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There is now a Notes field available in Visual Installer

We have added a multirow Notes field to the File list tab in Visual Installer’s editor. In the Notes field you can enter a description or other information about your installation project. The text in the Notes field is saved with your project.

The Notes field is located in the bottom of the File list tab in the editor’s window. See the picture below (see the lower part of the picture):

The 'Notes' field

Via a setting in the Editor Options dialog box in Visual Installer you can choose if the Notes field should be visible or not in the editor. If you don’t need it, you can hide it.

More than one text row is supported and if the text does not fit in the Notes window, it can be scrolled vertically.

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How to set minimum memory requirements for an installation (Visual Installer)

You can now specify minimum memory requirements for an installation that you create with Visual Installer. You can choose if Visual Installer only should warn or if Visual Installer also should stop the installation, if the memory requirements are not fulfilled.

We have added new options to the Setup options dialog box that handles this. If you open the Operating System tab in the Setup options dialog box, you will find a new button (labeled “Memory“) in the bottom of the dialog box:

The 'Memory' button

If you click on this button, the following dialog box is shown:

The 'Memory' dialog box

Here you can activate the new memory function and also specify the minimum memory requirements (RAM memory) for the installation and your software.

This function is a new function in Visual Installer 2025.

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A new column in Visual Installer’s file list informs if a binary file is code signed or not

Binary files that are distributed to another person’s computers via an Visual Installer installation package should always be code signed. For safety reasons. But how do you know if a binary file in Visual Installer’s file list is code signed or not?

In earlier versions of Visual Installer it was possible to check the binary files one by one, by right clicking on a filename in the file list (in the File list tab) and choosing the Show file information menu item in the local menu that is shown. But starting with Visual Installer 2025, there is a much simpler method.

You only need to check the contents of a new column named Signed in the file list. This new column will contain the text “Signed” if the file is code signed. Otherwise this column will be empty. See the picture below for an example of how it may look like (you can see the Signed column to the right in the picture):

The 'Signed' column

Use of this column is optional. It can be disabled via a setting in the Editor Options dialog box in Visual Installer, if you don’t need this column.

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Visual Installer 2025 has now been released

We have now released a new version of our installation tool Visual Installer. The name of the new version is SamLogic Visual Installer 2025 and the version number is 12.1. Some new features in the new version are:

• A new column in the file list informs if a binary file is code signed or not.
• More than one code signing certificate in the same computer can now be handled.
• We have added a notes field to the “File list” tab in Visual Installer.
• You can now specify minimum memory requirements for your installation.
• The Windows compatibility function now also support Windows 7 and Windows 8.
• You can now specify screen position for a not maximized graphical setup window.
• Supports AutoCAD 2023 and 2024.
• The latest versions of the Microsoft Office applications are supported.
• The max length for source file paths for files in the file list has been extended.
• The version number for a created setup package can be updated automatically.
• Information from previous versions of installed programs can be cleaned at setup.

A detailed list of new features in Visual Installer 2025 is available on this web page.

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An update of Visual Installer 2022 is now available

There is now an update of SamLogic Visual Installer 2022 available. The version number is 12.0.10, and we have fixed some bugs and made som minor improvements in the new version. We have also added some new script commands to Visual Installer’s script language:

SHOW : Opens a document.
SHOW_AFTER : Opens a document – when the installation is completed.
RUN_AFTER : Runs a program – when the installation is completed.

These new script commands give more flexibility when external programs are run or documents are opened during an installation. See this blog post for more information.

How to download the update
If you have Visual Installer 2022 and a 12 months maintenance plan or an active subscription on Media Tools / Development Tools you can download the update from the following download page:

> Download – Visual Installer 2022 – Latest update

If you have an older version of Visual Installer, for example Visual Installer 2018 or Visual Installer 2020, you can upgrade to the latest version of Visual Installer from this order page:

> Upgrade to Visual Installer 2022

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How to run a program or open a document via script

In the previous two blog posts we described how to run a program or show a document after an installation, when running a setup package created with Visual Installer. It is also possible to run a program or open a document via Visual Installer´s script language.

One benefit of using script for running a program or opening a document is that you can use a conditional check before you run/open the file. You can for example run different versions of a program depending on which operating system the installation is run in. For example:

// Run only in Windows 10
IF OS=WIN10
  RUN %DESTDIR\MyWin10App.exe
END IF
 
// Run only in Windows 11
IF OS=WIN11
  RUN %DESTDIR\MyWin11App.exe
END IF

  
In the same way you can open and show a particular document based on a condition. For example:

// Open and show only in Windows 10
IF OS=WIN10
  SHOW_AFTER %DESTDIR\For_Win10_Users.pdf
END IF
 
// Open and show only in Windows 11
IF OS=WIN11
  SHOW_AFTER %DESTDIR\For_Win11_Users.pdf
END IF

  
The RUN command above (example 1) is executed immediately and the SHOW_AFTER command above (example 2) is executed when the installation is completed. Read more below.
  
Script commands in Visual Installer that run programs
These three script commands can be used to run programs during an installation:

RUN : Runs a program.
XRUN : Runs a program – with additional options.
RUN_AFTER : Runs a program – when the installation is completed.

