KiX: Preparing a specialized OpenOffice Installation CD With KiXtart

KiX: Preparing a specialized OpenOffice Installation CD With KiXtart

Sometimes you need to prepare a group of automated installations. This is one example. Please be aware that there are better ways to do this, but this works for what I needed. In this case, all computers are running Windows XP, so the paths that I hardcoded will work.

This was originally based on something I found on PCC Services. The original versions have been replaced with Kixforms gui versions. I typically make an autostart CD instead of working across a network. (This works when you're dealing with a home or small business that does not have dozens of computers. I would not attempt this in a corporate network.) I wrote about an earlier version here.

First, download your software:

• OpenOffice.org – choose a mirror near you and get the "stable" version you desire.
• An extension to disable the first start wizard – Normally, every user gets the registration wizard the first time he or she uses OpenOffice.org. We do not want this.
• KiXtart – in this case, we are mostly using it as a slightly more powerful batchfile language, but it can do more. Get the current release.
• OpenClipart – this adds some public domain clipart. Be sure to get the "Full Release" zip file, because the Windows installer only gives you SVG, which OpenOffice cannot use (neither can Internet Explorer, unless you get the Adobe plugin).
• 7-zip – a better compression utility than the one built into Windows. We will use it to extract the OpenClipart

Put all of these into their own directory (folder).

First installation: 7-zip. I used a batch file (7zipinstall.bat) with one line: .\7z465.exe /S. All this does is run the installer. (Change it to fit your version.) This does not set the default application for compressed files.

Second installation: OpenOffice. You have to run the file you downloaded, so it will drop the installation folder on the desktop. Take that folder and move it into the folder you placed your downloaded files in. Remove the original downloaded OpenOffice file.

Here's "openoffice.kix":

$install = chr(34) + "OpenOffice.org 3.0 (en-US) Installation Files\setup.exe" + chr(34) + " /q /msoreg=1"
SHELL $install
SLEEP 180
$packages = chr(34) + "C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\unopkg" + chr(34) + " add --shared DisableFirstStartWzd_ooo3.oxt"
? "Adding packages..." + @CRLF
SHELL $packages
? "adding shared extensions returned: " + @error + @CRLF
COPY "C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\quickstart.exe" "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\"
$command = chr(34) + "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z" + chr(34) + " x -o" + chr(34) + "C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\Basis\share\gallery" + chr(34) + " .\openclipart-0.18-full.zip" + chr(34)
SHELL $command

You can choose another place to drop the clipart. You just want it available to all users. Perhaps "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\" would be a better place to drop it.

There are a couple of other pieces. Create a file, "setup.bat"

@ECHO OFF
ECHO Hold on while we prepare...
.\7zipinstall.bat
ECHO Now beginning installation...
kix32 openoffice.kix


Finally, the "autorun.inf" file:

[autorun]
open = setup.bat
icon = OpenOffice.org 3.0 (en-US) Installation Files\setup.exe
label = OpenOffice and Friends
shell\install = &Install
shell\install\command = setup.exe


I am not at home right now to try it out, but you can see how simple it can be. One of the things I could have done is skip the BAT files and use the SHELL command instead.

IMPORTANT: You have to replace all the quotation marks with straight ones. The software “beautifies” them.