Packaging and Distributing Products › Using the Manual Method

Using the Manual Method

The manual method of packaging is intended for products that must be installed using the original product setup. The original data is accepted in unmodified form and a response file for unattended installation must be supplied. The Installer on the target computer installs the product by invoking the product's original setup program. After finishing the packaging process, register the product in the Software Package Library, from where it can be distributed, and installed unattended on target computers.

To use the manual method of packaging

1. Open the Create Product Version dialog doing one of the following:
   • In the Product archive tree window, right-click Archive to create a new product, or right-click a product name to create a new version of that product, and select Create Product Version from the context menu.
   • In the Product archive tree window, click Archive if you want to create a new product, or click a product if you want to create a new version of that product, and click the Create Product Version icon in the toolbar.
   • In the Product archive tree window, click Archive if you want to create a new product, or click a product if you want to create a new version of that product, and select Edit, Product version, Create from the Packager main menu.
2. On the Create Product Version dialog, enter the name (if necessary) and the version number The version ID (or: version number) of a product consists of four decimal digits. If you need to enter the version number (for example, on the Packager GUI), you must use the format xxxx. However, you may find the version number displayed on the Packager GUI in the output format x.x/xx. of the new product or product version.

   For the product name, you can enter a maximum of 32 characters.

3. Check Custom mode and Create templates to be edited manually, and click Continue.
4. In the Create Templates for Archive Files dialog check all general or user-specific SXP archive files to be created by the Packager. In the case of INI and ASCII files you can also enter a number of files to be created. The Packager creates empty archive files, which you must manually edit to enter the actual product data.
5. Click Continue.

   Note: When packaging a product using the manual method, you must perform the following steps after creating and editing the archive files. As illustrated in the steps following, the original.sxp archive file is particularly important for products to be installed on a target computer using their original setup program.

6. Create a subdirectory under the version directory and copy the original installation media into the subdirectory.
7. Save a response file for unattended installation in the version directory, or a subdirectory.
8. Where applicable, write a script to modify the response file when the package is installed on the target computer. This script must contain parameters that assist in modifying the response file for specific target computers. Import the script into the version directory, or one of its subdirectories.
9. Enter the names of the response file and the script for modifying the response file in the appropriate sections of the original.sxp file. You must specify absolute path names, meaning that the specification must start with the internal "$(SxpSrvRelDir)" parameter (-> parameters). This parameter specifies the path name of the archive files. This path is the same as the path of the version directory in the product archive of the Packager.
10. Enter the installation and removal statements for the product in the appropriate sections of the original.sxp file. The following restrictions apply:
    • The path length for files under the version directory is limited to 64 characters.
    • The directory and file names must not contain any of the following special characters:

      	blanks  umlauts  $  \  /  ;  F  ´  "  *  ?  [ ]  #  { }  &
      

11. Register the packaged product, as described in Packaging and Distributing SXP and MSI Products.