Action questions

[Hank14]

Hi,

1. Is there any way to include a previously defined file of actions?

2. Is there an action to clear the log file so multiple executions of the same install don't continue to add to the end of the log file?

3. Is there any way to specify the return from a binary registry read to look like xx xx xx xx instead of xxxxxxxx? This would be most helpful in saving and restoring registry values.

[Darryl]

Re: Action questions

Question 1)
There are a few methods that can be used. For example, you can import and export actions in Setup Factory. These options can be found on the "Advanced options" button on the Actions dialogs which is located on the bottom far right hand corner. These would be saved as a .sfa file. You could also save them in a project file and import portions of that project file by going to File->Import->Setup Factory 6.0 project. There are several settings available.

Question 2)
No, I'm sorry, there is currently no way to clear the contents of the log file. However you could use a variable in the name such that it creates a new file each time. For example, you could use the built-in variables %CurrentMinute%-%CurrentSecond% in the file name which will expand those values each time it is run, resulting in a new file being created each time.

Question 3)
Are you sure that the Registry entry was REG_BINARY? As far as I know, the Registry Read does not support that type, or at least I was unsuccessful.

[Hank14]

Re: Action questions

Regedit called it a binary value. The value in question is NoDriveTypeAutoRun under key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Pol icies\Explorer.

[Darryl]

Re: Action questions

I don't know if this setting differs between OS's etc. however when I look up that key on my Windows 2000 machine, it is set as type REG_DWORD.

[Hank14]

Re: Action questions

OK I'll go with REG_DWORD. I don't know how to tell the difference using regedit. I was going by Microsoft article Q136214 which actually adressed WIN95.

The question still remains, is there a way to get the data back with the bytes separated with blanks? Parsing the string is somewhat of a pain.

Thanks

[Darryl]

Re: Action questions

I loaded a Windows 98 machine and you are correct, the value stored on that OS is a binary value. It apparently differs between OS's. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Setup Factory currently does not support reading binary values from the Registry, so you cannot use the standard read.

I believe the only thing you can do is to call regedit.exe, export that key siliently, and then read that file as text and parse the information through text file and string actions.

The following are the arguments for the file:

regedit.exe [options] [filename]

filename Import .reg file into the registry
/s Silent, i.e. hide confirmation box when importing files
/e Export registry file
e.g. regedit /e file.reg HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT
/L:system Specify the location of the system.dat to use
/R:user Specify the location of the user.dat to use
/C Compress [filename] (Windows 98)

Hope that helps.

[Hank14]

Re: Action questions

Thanks for the help. I've actually been able to read the value under both 98 and 98SE using the standard SF 6.0.1.2 Read from Registry action. The value returned looks like a DWORD (i.e., 4 hex bytes with no intervening spaces). I then have to parse these into bytes separated by spaces prior to writing them back to the registry. I was just looking for an automatic way to accomplish the parsing.

[Lorne]

Re: Action questions

I'm afraid you must be confused. There are no registry data formats that fit your description. Perhaps you're getting mixed up by the way the data is presented in regedit?