This blog contains the latest news about our software
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
Making a legitimate newsletter pass trough all spam filters can be tricky today. The spam filters are very sensitive and sometimes they make mistakes. The result of this is that also newsletters that receivers subscribe on and really want to read can be stopped by a spam filter; either by a spam filter on a server or by a spam filter on a client computer.
15 tips
We have published an article on our website that contains 15 useful tips that help to minimize the risk that legitimate newsletters are stopped by spam filters. If you use our email tool SamLogic MultiMailer, or another email software or service to send newsletter to your customers, we recommend you to read the following article:
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:
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
An .EXE file, a .DLL file and a .OCX file (and some other binary file types) can be compiled as a 32 bit file or a 64 bit file. In many cases you can find out whether the file is 32 bit or 64 bit by using one of the following methods:
• Check the filename of the binary file. Does it have a “64” at the end of the filename (like “mydll64.dll”)? Then it is very likely a 64 bit file.
• Right-click on the file in Windows Explorer, choose Properties, open the Details tab and examine if bitness information is included here. Sometimes it is.
• Is the file located in a 64 bit folder? Then it is very likely a 64 bit file (read more about 64 bit folders in this article on our website).
• The following tip works only for EXE files. When the program file is run, open Windows Task manager and open the Processes tab. Look after the filename for the program. If you find the text “*32” after the filename, it is 32 bit file. Otherwise it is a 64 bit file.
Another method – Check file bitness using Visual Installer’s editor
If none of the methods above work for you, there is another method you can use instead. You can use the Visual Installer editor to check bitness for a file. Follow the steps below to check bitness for a file via Visual Installer’s editor:
1. Start Visual Installer.
2. Add the file that you want to examine to Visual Installer’s file list.
3. Right-click on the file in Visual Installer’s file list.
4. Choose the Show file information menu item in the menu that is shown.
5. Check the information to the right of the Bitness field in the File information window.
The text will be “32 bit” or “64 bit”.
If the text is “32 bit” to the right of the Bitness field, the file is compiled for 32 bit. If the text is “64 bit” to the right of the Bitness field, the file is compiled for 64 bit. The picture below shows an example for a 32 bit file.
And the picture below shows an example for a 64 bit file.
Use correct destination folders for binary files
Different folders are used in Windows depending of a binary file is a 32 bit or 64 bit. For a file that will be installed to Windows system folder it is very important to put the file in correct system folder, otherwise the file will not be found by the software. For a file that will be installed to Windows program files folder it is recommended to put the file in a program files folder intended for the same bitness. However, the software may work if you put a file in wrong program files folder, if the software is aware of this and can handle the situation.
See also
> Blog: How Visual Installer handles 64 bit folders in Windows
> Tip: How to install a 64 bit program
> Article: The ‘Program Files (x86)’ and ‘SysWOW64’ folders explained
In Visual Installer you can protect an installation from unauthorized use in two ways: you can protect it with an license key or you can protect it with a password. License key protection and password protection works in a similar way, but there are differences. Below we explain some of the differences:
– When a user enters a license key, all characters that are entered are also shown on the screen. But if the user enters a password, only stars (*) are shown on the screen. Nobody can look on the screen and see which characters are entered.
– Passwords are case sensitive. License keys are not. So if you specify a password like “Orange“, only “Orange” will be accepted. Not “orange” or “ORANGE“. However, if you specify a license key as “Orange“, the user can enter “Orange“, “orange” or “ORANGE“. All three will be accepted by the setup program.
– Only one unique password can be specified for a specific installation. But if you use license keys, you can specify more than one key. In fact, you can specify thousands of unique license keys, if needed.
How to password protect an installation
Below we will show how to password protect an installation:
1. Start Visual Installer, and open an existing project or create a new one.
2. Open the Dialog boxes tab.
3. Select the Password option in the Dialog boxes tab.
4. Click on the “…” button to the right of the Password option.
5. Enter a password in the Password text box in the Password dialog box.
6. Click OK to close the Password dialog box.
You can now create an installation and run it. The Password setup dialog box (see the picture below) will be shown in the setup wizard when you run the installation, and you can not continue the installation until you enter the correct password.
More tips
More tips for Visual Installer are available on this web page.
When you install files using Visual Installer, files are normally registered in the order that they appear in the file list. But sometimes this may create a problem, if one file is dependent of another file, and they are registered in the wrong order. To handle a situation like this there is an option in Visual Installer that allows you to register files in a particular order.
