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How to check that a file is dual code signed

In Visual Installer 2015 we added a new function that makes it possible to dual code sign setup files. You can read about the new function in the following blog post:

> Visual Installer now supports SHA-2 and dual code signing

Before you distribute your installation package it can be a good idea to check that the dual sign process succeeded. You can do it easily by following the steps below:

1. Create your setup package from Visual Installer.
2. Locate the setup package file via Windows Explorer.
3. Right-click on the file.
4. Choose the Properties menu item in the local menu that is opened.
5. Open the Digital Signatures tab.

If the file has been successfully dual signed, there should be two rows in the signature list:

Windows Properties window

The digest algorithms should be sha1 and sha256, as shown in the picture above. If there is only one row in the signature list, the dual code sign process failed or you have not set Visual Installer to dual code sign setup packages. Read this tip to get more information about how to change code sign settings in Visual Installer.

See also
> What is SHA-1 and SHA-2 and what’s the difference between them?
> How to code sign a setup package (Visual Installer tip)

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Visual Installer 2017 has now been released

We have now released a new version of our setup tool SamLogic Visual Installer. The name of the new version is SamLogic Visual Installer 2017 and the version number is 11.0. Some new features in the new version are:

• The support for Windows 10 has been improved.
• Supports Visual Basic 2017 / Visual Studio 2017.
• Supports AutoCAD 2017.
• Supports Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2.
• Supports Microsoft Edge.
• The file information window now displays info about digital certificates. Read more.
• Line breaks can now be included in message boxes that are opened via script. Read more.
• You can specify your own default folder for your Visual Installer project files. Read more.

A detailed list of new features in Visual Installer 2017 is available on this web page.

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The file information window now displays info about digital certificates

Today it is important to code sign binary files (for example .EXE and .DLL files) before distribution. We have therefore updated the file information window in Visual Installer so it is easy to check if a file in Visual Installer’s file list is code signed or not. The picture below shows the updated file information window:

The File information window in Visual Installer

To the right of the Code signed? text field there will be a Yes if the file is code signed (has a digital certificate). Otherwise there will be a No.

The name of the organization that the digital certificate is issued to is displayed to the right of the Organization text field.

How to open the file information window
You can open the file information window by choosing the Show file information menu item in the List menu in Visual Installer’s editor, or by right-clicking over a file in the file list and choosing the Show file information menu item in the local menu that is opened.

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You can now specify your own default folder for your project files

You can now specify your own default folder (start folder) for your Visual Installer project files (.VIP files). Normally is the Documents\Visual Installer\My Projects folder used as a default folder for Visual Installer’s project files, but now you can have your own default folder; for example D:\My VIP Projects, or whatever you want to have.

File - Open projectThe default folder is used as a start folder when you have no project file opened in the Visual Installer editor, and want to open an existing project file (.VIP file), for example via the File – Open project menu item. The start folder is opened first. Thereafter you can browse to another folder on the drive if your project file is not located in the start folder.

(If you already have a VIP project opened in the editor, the folder where this project file was last saved in, will be used as a start folder.)

How to change the default folder for projects
You can set a new default folder via the Editor Options dialog box in Visual Installer. This dialog box can be opened by choosing the Editor options menu item in the Special menu in Visual Installer’s editor. A new default folder can be entered in the Project folder textbox (in the Miscellaneous tab). See the picture below for an example.

The Editor Options dialog box in Visual Installer

You must enter a full path to an existing folder in the Project folder text box. The drive letter must be included in the path.

If you want to use Visual Installer’s built-in default folder (Documents\Visual Installer\My Projects) as a start folder for your projects again, you can erase the contents in the Project folder text box. You only need to specify a folder in the Project folder text box if you want to use your own start folder.

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CD-Menu Creator 2017 has now been released

A new version of our menu designer tool CD-Menu Creator has now been released. The name of the new version is SamLogic CD-Menu Creator 2017 and some of the new features in the new version are:

• The support for Windows 10 has been improved.
• All binary files in CD-Menu Creator are now SHA-2 code signed. Read more.
• You can now create button groups with titles. Read more.
• We have added more symbolic icons for the menu window.
• New menu interface examples have been included.

