Installing and Starting SMS Installer

Article
12/08/2008

SMS Installer is only available by download and is not included with the SMS 2003 product. To download SMS Installer, see the Microsoft SMS Web site at https://www.microsoft.com/smserver/downloads.

You must first run the downloaded self-extracting file on a SMS 2003 primary site server. When SMS Installer has verified that your computer is a SMS 2003 site server, it copies SMS Installer with ISU installation files to the computer in the directory chosen. The default directory location is C:\SMS Installer Setup.

Use Microsoft Windows Explorer to navigate to the SMS Installer Setup directory. Copy the SMSInstl.exe file to the reference computer. To set up SMS Installer on the reference computer, double-click the SMSInstl icon. Or, you can share the SMS Installer Setup directory, map a drive to this share from the reference computer, and run SMSInstl.exe.

After you set up SMS Installer, you can either access the tools from the Start menu or use Windows Explorer to navigate to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft SMS Installer directory. When you find the directory, double-click the SMSins32 icon. The 32-bit version can create 16-bit or 32-bit SMS Installer-generated executable files.

Creating Scripts with the Installation Expert

The Installation Expert creates installation scripts that control the installation process. These installation scripts contain script commands, each of which performs a single action. You can specify the actions that are performed by SMS Installer installation scripts by setting options in the Installation Attributes list.

The Installation Expert user interface includes Repackage Installation Wizard and Watch Application Wizard options.

These tools create automatically generated installation scripts. The scripts simply contain commands that place files in directories and set registry keys.

Running an Installation Wizard

After you copy the SMS Installer files to your reference computer and set up SMS Installer, you must edit all SMS Installer attributes. Then, create the installation script by choosing one of the follow methods:

Use the Watch Application Wizard if a setup program for your application does not exist.
Use the Repackage Installation Wizard if a setup program for your application exists, but you want to replace it.
Use Script Editor if you want to create the script without running either wizard.
Keep the existing setup program, but wrap it with an installation script.

This approach is transparent to the user but allows you to customize the existing setup script. As a result, you retain the error-checking and branching that are built into many existing setup scripts. You must manually replace all the error-checking and branching in the installation script if you use the Repackage Installation Wizard.

Customizing Installation Attributes

Installation Expert is a flexible tool that can provide many ways to modify an installation script. Before you run either the Repackage Installation Wizard or the Watch Application Wizard, check the following installation attributes and ensure that they are set in the way that your installation requires:

Installation Interface
Application Files
Runtime Support
User Configuration
System Configuration
Advanced Configuration

Each of these attributes provides a number of script optimization options. You can find brief descriptions of these options in Table 7.2. For more information, see the SMS Installer Help.

To access these options, click Installation Expert on the View menu, and then double-click the attribute to display its dialog box.

Installation Interface Attribute

Table 7.2 lists and describes the functions of the Installation Interface attribute options. This attribute customizes the installation interface of the installation script that you are creating.

Table 7.2 Installation Interface Attribute Options

Option	Tab	Description/note
Single File or Floppy-Based Installation	Media	Compiles the source directory and installation script into a single file or divides the file into parts. Places the file into a directory with the same name as the installation script.
Settings	Media	When you choose Floppy-Based Installation, you can set the file size.
Software Title	Application	Enter the name to be used in wizard dialog box titles, in the Welcome dialog box, and as the primary icon name. Do not use the word installation in the title because SMS adds it automatically.
Default Directory	Application	Name the top-level directory for the installation. In Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 installations, SMS places this file under Program Files.
Dialogs	Application	Selects dialog boxes for installation. Provides nine standard dialog boxes. These can be edited by selecting the Dialog Templates option on the Edit menu. This launches the Custom Dialog Editor, which is a separate application to help you manage your dialog boxes. In the Custom Dialog Editor, you can also add additional dialog boxes from the File menu.
Graphics	Graphics	Adds graphics to the installation and changes the graphics properties.
Status MIF	SMS	Sets up an SMS Status MIF file.

Application Files Attribute

You can use the Application Files attribute to add, modify, and sort all the components and files that SMS installs with the SMS Installer-generated executable file. To select the components that you want to install, use the Components tab.

Components are installed in the order that they appear on this tab. You can use Add, Delete, Move Up, and Move Down to create a list of the components that you want installed and the order you want them installed.

Use the Files tab to add, modify, and sort the folders and files you use in your installation. The user interface of the Application Files Attribute Properties dialog box consists of a top pane where you locate the folders or files to include in your script and a lower pane where you select a location to install these folders or files on the target computer.

Runtime Support Attribute

You can use the Runtime Support attribute to add additional components for Microsoft Visual Basic® and Microsoft Visual FoxPro®. The options on the Visual Basic tab are most useful when you create your own application with Visual Basic. In the Options dialog box, select components and add them to your installation. By default, only the Uninstall Support option is selected. You can edit several of the installation components by clicking Details.

Use the Visual Basic tab to include Visual Basic run-time components.

