Creating Shortcuts in the Files and Folders Page

Advanced Installer supports three types of targets for its shortcuts: URLs, installed files and external files which are files already present on the target machine (this includes Uninstall shortcuts).

Creating a new shortcut using a wizard

Use the [ New Shortcut Wizard ] toolbar button, to quickly and easily create a new shortcut, following step-by-step directions.

Creating a shortcut to an installed file

Use the [ New Shortcut... ] toolbar button, or the "New Shortcut To > Installed File..." list context menu item. If a file is selected, it will become the new shortcut's target, otherwise you will be prompted to select a file to fulfill that role using the File Picker.

The new shortcut will be created by default in the "Application Shortcut Folder". You can change that by changing the "Directory" field of shortcut in the Shortcut Properties Dialog which will pop up.

Creating a shortcut to an external file

Use the "New Shortcut To > External File..." list context menu item. A special type of external file shortcuts (Uninstall Shortcuts) can be created from the same context sub menu as well.

Creating a shortcut to an URL

Use the "New Shortcut To > URL..." list context menu item. To change the shortcut properties use Internet Shortcut Properties Dialog.

Creating a shortcut to a folder

Use the [ New Shortcut... ] toolbar button, the "New Shortcut" list/tree context menu item. If a folder is selected in the tree , it will become the new shortcut's target, otherwise you will be prompted to select a folder to fulfill that role using the Folder Picker.

Setting shortcut properties

Use the [ Properties... ] toolbar button, the "Properties..." list context menu item, press the Enter key while the focus is on a shortcut in the "Files" panel or double click on a shortcut.

Shortcuts can be renamed, moved or removed just like regular Files.

Duplicating shortcuts

Drag and drop the shortcuts to the desired location, while the Shift key is pressed.

Condition the installation of the shortcut

The installation of a shortcut cannot be conditioned directly because it is linked to its target. Therefore a shortcut to a file must be in the same component as the file. This is why in order to condition the installation of a shortcut it must point to an external file (a file installed by your package).

The target of an external shortcut is not in the installation package, therefore you can move it to any component you want. You can add the shortcut to an existing component or create a new one by using a dummy registry entry and condition it by using the Organization page.

Another way to condition the installation of a shortcut is to use the "ShortcutsDlg" dialog in the Dialogs page. This dialog will allow the user to condition the installation of the shortcuts on the Desktop, in the "Start" -> "Programs" menu, in the Quick Launch toolbar or in the "Startup" folder.

In order to condition the installation of these shortcuts, they must be created in the appropriate folders (on the Desktop, in the "Startup" folder etc.)

In case of Merge Module projects the following attributes can be made configurable at merge time:

• Name
• Description
• ShowCmd
• WkDir
• Icon_
• IconIndex