Miscellaneous discussion (SetupS)

Discussion in 'Discussion' started by Trouba, Jul 6, 2011.

  1. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    I had this idea that might be performed by a script or otherwise by SetupS itself. When making a LastOS type image (including ssWPI and apps) usually the OS will be one arch, like x64 only. But when including ppApps (mainly) a lot of space may be taken up by the fact those apps are dual-arch (ppApp.7z archives are larger). Would it be possible (and simple) to create a script or feature of SetupS that automatically re-creates those ppApps into a desired architecture, like x64 only? It could leave the _x64 subfolder normally included in dual-arch ppApps, but it would just omit the _x86 (for example) folder and the .app file shortcuts, etc.
     
  2. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

  3. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    No, I meant perform the action on the app itself (.apz or open folder) to reduce the size of the ppApp.7z archive (take out the _x86 or _x64 folders and adjust the x64/x86 entries in reg files and cmd's and shortcuts in .app file, etc.).
     
  4. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    Ah, okay. Essentially you want to split up the (already pre-made) dual-arch packages into 2 arch-specific (one x86 and one x64) .apz's, right?

    If so, yeah, I think a simple cmd/bat script could be made to do that -- possibly incorporated into ssEditor ;)
     
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  5. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    Yeah, I think that would be great. I normally only make the dual-arch ppApps whenever possible, but then for OS images or certain purposes it would be best to only have the one arch there for size reduction (I think Glenn would like that too for his releases). I had been keeping the apps in the image I was making up to date (that 3 month old folder, hehe -- I keep putting the install off) and was remaking some of the apps into single arch from the original dual-arch ones I made.
     
  6. Glenn

    Glenn Administrator Staff Member

    I agree, this feature would be handy, then we can still whip up a dual arch to share to the repo, but not have to duplicate the work to make single arch packages for our own personal installs.
     
  7. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    So it turns out Windows 10 wasn't the problem (and neither was SetupS). It was PartitionWizard all along. Because it was an x86 app on an x64 OSArch, SetupS was automatically registering the serial number under "WOW6432Node" -- as it is supposed to -- but PartitionWizard wasn't "seeing" it there. All was needed to fix it was to add some OSArch gates to the reg-file. Or alternatively change the assembly order such that the registry info gets entered before SetupS finds out it's an x86 app.

    Or just make the damn thing a ppApp. LOL
     
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  8. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    "Or alternatively change the assembly order" <-- I had actually thought of that but didn't test it.
     
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  9. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    I did test it, but unfortunately was unable to come up with anything workable. The OSArch-gated reg-file seemed to work the best and was the simplest to implement, IMO. The ppApp version uses the same OSArch-gated reg-file as the ssApp -- otherwise, the ppApp would register at both the WOW6432Node location and the proper one.
     
  10. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    Turns out %ProcessKill% and %WaitForIt% were non-effective all along -- because Process Assembly would pause and wait for an installer to finish, they'd never really get the chance to actually do anything.

    The new components should allow a gateway for some of the more powerfull AutoIt functions of Windows unattended manipulation such as clicking buttons, selecting options, even sending keystrokes.

    Later I'll update the help-file with usage explaination & and examples of the new components.

    For those curious, here's a SetupS .app-file demonstrating a little what they can do. It'll open Notepad, type something, then closes it without saving it (the latest SetupS is required, of course):
     

    Attached Files:

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  11. Glenn

    Glenn Administrator Staff Member

    Well %F@c#Me% that does add some more functionality, I always used WaitForIt.exe in my experiments, so never really looked into the inline version to see how you made it "check during execution", so if it was waiting for the app to finish before it knew to look for the apps window to close it (which then waited for 15 seconds before continuing), I imagine it wouldn't work too well at all before :)
     
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  12. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    I forgot to add to the change-log that I've added the AutoIt Window Information tool to ssEditor (Ctrl+I). Look for it in the menubar under Tools. Should be really handy for getting those Control-ID triad's for %ClickMe%. ;)

    I've also added Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+T) to ssEditor's tool menu. Will be useful for both %ProcessKill% and %WaitForIt%
     
  13. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    You're going to have to make a video, Freezer, with Barry White voice, and explain it all :D But seriously, I may need some examples as to how to use those features.
     