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

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CD-Menu Creator: You can now create button groups with titles

We have added a new function to CD-Menu Creator 2017 that allows you to place buttons in groups and add a title to each group. If you have many buttons in a menu this will help your user find the correct button faster. Below are two menu examples that show how it may look like:

Example 1: One column with buttons + two groups with buttons + Exit button
Menu example 1

Example 2: Two columns with buttons + four groups with buttons
Menu example 2

It is easy to create button groups and add titles to the groups. In this new tip on our website we will show you how to create button groups with titles.

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All binary files in CD-Menu Creator are now SHA-2 code signed

All binary files in CD-Menu Creator 2017 are now code signed using a SHA-2 certificate instead of the older SHA-1 certificate. This will improve the security and reduce the risk for annoying warning messages in Windows. Starting with 2016, Microsoft Windows and web browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge etc. started phasing out the support for the older SHA-1 certificate. In February 14th, 2017 the support for SHA-1 will be reduced even more, and in 2020 the support will end.

SHA-2

All binary files in CD-Menu Creator from year of 2015 and older uses the old SHA-1. In 2016 we updated some files to SHA-2 and in this new release all binary files uses SHA-2. If you plan to distribute a menu during 2017, we recommend you to upgrade to CD-Menu Ceator 2017 first and create the menu using the new version of the tool.

See also
> What is SHA-1 and SHA-2 and what’s the difference between them?

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Is it possible to create a menu for a SD memory card using CD-Menu Creator?

SD memory cardWe got this question a while ago: is it possible to create a menu for a SD memory card using CD-Menu Creator?

The answer is Yes.

You can consider the SD memory card as a USB flash drive and create a USB flash drive project in CD-Menu Creator. When you plug in a SD memory card into your computer’s port, it will usually get a drive letter, and you can create your menu directly on the memory card (on the drive) in the same way as you do when you create a menu for a USB flash drive.

If you want the SD memory card to support AutoRun, you can use our USB AutoRun Creator tool. For details, read this article:

> Add AutoRun to a SD Memory Card

The menu that you have created and placed on the memory card can be opened in all computers that uses Windows as its operating system. It can not be opened in a Mac or Android device.

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How to set file copy options in Visual Installer

If you right-click over a file in the File list tab in Visual Installer’s editor, a local menu is opened. In the menu there is an option with the name File copy options.

Menu - File copy options

If you click on this menu item, a dialog box with the title Copy options for file is shown. The dialog box look like:

Dialog box - Copy options for file

This dialog box is used to set various copy options for files that are copied/installed during an installation. You can for example decide if a version check must occur before the installation, if a file must be registered, if the file should be write-protected after installation etc. Below are all options in the Copy options for file dialog box described:

Check date and time
Checks a file’s date and time before it is replaced. The file will only be installed if it is newer.

Check version
Checks a file’s version number before it is replaced. The file will only be installed if it have a higher version number.

Never replace existing file
If a file with the same filename already exists in a specified folder, the file will not be installed.

Register file
Check this option if a file must be registered during the installation. Some components and DLL files require this.

Turn on write protection
Write protection will be turned on for the file after it has been installed in the hard disk.

Warn if file already exists
An information message box will be shown if the file already exists on the destination drive. The end-user can decide if the file should be replaced or not.

Make a backup if file already exists
If you check this option, a backup will be made of the file if it already exists in the destination folder. The backup file will get the filename extension “.BAK” and it will be placed in the same folder as the original file.

Replace also write protected file
If this option is checked, a file will be replaced also when it is write protected.

Handle the file if it is locked and in use
Sometimes a file can be in use during the setup process, and then it can not be replaced at that moment. If you check this option, the file will be marked in the system to be replaced next time the computer restarts (during the boot process).

Shared file
If a file is shared with other programs, you can check this option. This will prevent the file to be uninstalled by mistake.

Do not copy if same version
If this option is checked a file will not be copied if the version number of the source and destination files are equal.

Never uninstall this file
Prevent uninstallation of the file. If your project is uninstalled, the file will remain on the user’s hard disk.

Instead of right-clicking over a file to open the local popup menu, you can also open the List menu and choose File copy options there. If you need to set copy options for more than one file at once, this is also possible. Just select the files in the file list, and choose the File copy options menu item (either from the List menu or from the local popup menu).

In the Inst column in the file list you can see current copy settings for each file in the file list. More information is available in this blog post.

See also
> Visual Installer: How to register a .NET assembly
> Visual Installer: Run program as administrator