Installation

MSM Module Integration

Note: Administrative rights are required to install the program!

MSM module is provieded with OEM version for integration into third-party installers. It installs all core components of the program: drivers, service, API files.

Note: In case if the installer allows user to choose, install Virtual Serial Port Control or not, it's necessary to configure FT_EXECUTE_CA property using custom action chk_msm_install (refer to example). Set the property to 0, if Virtual Serial Port Control should not be installed. Otherwise set it to 1. It's set to 1 by default.

Note: To prevent unexpected Virtual Serial Port Control uninstallation (if you install new version of your software), OLD_PRODUCT_FOUND property should be set.

Examples of MSM module integration can be found in Integration folder of Virtual Serial Port Control SDK.

Integration into Visual Studio 2005

The example should be compiled in standard way.

Integration into WiX

Windows Installer XML (WiX) Toolset v2.0 and above is required to compile WiX example.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/wix

Integration into InstallShield 2009

Before compiling InstallShield 2009 integration example, please add Virtual Serial Port Control MSM module (VSPCdrivers-x86.msm or VSPCdrivers-x64.msm according to your architecture) into the project:

  1. Go to Project tree -> Application data\Redistributables.
  2. Right click on the list of all known MSM modules and select "Browse for Merge module...".
  3. Then specify location of VSPCdrivers-x86.msm file (or VSPCdrivers-x64.msm according to your architecture) to add it into the project.

MSI Preconfiguration and Integration

You also can redistribute the preconfigured setup both as a separate product and as a part of your installer. Settings can be embedded in the MSI file to prevent end users from the having to adjust them manually.

Launch the installer on the client using "quiet" mode

If you don't need to customize the installation options (e.g. the install path), then you can run the install non-interactively with the quiet switch. This method requires invocation with a command line switch, as illustrated here:

msiexec /i "virtual-serial-port-control.msi" /qb

The /q part of the switch signifies the quiet mode, and the "b" indicates to use the basic UI level, which in this case would include a progress bar while the installer runs. When run in this mode, the default options will be used for all items that would be presented as choices in the interactive install.

Public properties configurable in MSI

There are several public MSI properties with which you can configure Virtual Serial Port Control.

Property name Description
CHECK_FOR_NEW_VERSION Check for new version periodically. If this property is present and contains 0, the program will not check for new version.
OPEN_URL Open quick start and uninstall URLs at the end of install and uninstall. If this property is present and contains 0, URLs will not be open.
LOG If this property is present and contains 1, extended installation log file will be generated. This log file will be generated in the same folder from where MSI file is launched.

Configuring properties via command line

Here's an example of the command line syntax you can use to override the default values of these public properties:

msiexec /i "virtual-serial-port-control.msi" CHECK_FOR_NEW_VERSION=0 OPEN_URL=0