apz

The full game, with high score sent to an online database and user login capabilities, can be retrieved from this address:

http://www.mindquake.com.br/files/ams/DrawPoker.exe

Full details, and alternate download locations, can be found here:

http://www.mindquake.com.br/ams.php#poker

The article of this example in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory can be found here:

http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/42/draw-poker.html

Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio now compatible with Lua 5.1

28 Apr 2010 15:00:00 GMT

A new installer is available for the free plugin bundle for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.

It contains the following:

Unicode Actions plugin, release 2.0.1.0
Math Actions plugin, release 2.0.1.0
FTPS Actions plugin, release 2.0.1.0
Page Turn transition, release 2.0.1.0
Shape page transition, release 2.0.1.0
Techsmith Camtasia codec detection
.NET Framework detection

Note:

The MySQL Actions plugin is no longer part of the bundle, and is now shipping as part of the ODBC Actions plugin.