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Setup of a VB 6.0 program

Many programmers still use VB 6.0
There are still lots of people that develop software with VB 6.0 (Visual Basic 6.0). VB 6.0 is an excellent programming language and programming tool that can be used to create a desktop program for the Windows system. A created program starts fast and runs fast also in an average computer, and by using a third party component like CommandBars from CodeJock, the VB6 desktop program can have a modern user interface, even with ribbons!

Not suited for large projects or Internet projects
However, for large projects or for applications that uses the Internet a lot, Visual Basic .NET is the preferable language. And if you are new to programming you should of course choose Visual Basic .NET for your software projects; for example the new Microsoft Visual Basic 2012. VB 6.0 is an old technology, and even if Microsoft still supports it to 100% in their Windows operating systems, this will not last forever.

The Package and Deployment Wizard
Many of our customers use VB6 for their projects, but the setup tool that follows Visual Basic 6.0 – the Package and Deployment Wizard – is quite limited, and it is difficult to create a professional setup program with a modern user interface using that tool. If you want to deploy a setup program with a professional and modern user interface you should use an external setup tool instead of the Package and Deployment Wizard.

Setup of a VB 6.0 program
A complete VB6 application consists of different types of files. For example an EXE file (the main program), ActiveX component files, DLL files, type libraries etc. So it is not possible to just take the EXE file and copy it to another computer. It will not work, unless all support files already have been installed with a previous installation. But to be sure you should always distribute and install all files that are needed to run your program.

It is also very important to install the files to the correct folders on the hard disk, especially in a 64 bit computer / 64-bit Windows. And many files, for example ActiveX components, also need to be registered in the system. Also other information need to be registered. Doing this manually is mostly too complicated, so a setup program is a must.

SamLogic Visual Installer has powerful functions for setup of VB 6.0 programs
Our setup tool SamLogic Visual Installer has powerful functions for setup of VB 6.0 programs. It can install VB6 program files, ActiveX components, DLL files, type libraries, databases, database engines (DAO, ADO, RDO etc.), and other types of files, in an automatic way. By analyzing your VB project file (the .VBP file) Visual Installer will know which files to include in the setup project. Visual Installer will collect the files automatically.

Visual Installer will also add a professional and modern user interface to your installation. Visual Installer can also handle license keys or password protect your installations. Created installations can be code signed and multiple languages can be used for an installation.

Supports Windows 8 and Windows 10
Visual Installer supports new operating systems like Windows 8 and Windows 10, but can also be used to create installation packages for older Windows like Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

More information
If you want to read more about the SamLogic Visual Installer setup tool, you can click on the links below:

> SamLogic Visual Installer – a professional installation software
> Visual Installer can create a setup package for your Visual Basic project

Detailed information about how to import a VB 6.0 project file and create an installation of it is available in this step-by-step tip on our tips & tricks section:

> How to create an installation for a VB6 application

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The setup wizard in Visual Installer

The Visual Installer installation software consists of two main parts: the visual editor and the setup wizard. In the visual editor you create your setup project; for example chooses which files to install and chooses which setup dialog boxes to show during the installation. The setup wizard is the setup program that shows these setup dialog boxes for the end-user and installs your files in end-user’s computer.

Setup wizard’s dialog boxes
There are many setup dialog boxes included in Visual Installer that can be showed in the setup wizard. There are for example dialog boxes that show information messages, asks for a destination folder / destination drive, asks for a license key, shows license texts (EULA texts), handles passwords, register the user etc. You can in an easy way choose which dialog boxes to include in the setup wizard / setup program.

Use your own texts and your own pictures
You can specify your own texts and your own pictures for the setup dialog boxes. You can also affect the behaviour for many of the setup dialog boxes. This makes it possible to fine-tune the setup wizard so it suits your needs.

More information
You can read more about the setup wizard and the setup dialog boxes that are included in Visual Installer on this web page:

> Setup wizard – Many ready-to-use setup dialog boxes included

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The Beatles ‘Love Me Do’ celebrates 50 years / Organize your Beatles songs

It has now been 50 years since the pop and rock group The Beatles released their first single Love Me Do. The single was released October 5, 1962 by Parlophone (EMI). The single’s B-side was the song P.S. I Love You. Both songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and was included in the album Please Please Me, which became their first album (it was released in 1963).

Organize your Beatles favorites
If you are a Beatles fan, or maybe have another favorite group or singer that have released many albums and singles, we have a great tool that you can use to organize your songs, music videos, images, documentary films, interviews and other information. With our tool CD-Menu Creator you can organize the information in a logical way and access information quickly and easily by navigating through a graphical menu interface.

CD, DVD, USB stick or hard drive
Whether you want to store the information on a CD, DVD, USB memory or on your hard drive you can use CD-Menu Creator. Through the program’s menu interface, you can access songs, videos, pictures, etc. in an easy way. If you for example want to start a music video, you just click on a button or a link in the menu.

More information about the program
More information about CD-Menu Creator is available on this page.

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Install your Visual Basic program with Visual Installer

Our setup tool Visual Installer has powerful built-in support for creation of installation programs for Visual Basic projects. If you develop software with Microsoft Visual Basic you can use Visual Installer to make a setup package for your application. Visual Installer is suitable for distribution of both commercial and non-commercial applications.

Supports Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic .NET (2002-2012)
Visual Installer supports Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic .NET (2002-2012). If you develop .NET applications you can let Visual Installer check that the end-user has the correct version of .NET Framework installed before the installation starts.

More information
You can read more about Visual Installer and Visual Basic on this page:
> Visual Installer can create a setup package for your Visual Basic project

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How to install files in the correct folder using Visual Installer

As described in this blog post, there exist two Program Files folders in a 64 bit computer with a 64 bit Windows. One folder is used as a storage place for 32 bit programs and the other folder is used as a storage place for 64 bit programs. And it is important that your program files are installed in the correct folder in a 64 bit system, otherwise there is a risk that your program will not function as expected.