If you want to specify in which order files should be registered, you can choose the List – Register files menu item.
The Register files dialog box is then shown (see the picture below). In this dialog box you can specify the registration order by entering one file path per line. Each line must contain an installation path to every file that you want to have registered in another order than the default order. You can use variables in the file path (for example: %SYSDIR\MyDLL1.dll).
Line 1 is registered first. Then line 2. Then Line 3. Then line 4. Etc.
All files that you specify in the Register files dialog box are registered before any file in the file list is registered. So the list in Register files dialog box is handled first.
More information
Additional information is available in Visual Installer’s Help documentation. Click on the Help button in the Register files dialog box to obtain more information.
More tips
More tips for Visual Installer are available on this web page.
It is very easy to create a single menu window with CD-Menu Creator. Normally you can create such a menu interface in just minutes. But sometimes a single menu window is not enough. Sometimes you also need some sub menu windows with additional buttons, because all of the buttons that you want to add will not fit in a single menu window. The buttons are too many.
This situation can also be handled with CD-Menu Creator. With CD-Menu Creator you can create a menu system with many menu windows. For example, a main menu and some sub menus. You can create so many levels with menu windows that you want, but usually only 2 or 3 levels with menu windows are necessary.
We have published two detailed tips on our web site that show how to create a menu system that contains a main menu and some sub menus. The first tip shows how to create a menu system with two levels of menus. The second tip shows how to create a menu system with 3 levels of menus (a system like in the picture below).
Read more on this page:
> Tip: How to create multiple menus on a CD or DVD
See also:
> Tips and Tricks for CD-Menu Creator
What is a portable application?
A portable application (portable app) is a computer program that you can carry around with you on a portable device and use it on any computer. It does not require any installation, you simply plug your USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod, iPad or other removable drive into the computer and run the program. A portable application can be a game, or a utility program such as a text editor, email client, web browser, antivirus software, backup tool etc. or similar.
A portable application gives you access to your software and personal data just as you would have on your own PC. However, all the portable application settings and data are stored on your external drive so when you unplug it, none of your personal data is left behind. Furthermore, the computer you run your portable application on does not get affected as all data is saved on the drive from where you run your application.
A portable menu will give an easy access to the portable applications
A portable menu will provide you with a simple way to access your portable applications. You only have to plug in the device and open the menu interface, and thereafter all applications are just one click away. You don’t need to browse the drive and its folders using Windows Explorer (or similar software) to find a particular application.
An AutoRun menu will make it even simpler
An AutoRun menu will take this one step further. You don’t need to open the portable menu manually – the menu interface will be opened automatically when your portable device (for example a USB stick) is plugged into the computer. And thereafter you can launch one of the portable applications with just one mouse click.
Create an AutoRun menu with USB Menu Creator
SamLogic provides you with an easy solution to create an AutoRun menu for your portable applications: USB Menu Creator. USB Menu Creator gives you the possibility to create an AutoRun menu for USB sticks / flash drives. That means that your created menu will be shown automatically on the screen after plugging your USB stick into the computer’s USB port. All you need to do is to choose the application you want to run.
With USB Menu Creator you can easily design and personalize your portable application’s menu interface so it fits your needs and desires. USB Menu Creator offers you a wide range of effects such as shadows, glass effects, 3D effects, a large palette of graphical button styles, it allows you to place hyperlinks, hotspots, images or videos in your menu and even add different music and sound effects. The picture below shows an example of how an AutoRun menu interface created with USB Menu Creator may look like:
When you want to start an application, just click on one of the buttons in the menu interface.
Wait a minute; doesn’t Microsoft removed AutoRun support for USB sticks?
That is correct. Window’s AutoRun function does not work with USB sticks anymore. So if you plug your current USB stick into a random computer, nothing will be run automatically. But we have developed an alternative system that gives back Autorun to USB sticks. If you use our USB Menu Creator software to add menu interfaces to USB sticks, they will support AutoRun.
Compatible with Windows 8, and Windows XP / Vista / 7
USB Menu Creator can create menu interfaces for portable applications that are compatible with all modern Windows operating systems, including Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista. The menu interface picture above shows an AutoRun menu, created with USB Menu Creator, that is run in Windows 8.
More information
More information about USB Menu Creator is available on the tool’s product page:
> SamLogic USB Menu Creator – Product Page