Installers

Lindon

Do you guys really bother using serials as copy protection? This isn’t effective at all as far as I know or is it?

We've had this conversation both here and in other forums so many times I lost count. The real-world answer to this is "Yes, it is effective..."

EVERYONE on the planet has an opinion about copy-protection and how its a waste of time - note thats OPINION, when you ask them about their experience its zero - they are not a developer and have never released a product.
We should be very wary of these opinion givers, it's a classic case of logic defeating experience, so if you are basing your view on logic in this instance not experience then you are wrong (in my experience). Here's why:

if you have no copy protection the script-kiddies will upload your product to a warez site in the first 2 weeks - killing your initial(major) sales - with no perceived consequence to them
.
If you do have (even the simplest easily breakable) copy-protection this wont happen - and it will take a serious cracker several months to get to you(if they even bother) - ensuring your sales in those months stay strong.

@clumsybear - I'm not saying you are one of these opinion givers by the way...just suggesting you be careful being influenced by them.

d.healey

@Lindon I assume that a serial key in this instance acts as a watermark since there is nothing to prevent someone uploading the plugin along with their serial key?

Christoph Hart

I assume that a serial key in this instance acts as a watermark since there is nothing to prevent someone uploading the plugin along with their serial key?

Yup, same with the "Simple copy protection system done right" approach I posted a few months back.

Unless you're willing to hunt down people all across the world and go through a tedious lawsuit where you would have to really prove that it was this individual that was breaking your license agreement (good luck with that one), the only thing something like this does is to keep the "moderately criminal" user from uploading the product along with his serial.

I would say the minimum level of copy protection (and what we are using for our products) needs to limit the amount of systems that can load the software with a given serial number by identifier the machine ID and registering it to a serial with a arbitrary number of registration slots (eg. 5). From then on cracking your software requires the skill to reverse-engineer a binary and remove the safe checks, and normally once you get the attention of people with that skill set you're either super unlucky or have made enough money that you can dry your tears with dollar bills.

d.healey

@Christoph-Hart said in Installers:

I would say the minimum level of copy protection (and what we are using for our products) needs to limit the amount of systems that can load the software with a given serial number by identifier the machine ID and registering it to a serial with a arbitrary number of registration slots (eg. 5).

Would that require some kind of "call home" to a server?

Christoph Hart

Yes once for the plugin-activation (or you can use a tedious offline authorisation procedure which involves shuffling around XML files across different computers if you're paranoid about letting internet on your music computer).

After the registration it won't call home (this would be really awful if you can't use the plugin without internet access).

Lindon

@d-healey correct - thats all it is...

d.healey

I have the ultimate copy restriction solution, GNU GPL ;) notice how no-one has "pirated" HISE. :p

Lindon

@d-healey said in Installers:

I have the ultimate copy restriction solution, GNU GPL ;) notice how no-one has "pirated" HISE. :p

-- how would you know?

d.healey

@Lindon Well you're allowed to copy and redistribute it so there is no copyright infringement (aka piracy). If someone took the HISE source code and used it in a proprietary app without permission that would be copyright infringement but would it be piracy?

Christoph Hart

Actually I found a installer of HISE 1.5.0 on some warez site a few months back :)

EDIT: Found it: https://www.wattpad.com/755629828-complete-new-hart-instruments-sampler-engine-hise

Disclaimer: if you click on it you'll be downloading a spurious .dmg which most likely will contain some nasty malware.

d.healey

@Christoph-Hart Yeah but they're allowed to modify it and redistribute, even if the modification includes adding malware :P

Christoph Hart

But since they are not publishing the source code of the malware, it's a clear case of copy right infringement. GNU Lawyer team, please take over...

d.healey

@Christoph-Hart Oh good point, but they only have to provide the source on request, have you requested it? lol that would be funny.

arminh

I need help with my installer.

I made feature list where we can select components to install but in next pages order is reversed.

Check list looks like

32 Plugin
64 Plugin
Samples

and if I select everything to install next pages are in this order

Samples
64 Plugin
32 Plugin

How can I keep the original order?

