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TSTool / Development Environment / NSIS

Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS) software is used to create the Windows installer for TSTool.

NSIS Installation

Install version 3.03 of the software for the development version operating system from the download page on the following page.

NSIS provides the benefit of being scriptable and therefore fits with automating creation of the installer.

Running the installer advises to uninstall the earlier version of NSIS (2.46 was used for TSTool 12.05.00 and earlier). Therefore, uninstall the older version.

Install NSIS 3.03 using the installer defaults.

NSIS Add-ons for NSIS 3.03

The core NSIS software does not provide all the necessary functionality. Additional NSIS components were added to the main software location when NSIS was first chosen as a solution.

The files necessary for NSIS add-ons can be found in the repository cdss-util-buildtools under the directories install/NSIS.

The files discussed in the following sections should be copied into the C:\Program Files (x86)\NSIS necessary for the TSTool install process. Files from original sources are used and where notes files are copied from the NSIS 2.46 archive repository. To facilitate installation of NSIS 3.03 add-ins, perform the following steps:

  1. Open a Git Bash shell. Run as Administrator because the installation process will install files into C:\Program Files (x86).
  2. Change directories to the cdss-util-buildtools repository install/NSIS folder.
  3. Run the install-to-nsis-3.03.sh script. This is an interactive script that will help confirm that NSIS 3.03 is installed and will prompt for confirmation to install.

The files discussed in the following sections were added many years ago and it is not clear what files are still needed in the NSIS program files for the CDSS installers to build properly. The comments section for each file indicates whether or not the TSTool installer is functional with or without the file present in the NSIS program files.

Files listed in table in bold are necessary and result in build errors if not included. Files not bolded may be phased out over time, but are being kept as to not cause any potential issues if they are actually needed, but this was not apparent in testing.

The following sections are helpful mainly to indicate the source of files that are now saved in the cdss-util-buildtools repository install/NSIS folder. If the install process is not changed much, then the add-in installation process described above should result in a workable development environment.

Contrib/ Folder:

Component for Plugin                                           Description Where to Download Comments
Graphics/UltraModernUI/ Image files (.bmp) for modern installer look. UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub Part of the UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 plug-in. Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installer. The current installer doesn't utilize any of these Graphics, but without the folder you cannot use them in the future with NSIS.
InstallOptionsEx/ This plugin is an extension for the original InstallOptions plug-in distributed with NSIS, for those who want to have a more professional looking NSIS page. UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub or InstallOptionsEX 2.4.5 plug-in Part of the InstallOptionsEx plug-in, but included in UltraModernUI plugin as well. Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installation. May offer beneficial features for the future, however.
nsArray/ A much simpler and smaller DLL than NSISArray. Provides less out-of-the-box functionality but is faster and uses less memory. Supports any number of named dynamic arrays, indexed or hashed arrays, value getting, setting, insertion, removal, copying, joining and sorting (via quick sort algo.) UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub or nsArray Part of the nsArray plug-in, but included in UltraModernUI. Before NSIS was using NSISArray which is deprecated and has been replaced with nsArray. Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installation.
SetCursor/ An NSIS plugin to set the cursor or change its position. SetCursor SetCursor is it's own plug-in, separate from UltraModernUI. Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installation.
SkinnedControls/ This NSIS plug-in allows using a "skin" for buttons and scroll bars of the installer and allows selecting text colors on buttons, even those on custom pages. Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installation. UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub or SkinnedControls 1.4 Part of the SkinnedControls plug-in, but included in UltraModernUI.
UIs/UltraModernUI/
UIs/default_sb.exe
UIs/modern_sb.exe		 UI's for UltraModernUI UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub Part of the UltraModernUI plug-in. If not included in NSIS there will be errors with building the TSTool Installer.
UltraModernUI/ The main UltraModernUI UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub This is the main component for UltraModernUI and is absolutely necessary for using the UltraModernUI plug-in. If not included in NSIS there will be errors with building the TSTool installer.

Necessary files for Contrib/ Folder:
These are the essential files that must be included in the NSIS 3.03 Contrib/ folder to ensure that the TSTool installer will build properly with no errors.

