CyberInstaller Studio - 18. Step 10: "Registry Keys and Values"

In this step you can specify any keys and/or values to be created in the Windows registry.

The inscription at the top right shows the total number of keys and values included in the current package.

Note: As this step allows you to edit the registry of Windows, you must take particular care in its use.
Through this step, indeed, you can enter values that, going to overwrite any existing values, could seriously affect the behavior of Windows, if the corresponding keys have no effect on the system. We suggest, therefore, to create keys and values for the sole purpose of preparing the system with the use of their software. Note that, however, the registry change (insertion keys, etc..) Should be handled by your application (eg inserting keys to the first boot, etc..) And only rarely during installation.

This step is useful because it allows to prepare the system for use with the software you are distributing.
If for example you want to set a key giving the date of installation of a demo that expires after a predetermined number of days, you can enter the value that is considered more appropriate in a key which will then read from their software. In this way we save the part of the software program that would create the key. The uses to which it may serve this step are varied and allow you to make your installation package extremely versatile.

The strings that make up a key, modeled on the syntax for paths of filenames. The differences are that instead of the drive, there is a fixed root key that can be 5 types:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

You can see the register as if the file-system. In this sense, the keys or value names are the folders, while the values true reappresentano files.

Eg: if you want to create a new value (eg, "RED"), we must give it a name (eg: "Color"), and a key where do reside (eg: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\MioSoftware\Settings).

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\MioSoftware\Settings (key)

Color (name value)

Red (value)

 Note: As CyberInstaller not support such values or patterns of system environment variables, you can not, for example, try to put a key in the name of the destination folder selected by the user. To overcome this lack, and, more generally, to make your installation package more versatile and suited to your needs, you can create a special that will collect this data and write to the registry, and then you just run this application as an external application (step 7).

 CyberInstaller Studio - 18.1. Operation

This step is presented as a list in which to insert the keys and values to be written in the register.
This list is divided into 3 columns:

Keyword: full name in the registry key to create

Value name: Value name (optional)

Value: value (optional - required if you entered a value name).

If not specified a "name value" is not necessary to include a "value". In this case, you will create only the key specified. If the "name value" is added "|default_value|" the "value" is the default value of the corresponding key (any key that you created has a default value).

It's possible click on the column headers to reorder the list alphabetically according to their needs.

Add [button]

Allows you to insert a key or value to be created during the installation process, via the "Add key/value registry.

Edit [button]

After selecting a key addition to the above list, you can use this button to change it.
This same result is obtained by double-clicking the item you want.

Delete [Button]

Deletes the list item selected. Asks for confirmation.

Clear [button]

Delete all elements of the list.

Note: Instead of the buttons Add, Edit, Delete and Clear, you can use the context menu (pop-up) on the list. This menu is activated by a click with right mouse button on the list. This has the advantage that, in editing and elimination, there is a greater certainty that you have selected the item you want and operate exactly the item you want.
Present in all lists CyberInstaller Studio have a context menu activated by right mouse button, which allows to achieve common tasks permitted for the corresponding list.

 CyberInstaller Studio - 18.2. Activities current step

 See also ...

 Package creation steps

 CyberInstaller - Script Installation

 Step 8 - External Applications

 Adding a key or a value in the register