  
Script commands in Visual Installer that open documents
These two script commands can be used to open documents during an installation:

SHOW : Opens a document.
SHOW_AFTER : Opens a document – when the installation is completed.

  
The RUN, XRUN and SHOW commands are executed immediately, when the script line is executed, but the RUN_AFTER and SHOW_AFTER commands delays it execution till the installation is completed and the last setup dialog box has been closed.

The RUN_AFTER and SHOW_AFTER commands are new commands that were included in version 12.0.10 of Visual Installer (read more).

See also
> How to run a program after an installation
> How to show a document after an installation

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Visual Installer 2022 / Enterprise supports batch files & build servers

In the Enterprise version of Visual Installer 2022 it is possible to build a setup package without any interaction with a graphical user interface. The build process is invisible, and you use command line parameters and switches to handle the build operations. And errors that occur (if there are any) are returned via a log file that contain detailed error descriptions and error codes etc.

Build servers
The silent build processes via command line parameters / switches makes it easy to call Visual Installer from build servers. A build server is useful if you work in a team and your team want to, for example, compile applications or build setup packages in one operation.

Batch files
You can also utilize this function from local batch files (for example from traditional .BAT files). You can add one line of code for each setup package that you want to build, in the batch file. For example:

VI.exe C:\MyProjects\MySetup.vip /BUILD /BUILDFOLDER:C:\MyCreatedSetups\Setup1

More information
In the following tip on our website you can read how to use this function in Visual Installer:

> Tip: Visual Installer’s command line parameters

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How to test if a specific version of Access is installed

Logotype - Microsoft AccessIn this blog post we described how to check if Microsoft Access is installed in a computer by using script code in Visual Installer. But if you want to check if a specific version of Access is installed. Is it possible?

Yes. It is. It is possible to check if a specific version of Access is installed in a computer. To achieve this, you can extend this conditional test:

IF ACCESS_INSTALLED

with a version number, like this:

IF ACCESS(15)_INSTALLED

In the example above, Visual Installer will check if Access version 15 (Access 2013) is installed. The conditional test gives True if Access version 15 is installed and False if it is not.

How to check for a specific bitness of Access
Symbolic image: 32 / 64 bitIt is also possible to check if a specific bitness (32 or 64 bit) of Microsoft Access is installed in a computer – in addition to the version number. For example, to check if a 64 bit version of Access 2013 (version 15) is installed, you can use the following script:

IF ACCESS(15)_64BIT_INSTALLED

If you instead want to check if a 32 bit version of Access 2013 is installed, you can use the following script line:

IF ACCESS(15)_32BIT_INSTALLED

If you want to check which bitness of Access that is installed, regardless of the version number, there is another conditional test than you can use. For example, to check if any 64 bit Access is installed in the computer, you can use the following conditional test:

IF ACCESSBIT=64

In the same way you can check if any 32 bit Access is installed in the computer, by using this conditional test:

IF ACCESSBIT=32

Examples
Below are some script examples that shows how to use the conditional tests:

// Example 1 – Tests if Microsoft Access 2013 is installed in the system
IF ACCESS(15)_INSTALLED
  RUN %DESTDIR\Install-Access2013-Tools.exe
END IF
 
// Example 2 – Tests if a 32 bit version of Microsoft Access 2013 is installed in the system
IF ACCESS(15)_32BIT_INSTALLED
  RUN %DESTDIR\Install-Access2013-32bit-Tools.exe
END IF
 
// Example 3 – Tests if any 32 bit version of Microsoft Access is installed in the system
IF ACCESSBIT=32
  RUN %DESTDIR\Install-Access-32bit-Tools.exe
END IF

  
Access version numbers
In this blog post you will find a list with available version numbers for some of the conditional tests described above.

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Visual Installer 2022 has now been released

We have now released a new version of our installation tool Visual Installer. The name of the new version is SamLogic Visual Installer 2022 and the version number is 12.0. Some new features in the new version are:

Windows 11• Supports the new Windows 11.
• Supports Visual Studio 2022 (Visual Basic 2022 + Visual C# 2022).
• Supports AutoCAD 2021 and 2022.
• If you install many shortcuts you can now choose which shortcut will be most featured.
• All binary files has been code signed with a digital certificate from Sectigo.
• New conditions in the script language than handles Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel.
• New script commands for uninstallation of shortcuts (will give you more flexibility).
• New file functions in the “File list” tab in Visual Installer’s editor.
• The installer displays more information to the end-user during the registration process.
• You can now specify a minimum size in pixels for your installation window.
• There is now an Enterprise version of Visual Installer available – with even more functions!

A detailed list of new features in Visual Installer 2022 is available on this web page.

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There is now an Enterprise version of Visual Installer available

EnterpriseStarting with Visual Installer 2022, there is now an Enterprise version of the installation tool available. The Enterprise version of Visual Installer contains some extra functions that are not included in the Professional and Standard versions. Below are some examples:

– a diagnostic tool (info)
– an extra information tab in the editor for easier access to documentation & updates (info)
– the possibility to change default settings for new projects (info)
– support for batch files & build servers (info)
– a special system utility tool: SamLogic Selector

More information and a comparison with the other versions of Visual Installer is available on the Features page.