Shortcuts (User Interface)

From the Shortcuts page you may create links to your installed files, URLs, and more. Various link placement options are available as well. You may also pin any shortcuts you create directly to the new Start Menu available with Windows XP or higher, or directly to the Windows 7 Taskbar, or to the Windows 8 Start Screen - giving your applications access to some prime real estate on your end-user's desktops.

Adding a New Shortcut

To add a new shortcut:

1. Click the New button.
2. In the Shortcut Target field, enter the full path of the file you will be linking to on the target system. If the target of the shortcut is a file that you are installing, click the Browse button to visually locate it. You may also enter URLs and paths to files that are pre-existing on the target system here.
3. In the Shortcut Placement field, check the locations you would like to place your new shortcut. You must check at least one location.
4. After selecting a location on the Shortcut Placement field, you may also check one or more pinning locations from the Pin Application field, to pin your application directly to the new Start Screen, Start Menu or the Taskbar. The selected shortcut will then also be pinned to your selected pin locations. Each pin is specific to a shortcut, so you may pin multiple shortcuts as necessary - however, you cannot pin an application directly without previously selecting an associated shortcut for it from the Shortcut Placement field. Each pin location is associated with a specific shortcut location, and you may individually manage pins for each selected shortcut location by first selecting the shortcut location from the Shortcut Placement field, and then choosing the pins for that shortcut from the Pin Application field.
5. In the Shortcut Properties field, enter the display name, and an optional tooltip description for the shortcut.
6. Click OK to insert the shortcut commands.

If you chose more than one shortcut location, multiple shortcut commands will be created - one for each location.

Updating an Existing Shortcut

To update an existing shortcut:

1. Select the shortcut to update.
2. Click the Edit button.
3. The Create Shortcut window appears. Update the fields in this dialog.
4. Click OK to save your changes.

Removing a Shortcut

To remove a shortcut from your installation:

1. Select the shortcut to remove.
2. Click the Delete button.

Changing the Type of a Shortcut

To change the type of a shortcut:

1. Select the shortcut to change the type of.
2. Click the Set Type button.
3. Choose the new type (Regular or Advertised).

The regular type is the recommended type for most installations because of increased versatility. The advertised type is recommended only if you are already familiar with Windows Installer and know that you require advertising support, a technology specific to Windows Installer (and burdened with its own restrictions and limitations).

Scripting Details

The two-way integrated IDE emits or updates the underlying setup script every time the visual view is used. If you are using InstallAware scripting in your setups, the following information identifies the changes made by this visual page to your setup script.

Commands Used

This page emits the following types of scripting commands: Create Shortcut, Get Folder Location. Additional general scripting commands may be emitted.

Commands Required

This page requires the following scripting commands to be already present in your setup script: Apply Install.