Windows in different languages
If you create an application that may be installed in non-English versions of Windows it is important to know that the name of the Program Files folder may be different compared to the English version of Windows. For example in a Spanish version of Windows the name of the Program Files folder is Archivos de programa. In a Spanish 64 bit Windows, where 32 bit and 64 bit program files / binary files also must be placed in different folders, there will exist the following two folders on the user’s hard disk:

C:\Arquivos de Programas : For 64 bit files
C:\Arquivos de Programas (x86) : For 32 bit files

This can be compared with the folders in an English 64 bit Windows:

C:\Program Files : For 64 bit files
C:\Program Files (x86) : For 32 bit files

(more examples of localized folder names is available in this article on our web site.)

Use an environment variable
It is impossible to handle all of the above combinations by hard-coding the folder path to the Program Files folder. We also advise against any tries to do so. Instead you should use an environment variable in Visual Installer that has the name %PROGRAMFILES to handle this. By placing this variable in the beginning of a folder path, for example like this:

%PROGRAMFILES\SamLogic\Visual Installer

the %PROGRAMFILES variable will be changed to correct folder path, regardless of the bitness of the program files / Windows and regardless of the language of the Windows. This replacement will occur during the setup process in the user´s computer.

Easier to select a variable in Visual Installer 2012
In Visual Installer 2012 (version 9.5.15 or later) it is easier to select correct variable to the main folder of the setup project. We have added a button to the right of the Main folder text box:

If you click on this button (the button with three dots) the dialog box below will be opened:

Via this dialog box you can choose and include the %PROGRAMFILES variable, or another relevant variable, to the main folder of your installation project in an easy way.

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How Visual Installer handles 64 bit folders in Windows

In a 64 bit computer with 64 bit Windows installed there exists two Program Files folders and two System folders. The reason to this is that 32 bit binary files and 64 bit binary files must be placed in different folders. When you distribute and install a program it is important that you install your files in correct folders. 64 bit binary files must be installed in 64 bit folders and 32 bit binary files must be installed in 32 bit folders, otherwise your program may not work. It is not necessary to install data files with 64 or 32 bit data in specific folders; this is only important when binary / executable files are installed (for example EXE files and DLL files).

Our setup tool SamLogic Visual Installer handles all this automatically if you specify the bitness for your setup project in the 32/64 bit tab in the Setup options dialog box in the editor, and uses the %PROGRAMFILES and %SYSDIR variables when you specify destination folders for your installaton files.

The %PROGRAMFILES variable can be used in the Main folder text box in the File list tab in the Visual Installer editor. The picture below shows an example of usage:

And if a file should be installed to the System folder in Windows, you can choose the System directory (%SYSDIR) option in the Destination folder dialog box, as shown below:

If you use these variables in the way described above, your files will always be installed to correct folders in the system.

More information
More information about 32 and 64 bit folders is available in this article on our web site:
> Windows 64-bit: The ‘Program Files (x86)’ and ‘SysWOW64’ folders explained

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Visual Installer can show visually when a license key is correct

A useful feature in Visual Installer is the possibility to show visually for the user when he/she enters correct license key in the License Key setup dialog box. The user can see that the license key is correct before he/she presses the Next button. The picture below shows how it may look like:

As soon as the correct license key has been entered in the License Key dialog box, the text color of the license key is changed to green and a green check mark is shown to the right of the entered license key. This will simplify for the user when he/she for example enters a license key that is printed on a label.

This option can be turned on and off
You can turn on and off this option in Visual Installer’s editor. To turn this option on/off, open the Dialog boxes tab in the editor and click on the “…” button to the right of the License key option. Click thereafter on the More options button. In the dialog box that now is shown, you can turn this option on and off.

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Social media support in CD-Menu Creator (Facebook, Twitter etc.)

Our menu interface designer tool CD-Menu Creator supports now social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You can include one or more logotypes for social media in a menu interface (for example a Facebook logotype), and when the end-user clicks on a logotype your social media page is opened in the end-user’s web browser.

With this built-in functions in CD-Menu Creator can connect a menu interface for a CD, DVD or USB flash drive with social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ in an easy way.

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Graphical setup windows in Visual Installer

In SamLogic Visual Installer it is possible to insert a graphical setup window in the background, that is shown behind the installation dialog boxes. On the setup window you can place pictures and text etc. A striking setup window, with high-quality graphics, can make a good first impression of your product.

A setup window can cover the whole screen or just a part of the screen. Below we are showing examples of how it can look like:

Setup window that covers the screen partially

Setup window that covers the whole screen

No setup window (only setup dialog boxes are shown)
Use of a setup window is optional. You can of course create an installation without a setup window, where only installation dialog boxes are shown during the installation. Below we show how it can look like:

More information
> Visual Installer: Setup windows are handled more easily

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Visual Installer 2012 has now been released

A new version of our setup tool Visual Installer has now been released. The name of the new version is SamLogic Visual Installer 2012 and some of the new features in the new version are:

• Support for Microsoft Windows 8.
• Support for Microsoft Office 2010.
• Support for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and 2012.
• Support for .NET Framework 4.0.
• Compatible with TeamViewer.
• Updated support for AutoCAD profiles.
• You can now create a submenu (subgroup) for shortcuts in an easy way.
• Support information etc. can be added to ‘Add/Remove Program’ in Windows Control Panel.
• Improved handling of updates.
• Updated ‘Create setup package’ dialog box.
• New script commands and a new variable.

A more detailed list with the new features is available on this page.

In coming blog posts we will describe the new features in SamLogic Visual Installer 2012 in more detail.