Software Deployment

I think your problem is with AdminStudio 7... This one is pretty easy in Wise.

Here's the big question. When you install your WinZip 8 package, reboot and log in as a different user, does WinZip 8 launch a self repair at startup? or at least self-repairs when the different user launches WinZip 8 for the first time?

The only semi-complicated part about WinZip is that it wants to place a bunch of stuff into the user profile and HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry hive. The different user isn't going to have this in their profile and the way to put it there is to isolate into one or more components containing only per-user data. When WinZip is launched via an entry point, normally the application shortcut or in WinZip's case the system tray icon at logon, the self check detects the per-user components as missing and self-repairs it into the "new" user's profile.

If AdminStudio 7 didn't create those per-user components correctly, and they're missing from the user's profile, WinZip will show the exact symptoms you've described.

Hi Richard:

Try looking at this forum This link, since the guy in the forum had same type of problem. In case you have any further issues give me a buzz.

Hey Everyone,
Thanks for your help so far.

VikingLoki:
Regarding your question about my MSI package launching self-repair after loggin in as another user, yes it does. However, after logging-in as this new user, the context-menu items appear. I do have to re-associate winzip with .ZIP files though still the first time I launch the program.

So is there a different way I should be packaging this than the classic two-step snapshot?

Thanks again in advance.

Did you fix your ICE errors?

Could be problems with the extension / mime tables causing the issue with file association.

Cheers,
Rob.

Hi Richard

Did you try going to that forum?

I agree with MSI packager. The .zip should be in the extension/mime tables AND make sure it's in a per-user component, with a keypath either in the user profile or HKCU registry hive.

MSIPackager:
Do you know within the InstallShield Editor program where to make that association?

wiseapp:
I went to that forum, but it didn't seem to be quite the same issue I was having.

VikingLoki:
I guess my question would be why isn't the repackager program capturing all these entries? I've read other places that the difference is in a "short path" versus a "long path". I have the short path entries in my capture file, so I'm assuming they are actually populating correctly. Should it matter if the path is recorded short or long as long as it points to the proper location?

Thanks for everyone's help so far. [;)]

MSIPackager:
Do you know within the InstallShield Editor program where to make that association?

Orca is the best tool in my opinion for validation and editing the MSI tables directly. It's free from MS and comes as part of the Windows Installer SDK..

You should be able to view the tables in InstallShield Editor too though - like you can in Wise. Can't tell you exactly how though cos I've never used InstallShield Editor.

Cheers,
Rob.

Hallo ZRichardson,

You asked "Should it matter if the path is recorded short or long as long as it points to the proper location?" Normally not really, but in the case of Winzip 8.0 it does indeed. Winzip 8.0 cannot handle long path names for command verbs. (You found this on other forums already, so that's no news). In Windows Installer, the Verb table only deals with long file names. So the only solution I can think of, is placing the verbs in the registry table using short file names (For example, if the component containing winzip32.exe is called WinZip32.exe, the <default> value of HKCR\Winzip\Shell\Open\Command must be [!WinZip32.exe] in your registry table. "!" means "use short file name", the name of the component is (as you might know) case sensitive. There are a few more places where you should replace this value: that should be easy to find.

You said the short file names were correct in your capture file. If you mean your *.inc-file, I had the same problem with an earlier version of Installshield. I could see it as filenames beginning with "_Short" in the *.inc-file. But as soon as I converted the *.inc in a *.ism file, the short file names were changed in long file names. Perhaps a bug?


Regards,

CS