You must specify the directory where your Visual Basic system is installed so that SMS Installer can retrieve the run-time files. You can also specify the operating system; SMS Installer includes the run-time files for the operating system that you specify.

The Runtime Support dialog box groups some of the Visual Basic run-time components so that a single check box includes all the files. You can include other single Visual Basic OLE custom controls (.ocx files) or dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) by using the Files dialog box of the Application Files attribute.
Use the Visual FoxPro tab to select Visual FoxPro run-time component installation options.

The Runtime Support dialog box groups some of the Visual FoxPro components so that a single check box includes all the files. You must specify the directory where your Visual FoxPro system is installed so that SMS Installer can retrieve the run-time files, or you can specify remote server support.

User Configuration Attribute

Use the User Configuration attribute to create program groups and associate icons with installable programs, to associate file types with viewing applications, to edit .ini files, and to change the registry of the target computer. Table 7.3 lists and describes the functions of the User Configuration attribute options.

Table 7.3 User Configuration Attribute Options

Option	Tab	Description/note
Select default group name for program manager group	Icons	Provide the name used as a submenu item.
Set up Associations	Associations	Set up associations between files with extensions unknown to the system and the applications used to view or run the files.
Modify .ini Files	INI Files	Modify .ini file settings.
Change registry on target computer	Registry	Set up changes that will be made to the registry of target computers during the installation.

System Configuration Attribute

Use the System Configuration attribute to add or change devices for operating systems other than Windows NT, to add or delete services in the installation script, or to cause the installation script to modify the Autoexec.bat or Config.sys file. Table 7.4 lists and describes the functions of the System Configuration attribute options.

Table 7.4 System Configuration Attribute Options

Options	Tab	Description/note
Modify the [386enh] section of the System.ini file	Devices	Add or delete devices or modify device properties.
Add services or edit their properties	Services	Add services to Control Panel or modify the service properties.
Modify Autoexec.bat file	Autoexec.bat	Produce a script that modifies the Autoexec.bat files of the target computer. You can choose to search for a line in Autoexec.bat where you can insert the new line. Make sure that the Autoexec.bat files of the target computers all contain the fields you search for.
Modify Config.sys file	Config.sys	Produce a script that modifies the Config.sys file of the target computer. You can choose to search for a line in Autoexec.bat where you can insert the new line. Make sure that the Config.sys files of the target computers all contain the fields you search for.

Advanced Configuration Attribute

Use the Advanced Configuration attribute to set advanced options such as screen, font, languages, updating, and global variables. Table 7.5 lists and describes the functions of Advanced Configuration attribute options.

