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depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

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    #46
    Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

    By the way, I can understand if people don't want to convert an existing method because that takes time and involves the potential for error since it's a "new" method. However, I do believe a change would be beneficial in the long run or, at the very least, my method would be good to keep in mind for future projects.

    Comment


      #47
      Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

      Cal's main point, and am fairly certain he will agree, is that why not automate anything that is repetitive. All Cal is demonstrating is the point of doing for ourselves what we are doing for our clients. Cal's keyboard macros is of the same nature...to expedite a process and save valuable time. Isn't that what we do as programmers for the most part!? Isn't that the reason why others hire us!? Why not do the same for ourselves?

      :)
      Mike
      __________________________________________
      It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.
      It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
      Henry David Thoreau
      __________________________________________



      Comment


        #48
        Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

        Originally posted by CALocklin View Post
        OK, I think I understand your logic now.

        I'm guessing that you (and many others) are doing it this way because you haven't fully understood how to use the Installation Tree to maximize its effectiveness.

        In a nutshell, the installation tree can take files from multiple source locations and install them all into the same destination folder. There is no need to copy the files to one source folder just because you want them to end up in the same destination folder. The result is that my Astrum method can build the same install file as yours without copying any files anywhere on the computer before doing it.

        I couldn't figure out a good way to describe the details in words so I created this demo to explain it. (Sorry, it got a bit long - about 12 minutes.)

        Edit:
        RE: "For a particular application, I have master installs for 30 day demo, 3 user and 5-user."
        If I understand this statement correctly, I would create one Astrum file first (let's say for the 30 day demo), then copy that file to another name (let's say for the 3-user) and change the Files to Install in Astrum that make it a 3-user version. Then do the same thing for the 5-user. (I suspect you've already basically done that except that you need to copy in the appropriate 30 day / 3 user / 5 user files before building each install.) Then future updates would be a matter of selecting each of the Astrum files and clicking the Create Setup icon - no copying of files required. The various "30 day / 3 user / 5 user" files could all be in the development folder (if that works) or they could be stored separately in another subfolder or even another drive if you really wanted to. As explained above, it doesn't matter where they are on the development computer because you can tell Astrum where to actually install them regardless of their source location.

        The end result is that your "a matter of a few minutes to generate all the installs" could become a matter of a few seconds.
        Thanks for the video. It looks like an interesting way to do it. Right now it takes me about one minute to copy the app files to my Master install directory. Then I run Astrum by loading in the Astrum file and pressing generate install. I have three versions of my software 30 Day demo, 3 user and 5 user. I change a couple of fields in a control table in my app for each version and then copy it to each master install folder along with the app files. I then have to copy the respective startup.control files to each install.

        I believe I can automate this entire process using your install technique. Thanks for the info. I'll seriously look into this.
        Regards,
        Chet Sapino
        President,
        SAPINO Enterprises
        6451 Pheasant Rd
        East Syracuse, NY 13057

        Comment


          #49
          Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

          Originally posted by CALocklin View Post
          OK, I think I understand your logic now.

          I'm guessing that you (and many others) are doing it this way because you haven't fully understood how to use the Installation Tree to maximize its effectiveness.

          In a nutshell, the installation tree can take files from multiple source locations and install them all into the same destination folder. There is no need to copy the files to one source folder just because you want them to end up in the same destination folder. The result is that my Astrum method can build the same install file as yours without copying any files anywhere on the computer before doing it.

          I couldn't figure out a good way to describe the details in words so I created this demo to explain it. (Sorry, it got a bit long - about 12 minutes.)

          Edit:
          RE: "For a particular application, I have master installs for 30 day demo, 3 user and 5-user."
          If I understand this statement correctly, I would create one Astrum file first (let's say for the 30 day demo), then copy that file to another name (let's say for the 3-user) and change the Files to Install in Astrum that make it a 3-user version. Then do the same thing for the 5-user. (I suspect you've already basically done that except that you need to copy in the appropriate 30 day / 3 user / 5 user files before building each install.) Then future updates would be a matter of selecting each of the Astrum files and clicking the Create Setup icon - no copying of files required. The various "30 day / 3 user / 5 user" files could all be in the development folder (if that works) or they could be stored separately in another subfolder or even another drive if you really wanted to. As explained above, it doesn't matter where they are on the development computer because you can tell Astrum where to actually install them regardless of their source location.

          The end result is that your "a matter of a few minutes to generate all the installs" could become a matter of a few seconds.
          BTW, what software package did you use to make the video?
          Regards,
          Chet Sapino
          President,
          SAPINO Enterprises
          6451 Pheasant Rd
          East Syracuse, NY 13057

          Comment


            #50
            Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

            Originally posted by CALocklin View Post
            OK, I think I understand your logic now.

            I'm guessing that you (and many others) are doing it this way because you haven't fully understood how to use the Installation Tree to maximize its effectiveness.

            In a nutshell, the installation tree can take files from multiple source locations and install them all into the same destination folder. There is no need to copy the files to one source folder just because you want them to end up in the same destination folder. The result is that my Astrum method can build the same install file as yours without copying any files anywhere on the computer before doing it.

            I couldn't figure out a good way to describe the details in words so I created this demo to explain it. (Sorry, it got a bit long - about 12 minutes.)

            Edit:
            RE: "For a particular application, I have master installs for 30 day demo, 3 user and 5-user."
            If I understand this statement correctly, I would create one Astrum file first (let's say for the 30 day demo), then copy that file to another name (let's say for the 3-user) and change the Files to Install in Astrum that make it a 3-user version. Then do the same thing for the 5-user. (I suspect you've already basically done that except that you need to copy in the appropriate 30 day / 3 user / 5 user files before building each install.) Then future updates would be a matter of selecting each of the Astrum files and clicking the Create Setup icon - no copying of files required. The various "30 day / 3 user / 5 user" files could all be in the development folder (if that works) or they could be stored separately in another subfolder or even another drive if you really wanted to. As explained above, it doesn't matter where they are on the development computer because you can tell Astrum where to actually install them regardless of their source location.

            The end result is that your "a matter of a few minutes to generate all the installs" could become a matter of a few seconds.
            I just set this up as you did in your video. It took about 5 minutes. I love it! No copying any files!
            Regards,
            Chet Sapino
            President,
            SAPINO Enterprises
            6451 Pheasant Rd
            East Syracuse, NY 13057

            Comment


              #51
              Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

              I don't get all of this. When I install an app using Astrum I go into Astrum and in advance properties for each of the two .DLL files and the OCX files and check Shared component and Register Active X Controlls and I've never had any probles with installs on Win 7, Vista or XP.

              Comment


                #52
                Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

                Glad to know you like it.

                BTW, what software package did you use to make the video?
                FastStone Capture. (www.faststone.org) I was looking for a free screen capture utility and came across this one. It cost me $19.95 but I figured it was worth it because it also has the ability to record and to capture scrolling screens (think long html pages captured in one 'stroke') plus it has it's own built-in editor for annotating the screen shots, a screen magnifier, can output to most graphics files including PDF, and can automatically upload to an FTP server. For all that I figured it was worth $20. The only down side is that the screen recorder only creates .wmv files.
                Hint: If you decide to get it, set the screen recorder options down to 15 frames/second; quality - Good; and check the Compact Mode option. Those settings seem to work fine and they make the file size much smaller. (Maybe not the smallest in the industry but small for a wmv file.)

                Comment


                  #53
                  Re: depoying an A5 application is a nightmare

                  Cal,

                  That capture utility is great! I've been using teh Older MicroMedia Captivate which cost a lot and cant scroll screens like this.

                  Comment

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