Invoking NSIS run-time commands on compile-time

From NSIS Wiki

Author: Afrow UK (talk, contrib)

Description

It's a common question nowadays for people to ask "how can I use a run-time command on compile-time". For example, someone may want to get the version of a local file and use that version in a !define, or perhaps someone may want to do some string manipulation and place the result in the installer's caption!

This example was written for kiplingw in this forum topic. It gets the version (#.#.#.#) of C:\MyFile.exe and puts it into a !define which you can then use anywhere in your script.

Note that this only works if you compile it on a Windows type OS, if you compile your script on Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris or OS X you need to use other tricks. There is a trick at the end of the page for Unix and Linux.

The Script

Firstly, compile the below script. Make sure you change the path of "C:\MyFile.exe" to a suitable .exe or .dll path. Place the output .exe in the same folder as your main script.

!define File "C:\MyFile.exe"
 
OutFile "GetVersion.exe"
SilentInstall silent
 
Section
 
 ## Get file version
 GetDllVersion "${File}" $R0 $R1
  IntOp $R2 $R0 / 0x00010000
  IntOp $R3 $R0 & 0x0000FFFF
  IntOp $R4 $R1 / 0x00010000
  IntOp $R5 $R1 & 0x0000FFFF
  StrCpy $R1 "$R2.$R3.$R4.$R5"
 
 ## Write it to a !define for use in main script
 FileOpen $R0 "$EXEDIR\Version.txt" w
  FileWrite $R0 '!define Version "$R1"'
 FileClose $R0
 
SectionEnd

Put this in your main script:

!system "GetVersion.exe"
!include "Version.txt"

Now you shall have the ${Version} define available which you can use anywhere in your script (e.g. to go in your BrandingText or OutFile name)...

OutFile "MySoftware-${Version}.exe" # could be "MySoftware-0.1.2.3.exe"

-Stu

Linux/Unix way for running commands on compile time

Note! Only works under Unix and Linux! Compile this script first: (replace /home/you/scripts/nsis/hello.sh with a path to what your installer will be at)

OutFile "RunCmdOnCompile"
SilentInstall silent
 
Function WriteScript
 FileOpen $R0 "/home/you/scripts/nsis/hello.sh" w
  FileWrite $R0 '"#!/bin/sh'
  FileWrite $R0 'echo "Hello world!"'
  FileWrite $R0 "sleep 500"
 FileClose $R0
FunctionEnd
 
Section 
Call WriteScript
SectionEnd

Now in the real installer, put these lines first before anything:

!system "RunCmdOnCompile"
!system "hello.sh"