Newbie

[CChong]

I am very new to this, but here's what i am trying to do. I want to build an installer package that installes a keyed version of an application. For example, I have Photoshop CS (8.0) I would like to build a package that installs a keyed version of the program on my machines. I already have the keyed version of the program so it may just be a matter of building an installer that will install photoshop, fill in all of the proper registration information and replace the photoshop.exe with the keyed version. Sounds simple enough, but I don't have a clue where to start. Please help. Thanks.

bk

[MHagen]

BK:

Thank you for your question regarding Repackager. I don't quite understand what you mean by a "keyed version" of PhotoShop. But perhaps a little information about Repackager will help you with this.

Repackager, via the Repackaging Wizard, basically compares your system before and after an installation, and creates packages based on the differences on the machine. It will see photoshop.exe (and all it's supporting files) being installed to the hard drive, and add those files to an MSI package. It will add registry info, shortcuts, etc. as the changes are made.

So, if a "keyed version" is installed to the hard drive, then the MSI package will contain the same file.

I guess the best thing I can recommend here is that you try it and see how it works. Start Repackager, then select Repackager Wizard from the Tools menu. Press Next from the opening dialog, then select "Installation Monitoring" from the next screen. The Wizard will then ask for the setup program and information which you want to go into the package. Press Next again, and give the location for the repackaged files to go, then press Start and then follow the setup program for PhotoShop. The rest should take care of itself.

I hope this helps to get you started. Thank you for your interest in AdminStudio, and please let us know if you have any questions.

[CChong]

When I say keyed software it just means that we use a keyserver to create a key for installed software on our machines. The installed programs will only run if the program can contact the keyserver and verify the programs key with the server. To do this we create a keyed copy of Adobe Photoshop CS, then we save that copy to a shared directory for later access. We then install Adobe Photoshop from the original CD on the computer. Once it's installed we replace the Photoshop.exe with the keyed Photoshop.exe we created earlier. Replicator seems to be what i need, but how would I change the .exe file? Would i just replace it or is there something in replicator itself that needs to be changed?