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  14. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    As I'm making the standalone (.exe) versions of the new components, I was reviewing the old ones... the "AddonInstaller" in particular stood out as one that seems to me at best was obsolete if it was ever used. At least, I don't think it's being used. And with so many different (correct) methods of installing addons, SetupS's (to me) never seemed to quite fit the bill. Packages I've seen such as those from Ricktendo have their own installers already using the correct addon install method -- which are then easily incorporated into an ssApp package.

    Bottom-line, I really don't see a need to continue including this component (internally or as an external one) with the SetupS package.
     
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  15. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    I've placed some examples here (http://team.lastos.org/TheFreezerBox/SetupS/automation.examples/):
    • The first one, "ssApp.app", has no payload but still demonstrates some the new capabilities:
      Code:
      notepad.exe
      %SelectMe% "Notepad"
      %SendMe% "{S 30}"
      %CloseMe% "Notepad"
      %ClickMe% "Notepad","Save changes", "Button2"
      Simply double-click on it and it'll open Notepad, type 30 "S's", then close it without saving it. This will even work unmodified with Notepad substitutes such as Notepad+ or Notepad2-mod.
    • The next one, "Gigaware.Browser.Mouse_v4.06_ssApp.apz", is an old mouse-wheel enhancement utility (installs harmlessly on NT6 systems but only actually works on NT5 systems). I never could find any silent switches for this installer, so here's SetupS installing it with the new automation tools:
      Code:
      Setup.exe
      %ClickMe% "Select Language", "Next", "TButton2"
      %ClickMe% "Welcome", "Next", "TButton2"
      %ClickMe% "Select Destination Directory", "Next", "TButton3"
      %ClickMe% "Select Program Folder", "Next", "TButton3"
      %ClickMe% "Start Copying Files", "Next", "TButton3"
      %ClickMe% "Setup Completed", "No, I will restart my computer later.", "TRadioButton1"
      %ClickMe% "Setup Completed", "Finish", "TButton1"
      PopUpHandler.exe
      %WaitForIt% "%ProgramFiles%\Gigaware\Gigaware Driver\4.06\Mouse32A.exe"
      "%ProgramFiles%\Gigaware\Gigaware Driver\4.06\Mouse32A.exe"
      %WaitForIt% "Mouse32A.exe"
      "%ProgramFiles%\Gigaware\Gigaware Driver\4.06\Mouse32A.exe"
      %WaitForMe% "Gigaware Optical Mouse Setting"
      %SelectMe% "Gigaware Optical Mouse Setting"
      %ClickMe% "Gigaware Optical Mouse Setting", "Enhanced scroll mode", "TRadioButton3"
      %ClickMe% "Gigaware Optical Mouse Setting", "Scroll", "TRadioButton2"
      %Sendme% "{TAB}3{CTRLDOWN}{TAB}{CTRLUP}FCCCC"
      %ClickMe% "Gigaware Optical Mouse Setting", "Ok", "TButton3"
      This starts the installer, clicks through to completion (without restarting the computer), launch the utility, then configure its settings.

      Note, %WaitForIt% is used in both capacities here. First with a file name and then later with a process name.
    Okay, so here's how they're used and what they do:
    • %ClickMe% "Title", "Text", "Control-ID" - Sends a left mouse click to a given control.
    • %CloseMe% "Title", "Text" - Closes a window.
    • %ProcessKill% "Process name" - Terminates a named process.
    • %SelectMe% "Title" - Activates (gives focus to) a window.
    • %SendMe% "Keys" - Sends simulated keystrokes to the active window.
    • %WaitForIt% "File name" or "Process name" - Pauses until a specific file or process is created.
    • %WaitForMe% "Title", "Text", "Timeout" - Pauses until a specified window exists.
    • "Title": The title of the window to access. Any substring or partial matches of the actual title can be used.
    • "Text": The text of the window to access. Partial matches are allowed. In most cases, this can simply be left empty or "".
    • "Control-ID": The control to interact with. Exact matches only.
    • "Process name": The name of the process to terminate.
    • "Keys": The sequence of keys to send. See the help file under Shortcut(s) Definitions, Hotkey, for the Key codes to use.
    • "Timeout": (Optional) The number of seconds to pause.
    Use the AutoIt Window Information tool from ssEditor (Ctrl+I) to obtain the Window triad (Title, Text, Control-ID).
    _______________________________

    Later, I'll probably add a couple more automation components to this list. Such as one to handle miscellaneous pop-up message boxes as in the above's PopUpHandler.exe.
     