  • Contrib/UIs/UltraModernUI
  • Contrib/UIs/default_sb.exe
  • Contrib/UIs/modern_sb.exe
  • Contrib/UltraModernUI

Include/ Folder:

Component for Plugin                                           Description Where to Download Comments
MUIEx.nsh Includes Contrib/UltraModernUI/UMUI.nsh in NSIS build. UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installation.
nsArray.nsh Includes necessary information for Contrib/nsArray/ UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub or nsArray Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installer.
Registry.nsh Includes necessary information for Plugins/Registry.dll Registry 4.1 If not included in NSIS there will be errors with building the TSTool installer.
TextReplace.nsh Includes necessary information for Contrib/TextReplace.dll TextReplace 1.5 If not included in NSIS there will be errors with building the TSTool installer.
UMUI.nsh Appears to also include Contrib/UltraModernUI/UMUI.nsh. Not sure the difference between this file and MUIEx.nsh UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub If not included in NSIS there will be errors with building the TSTool installer.

Necessary files for Include/ Folder:
These are the essential files that must be included in the NISI program Include/ folder to ensure that TSTool installer will build properly with no errors.

  • Include/Registry.nsh
  • Include/TextReplace.nsh
  • Include/UMUI.nsh

Plugins/ Folder:

NSIS 2.46 strictly used x86-ansi for .dll files. NSIS 3.03 has updated to include both x86-ansi and x86-unicode for .dll files. If adding a plug-in that only includes one .dll file, it is safe to assume this will be x86-ansi.

Component for Plugin                                           Description Where to Download Comments
InstallOptionsEx.dll Dynamic link library for InstallOptionsEx plug-in. This plugin is an extension for the original InstallOptions plug-in distributed with NSIS, for those who want to have a more professional looking NSIS page. UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub or InstallOptionsEX 2.4.5 plug-in Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool.
nsArray.dll Dynamic link library for nsArray plug-in. Before NSIS was using NSISArray which is deprecated and has been replaced with nsArray. Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installation. UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub or nsArray Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installer.
Registry.dll Dynamic link library for Registry plug-in. This is NSIS plug-in for registry. Archive also contains PPC-Registry plugin for Pocket PC. Registry 4.1 Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installer.
SetCursor.dll Dynamic link library for SetCursor plug-in. An NSIS plugin to set the cursor or change its position. SetCursor If not included in NSIS there will be errors with building the TSTool installer.
SkinnedControls.dll Dynamic link library for SkinnedControl plug-in. This NSIS plug-in allows using a "skin" for buttons and scroll bars of the installer and allows selecting text colors on buttons, even those on custom pages. Causes no errors if not included in NSIS when building TSTool installation. UltraModernUI 2.0 beta 4 on GitHub or SkinnedControls 1.4 If not included in NSIS there will be errors when building the TSTool installer.
TextReplace.dll Dynamic link library for TextReplace plug-in. TextReplace 1.5 If not included in NSIS there will be errors when building the TSTool installer.

Necessary file for Plugins/ Folder:

  • Plugins/SetCursor.dll
  • Plugins/SkinnedControls.dll
  • Plugins/TextReplace.dll

NSIS Add-ons for NSIS 2.46

This section is retained as a historical reference for use with TSTool 12.05.00 and earlier.

The core NSIS software does not provide all the necessary functionality. Additional NSIS components were apparently installed on the main software, but it is unclear where to retrieve such files that are compatible with NSIS 2.46. Therefore, the following repository has been created with NSIS 2.46 files from an older computer used to create TSTool installers:

The following files in particular were copied into the C:\Program Files (x86)\NSIS to get the TSTool install process working (clone the above repository and then copy files as needed):

  • Contrib/
    • Graphics/
      • UltraModernUI/
    • InstallOptiohnsEx/
    • NSISArray/
    • SetCursor/
    • SkinnedControls/
    • UltraModernUI/
    • UIs/
      • UltraModernUI/
      • default_sb.exe
      • modern_sb.exe
  • Include/
    • MUIEx.nsh
    • NSISArray.nsh
    • Registry.nsh
    • TextReplace.nsh
    • UMUI.nsh
  • Plugins/
    • InstallOptionsEx.dll
    • InstallOptionsEx_legacy.dll
    • InstallOptionsEx_newAPI.dll
    • NSISArray.dll
    • NSISArray_legacy.dll
    • NSISArray_newAPI.dll
    • Registry.dll
    • SetCursor.dll
    • SkinnedControls.dll
    • TextReplace.dll