IniImport

MAKEMSI quickly and reliably creates MSI files in a non-programmatic way

Source Code

Commands

IniImport

The "IniImport" Command

This command is used to import a standard ".ini" file. You can filter out whole sections or particular parts of the INI file and you can change the values, for example you may wish to translate "c:\fred" to "[INSTALLDIR]"...

You can also use the "INI Conversion" explorer option to convert an INI file and manually include all or parts of the generate MAKEMSI script.

This command takes these parameters:

File Name (positional)
Name of INI file to be imported at build time.
IniFile (required)
This is the name of the INI file which will be installed.
IniDir (required)
This is the key of the directory where the INI file will be create or updated.
How (optional)
This defines how this entry should be handled.
1. ADD_OR_UPDATE
  Create or update an INI entry.
2. ADD_ONLY
  Only create an INI entry (don't touch existing entries).
3. ADD_OR_APPEND
  Create or append to an INI entry.
The default for this parameter can be set via the DEFAULT_INI_HOW macro. The initial value is "ADD_OR_UPDATE".
SpecialFolderTranslations (optional)
The data being imported may have hard coded references to locations that may vary on different peoples computers, which is why you generally use "system folder properties" instead of a directory such as "c:\winnt".
Due to Windows Installer limitations not all such references can be handled so "c:\winnt\" will be translated but "c:\winnt" will not be.
The default for this parameter can be set via the DEFAULT_INIIMPORT_SPECIALFOLDER_TRANSLATIONS macro. The initial value for this is "Y".
It is possible to alter the import configuration. See "ImportTranslations.mmh" for more information, the following worked for one user:
```
#(
    <$ImportTranslationAdd
       FromExp=^'C:\Program Files\MyTopDir\'^
         ToExp=^'[INSTALL_BASE_FOLDER]'^>
    >
#)
```

EXAMPLE

;--- Filter INI Import ------------------------------------------------------
#DefineRexx+ 'INIIMPORT_HOOK_SECTION'
    ;--- We don't want all [sections] ---------------------------------------
    if  translate({$SectionVar}) = translate('Microsoft Paradox Driver (*.db ) (32 bit)') then
        {$WantVar} = 'N';
#DefineRexx
#DefineRexx+ 'INIIMPORT_HOOK_KEYVALUE'
    ;--- Drop all "Setup" keys ----------------------------------------------
    if  translate({$KeyVar}) = "SETUP" then
        {$WantVar} = 'N';
    else
    do
        ;--- Change value for "32Bit" to "99" -------------------------------
        if  translate({$KeyVar}) = "32BIT" then
            {$ValueVar} = '99';
    end;
#DefineRexx

;--- Do the actual Import ---------------------------------------------------
<$Component "INI" Directory_="INSTALLDIR" LM="Y">
    <$IniImport "<??*SystemRoot>\ODBCINST.INI" IniFile="NewIni.ini" IniDir="INSTALLDIR">
<$/Component>

Microsoft awarded me an MVP (Most Valuable Professional award) in 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007 for the Windows SDK (Windows Installer) area.

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