The Distribution Wizard is used to create a standard Windows Setup program so that users can install a published version of your publication on their machine by following the Windows Setup program. This wizard is particularly useful if users need to install your publication on their machine rather than running it from a CD-ROM or via the Internet.
The Distribution wizard will create an EXE program that can then be copied onto a CD-ROM using the CD-R Wizard in Opus and sent to your users. If you have set up the optional Autorun.inf file, the CD can run the Windows Setup program as soon as the user inserts the CD into the CD drive.
If you don’t want to store the Window Setup program on a CD-ROM, the Distribution wizard provides an option to automatically split the Windows Setup program into floppy-disk sized files that you can then copy onto floppy-disks and send to your user.
Note:
The Distribution wizard can also be used to distribute ANY files on your machine via the Windows Setup program. Therefore it is a useful tool when you need to send resources to other team members in a project as you can specify the resource files you want to send and create a Windows Setup program – all the team member has to do is to insert the CD into their CD drive and the resource files can be installed on their machine in the location you have specified.
1. You can open the Distribution Wizard from the final page of the Publish wizard by selecting the Launch Distribution Wizard option before you click on the Finish button.
Note:
The second page of the Distribution wizard will contain the new published file of the publication you have just processed – see point 7 below.
2. Alternatively, click on the Tools menu, and then select the Distribution Wizard option – this will open the Distribution Wizard.
Note:
The second page of the Distribution wizard will contain no files; you can add any files from your machine you like – see point 7 below.
3. Use the Enter the Title of your Publication box to type in the name you want to give to your publication – this will appear in the Windows Setup program when the user installs the publication.
Note:
The name of the current publication will be displayed in the box – you can replace this name if required.
4. Use the Enter the Directory the publication will be installed to by the user option to enter the pathname where your publication will be installed on the end users machine. Click on the down arrow next to the box to list a set of Systemvariables that will work out the pathname for you. By default, the Program Files variable is entered. Click on the Next button to continue unless you want to password protect your Setup program – see point 6 below.
The list of System variables are as follows:
(i) Program Files – the program will be installed in the Programs folder of the users machine.
(ii) Windows Directory – the program will be installed in the Windows folder of the users machine.
(iii) Windows System Directory – the program will be installed in the Windows System folder of the users machine.
(iv) My Documents – the program will be installed in the users My Documents folder.
By using these System variables in the list, you can let Opus work out where each of these folders are on the users machine because different Windows platforms (e.g. Windows XP or Windows 2000) locate these folders in different places.
You can also create sub folders after the System variable by typing a backslash (i.e. \ ) after each folder you want to create. For example, if the box contained <Program Files>\Education\Science\ and the published file is Einstein.EXE, then the Windows Setup program will install the file on the users machine in the following folder:
C:\Program Files\Education\Science\Einstein.EXE
5. Alternatively, click on the Browse… button to locate a folder on your machine – this will open the Windows Browse for Folder dialog to locate the folder. Click on the Next button to continue unless you want to password protect your Setup program – see point 6 below.
Note:
If you use the Browse… button, the pathname of the folder you selected is entered in the box. The published file will then be installed to this pathname. If the pathname does not exist on the users machine, the Windows Setup program will create it for you.
6. Tick the Password protect the Setup program option if you want only authorised users to install your publication. Type the password the user must enter in the Password and Confirm Password boxes – it will appear as a series of asterisks’ (i.e. the * symbol) in the boxes. Click on the Next button to continue.
Note:
When the user attempts to install the publication using the Windows Setup program, they will be asked to enter the password – if they enter the incorrect password they will not be able to continue. The password you enter is case sensitive.
7. The second page of the Distribution wizard allows you to add the files that you want to distribute to your users. Any files you enter on this page will be installed by the Windows Setup program when the user runs it (see points 8 to 11 below). When you have added your files, click the Next button to continue.
Note:
If you opened the Distribution wizard via the Publish wizard, the name of the published file will already be listed on this page. You can add other files to the list if required.
8. Click on the Add Files… button if you want to add more files to the list on the page – this will open the Add Files dialog used to locate the files you want to add. Click the OK button in the dialog to add them to the page. You can add as many files as required.
Note:
The Target folder option at the bottom of the Add Files dialog allows you to locate the files in a different directory from the one you entered on the previous page of the wizard, the list contains the same options – see point 4 above. The <DEFAULT TARGET> variable is the directory you entered on the first page of the wizard – see point 4 or 5 above.
9. Click on the Add Directory… button if you want to add all the files in a particular directory – this will open the Add Directory dialog in which you can locate a folder. All of the files in the folder will be added to the list on the page.
Note:
This also includes the Target Folder option – see previous Note.
10. To remove an added file, select the name in the File Name column on the page, and then click the Remove button.
11. To change the Target Folder in which a file is to be added, select the name in the File Name column, and then click the Change Target… button – this will open the Change Target dialog in which you are given the Target Folder list again, simply select the new directory from the list.
12. The third page of the Distribution wizard allows you to specify where the installation file will be on your machine when it is created, as well as if you want to create one big installation file or divide it into smaller chunks that will fit on a floppy disk. You can also create an Autorun.inf file to launch the Windows Setup program and the file that is launched once the program has been installed on the users machine (see points 13 to 16 below). Make your choices and then click on the Next button to continue.
13. Use the Enter the Directory… option to set the location of the Setup program on your machine. By default, the pathname of the current publication is entered. If you want to put the Setup program in a different folder, click on the Browse… button to open the Browse for Folder directory and locate the folder.
Note:
For example, if the name you gave to the Setup program was Tutorial and the pathname entered here was C:\Education, then the Setup program created will be called Tutorial_Setup.exe and it will be located in the C:\Education folder of your machine. The user runs the Tutorial_Setup.exe file that will launch the Windows Setup program and install the files.
14. Use the Create Distribution for panel to state whether you want to create a single file or divide it into several files. The single setup file will create one Setup program; the divide up option will break the Setup program into file sizes no bigger than 1.44 MB each.
Note:
Unless you specifically want to or have to use floppy disks to create the Setup program, we recommend you always use the single setup file default option.
15. Tick the Create Autorun.inf file option if you are going to distribute your Setup program via CD-ROM. This option will automatically create an Autorun.inf file when the Setup program is created.
Note:
The Autorun.inf file is distributed with your Setup program on a CD-ROM, this means that the user can insert the CD in their drive and your publication will instantly run.
16. Use the Choose the launch file box to specify the added file you want to run once the user has installed the Setup program. Click on the down arrow next to the box to list all of the files you have added, choose the file in the list that is the publication itself.
Note:
The final page of the Windows Setup program allows the user to launch a file once all the files have been installed on their machine – here you can set which file is launched. Normally, it will be the publication itself, however, if you have created a ReadMe text file explaining the publication, you may want to launch this first.
17. The fourth page of the publication is a summary of the options you have set on the previous three pages of the Distribution wizard. If you are satisfied with the settings, click on the Next button to start the distribution process. Once this is completed, the final page of the wizard will appear.
18. The final page of the wizard contains two options: Click on the Test button if you want to test your Setup program to see if it works; Tick the Launch Upload Wizard option if you want the Upload Wizard to appear when you finally click on the Finish button to close the Distribution wizard.