The CD/DVD Autorun Page

This page allows you to configure CD/DVD autorun commands.

Microsoft Windows has a facility that can AutoPlay CD/DVDs; that is, it can run a program as soon as the CD/DVD is inserted and read - without requiring any user intervention. Also, an icon can be specified which will display instead of the CD/DVD drive icon in Windows Explorer when the CD/DVD is mounted, as well as a drive label.

Autorun.inf is the primary instruction file associated with the Autorun function. Autorun.inf itself is a simple text-based configuration file that tells the operating system which files to start, which icon and drive label to use, and which additional menu commands to make available. In other words, autorun.inf tells Windows how to deal with disk change notification and treat the contents of the CD/DVD.

Use Autorun Launcher

Enable or disable the autorun feature. When you enable the autorun functionality at project build an autorun.inf file with your configured settings will be generated in the project output folder. Also, an autorun launcher file will be generated for executing your commands. If you use Digital Signature functionality to sign your package, the autorun launcher will also be signed. The Autorun Launcher will also have the appropriate UAC requested execution level information set to "As Invoker" for proper behavior under Windows Vista.

General

Launcher Name

Specify a name for the autorun launcher file. If you leave this field blank the default name autorun.exe will be used.

CD/DVD Label

Specify the disk label. This field can be edited using the Smart Edit Control. If you don't specify a disk label the one used when burning the disk will appear in Windows Explorer.

Icon File

Select the icon that will be used as the CD/DVD drive icon when the disk is mounted, as well as the autorun launcher icon. The icon can be extracted from an icon file, an executable or a DLL file.

Autorun Commands

In this section you can configure autorun commands that will be executed when a disk is mounted or double-clicked in Windows Explorer. You can also configure commands that will appear and execute in the CD/DVD drive's context menu.

Adding an autorun command

Use the [ Add... ] button, the "Add..." context menu item or press the Insert key while the focus is in the list

The following autorun commands are available:

• Package Autorun
• Install the package - When this command is executed the project MSI installer will be launched (if the product is not already installed). This autorun command also works when using a bootstrapper for your package.
• Launch installed file or Install the package - When this command is executed, if the product is installed a specified installation file will be launched, otherwise the package will be installed (this option is suitable especially for game developers).
• File Autorun
• Open file from CD/DVD - When this command is executed a file located on the CD/DVD can be opened. In case of an executable file you can also specify command line parameters (this suitable for "folder based" installation configurations).
• Open installed file - When this command is executed an installed file can be launched. In case of an executable file you can also specify command line parameters. If the product is not installed, the command will not execute.
• Folder Autorun
• Browse CD/DVD - When this command is executed an Explorer window will open the mounted disk for browsing starting in the drive's root.
• Open a folder from CD/DVD - When this command is executed an Explorer window will open the mounted disk for browsing starting in a specified folder.
• URL Autorun - When this command is executed a specified URL will be opened in the default browser.
• Custom Autorun - When this command is executed a custom user command can be executed (this is useful when opening a file not included in the installation package, but located on the CD/DVD or the target machine).

Edit an autorun command

Use the [ Edit... ] button, the "Edit..." context menu item or press the Space key while an item from the list is selected.

Removing an autorun command

Use the [ Remove ] button, the "Remove" context menu item or press the Delete key while an item from the list is selected.

Specifying the autorun commands order

Use the [ Up ] / [ Down ] buttons, the "Up" / "Down" context menu items or press the Page Up / Page Down. The order of the commands is the list is the order in which they will be presented in the CD/DVD drive context menu.

When creating or editing an autorun command, the Edit Autorun Command Dialog will be used.

AutoPlay command

Any of the specified autorun commands can be set as the "AutoPlay command". This means that the respective command will be executed when the CD/DVD is mounted or double-clicked (this command will not be visible in the drive's context menu).

Default Command

This command is similar to the AutoPlay command with the following difference: the default command appears bolded in the drive's context menu.

When you configure both an AutoPlay command and a Default Command, the Default Command has higher execution priority.