I've just posted a new videocast on using Inno Setup 5.0 with VFP apps. This videocast describes how to customize an Inno Setup script so you can install your database files to a location that's independent of where the EXE and other workstation files are installed.
The videocast is available from a link on my FoxPro developers page at www.ita-software.com/foxpage.aspx. To launch the video, click on the 'Video' link under the title Deploying Multi-User VFP Apps with Inno Setup 5.0. The video should start playing automatically. Total running time is 16:31.
Technorati Tags: InnoSetup, FoxPro, VFP
3 comments:
Nice presentation, and being new to Inno Setup found it very useful. I used Wise Installer for installing multi-user Foxpro applications some time ago. Just wondering do we assume that database component will be selected for all workstations? I presume, data need to be installed once and for the rest of the workstations we need to point somehow during the installation to the data location, because a desktop icon after installation should point to proper data location on a server. Selecting data component for each of the workstations probably won't make any harm ( assuming it doesn't overwrite more recent or the same data ) , but I see a bit confusing to select it each time. Am I missing anything or you just a customization was illustrated?
Also as an extension it would nice to describe what would be the best approaches for embedding into Inno Setup anything like VFP OLE DB installation which in turn might require MDAC components. I am struggling now with creation Inno Setup which will be launched from Foxpro application and should install DOTNET redistributable, VFP OLE DB and MDAC (if needed) in the most pleasant and streamlined way.
Just wondering why previous post doesn't appear as a comment. As for the post itself I ended up with Visual Studio 2005 Setup which seems to be easier when a lot Windows products/technologies dependancies are involved
Mikhail
Quote: 'Just wondering do we assume that database component will be selected for all workstations? I presume, data need to be installed once and for the rest of the workstations we need to point somehow during the installation to the data location...'
The intent of this installation design is that the database component is installed only once, to a common location such as a file server, while the workstation component is installed on each individual machine. Installing the database component multiple times to the same location doesn't harm anything, though, because the setup script is configured not to overwrite any live data.
My apps are designed so the user can specify where the data is located. If the app does not know where the data is, which is usually the case the first time it runs, it prompts the user to point to the data using a GetDir() dialog. Once the app knows where the data is located, it stores that information on the local machine and no further user interaction is required as long as the location of the data doesn't change. If the location of the data does change, the user can simply point to the new location. This design also has the benefit of making it possible for the app to easily work with multiple data locations, such as a test database and a live database.
Post a Comment