Results Variables for Get User Input Panels and Consoles

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Summary

Information on how user input is recorded for the different Get User Input panels and consoles

Synopsis

Results Variables store the results of the end-user?s input during a Get User Input panel or console. The default value for the Results Variable name is $USER_INPUT_RESULTS$ for panels and $USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS$ for consoles. The value that gets stored in the Results Variables will depend on the type of Get User Input panel or console that is used, as well as the Input Method/Component Type.

Discussion

Get User Input Panel - Simple
For all Input Methods (Textfields, Checkboxes, Radio Buttons, Popup Menu, List), the Results Variable will contain a comma-separated list with each input item surrounded by quotes. For example, if the Results Variable is $USER_INPUT_RESULTS$, and there are three input items with the labels Option A, Option B, and Option C, and only Option A and Option C are selected when the end-user clicks Next during the install, $USER_INPUT_RESULTS$ will equal:

?"Option A","","Option C"

The variable name of the Results Variable also forms the base name of additional InstallAnywhere variables that will be used to store individual end-user input choices from the Get User Input panel. The convention for the naming of the additional variables is to append an underscore and an integer number to the end of the base name. The number, starting at one (1), increases by one (1) for each additional variable that is needed to store data. In the example above, the following InstallAnywhere variables and values would exist:

$USER_INPUT_RESULTS_1$=Option A
$USER_INPUT_RESULTS_2$=
$USER_INPUT_RESULTS_3$=Option C

There is also a variable to correspond with the USER_INPUT_RESULTS_1, USER_INPUT_RESULTS_2, and USER_INPUT_RESULTS_3. If your installer requires localization, the values and characters that correspond with this user input panel may vary from language to language. The VAR_BOOLEAN variable deals with this by providing a true (1) or false (0) value if choices are selected. To use the example above:

$USER_INPUT_RESULTS_BOOLEAN_1$=1
$USER_INPUT_RESULTS_BOOLEAN_2$=0
$USER_INPUT_RESULTS_BOOLEAN_3$=1

Get User Input Panel - Advanced
For "Textfield" Component Types, the Result Variable will contain the value the end-user input into the textfield without any quotes. For example, if the Result Variable is $USER_INPUT_RESULT$, and "Flexera Software" (without quotes) was entered into the textfield when the end-user clicks Next during the install, $USER_INPUT_RESULT$ will equal:

Flexera Software

For any "Choice Group" Component Types, each component will be designated their own Result Variable. Each Result Variable will contain either "0" or "1" (without quotes) depending on whether or not the component was selected. For example, if the Result Variable for the first component is $USER_INPUT_RESULT$, and the Result Variable for the second component is $USER_INPUT_RESULT2$, and only the first component was selected when the end-user clicks Next during the install, the Result Variables will equal:

$USER_INPUT_RESULT$=1
$USER_INPUT_RESULT2$=0

For "File Chooser" Component Types, the Result Variable will contain the path value the end-user chooses with the Directory Chooser or the value manually entered into the textfield. For example, if the Result Variable is $USER_INPUT_RESULT$, and "C:\Program Files" (without quotes) was chosen with the Directory Chooser, when the end-user clicks Next during the install, $USER_INPUT_RESULT$ will equal:

C:\Program Files

Get User Input Console
For all Input Methods (Question, Multiple Choice, Single Choice), the Results Variable will contain a comma-separated list with each input item surrounded by quotes. For example, if the Results Variable is $USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS$, and there are three input items with the labels Option A, Option B, and Option C, and only Option B is selected when the end-user clicks Next during the install, $USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS$ will equal:

?"","Option B",""

The variable name of the Results Variable also forms the base name of additional InstallAnywhere variables that will be used to store individual end-user input choices from the Get User Input console. The convention for the naming of the additional variables is to append an underscore and an integer number to the end of the base name. The number, starting at one (1), increases by one (1) for each additional variable that is needed to store data. In the example above, the following InstallAnywhere variables and values would exist:

$USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_1$=
$USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_2$=Option B
$USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_3$=

There is also a variable to correspond with the USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_1, USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_2, and USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_3. If your installer requires localization, the values and characters that correspond with this user input panel may vary from language to language. The VAR_BOOLEAN variable deals with this by providing a true (1) or false (0) value if choices are selected. To use the example above:

$USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_BOOLEAN_1$=0
$USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_BOOLEAN_2$=1
$USER_INPUT_CONSOLE_RESULTS_BOOLEAN_3$=0

Additional Information

Results Variable HelpNet Article
Getting User Input at Run Time HelpNet Article
Get User Input Panel - Simple help
How Do I Suppress Quotation Marks?

[buzz3791]

@tphamda Clicking the Additional Information link "How Do I Suppress Quotation Marks?" results in the error "The page you are trying to access was not found. Please check your URL for typos and try again."

Is there an updated link to this Additional Information?