RaggieSoft (formerly M. R. Software)

AR Installer 2.0

Are you looking for the AR Installer Runtime? 

Thanks to Midtown Madness 2 Central for reminding me about the installer (I just so happened to notice an ancient version 1.0.10 in their download area).

News

• March 19th, 2002
  • Due to the way I'm being treated by Lycos, I will delete the site.  Soon, I'll post the AR Installer through KaZaA Media Desktop.  It'll be posted as a self-extracting .exe with the filename "ARCompleteSetup.exe" and will include a splash (similar to a CD-ROM that has an auto-launching splash program called a CDBrowser). KaZaA is free, but pay very, very careful attention to the install options.  Why?
• February 17th, 2002
  • I've found a type library that lets me play with .ZIP files from within VB!  Here's my idea:
    • Use a proprietary format with a structure like a .ZIP file (meaning you can create the file in any .ZIP creation utility like WinZip (not-so-freeware) or ZipCentral (freeware).
    • The AR Installer .exe file would read the file (I'm thinking the extension would be .ARZ -- AR [Installer] Zip), and would present everything in a wizard interface.  Yes, the end-use would still be forced to read the readme (it'd be nice if I could include a text-to-speech engine.  Hmm...)
    • The type library -- SAWZip -- is courtesy of Software at Work)
  • I've also found a module that lets me access the system registry.  I'm thinking that I'll record the Midtown Madness base folders in my own keys.
• January 21st, 2002
  • Fixed the email address link.  My email address changed to TallwoodBand@cox.net (due to the fallout of @Home)
• January 13th, 2002
  • Reorganized the download page
• December 28th, 2001
  • Fixed the Download Page (broken link)
  • A patch that will let you update the AR Installer Test Release IDK to the AR Installer vIDK.  This patch is about 500kb.  Download it now!
  • Updates to the unAR Project site.

• Features of the AR Installer
  • RaggieSoft Direct Editor: This will let you edit any RaggieSoft Script by hand.
  • RaggieSoft AR Installer IDK (Installer Developer's Kit): This is a visual tool which takes you through the process of packaging an installer. NOTE: It can't create self-extracting .EXEs or .ZIP files. To create Self-Extracting EXEs, I recommend InstallShield's PackageForTheWeb, which you can download for free at www.installshield.com
  • RaggieSoft AR Installer 2.0: This is the actual file which installs the .AR file(s). NEW: now, the multi .AR installation works as expected!

Visit the AR Installer Download Page

Screen Shots

• One old feature that I will be keeping with only three changes is the Readme part.  The changes are:
  • The author can control the length of the delay
  • The .RTF format is now supported, and .TXT is still supported
  • The addition of the Progress Bar
• New over version 1.5:
  • The AR Installer is now a Windows 2000 dialog style wizard
  • unAR: The AR File Uninstaller I've abandoned the unAR project, but technical details are posted at the unAR Project site (I'd like some help, please)

How the installer currently works:

1. (optional w/ the prompt switch) You'll be asked if you want to install
2. The AR Installer gathers information from install.ini
3. You're forced to read the readme
4. If you want, an unAR file can be created.  I recommend that you do create one and you save it to your desktop.
5. You're asked where Midtown Madness is installed.  Based on what the mmType field is set to, the installer will give you an example of the folder.
6. Review the install settings
7. Installation is in progress
8. You can (optionally, and by default) launch Midtown Madness.  using the mmType field of install.ini, it'll launch MIDTOWN.exe or MIDTOWN2.exe

My Email Address: TallwoodBand@cox.net