OpenEdge Deployment:<br />WebClient Applications External installer

If you choose to use an external installer that you create yourself, the external installer must complete all the installation tasks required to install your application and must also install all registry keys required by WebClient. You must also provide an uninstaller for your application.

WebClient registry keys and shortcuts

When WebClient is installed, it creates registry entries based on the input from the user, under the following registry key:

These registry key values specify path settings for accessing WebClient functionality and user-supplied options for running WebClient. You must be aware of these registry entries when you write your application installation. The path settings include two values that you can use to set up application shortcuts and a default setting for your application installation directory.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\PSC\WebClient

Table 7–1 lists the registry key value names as they appear in the registry and provides a description of the information that appears under Data in the registry.

Table 7–1: Registry entries made by WebClient
Registry key value name	Data
ProwciniPath	The complete path, including filename, of the WebClient Initializer executable.
ProwcamPath	The complete path, including filename, of the WebClient Application Manager executable.
ApplicationsPath	Default path on the end user’s machine that you can use as a root directory to install your WebClient application. The WebClient installation allows the end user to specify this location. Using this registry value in your application installer eliminates the need to prompt the users for information about where they want the application installed. As a result, this creates a more silent application installation. However, you do not want to use this registry value if there is a possibility that there is not enough space on a drive to install the application.

You can provide a shortcut for the user to launch the application directly from Windows after the application is initially installed. This shortcut executes the WebClient Initializer, passing to it a reference to the application configuration file for the application. You must invoke the application this way to take advantage of the automatic update capabilities of WebClient. When you set up the shortcut in the installer, use the following command syntax to execute WebClient Initializer:

Syntax
`ProwciniPath` { "<`VendorName`>/<`ApplicationName`>" -s }

The complete path, including filename, to the WebClient Initializer executable. This pathname is stored by the WebClient installer as the ProwciniPath registry key value.

A unique identifier for an application. The values for VendorName and ApplicationName match the values you specify in the General tab of the WebClient Application Assembler when you define your application. WebClient Initializer uses these values to indirectly locate the application configuration file.

The WebClient installer also installs a shortcut for running the WebClient Application Manager. You can create a separate shortcut that runs the WebClient Application Manager with your application highlighted. To set up this application-dedicated shortcut, use the following command syntax:

Syntax
`ProwcamPath` "<`VendorName`>/<`ApplicationName`>"

The complete path, including filename, to the WebClient Application Manager executable. This pathname is stored by the WebClient installer as the ProwcamPath registry key value.

A unique identifier for an application. The values for VendorName and ApplicationName match the values you specify in the General tab of the WebClient Application Assembler when you define your application. WebClient Application Manager uses these values to access information about the WebClient Application.

Application installer registry key entries for vendor and application

The installer is responsible for setting the Application Directory. The installer either gets the Application Directory information from the ApplicationsPath key set by WebClient, or overrides this value by prompting users to indicate where they want the application installed.

If the installer runs successfully, it must store the ApplicationInstallVersion so the WebClient initializer knows that it has run and does not need to run again.

To register this information, your installation program must create the following registry key and registry key values for this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\<`VendorName`>\<`ApplicationName`>\

Where <VendorName> and <ApplicationName> match the values you enter in the General tab of the WebClient Application Assembler when you define your application.

Table 7–2 lists the registry key value names as they appear in the registry and provides a description of the information that appears under Data in the registry.

Table 7–2: Vendor and application name registry key values
Registry key value name	Data
ApplicationDirectory	Directory where the user installed the application. This value can be derived from `ApplicationsPath`.
ApplicationInstallVersion	Application install version identifier. You must set this value so that WebClient Initializer can determine whether or not your external installer ran successfully. This version must match the version entered in the Options Tab of the WebClient Application Assembler for the WebEnabled Install. For more information, see the "Options tab" section.

Application installer registry key entries for the configuration file

The ProwcappLocator registry keys are required if the installer sets up a shortcut for the application. This information should match what you enter in the WebClient Application Assembler’s Configuration File Locator Definition dialog box. For more information, see the "General tab" section. Your installation program must create the following registry key and registry key values defining the server for the application configuration file under this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\<`VendorName`>\<`ApplicationName`>\ProwcappLocator

Table 7–3 lists the registry key values as they appear in the registry and provides a description of the information that appears under Data in the registry.

Table 7–3: Configuration file registry key entries
Registry key value name	Data
Type	Indicates the type of server on which the configuration file is located. The type must be InternetServer.
URL	Well formed URL used to identify where the configuration file is located. The URL must begin with `HTTP://`, `HTTPS://`, or `File://`.
Filename	Filename of the application CAB file containing the application configuration file (`.prowcapc`).
EndUserDescription	Information displayed to your end users when WebClient requests authentication information. For more information see Chapter 5, " Designing Security."
Prompt	Indicates whether WebClient should prompt the user for authentication information for the server before downloading the application configuration file. This value can be either Yes or No. If Yes, WebClient prompts the user for authentication information.
DisablePersistentCache	Indicates whether or not a users can save authentication information in a persistent cache on their machines. This value can be `Yes` or `No`. If `Yes`, the information cannot be saved. If `No`, the information can be saved.

Application installer registry key entries for WebClient applications

Your installation program must create a registry key value used by the WebClient Application Manager under the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WebClient\Applications\

Table 7–4 lists the registry key value name as it appears in the registry and provides a description of the information that appears under Data in the registry.