Author: samlogic

In Visual Installer you can use two design types for your installation projects: Visual Installer style and Windows Installer style. The following video on YouTube shows how to create a project of Windows Installer type:

When the video has started you can click on the YouTube logotype ( ) in the video window to view the video in a larger size and better resolution.

More tip videos
More tip videos for Visual Installer are available on our YouTube channel:
> SamLogic Software on YouTube

It is easy to create a menu interface with 2 columns with buttons in CD-Menu Creator. You only need to select the Double Columns option in the Buttons tab in CD-Menu Creator´s editor, and add your buttons. Then you will have a menu interface with two columns with buttons. If you click here you can see an example of such a menu.

But what about a menu interface with 3 columns with buttons? Can this be easily done? Well, some more work is needed, but it is quite easy also. The tip below shows how to create a menu interface with 3 columns with buttons:

1. Start the CD-Menu Creator editor.
2. Open the Buttons tab.
3. Select Left in the Placement frame.

4. Open the Buttons (text) tab.
5. Click on the Add Button button.
6. Enter “Alfa” (or other text) in the Text (button) text box.
7. Click OK.
8. Click on the Add Button button again.
9. Enter “Beta” (or other text) in the Text (button) text box.
10. Click on the Options button.
11. Open the Position tab.
12. Select the Next free (horizontal/vertical) position option.

13. Click OK, and OK again.
14. Now select the button with the text “Beta” in the button list.
15. Click on the Copy Button button and click on Yes in the message box that is shown.
16. Repeat this process until you have 6 buttons in the list.
17. Double click on button 3, 4, 5 and 6 and enter “Gamma”, “Delta”, “Epsilon” and “Zeta” (or other text) so every button have a unique text.

We have now created a menu interface with 6 buttons. To make the buttons appear in 3 columns you need to adjust the button width and the menu window width, so 3 buttons fits in one row without problem. You can for example enter the following dimensions:

1. Open the Buttons tab.
2. Enter “160” at Width (this sets the button width).
3. Open the Window tab.
4. Enter “553” at Width (this sets the window width).

You can now preview the menu window (click on the Preview button). The menu window should look like this:

Instead of entering a width manually at step 4 above, you can click on the Size button and use the mouse to resize the menu window so it will have a proper width. The buttons will draw itself automatically when you adjust the menu windows width, and you can adjust the menu width until 3 columns with buttons are drawn and the distance between the rightmost button and the right border is ok.

When you select the Next free (horizontal/vertical) position option (see step 12 above) this button will be drawn in the first free area to the right of the previous added button (see figure 1 below). If there is no free area to the right, the button is drawn on the next row instead (see figure 2 below).

More tips
More tips about how to use CD-Menu Creator is available on our tips & tricks page for the tool.

In the Buttons tab in the CD-Menu Creator editor you can set a text color for all texts that are displayed on buttons in a menu interface. But the color that you set in the Buttons tab will be the same for all buttons. Sometimes it can be useful to set another text color for specific button, but is it possible with CD-Menu Creator?

The answer is yes. You can set a unique text color (and also a unique background color) for every button in a menu if you want that. In the following step-by-step tip that we have published on our website we explain how to do this:

> Tip: Unique text colors for buttons

The default language for setup dialog boxes, information messages and error messages in the Visual Installer setup tool is English, but you can use another language if you want. You can change language by choosing the Special – Language menu item in Visual Installer’s editor (see the picture below):

All standard texts are stored in separate language files. An English and German language file is included as default, but it is easy to add your own language file to Visual Installer and use it for your localized installations.

The tip below shows how to do this:

> Create installations in different languages

The language file only contains standard texts. With standard text we mean texts that are the same regardless of project; for example texts for navigation buttons, and information and error messages. When you enter project specific texts, for example about a specific software, these texts are stored together with the project file (.VIP file). In the following tip we show how to add and change project specific texts:

> Setup Dialog Boxes – How to choose, add text & change image

See also
> A German language file is now included in Visual Installer