SamLogic Software Blog - Page 17 of 29 - This blog contains the latest news about our software

2015-02-282024-10-19

Upgrade from Standard to Professional

If you have bought a Standard version of SamLogic Visual Installer, SamLogic MultiMailer or SamLogic Media Tools, but want to upgrade to the Professional version of these products and get access to more functions, this is possible. You only need to pay for the price difference, which is $40 (€40).

How to upgrade
If you want to make an upgrade from Standard to Professional you can click on one of the links below:

> SamLogic Visual Installer – Upgrade – From Standard to Professional
> SamLogic MultiMailer – Upgrade – From Standard to Professional
> SamLogic Media Tools – Upgrade – From Standard to Professional

Feature lists
If you want to read abot the differences between the Standard and Professional versions of SamLogic Visual Installer, SamLogic MultiMailer and SamLogic Media Tools you can click on the links below:

> Visual Installer: What is the difference between Standard and Professional?
> MultiMailer: What is the difference between Standard and Professional?
> Media Tools: What is the difference between Standard and Professional?

2015-01-182019-07-07

Visual Installer: How to create a Windows Installer style of project

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

2015-01-182019-07-07

15 tips that reduce the spam score for your newsletter

Stop spam! 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:

> How to reduce spam score for your newsletters

2015-01-172019-07-08

How to create a menu interface with 3 columns with buttons

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.

2015-01-172019-07-07

Can I set a unique text color for a button in a menu interface?

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

2015-01-162019-07-07

How do I change language for my setup dialog boxes?

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.

New language file

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

2015-01-022020-11-12

How to check bitness for an .EXE, .DLL or .OCX file

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.

2014-12-242019-07-07

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

SamLogic Software wishes all our customers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you again next year!

2014-11-302019-07-07

An update of Visual Installer 2014 is now available

There is now an update of SamLogic Visual Installer 2014 available. The version number is 10.0.27, and some of the news and improvements in this version are:

• A German language file is now included. Texts in setup dialog boxes and message boxes etc. can now be displayed in German in an easy way. Read more.

• A new script command: UNINSTALL_XRUN. Can be used to run a program during an uninstallation. It works like XRUN, but the command is executed during the uninstallation process. This command is useful if some special processing must be done during the uninstallation process, for example to uninstall a Windows service that was installed during the installation process. The picture below shows an example of usage. Read more.

• A new script command: UNINSTALL_MSIEXEC. Can be used to run an external MSI installation or uninstallation during an uninstallation process. By combining MSIEXEC with UNINSTALL_MSIEXEC you have a nice and easy way to handle both installations and uninstallations of MSI files. The picture below shows an example of usage. Read more.

• Improved error handling when using the code signing functions in Visual Installer.

• Improved error handling when adding files to Visual Installer’s file list through a .DEP file.

• Easier to install side-by-side system files / runtime files like MFC42.DLL.

We have also fixed some bugs and other issues that have been reported. For example:

• Forward slashes in the main destination folder made the installation to fail. Visual Installer now converts forward slashes (“/”) to backslashes (“\”) automatically.

• If the source path was a UNC file path (a file path that starts with “\\”) the installation sometimes failed. Visual Installer now checks that the source path starts with a drive letter.

• Some updates in the English languages file. We have removed some outdated text.

How to download the update
If you have Visual Installer 2014 and a 12 months maintenance plan you can download the update from the following download page:

> Download – Visual Installer 2014 – Latest update

If you have an older version of Visual Installer, for example Visual Installer 2012, you can upgrade to the latest version of Visual Installer from this order page:

> Upgrade to Visual Installer 2014

2014-11-302019-07-07

A German language file is now included in Visual Installer

In the latest of update of Visual Installer 2014 (version 10.0.27) we have included a German language file. So you can now use German text in your setup packages in an easy way.

German text

To choose German language to a setup project you must first open the Special – Language menu item in Visual Installer’s editor. And thereafter you choose the GERMAN.LNG language file in the list that is shown.

Some project specific texts must be entered via the Dialog boxes tab in Visual Installer’s editor, just as before. For example text that you want to show in the Welcome dialog box.