Table 7.5 Advanced Configuration Attribute Options

Option	Tab	Description/note
Maximum Compression	Global	Select to choose a higher compression ratio for SMS Installer-generated executable files.
Control Installation Speed	Global	Select to slow the installation process on fast computers to allow the graphics to display.
No Installation Log	Global	Select to prevent creation of an installation log file. Prevents use of Uninstaller. Use this option if you are only copying files to the Windows, System, or Temporary directory.
Use Internal 3-D Effects	Global	Select to embed Ctl3d.dll into the installation executable file during installation. Presents dialog boxes in 3-D format. This option adds about 11 KB to the file size.
ZIP Compatible	Global	Select to make the SMS Installer-generated executable file compatible with programs that read standard ZIP file format.
Replace in-use files	Global	Select to collect a list of files that must be replaced but are currently in use. Replaces files after rebooting the computer. Adds about 15 KB to the file size.
Convert CD-ROM to Floppy	Global	Select to change an existing installation script from a CD installation to a floppy disk installation.
Beep in New Disk Prompt	Global	Select to create an audio alert when a new disk is needed. Used in floppy disk installations only.
Suppress Reboot Message During Silent Installation	Global	Select to suppress reboot messages during an unattended installation.
Network Installation	Global	Select to reduce network traffic. Files that already exist on the computer are skipped, rather than reinstalled.
Use Verbose Output During MSI Compilation	Global	Select to receive all SMS Installer to Windows Installer migration details, including the status of each file that is converted.
Include Advertisement Support in MSI Output	Global	Select to add support for the Windows Installer install-on-demand (advertisement) option.
Installation Password	Global	Select an installation password. SMS Installer will prompt for this password during installation.
Install Log Path Name	Global	Type a full path to a file that is used as a log file. Path characters must be alphanumeric.
Destination Platforms	Global	Select 16-bit and 32-bit platforms on which the software can be installed.
Progress Dialog Placement	Screen	Select where the Copy dialog box appears during installation.
Progress Bar Based On	Screen	Select an option for the progress bar. Possible values are: Position in Installation .exe (equal to the percentage of time for the percent done). Position in script (equal the percentage of time in each command regardless of relative time in each command). Percentage of selected files (equal the percentage of time for each file regardless of size).
Custom Progress Bar DLL	Screen	Browse to choose a custom DLL to be used for the progress bar instead of the actual Progress dialog box.
Center All Dialogs Over Progress Dialog	Screen	Select to center all dialog boxes and message boxes above the message bar.
Background Gradient	Screen	Select the size of the background window.
Title Bar	Screen	Select to display the title bar at top of the screen.
Hide Program Manager	Screen	Select to suppress Program Manager when icons are added or deleted.
No Background Gradient	Screen	Select to eliminate the background gradient. This option is most useful when you have a background graphic.
Top Color	Screen	Select a color for the top of the gradient.
Bottom Color	Screen	Select a color for the bottom of the gradient.
Screen Preview	Screen	Displays the background window that you have created with your options.
Bold or Light Fonts	Font	Select normal fonts always, bold fonts always, or bold fonts for all platforms except Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000.
Message Box Font	Font	Select a font for message box text.
Point Size	Font	Select the point size of message box text.
Message Charset	Font	Select the character set number of message box text. If you translate your installation into Japanese, you must either set this field to 128 and set the Message Box font to MS Gothic or set the field to 0.
Languages	Languages	Select which languages to include in the file.
Default Language	Languages	Select the default language.
Japanese font name	Languages	Select the default name for the Japanese font.
Japanese Point Size	Languages	Select the point size for the Japanese font.
Copy Default	Languages	Specify the default font name and point size. If you select this box, messages appear in the default language when messages have no translation into the current language.
Always Prompt	Languages	Select to have SMS prompt the user for a language when the script is compiled and language messages are missing.
Prompt to Save	Options	Select to be prompted to save the file each time a new SMS Installer-generated executable file is created.
Run in Manual Mode	Options	Select to be prompted to select the locations for certain files each time that you run your installation.
Show Toolbar Tips	Options	Select to make ToolTips part of your installation.
Show Status Bar Tips	Options	Select to make status bar tips available.
Append New Items	Options	Select to append new items after the currently selected action, rather than before the action, as you edit your installation script.
Suppress Version Error	Options	Select to suppress version checking during the Install File action, when a file that does not have a version resource is detected.
Background Processing	Options	Select to enable your system to process background tasks during the compile process.
Smart Create	Options	Select to detect if the date or time of an SMS Installer-generated executable file has changed and to create a new file only if the date or time has changed.
Fast Create	Options	Select to speed up the installation-creation process by copying the compressed version of files from a previous installation script to the new file. If the size or date of a file has changed, the file is replaced.
Exclude DLLs	Options	Specify DLLs to exclude from dependency checking in the Watch Application Wizard.
Installation .exe name	Settings	Type a full path for the executable file or browse to the directory.
Language INI Name	Settings	Type a path (or browse) to the .ini file that contains the language translations for the installation.
Setup Icon Path	Settings	Type a path (or browse) for the Setup file icon (16-bit only).
Dialogs Directory	Settings	Type a path (or browse) to the directory that contains the dialog boxes.
Temp Files Directory	Settings	Type a path (or browse) to the directory that contains the temporary files.
Do Not Create Patching Updates	Updating	Click to provide copies of entire files rather than creating updates.
Create Patching Updates	Updating	Click to provide updates instead of creating copies of entire files.
Error Checking	Updating	Select the level of error messages.
Update Threshold	Updating	Select a percentage of a file that is replaced where updating occurs below a particular limit but the entire file is replaced above this limit.
Maximum Memory	Updating	Select a size, in kilobytes, to limit the amount of memory that can be used to create an update.
Maximum Update Compression	Updating	Select to enable maximum compression for the update file.
Add	Compiler Variables	Opens the Compiler Variable Settings dialog box so you can add another variable to the list.
Delete	Compiler Variables	Deletes the selected variable.
Properties	Compiler Variables	Click to display properties of the selected variable. Opens the Compiler Variable Settings dialog box.
Compiling from Command Line	Compiler Variables	Select to prompt the end user to provide compiler variables when compiling from the command line.
Compiling from IDE	Compiler Variables	Select to prompt the end user to provide compiler variable when compiling from an integrated development environment (IDE).
Do not create a Code-Signed Installation	Signing	Select to create an unsigned installation.
Create a Code-Signed Installation	Signing	Select to create a code-signed installation.
Web URL	Signing	Add a Web URL for this installation.
Descriptive Name	Signing	Provide a descriptive name for the Web URL.
Credentials File	Signing	Select a credentials file for the URL.
Private Key	Signing	Select a private key for the credentials file.
CAB File	Signing	Choose whether to create a .cab file. If you create a .cab file, SMS Installer places the .exe file in the .cab file. Optionally, you can provide the contents of a Setup.inf file.
File Version	Version	Type the version number of the setup program.
Description	Version	Type a short description of the setup program. You can enter up to 256 characters.
Copyright	Version	Type the copyright information for the setup program. You can enter up to 256 characters.
Other Version Info	Version	Provides additional information about the setup program. This includes Company Name, Internal Name, Language, Legal Trademarks, Original File Name, Product Name, and Product Version. You can modify the information by highlighting the item in the Item Name box and then modifying the value in the Value box.

For More Information

Did you find this information useful? Please send your suggestions and comments about the documentation to smsdocs@microsoft.com.

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