C#

Re: Passing command line options to msi installer created as .NET deployment project

mav.northwind10-May-05 20:14

mav.northwind

10-May-05 20:14

I know it can be a bit confusing, but just try the following:
In your setup project, add a user dialog with textboxes.
Then set Edit1Property to TEST1 and Edit1Value to [TEST1].

When you build and run your setup, the user dialog will pop up and there will be no entry in the first textbox.
If you call your setup using
msiexec /i mysetup.msi TEST1=ThisIsATest
then the first textbox will show ThisIsATest instead.

Regards,
mav

Re: Passing command line options to msi installer created as .NET deployment project

StormShearon12-May-05 4:56

StormShearon

12-May-05 4:56

mav,

Thanks a bunch. The missing piece of the puzzle (which I found nowhere in the docs I read) is this:

'Then set Edit1Property to TEST1 and Edit1Value to [TEST1]'

A most critical bit of information and much appreciated!

Re: Passing command line options to msi installer created as .NET deployment project

StormShearon12-May-05 4:56

StormShearon

12-May-05 4:56

Re: Passing command line options to msi installer created as .NET deployment project

StormShearon13-May-05 10:17

StormShearon

13-May-05 10:17

mav,

I have another question regarding passing in Property values from the command line.

The dialog has two properties. One is normally blank and the method you describe works perfectly to set it from the command line during a silent install. The second property has a default value that one might wish to set to a non-default value from the command line during a silent install.

Now, it seems that one must somehow use the MsiSetProperty method in a custom action that checks to see if the passed in value of the property is a null string, and if so, sets it to the default value. It also seems that one would have to write a custom dll to do this, and link it properly in the custom actions editor in the deployment project. Is this the correct way to accomplish this or is there something simpler?

Re: Passing command line options to msi installer created as .NET deployment project

OBRon16-Dec-08 11:37

OBRon

16-Dec-08 11:37

Mav, thanks for sharing this information - it was very helpful in understanding how to pass a command line parameter to the Installer and see that value show up on a text field. I have a question though, how can I programatically detect that I didn't get a command line parameter and populate those text fields another way? Perhaps I read the registry or a text file. I want to handle the situation where I prompted a user for something during the first install, and subsequent installs I show them the previous value and allow them to change it - unless I get a command line argument - which trumps this logic.

Thanks again for sharing the information though...very helpful. -Ron

Live Communications Server

Scott Serl9-May-05 5:19

Scott Serl

9-May-05 5:19

Does anyone have any links to example code for (any language, but prefer .net something) using Microsoft Live Communications Server? I have been reading the msdn info, but haven't found sample code for a simple app. I just want to set up a small messaging window embedded in a help desk tool. It doesn't have to be fancy, just queue messages to the help desk, and allow simple text messages to be typed back and forth like a chat app, but without all the fancy features.

An alternative would be a way to embed a windows messenger pane in a .net app.

Thanks for any info you can point me to.

Non-Compiled Files in Solution

C_Simpkins9-May-05 5:15

C_Simpkins

9-May-05 5:15

Hello all,

I am interested in adding several HTML files (and images from those files) to a solution and navigating a winform web browser control (from VS 2005 beta2) to those files when the user clicks through links on one of the pages. Can you tell me how these files are added to a solution/project and provide an example of the path that would be used in the code to navigate to them? Thanks for your help!

-CS

Re: Non-Compiled Files in Solution

Christian Graus9-May-05 12:29

Christian Graus

9-May-05 12:29

add->existing file. You can add any sort of file you want, I thought. If not, perhaps you need to add as a resource ?

If the file is on disc, then you just need to give your browser the full path to the file, and it should render it.

Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++

Re: Non-Compiled Files in Solution

C_Simpkins9-May-05 17:01

C_Simpkins

9-May-05 17:01

Thanks for the reply Christian. I added an html file and an included jpg image using your add->existing file recommendation. The problem now is that I need a relative path to the file because the user will not enter the url themselves. This is going to be a relatively small set of html help pages that will be stored locally and the browser will open to the first page within the winform browser control when the user clicks on the help menu. Is this possible?

Thanks again.

-CS

Re: Non-Compiled Files in Solution

Christian Graus9-May-05 17:04

Christian Graus

9-May-05 17:04

You can get the path to your application directory if you need an absolute path. Otherwise, the relative path from your exe is going to be known, isn't it ? Unless you're going to edit the files, I don't see why they need to be part of your 'solution' anyhow, just put them in a folder in a known location, relative to the exe.

Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++

Re: Non-Compiled Files in Solution

C_Simpkins10-May-05 4:01

C_Simpkins

10-May-05 4:01

Thanks again for your help.

-CS

check if .net framework is not installed

Mohsen Saad9-May-05 4:17

Mohsen Saad

9-May-05 4:17

hello,

I am creating an application in .NET I want the application to display a message to inform the user that the .net framework should be installed instead of saying there is a missing dll when the user tries to run the application

Re: check if .net framework is not installed

MoustafaS9-May-05 4:26

MoustafaS

9-May-05 4:26

You can simly use the .NET bootstrapper ,it will check if the .NET is installed and, if so it will install youe application ,otherwise it will install the .NET frmaework by it self and after installing it will start your application installation immediatly.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/tools/bootstrapper/default.aspx[^].

Re: check if .net framework is not installed

Dave Kreskowiak9-May-05 4:44

Dave Kreskowiak

9-May-05 4:44

Your requirements are self excluding. You can't create a .NET application that checks to see if the .NET Framework is installed. It HAS to be installed before you launch your application, otherwise, how is it going to launch in the first place?

