App Scripts Guide
Index
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - How to create a new app script
Chapter 3 - Adding Registry keys
Chapter 1 - Understanding the basics
Introduction
You've made your first boot disk with WinBuilder and now it's time to tweak a bit more and learn how to add your favourite programs by yourself.
Along these quick tutorials we'll talk about what you can do with app scripts and how they can be made to work with most of the available boot disk projects such as VistaPE, LiveXP, NativeEx, BartPEcore, etc.
The app scripts tutorial is divided in the following sections:
Introduction
How to create a new app script
Adding Registry keys and missing System32 files (to be written)
(Sections without web links are still being written and will be available soon)
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What is an App Script?
App scripts are scripts which will add a given program to your project.
These scripts are very powerful because they will allow you to install your program on a target windows operative system - let it be a boot disk or even a windows placed on another partition.
Flexibility is the keyword to describe them because each app script will contain all the informations that are required to properly install and run a program.
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Why use them?
App scripts allow to quickly create shortcuts, folders, ensure that proper system files are found on the system and much more.
They are meant to work regardless of the project were they are placed so you don't need to ever worry again about valid program paths and such.
You can write an app script to run under a XP project and someone else can pick it up and run the same script without any changes on a Vista based project.
They ensure that script authors don't need to write a new script to work specifically with a single project - you code them to become universal.
Using the app script language also ensures that your scripts will live for a very long time because it will continue to be valid to work on future projects in the years to come.
As an end result - we all benefit from using app scripts because the library of available programs will grow and make things much simpler and easier to exchange across different projects.
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Glossary of common terms
Before we start, let's explain how some of the names that are used so that we can all speak using the same terms.
WinBuilder
It's the name given to everything generically related to WinBuilder itself, also common to use the term "wb"
Project
A project is a collection of files which help to build a target ISO or CD. The root of the project is a subfolder found inside the "Projects" folder and contains a special file called "script.project" (described below).
Different projects can be placed and run separately inside the 'Projects' folder.
Script
This is a file with extension .script that can be edited with any regular text editor. These scripts will contain the code that will executed while the project is being built. Some extra features are bundled that allow you to place buttons, text, images, etc like a web page that will let you change the script without editing a single line of code. You can also attach files inside (all of this will be explained more ahead).
script.project
This file is very similar to normal scripts but it is used to mark the root of a new project. All features on you use on scripts also apply to this file, the main difference is that it will also contain some specific definitions for the project. You can look on any script.project to understand a more about these
Download Center
You find this download center on tab called "Download" inside WinBuilder. It will allow you to download projects from the internet directly into your projects folder. You can also individually select which scripts to download or even use this tool to update your already downloaded files.
App Script
An app script is meant to add a program on the project where it is placed.
This file is just like any other script inside a project but it uses a universal coding style that allows our app script to be installed regardless of the project.
log.html
Along the way while your project is being built and when things go wrong - you will definitively need this log file because it may help other members here in the forum to understand exactly what went wrong. You won't see this log feature on the progress window but it is still working underneath the process.
Look under the "Scripts" tab for another smaller tab called "Logs" - there you find a button called "Save log.html" - use this option save the log from your project to disk and later upload it here to the forums (don't forget to zip it before upload!)
API
This is a common set of keywords that you can use inside your app scripts. These API commands are explained over the next chapters.
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This was the introduction tutorial, if you have any other doubts about what is posted here - you are welcome to place any questions of you have and this way help to improve this tutorial with more complete informations.