The Letterville BullBoard: OT - writing an autorun file

This is topic OT - writing an autorun file - could use some ideas/help in forum Old Archives at The Letterville BullBoard.

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Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :

Heres one for the tech-heads.
I have a powerpoint presentation I want to distribute on CD.
I've tried writing an autorun.inf file but it doesnt seem to want to work, the syntax is as follows:

[autorun]
OPEN="start ppview97.exe"

In reality I'd like it to open the viewer installation package AND a readme.txt file with the txt file open on top.
I am test burning it on a CDRW and cant get it to even open the ppview.exe
Is this because its a CDRW or have I got the syntax wrong somewhere? (I've had some CDRW quirks in the past)
Are there better file types to use instead of txt as a list of instructions? (This will be viewed/followed by people only marginally computer literate)
Any and all suggestions appreciated
Thanks,
David

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D.A. & P.M. Fisher Signwriting
Brisbane Australia
da_pmf@yahoo.com

Posted by Mark Smith (Member # 298) on :

Aha! Auto-Run! The genie in the bottle etc.

Your syntax is off, at least as far as I can see. It should be:

[autorun]
open=ppview97.exe
icon=ppview97.exe (or any other file, even a file with an .ico extension)

The icon line is optional, but is a nice touch because it will give your CD the icon from the file specifed after the =.

To open both files, I would try:
open="ppview97.exe" "notepad.exe readme.txt"

(it would seem that loading readme.txt second would place it on top, but if the autorun shell doesn't wait for ppview97.exe to finish then that may open on top because it takes longer).

That should solve it for you!

------------------
Mark Smith
Ampersand Signs & Design
EstiMate Sign Estimating Software
www.ampweb.com/estimate
1-888-304-3300
Hailing from beautiful Asheville, N.C.

[This message has been edited by Mark Smith (edited February 22, 2001).]

Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :

Dave..I know nothing about autorun scripting but I wish that would be outlawed. First thing I do with a new computer or a fresh re-format is turn OFF the autorun feature!!!!! I HATE it.

It is annoying as heck to put in a CD and have it try to re-install a progroam that is already installed!!

Maybe that isn't what yer talkin about though?

------------------
Dave Grundy
AKA "applicator" on mIRC
"stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!"
in Granton, Ontario, Canada
1-519-225-2634
dave.grundy@quadro.net
www.quadro.net/~shirley

Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :

Gday Dave,
Yep, I hate that too, but I am working on the assumption that if the person knows their way around windows/computers they will most likely have disabled the autorun and will be able to view the presentation without assistance.
As I said, the majority of the people viewing this presentation will be pretty well illiterate as far as computers go so I want to make it as easy as possible for them to run this thing and this is the way to do it.
Also the likelyhood of them already having the program installed is minimal and I have included an uninstall step by step in the readme file so they can offload it when they are finished.
David

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D.A. & P.M. Fisher Signwriting
Brisbane Australia
da_pmf@yahoo.com

Posted by Gail & Dave Beattie (Member # 572) on :

easy answer....
make it in corel presentation!
hehehe

now u had to know i would say that didnt u?

u can choose to have a 'self-running' show or 'user' show
i did this recently and e-mailed it to the appropriate ppl, works like a dream

regards
gail

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on chat T2

Gail & Dave
NSW Australia

taurus_signs@one.net.au

sumtimes ya just gota

Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :

If I'd known Corel had a presentation package I woulda given it a go!
How big was the finished file Gail? This on e stands and around 67 meg and has shown signs of coming unglued if I try and add anything else to it.
If the Corel one is more betterer I'll try converting it to Corel.
Which Suite does the Corel presentation proggy come from?
Hoo Ro,
David

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D.A. & P.M. Fisher Signwriting
Brisbane Australia
da_pmf@yahoo.com

Posted by Gail & Dave Beattie (Member # 572) on :

tis corel wordperfect8 suite that im using
came as a freebie on the motherboard setup cd
id never looked at stuff like that before but man it really came in handy when i need it
my presentation was only a doz pages or so... but lots of bells n whistles and like i said i e-mailed the thing it was that small
dont know ifn that helps... i have no great experiance with any of this officie sort of stuff but do like my corel!

regards
gail

------------------
on chat T2

Gail & Dave
NSW Australia

taurus_signs@one.net.au

sumtimes ya just gota

Posted by Bruce Jackson (Member # 45) on :

David, I collect bits of tech info and archive them on my computer. Here is the contents of my file on autorun.
It may seem a bit jumbled, that's because I add stuff when I find something new. I haven't edited it down. Note web addresses at bottom.

[autorun] Open=CmdLine
Icon=IconPathName, IconIndex

Shell\Option1=MenuOptionString1 Shell\Option1\Command=CmdLineOption1

Shell\Option2=MenuOptionString2 Shell\Option2\Command=CmdLineOption2

Shell=OptionDefault

example.....

[autorun]
Open=MyApp.exe
Icon=MyApp.exe, 0

Shell\ReadMe=Read &Me First
Shell\ReadMe\Command=Notepad.exe Readme.Txt

...........

The open command will only open the file. What you need to do is use the start command.

[autorun]
open=start start.html
Either that or use the open=whatever.bat then in the whatever.bat have it do the start command.
.......................
This example from a magazine CD. The autorun.inf file is:

[autorun]
open=go.bat
icon=ia.ico

The go.bat file had one line:

start menu\index.htm

This started the browser at the index file (in menu folder)

.....short example

[autorun]
open=filename.exe
icon=someicon.ico

...........long example

[autorun]
open = setup.exe /i
icon = setup.exe, 1
shell\configure = &Configure...
shell\configure\command = setup.exe /c
shell\install = &Install...
shell\install\command = setup.exe /i
shell\readme = &Read Me
shell\readme\command = notepad help\readme.txt
shell\help = &Help
shell\help\command = winhlp32 help\helpfile.hlp

Taking it line by line, this says:
The default AutoPlay command will be "setup /i"
The icon for the CD will be icon #1 in setup.exe

Four commands will be added to the right-click pop-up menu:
'Configure...',
which will run "setup /c"
'Install...',
which will run "setup /i" (same as auto-run in this case)
'Read Me',
which launches notepad.exe to display "readme.txt"
'Help',
which displays a helpfile with the Win95 help facility
For more information:
http://www.microsoft.com/win32dev/uiguide/uigui276.htm http://www.gui.com.au/avdf/oct95/samp_autoplay.html

------------------
Bruce Jackson
Melbourne, Australia
www.goldreverre.com

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