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Start Menu Shortcut Example

Using a component script to add an entry to the Windows Start menu.

Start Menu illustrates how to use the Component function to add an entry for opening a README file to the Windows Start menu.

Configuring the Example Installer

The installer configuration file, config.xml, in the config directory specifies the text and default values used in the installer:

  • The <Name> element sets the application name and adds it to the page name and introduction text.
  • The <Version> element sets the application version number.
  • The <Title> element sets the installer name and displays it on the title bar.
  • The <Publisher> element sets the publisher of the software (as shown in the Windows Control Panel, for example).
  • The <StartMenuDir> element sets the name of the default program group for the product in the Windows Start menu.
  • The <TargetDir> element sets the default target directory location to be within the IfwExamples directory in the home directory of the current user (because it uses the pre-existing variable , @HomeDir@, as part of the value). For more information, see Predefined Variables.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Installer>
    <Name>Start Menu Shortcut Example</Name>
    <Version>1.0.0</Version>
    <Title>Start Menu Shortcut Example</Title>
    <Publisher>Qt-Project</Publisher>
    <StartMenuDir>Qt Installer Framework Examples</StartMenuDir>
    <TargetDir>@HomeDir@/IfwExamples/startmenu</TargetDir>
</Installer>

Creating the Example Package Information File

The installer package information file, package.xml, in the meta directory specifies the components that are available for installation:

  • The <DisplayName> element sets the human-readable name of the component.
  • The <Description> element sets the human-readable description of the component.
  • The <Version> element sets the version number of the component.
  • The <ReleaseDate> element sets the date of release for this component version.
  • The <Default> element is set to true to preselect the component in the installer.
  • The <Script> element specifies the file name of the JavaScript file that is loaded to perform operations.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package>
    <DisplayName>README.txt</DisplayName>
    <Description>A README.txt, accessible through a start menu entry.</Description>
    <Version>1.0.0-1</Version>
    <ReleaseDate>2013-01-01</ReleaseDate>
    <Default>true</Default>
    <Script>installscript.qs</Script>
</Package>

Adding Entries to Start Menu

In installscript.qs, we use the createOperations() function to call the component::createOperations() function, which creates the Extract operation by default:

Component.prototype.createOperations = function()
{
    component.createOperations();

On Windows, we use the component::addOperation function to add a shortcut to the Start menu for opening the readme file:

    if (systemInfo.productType === "windows") {
        component.addOperation("CreateShortcut", "@TargetDir@/README.txt", "@StartMenuDir@/README.lnk",
            "workingDirectory=@TargetDir@", "iconPath=%SystemRoot%/system32/SHELL32.dll",
            "iconId=2", "description=Open README file");
    }
}

Generating the Example Installer

To create the example installer, switch to the example source directory on the command line and enter the following command:

  • On Windows:
    ..\..\bin\binarycreator.exe -c config\config.xml -p packages installer.exe
  • On Linux or macOS:
    ../../bin/binarycreator -c config/config.xml -p packages installer

This creates the installer to the current directory.

Files:

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