A new installer is available for the free plugin bundle for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.
It contains the following:
Note:
The MySQL Actions plugin is no longer part of the bundle, and is now shipping as part of the ODBC Actions plugin.
A simple draw poker game, where you are dealt five cards. You can hold any number of cards or draw new ones, attempting to get a winning hand. The game plays some sounds and shows simple animations, and can be controlled with the mouse or keyboard.
The exported AutoPlay Media Studio project, without online play, can be retrieved from this URL:
http://www.mindquake.com.br/files/ams/DrawPoker.apz
The full game, with high score sent to an online database and user login capabilities, can be retrieved from this address:
http://www.mindquake.com.br/files/ams/DrawPoker.exe
Full details, and alternate download locations, can be found here:
http://www.mindquake.com.br/ams.php#poker
The article of this example in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory can be found here:
http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/42/draw-poker.html
The Socket Object plugin was recompiled with the new version of Lua, as used in AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.
The current version is 2.0.1.1 and the upgrade is free for all former customers.
Details page in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory:
http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/44/socket.html
The Socket Object plugin was recompiled with the new version of Lua, as used in AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.
The current version is 2.0.1.1 and the upgrade is free for all former customers.
Details page in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory:
http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/44/socket.html
The ODBC and MySQL Actions plugins were recompiled with the new version of Lua, as used in AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0.
Database connectivity is available to users of AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 through the LuaSQL extensions, however in certain cases, the use of actions plugins can make programming easier and more comfortable.
The MySQL was formerly part of the free Utilities bundle, but for Lua 5.1 is was added to the ODBC product. The cost was not changed, and upgrade to the current version is free for all former customers.
The current version is 2.0.2.0.
Details page in the AutoPlay Media Studio Addon and Plugin Directory:
http://www.autoplaymediastudio.com/detail/48/odbc-amp-mysql.html
Based on the original .NET 3.5 module, as published by Indigo Rose, here are new modules for the current .NET Framework 4.0.
There are two detection modules in this package:
.NET 4.0 Include - assumes that you include the .NET 4.0 full package installer (dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe) in your bootstrapper, which will add 48.1 MB to your setup.
You can download the installer from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0A391ABD-25C1-4FC0-919F-B21F31AB88B7
.NET 4.0 Download - assumes that you download the web installer (dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe) and that you place it on your own web server. At runtime, the bootstrapper will first download the web installer from your server, which will then download the required files for the detected platform from Microsoft and finally start the installation. This all can be done passively, so no user interaction is required.
You can download the web installer from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9cfb2d51-5ff4-4491-b0e5-b386f32c0992
Installation
Download this file: http://www.mindquake.com.br/files/msi/NET4Framework.zip
Decompress the zip file in the "Bootstrap\Dependencies" sub folder of your MSI Factory installation. When you restart the Bootstrapper Designer, the two new modules will be available.
This dependency module is not officially supported by Indigo Rose. Use it at your own risk, and feel free to modify it to fit your needs better. Feedback is always welcome.
The new build of the Crypto Actions plugin now contains support for Rijndael (256-bit AES) encryption, compatible with the .NET Framework.
New functions: Crypto.RijndaelEncryptString() and Crypto.RijndaelDecryptString().
Example:
-- create a 256-bit secret key from a table containing 32 bytes
key = {};
for i = 1, 32 do
key[i] = i - 1;
end-- create the initialization vector from a table with 16 bytes
iv = {};
for i = 1, 16 do
iv[i] = i - 1;
endsource = "This is a test";
encoded = Crypto.RijndaelEncryptString(source, key, iv);
Debug.Print(encoded .. "\r\n");decoded = Crypto.RijndaelDecryptString(encoded, key, iv);
Debug.Print(decoded .. "\r\n");
Full documentation of the new functions are available in the help file. These new functions are available in the full version only, not in the evaluation.
This new object plugin for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 allows to rotate, scale and transform images, change the hue, saturation and lightness, the contrast and brightness, apply blur, or add a dynamic drop shadow.
