rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 Filename.inf in Visual Studio .NET

Creating ECC200 in Visual Studio .NET rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 Filename.inf

Listing 9 1 shows a simple INF file. The first section, [Version], is required. The name of the second section is arbitrary but usually [DefaultInstall] so that users can right click the file to install it. The linkage to this section is through the command line you saw just before this paragraph. The command is rundll32.exe, which executes the API in Setupapi.dll called InstallHinfSection. The next item on the command line, DefaultInstall, is the name of the section to install. The 132 you see before the file name tells the setup API to prompt the user before rebooting the computer, if necessary. The last item on the command line is the name of the INF file to install. Like I mentioned, because this is the command that Windows XP associates with the .inf file extension, you should usually name this section [DefaultInstall]. Within this section you see two directives, AddReg and DelReg. The directive AddReg=Add.Settings adds the settings contained in the section [Add.Settings]. Listing 9 1: Example.inf

[Version] Signature=$CHICAGO$ [DefaultInstall] AddReg=Add.Settings DelReg=Del.Settings [Add.Settings] HKCR,regfile\shell,,0,"edit" [Del.Settings] HKCU,Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Regedit

The directive DelReg=Del.Settings deletes the settings listed in the section [Del.Settings]. The names of these sections are arbitrary; you should adopt names that make sense to you and stick with them so you don't confuse yourself down the road. Now you've had my two dollar tour of an INF file. The sections that follow describe how to write the different parts of an INF file. I'm focusing on using INF files to edit the registry, but you can do much more with them. The ultimate resource for writing INF files is http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en us/install/hh/install/inf format_7soi.asp on Microsoft's Web site. This is the INF File Sections and Directives section of the Windows Driver Development Kit (DDK). Don't let the fact that this information is in the DDK scare you; it's really straightforward and useful for much more than installing device drivers.

I never start INF files from scratch. I can't be bothered to remember the format of the sections and directives, so I use a template. I'm lazy enough (or efficient enough) that I add the template you see in Listing 9 2 to the Templates folder in my user profile so that I can right click in a folder, and then click New, Setup Information File. The easiest way is to first create the file Setup Information File.inf with the contents of Listing 9 2. Then use Tweak UI, which you learn about in 5, "Mapping Tweak UI," to add the template. It's a real timesaver. Listing 9 2: Setup Information File.inf

[DefaultInstall] BitReg=Bits.Set AddReg=Reg.Settings AddReg=Reg.Uninstall CopyFiles=Inf.Copy [DefaultUninstall] BitReg=Bits.Clear DelReg=Reg.Settings DelReg=Reg.Uninstall DelFiles=Inf.Copy [Reg.Settings] ; ROOT,SUBKEY[,NAME[,FLAG[,DATA]]] ; ; FLAG: ; ; 0x00000 REG_SZ ; 0x00001 REG_BINARY ; 0x10000 REG_MULTI_SZ ; 0x20000 REG_EXPAND_SZ ; 0x10001 REG_DWORD ; 0x20001 REG_NONE [Bits.Set] ; ROOT,SUBKEY,NAME,FLAG,MASK,BYTE ; ; FLAG: ; ; 0x00000 Clear bits in mask ; 0x00001 Set bits in mask [Bits.Clear] ; ROOT,SUBKEY,NAME,FLAG,MASK,BYTE ; ; FLAG: ; ; 0x00000 Clear bits in mask ; 0x00001 Set bits in mask [Reg.Uninstall] HKCU,Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\%NAME% HKCU,Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\%NAME%,DisplayName\ ,,"%NAME%" HKCU,Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\%NAME%,UninstallString\ ,,"Rundll32.exe setupapi.dll,InstallHinfSection DefaultUninstall 132"\ " %53%\Application Data\Custom\FILENAME" ; ROOT: ; ; HKCU ; HKLM [Inf.Copy] FILENAME [DestinationDirs] Inf.Copy=53,Application Data\Custom

; DIRID: ; ; 10 %SystemRoot% ; 11 %SystemRoot%\System32 ; 17 %SystemRoot%\Inf ; 53 %UserProfile% ; 54 %SystemDrive% ; 1 Absolute path [SourceDisksNames] 55=%DISKNAME% [SourceDisksFiles] FILENAME=55 [Strings] NAME = "Jerry's NAME" DISKNAME = "Setup Files"

The reason this template makes creating INF files so easy is because I've added comments to it. Comments begin with the semicolon (;) and add descriptive information to the file. In this case, for each section, I described the format of the different directives. In the [Reg.Settings] section, for example, you see the syntax for adding values to the registry. In the [Bits.Set] section, you see the format for setting individual bits in a number. I often write INF files that users can uninstall using Add Or Remove Programs; the template in Listing 9 2 shows you how to do that. If you don't want users to uninstall the file and its settings, remove the [DefaultUninstall], [Reg.Uninstall], [Inf.Copy],[DestinationDirs], [SourceDisksNames], and [SourceDisksFiles] sections and any linkages to those sections. In this template, all capitalized words are placeholders that I replace when I create an INF file. For example, I replace FILENAME with the INF file's actual name. The first two lines in Listing 9 2 are the only ones required. The [Version] section and the Signature property identify the file as a valid INF file. You must include these two lines at the top of all your INF files. Incidentally, Chicago was Microsoft's code name for Microsoft Windows 95, and so version=$CHICAGO$ identifies the file as a Windows 95 INF file. These days, $CHICAGO$ indicates an INF file that's compatible with all versions of Windows. Use $Windows 95$ if you want to indicate that your INF file is compatible with 16 bit versions of Windows only. Use $Windows NT$ to indicate that your INF file is compatible with 32 bit versions of Windows only. Generally, I leave Signature set to $CHICAGO$.