Here's my code

[Setup]
#define AppName "My Plugin"
#define DevDir "Developer"
AppName={#AppName}
AppPublisher={#DevDir}
AppVersion=1.0.0
AppId={{C60E272E-F521C-491F-97A0-D61644CAACE3}

DefaultDirName={pf}\{#DevDir}\{#AppName}
DefaultGroupName={#AppName}
Compression=lzma2
SolidCompression=yes
OutputDir=.\installerbuild
ArchitecturesInstallIn64BitMode=x64
OutputBaseFilename={#AppName} Installer 1.0.1
;LicenseFile=".\installerAssets\EULA.txt"
PrivilegesRequired=admin
;WizardSmallImageFile=".\installerAssets\Logo55x58.bmp"
;WizardImageFile=".\installerAssets\Logo164x314.bmp"
DisableWelcomePage=no
DisableDirPage=yes
SetupLogging=yes
ChangesAssociations=no

[Types]
Name: "full"; Description: "Full installation"
Name: "custom"; Description: "Custom installation"; Flags: iscustom

[Dirs]
Name: "{app}\"; Permissions: users-modify powerusers-modify admins-modify system-modify

[Components]
Name: "vst2_32"; Description: "{#AppName} 32-bit VSTi Plugin"; Types: full custom;
Name: "vst2_64"; Description: "{#AppName} 64-bit VSTi Plugin"; Types: full custom; Check: Is64BitInstallMode; 
Name: "samples"; Description: "{#AppName} Sample Set"; Types: full custom;

[Files]
; VST
Source: "Binaries\Compiled\VST\{#AppName} x86.txt"; DestDir: "{code:Get32Dir|0}\{#DevDir}"; Flags: ignoreversion; Components: vst2_32; Check: 
Source: "Binaries\Compiled\VST\{#AppName} x64.txt"; DestDir: "{code:Get64Dir|0}\{#DevDir}"; Flags: ignoreversion; Components: vst2_64; Check: Is64BitInstallMode

; SAMPLE FILE
Source: "{#AppName}_1_0_0_Samples.hr1"; DestDir: "{code:GetSamplesDir|0}"; Flags: ignoreversion; Components: samples;


 [Icons]
Name: "{group}\Uninstall {#AppName}"; Filename: "{app}\unins000.exe"    

[Code]
var 
    vst2_32: TInputDirWizardPage;function SkipEvent64 (Sender: TWizardPage): Boolean;
begin
    Result := not IsComponentSelected('vst2_64');
end;

var 
    vst2_64: TInputDirWizardPage;function SkipEvent32 (Sender: TWizardPage): Boolean;
begin
    Result := not IsComponentSelected('vst2_32');
end; 

var 
    samples: TInputDirWizardPage;function SkipEventSamples (Sender: TWizardPage): Boolean;
begin
    Result := not IsComponentSelected('samples');
end; 

function Get32Dir(Param: String): String;
begin
  Result := vst2_32.Values[StrToInt(Param)];
end;

function Get64Dir(Param: String): String;
begin
  Result := vst2_64.Values[StrToInt(Param)];
end;

function GetSamplesDir(Param: String): String;
begin
  Result := samples.Values[StrToInt(Param)];
end;

procedure InitializeWizard;
begin
    vst2_32 := CreateInputDirPage(wpSelectComponents, 'Select a location', 
    'Where should the plug-in be installed?', 'Choose the place where you will install {#AppName} 32-bit. Its best to choose the folder where your other plugins are located. Click next to continue', False, 'vst2_32');
    vst2_32.Add('Choose a place for {#AppName} 32-bit');
    vst2_32.Values[0] := GetPreviousData('Directory1', ExpandConstant('{pf}\Steinberg\VSTPlugins\{#DevDir}\{#AppName} 32-bit'));
    vst2_32.OnShouldSkipPage := @SkipEvent32;

