Common part with 2 nsis installers

evilmephisto · 28th January 2009, 07:16

Hello,

I created 2 nsis installers(which work great btw): one for windows 32 and one for windows 64. Because they contain the same program, they have a lot of files in common (pdf's, etc..). Is there a simple way to make a kind of common install file, so when I put the 2 installers on one CD, they can both use one file for their common parts. I read about multivolume installations with cab files but this seems very complicated.

Animaether · 28th January 2009, 10:36

CAB is pretty simple, actually.. just stick the common files in the CAB, and extract them with the CAB plugin to the appropriate location in each installer.

You don't have to use CAB, btw - you could stick them on the CD 'as is' and just use CopyFile instead.

Yet another option is to make the 32bit vs 64bit installer the same exe and let it determine itself whether it should install 32bit or 64bit (and/or provide the user the option to choose, pre-selecting the appropriate one based on OS capabilities)... that would require some rewriting in your install script though (merging both together).

evilmephisto · 30th January 2009, 09:12

I'm wondering if cab files have problems when using the same cab file on windows xp 32, 64 and vista 32, 64. Do you have any suggestion with which program I would create the cab to have no problems with nsis? I also thought of using a zip file, since this seems more stable to me.

Animaether · 30th January 2009, 09:53

nah, doesn't matter.. a CAB is basically just an archive format, just like ZIP, so it truly doesn't care whether your host system is 32bit, 64bit, XP, Vista or '7'.

It has some advantages over ZIP files (longer paths allowed, for example - but that shouldn't be an issue for an installer anyway), and some disadvantages (not really a common format for typical archiving - usually only used by installers.. but hey look at that, what's what NSIS is for

), of course.

Both CAB and ZIP can be handled by NSIS plugins, or you could use a command-line tool.

evilmephisto · 5th February 2009, 12:55

Ok, thanks for the info

28th January 2009, 07:16	#1
evilmephisto Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 4	Common part with 2 nsis installers Hello, I created 2 nsis installers(which work great btw): one for windows 32 and one for windows 64. Because they contain the same program, they have a lot of files in common (pdf's, etc..). Is there a simple way to make a kind of common install file, so when I put the 2 installers on one CD, they can both use one file for their common parts. I read about multivolume installations with cab files but this seems very complicated.

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28th January 2009, 10:36	#2
Animaether Major Dude Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 1,173	CAB is pretty simple, actually.. just stick the common files in the CAB, and extract them with the CAB plugin to the appropriate location in each installer. You don't have to use CAB, btw - you could stick them on the CD 'as is' and just use CopyFile instead. Yet another option is to make the 32bit vs 64bit installer the same exe and let it determine itself whether it should install 32bit or 64bit (and/or provide the user the option to choose, pre-selecting the appropriate one based on OS capabilities)... that would require some rewriting in your install script though (merging both together).

30th January 2009, 09:12	#3
evilmephisto Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 4	I'm wondering if cab files have problems when using the same cab file on windows xp 32, 64 and vista 32, 64. Do you have any suggestion with which program I would create the cab to have no problems with nsis? I also thought of using a zip file, since this seems more stable to me.

30th January 2009, 09:53	#4
Animaether Major Dude Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 1,173	nah, doesn't matter.. a CAB is basically just an archive format, just like ZIP, so it truly doesn't care whether your host system is 32bit, 64bit, XP, Vista or '7'. It has some advantages over ZIP files (longer paths allowed, for example - but that shouldn't be an issue for an installer anyway), and some disadvantages (not really a common format for typical archiving - usually only used by installers.. but hey look at that, what's what NSIS is for ), of course. Both CAB and ZIP can be handled by NSIS plugins, or you could use a command-line tool.

5th February 2009, 12:55	#5
evilmephisto Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 4	Ok, thanks for the info