Legacy InstallShield PackageForTheWeb

PackageForTheWeb is an InstallShield-packaged application contained in a self-contained, self-extracting file. You create a Setup.iss file and use it in almost the same way as described in the previous section. The difference is that you must use the /a command-line option to pass the command-line options to the setup program after the file extracts its contents. For example, a file that you downloaded called Prog.exe will expand its contents into the temporary folder and then run Setup.exe when finished. To pass command-line options to Setup.exe, you must use the /a command-line option. The following procedure demonstrates how this extra option changes the steps.

To create an InstallShield PackageForTheWeb response file, perform the following steps:

1. Run the setup program using the /a /r command-line options: Type setup.exe /a /r.
   This creates a Setup.iss file based on the way you configure the installation as you step through the setup program. The Setup.iss file is in %SystemRoot%.
2. Copy Setup.iss from %SystemRoot% to the folder containing the package.
3. Run the setup program using the /a /s command-line options: Type setup.exe /a /s.
   The setup program runs silently using the responses in the Setup.iss file.

Legacy Wise Installation System

Packages created using the legacy Wise Installation System recognize the /s command-line option for unattended installation. No tool is available to script the installation, however. Windows Script Host

Some applications cannot be automated with command-line options. These applications might provide a wizard-based setup routine but require the user to click buttons or press keys on the keyboard to install the application. If a user can complete the installation by using only the keyboard, you can automate the installation by creating a script (a series of text commands) that simulates keystrokes. This technique is called screen scraping.

You can screen scrape by using Windows Script Host. Specifically, you use the SendKeys() method to send keystrokes to an application. For more information about the SendKeys() method and an example that you can use to quickly create your own screen-scraping scripts, see http://windowssdk.msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/8c6yea83.aspx.

On the Companion Media The companion media contains the sample script Sendkeys.vbs, which provides a shell for using the SendKeys() method without having to write your own script. It accepts two command-line options: sendkeys.vbs program textfile, where program is the path and file name of the program you want to drive, and textfile is the path and file name of the text file containing the keystrokes, one keystroke per line, to send to the program. See http://windowssdk.msdn.microsoft.com /en-us/library/8c6yea83.aspx for a list of key codes. If you need to pause before sending more keystrokes, add a line to the file that contains sleep. Each line that contains sleep will pause for 1 second. The file Sendkeys.txt is a sample textfile you can use with Sendkeys.vbs; for example, type sendkeys.vbs notepad.exe sendkeys.txt and watch what happens.