Assigning Scripts To Buttons During Installation

[Onkar]

I have recently started supporting a client who has Diadem installed on a number of workstations (mainly v8, some v8.1). They have developed hundreds of custom scripts (mainly AUT, but also some VBS), and at present the process of installation is quite tedious, as I have to install Diadem, then copy over hundreds of scripts, manually configure each workstations for memory settings, ODBC etc, and then assign the mmost used scripts to various buttons.

I am very experienced at writing installers usign tools such as Wise and SMS Installer scripting, is there anyway that Diadem v8.x allows me to automate the configuration process?

Almost all the settings appear to reside in the file desktop.ddd, but as this is binary I don't want to try and edit it directly.

Most of the PC's I support are on lease and are due to be replaced in the coming weeks, so I would prefer an automated solution.

Any advice greatfully received.

Onkar Jagpal

[Twigeater · Accepted solution]

Hello Onkar!

I will try to give you some answers.

• The desktop file (DDD) contains the basic DIAdem settings. It is a text file but should not be patched. Try to set up one in DIAdem wich suits all users.
• The user settings - button/script assingment is one of it - are stored in a separate file usually named 'userpar.par'. The name is stored in the DDD and you can change it in DIAdem. You can make a clean DIAdem installation with all your button assignments and than copy the userpar.par file to you installation repository. You should copy this file on new installations but never on existing because all the single user specific settings will be lost.
• Scripts could be stored on a shared network drive in general. With AUT this is not the best aproach because DIAdem will store the compiled version (AUC) to the same place wich will be a performance bottleneck. You can put them beside the Desktop.DDD and UserPar.PAR in a self-made installer, wich you can run after a fresh DIAdem was installed.

Hope this helps a little bit. Feel free to ask if something isn't clear to you.

Matthias

[Onkar]

Hi

Thanks for the suggestions. I had pretty much the same ideas, but was unsure what I could and could not change safely. Desktop.DDD contains the user login name, so obviously I cannot replicate it to other users. The fact that all the button mappings are in UserPar.PAR is really useful, asthat at present is the slowest aspect of the install, I can leave the rest running.

All the scripts are on a network share, but get copied daily to the users PC on login, as they tend to get updated quite often. So no risk of  network bottlenecks.

My background is development using VB6  and .NET, does v8.x of Diadem support COM automation? Can I instantiate an instance of Diadem from VB, and access the various settings, I can see a few instance where this might be useful for certain jobs I need to automate where default settings are inadequate.

Cheers

Onkar

[Twigeater]

Hello Onkar!

It is easy to automate DIAdem via COM. Have a look at the 'ToCommand' interface description in the help. The interface is quite thin but you will be able to read/write variables and execute commands. Many things are available but not all! Some of the realy basic settings from the DDD can not be changed (e.g. memory settings).

Matthias