Installer Panel Additions
InstallAnywhere allows you to modify the appearance of the installer panels to convey information to your user or to present a branded image for your product (or both, should you so desire).
We've already discussed customizing the background and splash screen images for an installer. You can also customize the appearance of the area on the left-hand side of an installer panel. This area can contain a consistent image, an image that differs for each panel, a list of installer steps that serves as a progress indicator, or a combination of images and labels.
Panel Images
In Project | Look and Feel | Installer Panel Additions, you can customize the appearance of the left-side panel. You can choose whether the addition will include images or a list of installer steps. You can also opt to include borders and background images.
Panel Labels
This task also allows you to specify the order in which labels will appear and the icon image (such as an arrow) that will appear beside them. These labels are highlighted and marked as the installation progresses. You can allow the installer build process to autopopulate the list based on the panel titles you've entered, or you can manually assign panels to a label in the settings found in each panel's customizer. To control label order or to edit the content of a label, use the arrows and other control buttons found to the left of the list of panels.
NOTE
Using the Project | Look and Feel | Installer Panel Additions tab and the Label Settings tab found on each individual panel's customizer, you can assign multiple panels to the same label. Thus, if you have numerous steps or if your installer may have several panels for the same step, you can tweak the interface to meet your needs.
Advanced Installer Interface Actions
In previous segments we covered the use and implementations of the Get User Input panel and mentioned the Advanced Get User Input panel. Here, we'll discuss the features of the Advanced Get User Input panel in more depth.
The Get User Input—Advanced panel, unlike its little brother, Get User Input—Simple, allows you to create panels that include more than one type of data and store that information in more than one variable.
This allows you, for example, to create a panel that collects registration information using the following:
Text fields for first name, last name, company, street, address, and Zip/postal code
Pop-up menu for state/province and country
Check boxes for preferred contact method
The Advanced Get User Input panel interface is complex. Each element is added based on type, then configured individually. If the elements added require more space than the graphic panel allows, the panel will add a scrollbar. You can use the Preview button to see the layout of your fields.
Using Jump Actions and Logic
Within a specific task, InstallAnywhere allows you to jump back and forth based on a combination of jump actions, jump labels, and InstallAnywhere rules.
You can create conditions where end-users must repeat a task or meet certain criteria before they can progress with the installation. You can also allow end-users to skip over a large portion of the configuration options if they merely want to accept all of your defaults.
Jump actions are created by inserting jump labels at places in the install that you want to be able to jump to. These labels function much like HTML target or anchors. In the location where you would like the jump to occur, place a jump action. This action (you'll need to add conditional rules to it or your end-user will constantly be jumping) allows you to jump to the target specified.