You have two options.

1) Your installer must handle installing the .NET Framework required by your application.

2) You write a launcher application in Visual C++ (not Managed C++!!) that checks for the existance of the correct version of the .NET Framework, then if found, launches the real application, and if not, puts up a dialog telling the user to install the correct version of .NET.

Option #1 is MUCH easier to deal with.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

multi threading & progressBar problem

gaby2r9-May-05 3:53

gaby2r

9-May-05 3:53

<br />
public void task()<br />
        {<br />
            Thread.Sleep(9000);<br />
        }<br />
private void button_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            this.progressBar1.Value=0;<br />
            Thread t=new Thread(new ThreadStart(task));<br />
            t.Start();<br />
            while((t.ThreadState & (System.Threading.ThreadState.Stopped | System.Threading.ThreadState.Unstarted)) == 0)<br />
            {<br />
                if(this.progressBar1.Value==this.progressBar1.Maximum)<br />
                {<br />
                    this.progressBar1.Value=this.progressBar1.Minimum;<br />
                }<br />
                this.progressBar1.PerformStep();<br />
                Thread.Sleep(500);<br />
            }<br />
            t.Join();<br />
        }<br />

works the first time, progressbar progresses nice and neat, never works again. what am i missing here?

Re: multi threading & progressBar problem

Dave Kreskowiak9-May-05 4:39

Dave Kreskowiak

9-May-05 4:39

You'd be better off encapsulating your ProcessBar code into it's own seperate control. Something that includes it's own Timer to increment itself. You could than use this control in whatever project you wanted and you wouldn't have to worry about coding some custom garbage like what you posted.

Take a look at this[^] article on MSDN for an example.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

Re: multi threading & progressBar problem

S. Senthil Kumar9-May-05 4:50

S. Senthil Kumar

9-May-05 4:50

I don't know how it works the first time. You are blocking the UI thread by looping till the worker thread completes. So your calls to PerformStep won't really get through till button_Click completes, by which time you're already done.

I'd suggest that you update the progress bar from the worker thread (by using BeginInvoke/Invoke as this[^] article describes.

Regards
Senthil
_____________________________
My Blog | My Articles | WinMacro

[database] understand if the field contain a value

Sasuko9-May-05 3:42

Sasuko

9-May-05 3:42

i make a query on my database.
I want the image data inside a row.
I select it and i start to read data.
The problem is that sometimes there is no data inside, so if i try to read i get exception.
Can i check if there is data inside that field before start ot read?
That field doesn't support NULL default value.

i use Microsoft Access database .mdb and ADO.NET

Re: [database] understand if the field contain a value

Dave Kreskowiak9-May-05 4:31

Dave Kreskowiak

9-May-05 4:31

If the field doesn't support NULL and it can be blank, then your only option is to check the length of the data in the field. Images are usually going to be more than 0 bytes long.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

How to Rotate Controls?

RajeshGuptha9-May-05 3:37

RajeshGuptha

9-May-05 3:37

Hi,
I want to rotate a control, take for example a button Control or a label control to some angle. But i dont know how to attain that..
i tried setting the region of the control with a graphics path whose transform set to rotate about its center...but im not able to get the output...
Can anybody help me?

Thanks,
Rajesh

Re: How to Rotate Controls?

Dave Kreskowiak9-May-05 4:30

Dave Kreskowiak

9-May-05 4:30

Off the top of my head, you'll have to create your own version of the controls you want to visually rotate and supply the functionality for it.

There may be another way to do it by dropping the controls in some other container and rotating the container somehow, but i really can't see that happening.

Another option is a 3rd party Windows Forms Control library.

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

Re: How to Rotate Controls?

therealmccoy9-May-05 9:30

therealmccoy

9-May-05 9:30

Right off the very tip top of my head....

Could you just decrement the X size/location and increment the Y size/location in a for loop (or do loop)? The text wouldn't rotate, but the control would appear too.

Just a thought.

Of course you have to mark your start position and reverse at 90 degrees, etc, etc...

www.lovethosetrains.com

Re: How to Rotate Controls?

Dave Kreskowiak9-May-05 11:31

Dave Kreskowiak

9-May-05 11:31

No, it wouldn't. It would just make the button appear tall and narrow, not rotated to any angle. Re-read the original post...

RageInTheMachine9532
"...a pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!" -- The Roaming Gnome

Re: How to Rotate Controls?

RajeshGuptha10-May-05 2:46

RajeshGuptha

10-May-05 2:46

Actually i tried transforming the region of the control to a rotation...
for example,
Region reg = new Region();
Matrix matObj = new Matrix();
matObj.RotateAt(/*some angle*/, /*with respect to some point*/);
reg.Transform(matobj);
myControl.Region = reg;

Iam able to attain the rotation...but supposing the region (reg in this example)is in another shape(than rectangle)...say ellipse, then the shape of the ellipse is not visible completely....reason is that the rectangle coordinates(i.e. the original rectangle size) used to draw the ellipse is smaller than the rotated structure...(after rotation, the location of points are actually out of the bounds of the controls client rectangle...)
So i tried to get the size of the outer rectangle which has completely both the original and the rotated rectangles... by some trignometry...
but nope, im not getting the exact coordinates...
can you help me in this??
I

Thanks and Regards,
Rajesh

Retain values

esjq9-May-05 3:13

esjq

9-May-05 3:13

Hi!

What is the best way to retain a value between sessions. For example, if you have a login dialog and the user account name is likely to be the same the next time the application starts, what is the preferred way to fill the textbox with user account name from the previous time?

Thank you Smile | :)

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