The plugin is very useful if you need to display several similar images, that differ only in angle or size. Now you need to include the source image only once, and can apply the required transformation on the fly!
Unlike several other objects, this plugin allows you to see the effect and transformation you need directly in the development environment, without needing to preview your page first to see the results of your settings. This is a huge time safer, and helps you to achieve the results you need faster.
Here is just one sample of what this plugin can do:
This image was rotated, had its contrast enhanced, and a drop shadow was added.
You can download the version 1.0.0.0 from the web site right now.
The release 1.0.1.0 of the ImageEx object plugin brings smoother, and adjustable drop shadows:
You can now adjust the horizontal and vertical offset of the drop shadow, the opacity, and the dispersion (the softness of the shadow border).
Here is one example of the better control you have over the drop shadow:
Available now on the product's web page.
The ImageEx object was updated, introducing a correction and a new feature:
The new drop shadow was not staying perfectly centered when source image was rotated. This would cause problems in projects like the clock sample.
A new visual aid was added in design to show the boundaries of the drop shadow, as shown below:
If you installed version 1.0.1.0, you should update to this version for better results.
A new actions plugin is available for applications using Lua 5.0:
The purpose of this plugin is to access files and folders controlled by the File System Redirector and to read and write registry keys that are subject to Registry Redirection, both on 64-bit operating systems. These functions can also be used on 32-bit operating systems.
The following actions are included:
All registry operations feature the RegistryView parameter, which allows to set KEY_WOW64_64KEY for operating on the 64-bit registry view, and KEY_WOW64_32KEY for operating on the 32-bit registry view.
Documentation is included in the installer (which you can download here), but can also be downloaded separately from here.
Some nice enhancements were made to the code of the Wow64 Actions plugin:
* With these new enhancements, the plugin can now be loaded on old operating systems like Windows 2000 and 32-bit Windows XP. Of course, the functions themselves may be executed only when supported by the operating system, but now it is possible to build installers on Windows XP designed to run on current systems.
The Skin Actions plugin is now available for free from the website. It is compatible with AutoPlay Media Studio 6.0 and 7.x only, as AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 already has the same skinning engine built-in, giving even better results than possible with this plugin. For users who decided not to update - enjoy!
A new page transition for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0 was released today. You can now perform a smooth crossfade transition from the current page to the next. The step and the speed of the transition can be adjusted in the properities dialog.
This new transition is offered for free as part of the "Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio 8.0" package.
A new example project for AutoPlay Media Studio shows how to exchange the text of various objects on the pages of a project, allowing to change the language of the whole application on-the-fly. This demonstration project shows how to display text in:
English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Turkish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Thai, Korean, Romanian, Danish, Traditional Chinese, Hungarian, Czech, Hebrew and Japanese.
Available as source code (*.apz) and completed project (*.exe).
In this example for Setup Factory, I show how you can offer the creation of shortcuts to the application being installed in the "Select Packages" screen. The end user can select where he wants the shortcuts to be placed. The easy step-by-step instructions and the sample project explain how you can use this in your own installer.
The Fade page transition was changed so now it works better on older operating systems like Windows XP and 2000.
The new version is included in the current Utilities for AutoPlay Media Studio installer.
In this new example for AutoPlay Media Studio, I show how you can build cascading, "spry" menus in your applications.
Example showing horizontal custom root buttons
Instead of using the habitual list box, combo box, etc., why don't you offer a more dynamic way to navigate the content of your project, or allow your user to select something? With the provided Lua script and two working examples (one for vertical root buttons, and another for horizontally arranged root buttons), you'll have no problem in implementing these menus quickly.
With the release of the first beta of Setup Factory 9 (details here), I am now offering selected action plugins built for 64 bit installers.
If you are going to build installers targeting 64 bit operating systems, using the new "64-bit platform" found in Setup Factory 9, you can use these plugins:
You can select the platforms you wish to deploy during the installation, like shown in this capture:
I don't expect any problems with these new versions, but should there be an issue, please contact me, as usual.