  16. Glenn

    Glenn Administrator Staff Member

    Looking good freezer, I am weeks away from a full app repo rebuild, so having all these new features and tidy code will make for a nice fresh RS2 install for me, I will be leaving LTSB behind for another run of pure Windows 10, but I may need to tweak the hell out of it again, including removing Defender and Search if they still involve runtime broker to scan the HDD consistently for DAYS, I like my SSD and don't want bull crap like that chewing up it's lifespan.

    As for obsoleted Addon Installer, it is true I hadn't used it Since Windows 7 because nobody made Windows 8 and 10 Addons and if they did they offered SFX versions that DID NOT reboot the PC as many of the Ricktendo addons did back when XP required a Reboot before it would integrate a dll or extract a cab file using the rundll methods etc if a previous install had requested a reboot. So feel free to remove this feature if your no longer needing it in your XP en-devours, but if you still use Windows 7 with Kels or Ricks Addons and use ssWPI or a list of ssApp installs you may find it reboots mid install without using our Addon installer on the non SFX versions in some cases.
     
  17. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    Are there any of those still around I can test on, for Windows 7? If we are to keep it around, I'd like to be certain the AddonInstaller is working properly at least.
     
  18. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    What are all those missing apps you keep talking about? Inkscape? :p
     
  19. Glenn

    Glenn Administrator Staff Member

    2 Folders from the LastXP series that use SetupS.ini files, they are cab based, so should be possible to test the AddonInstaller works - even in a VM or other Windows OS as they are .cpl and menu extensions so will actually still install even if they don't function.
     

    Attached Files:

  20. Glenn

    Glenn Administrator Staff Member

    Trouba there isn't any missing apps, I just update all the versions to the latest and make sure we haven't missed any new/improved ones, that is how we found WizTree, Advanced Renamer, FreeFileSync and many of the other tools we use daily and if it weren't for my app library sessions we mightn't have known there was better ways.. I think you or freezer discovered WizTree, but it makes a hell of a difference to my seeking out files, when I haven't got Everything running in the background at least.
     
  21. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    Yeah, I told you about WizTree; I started using it when making lite images during NTLite's development. "Everything" has remained a favorite (although I've seen some spin-offs from Wise and other companies). Never use the other apps because once I figure out what parameters and methods to use to mass rename, I end up doing it manually :) Of course, I'm not a media fiend and try to keep my systems somewhat lean and easy to back up so I won't have millions of files. It's like a DVD or VHS collection, does one ever even pull out a movie of that wall once you've seen it? I hardly do, but the PDF's and documents have been piling up in my case (especially since Scribd) and I am struggling with that at times. Usually, before a reinstall, I would organize everything accumulated on my desktop and/or C drive, but the last three reinstalls I've just created a giant Desktop_201x.xx.xx folder and backed it up to a different drive so I'm getting swamped and need to spend some serious hours on that and do some good backups then.
     
  22. Glenn

    Glenn Administrator Staff Member

    My Desktop contains (among other assortments):

    NewYear 2017-Freshness
    2017-Fresh2
    Argh
    Arghhh
    Sort me

    * These are filled with many subfolders

    So I feel your pain, it's just such a big job to backup things when you don't have time to sort them first. I remember last year I just brought a new HDD and if I used something I moved it to the new HDD, then some months in I formatted my old disk with all the stuff I never copied off it - worked, but then a few weeks later we started LastOS Archive and I missed all my old stuff :)
     
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  23. Trouba

    Trouba Administrator Staff Member

    Freezer, when I unselect "Ignore start menu defaults," the following items are left on Win10 Pro x64 1703:

    [​IMG]

    shortcut(s) refer to:
    a) %windir%\system32\quickassist.exe
    b) Explorer
    c) Run

    shortcut locations (respectively):
    a) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories
    b) C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools
    c) C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools
     
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  24. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    Thanks. I'm actually surprised there's so few after all this time and several editions later.
     
  25. The Freezer

    The Freezer Just this guy, you know Staff Member

    I've got these utilities I used to use to capture those default startmenu items. Here (http://www.lastos.org//team/TheFreezerBox/SetupS/Menu.Design/).

    Since it may be a while yet before I install 1703 in a VB... In the meantime, you might try running the _x64 one ("shortcuts.defs_kludge-2a_x64.exe") on your system, and send me the resulting file, it'll be an ini-file called "MenuDefaults(capture).ini". It'll capture your entire Startmenu and it may take a while if it's fairly large. I usually run it on a fresh install but we're really only interested in those 3 that did not get sorted; so you can remove all the extra entries if you want. :)
     

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