Extensions

Using XRays
Included XRays
Writing XRays

This section discusses DragInstall Extensions. DragInstall Extensions are external code resources which can be used to further customize an installer application. DragInstall supports two kinds of extensions: XRays, which are called during an installation and Hooks which are called when an installer application launches and quits. Only XRays are covered in this guide. Hooks are documented in the DragInstall XDK.

Using XRays

XRays can be used within a script in three ways:

Before XRay: Before XRays are called before an item is installed. Before XRays can be used to detect some condition on the user's machine and stop installation of the item based on that condition. Before XRays can also be used to take some action before an item is installed. To attach a Before XRay to a script item, click the Before tab in the item's Info window. This will display the list of Before XRays for the item. You can then use the New, Edit and Delete buttons to set the Before XRays for the item.
After XRay: After XRays are called after an item is installed. After XRays can be used to modify the item just installed. After XRays can also be used to take some other action after the item is installed. To attach an After XRay to a script item, click the After tab in the item's Info window. This will display the list of After XRays for the item. You can then use the New, Edit and Delete buttons to set the After XRays for the item.
Standalone XRay: Standalone XRays are not attached to any script item. In fact, a standalone XRay is really its own type of script item. To add a standalone XRay to your script, choose Script:New Item:XRay. This will open the XRay Editor window where you can set the XRay and its parameters.

Included XRays

The DragInstall package includes a number of XRays which extend the product's functionality. Other XRays are available for downloading from the DragInstall web area at

http://www.sauers.com/draginstall

The following XRays are included in the current release of DragInstall:

Writing XRays

XRays can be written using any development environment and language that can generate code resources. This includes C, Pascal, and assembler. XRays can be written as 68K or native PPC code resources.

To develop XRays for DragInstall, you need the DragInstall XDK (Extension Development Kit). This XDK contains technical documentation on writing DragInstall XRays and Hooks along with sample XRays and shell XRay projects for the Symantec, Metrowerks, and MPW development environments.

The DragInstall XDK is available at no charge. To receive this XDK, you can contact Ray Sauers Associates directly or download it from the DragInstall web site at

http://www.sauers.com/draginstall/XDK

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