    vst2_64 := CreateInputDirPage(wpSelectComponents, 'Select a location', 
    'Where should the plug-in be installed?', 'Choose the place where you will install {#AppName} 64-bit. Its best to choose the folder where your other plugins are located. Click next to continue', False, 'vst2_64');
    vst2_64.Add('Choose a place for {#AppName} 64-bit');
    vst2_64.Values[0] := GetPreviousData('Directory2', ExpandConstant('{pf}\Steinberg\VSTPlugins\{#DevDir}\{#AppName} 64-bit'));
    vst2_64.OnShouldSkipPage := @SkipEvent64;

    samples := CreateInputDirPage(wpSelectComponents, 'Select a location', 
    'Where should the samples be installed?', 'Choose the place where you will install {#AppName} samples. Click next to continue', False, 'samples');
    samples.Add('Choose a place for {#AppName} Samples');
    samples.Values[0] := GetPreviousData('Directory3', ExpandConstant('{sd}\{#AppName} Samples'));
    samples.OnShouldSkipPage := @SkipEventSamples;
end;

procedure RegisterPreviousData(PreviousDataKey: Integer);
begin
  SetPreviousData(PreviousDataKey, 'Directory1', vst2_32.Values[0]);
  SetPreviousData(PreviousDataKey, 'Directory2', vst2_64.Values[0]);
  SetPreviousData(PreviousDataKey, 'Directory3', samples.Values[0]);
end;

d.healey

Samples won't be part of your installer unless your instrument is tiny.

Dan Korneff

@orange said in Installers:

By the way if anyone know how to add aax icons to the installation files or how to create folders with aax icons, it would be good to share from here.

Circling back to this one. To get the AAX icon to appear on your plugin in Windows you have to run the following command:

attrib +s "MyPluginName.aaxplugin"

@Christoph-Hart is it possible to have the Export function automatically set this file attribute?

d.healey

@dustbro said in Installers:

To get the AAX icon to appear on your plugin in Windows you have to run the following command:

Where do you run that?

Dan Korneff

@d-healey Command Prompt

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/attrib

d.healey

@dustbro HISE doesn't actually export the plugin, it generates a JUCE project which generates a Visual Studio project, then Visual Studio does the export. So I don't see how HISE could do this task, but it might be possible to have it written to a script that runs after the compilation is complete.

Dan Korneff

@d-healey Back to square one... Inno seems to strip this property when the file is installed, so the icon disappears again :/
EDIT:
The installer actually appears to ignore hidden files? Plugin.ico and Desktop.ini are missing after inno install.

Also just noticed there's a script in the AAX sdk that changes all attributes for you.

AAX\Utilities\CreatePackage.bat

IF EXIST %OutDir% GOTO OUTDIR_EXISTS
mkdir %OutDir%
:OUTDIR_EXISTS

IF EXIST %OutDir%\..\Win32 GOTO Win32_EXISTS
mkdir %OutDir%\..\Win32
:Win32_EXISTS

IF EXIST %OutDir%\..\x64 GOTO X64_EXISTS
mkdir %OutDir%\..\x64
:X64_EXISTS

IF EXIST %OutDir%\..\Resources GOTO RESOURCES_EXISTS
mkdir %OutDir%\..\Resources
:RESOURCES_EXISTS

echo Set Folder Icon

IF EXIST %OutDir%\..\..\PlugIn.ico GOTO ICON_EXISTS
copy /Y %IconSource% %OutDir%\..\..\PlugIn.ico > NUL
:ICON_EXISTS

attrib -r %OutDir%\..\..
attrib -h -r -s %OutDir%\..\..\desktop.ini
echo [.ShellClassInfo] > %OutDir%\..\..\desktop.ini 
echo IconResource=PlugIn.ico,0 >> %OutDir%\..\..\desktop.ini 
echo ;For compatibility with Windows XP >> %OutDir%\..\..\desktop.ini 
echo IconFile=PlugIn.ico >> %OutDir%\..\..\desktop.ini 
echo IconIndex=0 >> %OutDir%\..\..\desktop.ini 
attrib +h +r +s %OutDir%\..\..\PlugIn.ico
attrib +h +r +s %OutDir%\..\..\desktop.ini
attrib %OutDir%\..\..

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