HOW TO - Nulsoft Scriptable Installer System

If your program application, and if you need simple program to complete "Setup" part with advanced options and scripting and if you need FREE software NSIS is the best !
The system is about 34ko place inside your installer package ! and support many compression format like BZIP.

NSIS Quick Setup Script Generator

Here i've test differents programs and for me the best is NSIS Quick Setup Script Generator, it generate NSIS source code automaticly. You need also the "CORE" system of NSIS downloadable from http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Main_Page .

I've experiment different NSIS program to create my installer for the radiologbook, so i purpose to you a small presentation of one of them, for me it's the most usefull because it purpose to save your application NSIS settings values inside INI files so it's quickly to generate next release :

[Page 1]
Field 5=crx-logbook
Field 7=crx-logbook
Field 9=http://www.crxcluster.com
Field 10=01
Field 11=01
Field 12=20
Field 13=08
Field 14=Bastien Barbe © 2008
Field 15=Logbook
Field 17=C:\Program Files\crx-logbook\license.txt
Field 19=English|French
Field 20=1
Field 21=0
Field 22=BZIP2
[Page 2]
Field 3=crx-logbook
Field 4=0
Field 7=<Application's Main Executable>
Field 10=C:\Program Files\crx-logbook
Field 11=1
Field 15=<none>
Field 16=
Field 17=0
Field 18=0
Field 19=0[Page 3]
Field 4=
Field 5=0
Field 6=0
Field 7=0
Field 8=0
Field 9=0
Field 10=1
Field 11=1
Field 12=C:\Program Files\DEV\nsiqssg\Output\crx-logbook\setup.exe

NSIS Quick Setup Script Generator Configuration Settings

Follow the differents screen, enter your application name, your settings and licence text file.

After generate the script you need to compile it : simply right clic and "generate NSIS"
The compilation begin inside a graphical window like that :

After compilation some warning's can apear but it work very well :)


It mean that now you've a beautifull source ... but you need to open it inside editor, here i use NOTEPAD ++
for me it's very good to edit NSIS it look like that :

So the generation of script give you a solid base to start edition :) and customisation, on the top you 'll found constant values declaration witch can't be change during the setup.
After that you've got "section" part here you've to declare what action you want to do during setup program.

Here we 've following "Section" :

-MainProgram

-Icons_Reg

Uninstall

Also 2 functions are given : .onInit, un.onInit they called before running install and uninstall section, it the same as "handle function" witch is call automaticly by the installer core.