FAQs

FAQ

Below, you can find answers to frequently asked questions on InstallBuilder. We also have a Community Support Forum, and we are constantly working to expand its contents.

Please note that InstallBuilder and InstallBuilder for Qt are functionally the same, so the below FAQs apply to both InstallBuilder versions. Currently, the only differences between the two is that InstallBuilder for Qt can generate installers that have a Qt-themed front-end, so those installers look native on KDE, and includes support for left-to-right languages.

If you can't find the answers to your questions below, in the User Guide (PDF Version), or in our Community Support Forum, please contact our support department using our Help Desk or sending an email to installbuilder-sales@vmware.com.

Installation Problems

  1. How do I install VMware InstallBuilder?
  2. I get a payload error. What can I do?
  3. I get an ".X Error of failed request: BadAtom (invalid Atom parameter) executing InstallBuilder." What can I do?
  4. I get an "SELinux denied execmem" error executing InstallBuilder. What can I do?
  5. I get a "GLib-GObject-WARNING". What can I do?
  6. The installer crashes on Linux. What can I do?
  7. The installer seems to take a long time to start. Is this normal?

InstallBuilder

  1. What is the format of the installer project file?
  2. What do you mean by "our installers do not require a self-extraction step"?
  3. How can I perform a silent installation?
  4. How can I perform a text installation?
  5. Can you install on servers without X-Window?
  6. Can you create CDROM installers?
  7. Are all of VMware InstallBuilder IntallBuilder's features accessible through the GUI?
  8. Do VMware InstallBuilder installer project files support development with version control systems?
  9. Can VMware InstallBuilder generate installers from the command line?
  10. What is the difference between RPM packages and VMware InstallBuilder installers?
  11. What dependencies do VMware InstallBuilder installers have?
  12. Which platforms do VMware InstallBuilder installers support?
  13. Does the use of forward slashes and backslashes in paths make any difference?
  14. What does the "save relative paths" option mean?
  15. The Readme/License file I want to include in my installer is in html. How can I show it to the user?
  16. Does the same project.xml work across all platforms InstallBuilder supports?
  17. How do I specify a different default installation directory for Unix and Windows?
  18. How can I create an update installer?
  19. What's the difference between an update installation and a regular installation?
  20. Can I convert a filename or directory path from Windows format to Unix format?
  21. How can I register my application with the RPM database?
  22. Does InstallBuilder support component selection?
  23. Is there a command line option for component selection?
  24. How can I determine if a component has been selected?
  25. How can I log a message to the installation log?

Java(tm) support

  1. What are the advantages of VMware InstallBuilder multiplatform installers over Java(tm)-based multiplatform installers?
  2. Are VMware InstallBuilder installers suitable to distribute Java(tm)-based applications?
  3. Can the Java autodetection just warn the user instead of aborting if there is not a JVM present?

Licensing

  1. I have an Open Source project, can I use your installer for free?
  2. Is there a discount for license renewals?
  3. My licensed version of InstallBuilder is working well for me. Do I need to renew the license?

Installer Environment Variables

  1. What do ${installdir}, ${full_productname} and all the other installer environment variables mean?
  2. How can I access the system environment variables?
  3. Are installer environment variables case sensitive?
  4. Inside my Windows post-installation script I do cd ${installdir} but it is not working. Why is that?
  5. How can I create my own installer variables?

Shortcuts and Start Menu

  1. The installer I have built creates a shortcut in my desktop, but it does not show the right icon image. How can I fix that?
  2. The shortcuts work fine in my system, but do not work or do not display an image when installed in a different system. Why is that?
  3. On Linux, the installer I have built creates a shortcut in my desktop and points to the right file, but it still does not work. The script works fine from the command line.
  4. I made some changes to my installer but QuickBuild does not seem to include the changes. How do I update it?
  5. How do I change the location or name of the uninstaller?
  6. I changed the location of the uninstaller in the customization screen, and now the shortcut in the start menu does not work. How do I fix this?
  7. How can I prevent the installer from creating a Start Menu?

User Input and Custom Pages

  1. What input can I ask the user for during installation?
  2. Can InstallBuilder be customized with new installer pages?
  3. How can I make the installer ask the user for a password during installation?
  4. How do I request a text string from the user?
  5. How can I direct the installer to ask the user to enter a file or directory?
  6. How do I ask the user for more than one parameter in the same screen?
  7. How can I arrange parameters horizontally?
  8. How do I make the installer ask the user a yes/no question?
  9. How do I display a read-only text information page to the user?
  10. How can I direct the user to select a value among a predefined list?
  11. How can I validate user input?
  12. What does the tag <cliOptionName> inside a parameter section mean?
  13. How can I show images while my product is being installed?
  14. How can I show custom pages after installation has finished?

Actions

  1. How do I make the installer perform a string substitution as part of the installation?
  2. How can I make the installer convert my plain text files in DOS format to Unix format?
  3. How do I set Unix permissions for some files and directories?
  4. How do I create a new system environment variable?
  5. How do I add a directory to the system PATH?
  6. How do I remove a directory from the system PATH?
  7. I want to append a certain text at the end of a file. How can I do this?
  8. How do I make the installer display an error message to the user under certain circumstances?
  9. Can the installer autodetect if there is an existing Java(tm) installation in the system?
  10. What if I want the user to select the JVM to use?
  11. How can I create a new Windows registry key or modify the value of an existing one?
  12. How can I read and store the value of a Windows registry key in an installer variable?
  13. How can I delete a Windows registry key?
  14. I need to change the owner and group of a file or directory in Unix. How do I do this?
  15. How can I create a symbolic link?
  16. How can I capture the output of a script?
  17. I need to run a program as part of the installation of my application. Can I do this with VMware InstallBuilder?
  18. Can I group certain actions together?
  19. What is a rule list?
  20. Which logic operands do rule lists support?
  21. What are the components of a ruleList?
  22. How can I run a program only if certain conditions are met?
  23. How can I find out how much free disk space is available for my application?
  24. How can I backup a file or directory as part of my installation?
  25. Can I delete a file or directory as part of my application installation?
  26. How can I copy a file or directory as part of an installation?
  27. How can I configure the installer to inform the user but not to abort installation after an error is found running an action?
  28. How can I launch an application in the background from InstallBuilder?
  29. How can I rename a file or directory as a part of my installation?
  30. What is the difference between an action list and an actionGroup?
  31. How can I remove a Windows registry key that has subkeys inside?
  32. How can I restart the computer after installation has completed?
  33. How can I test if a certain TCP/IP port is already taken?

Action Lists

  1. How do I direct the installer to perform actions before installation starts?
  2. How do I direct the installer to perform actions after installation finishes?
  3. How do I direct the installer to perform actions before showing a page?
  4. How do I direct the installer to perform actions after showing a page?
  5. How can I allow the user to start my software from the final installation page?

Multiple Language Support

  1. How can I allow only a limited set of languages for installation?
  2. How can I customize the language used in custom installer pages?

Look and Feel

  1. How can I change the size of the installer screens?