ScriptMaker Tutorial

The [Finish] Page

The Source Directory field allows you to set the directory which contains the source files. In this case you need not specify the full path for the files on the [Files] page. The setup script will also be temporarily created in this directory while compilation takes place. If you don't specify a directory here ScriptMaker will automatically create a temporary directory called smtemp in your Windows temporary directory. This directory is deleted when ScriptMaker exits. Note that if you are using Windows NT or Windows 2000 you must make sure that you have the necessary permissions to create this directory if you want ScriptMaker to create it.

The Output Directory field is used to set the directory where the final setup file(s) will be placed. You can either use a different directory for each installation or keep the same one for all installations. You can either type the name of the directory into the field or use the "browse" button at the side to select one. If you leave the field blank, ScriptMaker will use (and create if necessary) a directory called smtemp\Output in your temporary directory. This is not a particularly good idea, because the smtemp directory and its contents is automatically deleted when you exit from ScriptMaker.

Normally the setup file will be created with the default filename of SETUP.EXE. You can change this if you wish by typing a new name into the Setup Filename field. This should be a filename only, without a path.

Formatting the Setup Filename

If your finished setup is eventually to be placed on a CD you may wish to have the setup file run automatically when the CD is inserted in the CD drive. To do this you need two small files to be placed on the CD with the setup file. These two files (a text file called autorun.inf and an icon file) can be created by ScriptMaker and placed in the output folder after the setup creation is completed. To do this you need to check the Autorun check box.

When the Autorun check box is checked it reveals a panel where you can choose the icon to be placed with the autorun.inf file. Normally this will be the icon for your main executable file, but you can change this either by clicking the "browse" button and choosing any file on your hard disk, or by right-clicking the field and choosing one of the executable files in your setup.

To create the actual script, click the Create Script button. The script is created and then saved in the directory you have specified as your Source Directory. If no Source Directory is specified then one will be automatically created and it (and its contents) deleted when you exit from ScriptMaker. You should therefore make sure that you create a copy of your script (using the Save Script button) before exiting or creating another script.

When saving a file using the Save Script button you will be given the option of typing a comment in the script. This comment (which is optional) will be shown in the File Open dialog when reloading a previously saved script and can be useful to distinguish between different versions of the same script. If you don't want to use this option, check the Don't ask for comments checkbox underneath the button (or the Don't ask for comments in future checkbox in the Comments dialog).

Once the script has been created you can edit it if you wish, but be careful about modifying the lines at the end of the script which are used by ScriptMaker. If you edit these lines (they all start with a sem-colon ";" so that Inno Setup will ignore them) you may not be able to reuse the script later.

If you want a printout of your script, the Print Script button will send the current script to the printer.

Compiling the Script

When you are satisfied with your script, click the Create Setup button to launch Inno Setup and compile the script. At this point, ScriptMaker makes a quick check for some of the more common errors in your script. If it finds any, you will get a message similar to the one shown below.

While this window is displayed you can double-click any of the reported errors and ScriptMaker will open the appropriate page so that you can correct the error.

Before starting Inno Setup to compile the script, the output directory is checked to see if it is empty. If it is not, ScriptMaker will ask if it should be cleared. You can disable this prompt by using the Do not ask whether to delete contents of Output folder checkbox on the next page ([Options] page).

Once compilation has been completed you will see the results on the [Listing] Page.

Changing Inno Setup's Location