<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> RayPack > 7.3 u6 > User Guide > PackBot  Task Settings

After adding a task, it is configured using sensible defaults. Review all options and adjust them accordingly to have the package processed, installed, configured, and converted according to the specific requirements.

 

 

In order to edit a task, either:

•Double click its item, or

•select the item and press the Edit selected... button.

 

A new dialog is shown for each of the edited packages.

 

The GENERAL Tab

This tab contains the basic settings of the setup that is being processed.

 

 

•Project name
The name of the project. This value serves two purposes. It is used as a display name in the overview and it is also used as the name of the folder to which the results are saved.
 

•Installer file
This is the full path to a local installer / setup of the package. Either write this value manually or use the ... button to browse for a setup file. When using the ... button to select a setup, RayPack may automatically change other parameters according to the default settings and setup parameters.
 

•Silent command line arguments
Command line arguments that are passed and executed on the Virtual Machine. If a command line that installs the product silently is provided, then the repackaging is fully automated. Otherwise, it is necessary to take care of the interactive job by observing the console and installing the product as if installing it manually.
 
RayPack recognizes popular installation frameworks and may offer a silent command line by default. For example, the picture above shows a setup created with InnoSetup. When RayPack determines it, it writes the full silent command line and logging options. It is still possible to manually adjust the command line.
 

•Reboot after installation
This option should be used for packages that require reboots (due to drivers, service installation, or any runtime / log-in first-time operations). Enabling the reboot for other packages does not bring any functional gains, but will prolong the processing because the machine has to be rebooted and has to restart. This option is available for all formats except of App-V 4.6 / 5.x using the Microsoft App-V Sequencer. There are three modes available:

 

oNever - the machine is not going to be rebooted (even if a reboot has been requested by the setup).

oAlways - the machine is going to be rebooted (even if the setup does not require it).

oAuto - the machine is going to be rebooted only if there is a pending reboot request (recommended).

 

•Delay second snapshot
This single setting defines the timing for the second snapshot. A user can opt-in for a so called delayed snapshot in which RayPack does not perform the second snapshot automatically, but rather waits for the user to signal it. This option can be used in case there are post-installation steps which need to be carried out giving the user time and methods to manually configure the package after the main installation is done and have the changes captured by the second snapshot. Additionally, the prompt allows user to perform a reboot if required.

 

•Target format
This is a drop-down menu that contains possible output formats. The default format for a Windows Installer repackaging is MSI. Depending on the format selection, the following options can be available:

oPackRecorder Delta (.rcp)

oPackDesigner MSI Project (.rpp)

oWindows Installer (.msi)

oPackDesigner MSIX Project (.rppx)

oMSIX Package (.msix)

oApp-V 4.6 (.sft)

oApp-V 5 (.appv)

oThin-App (.exe)

 

Conversion to App-V 4.6 / 5.x
The additional checkbox Use App-V Sequencer installed on a Virtual Machine is shown. If this option is enabled, the sequencing to App-V will be executed on a virtual machine (which implies that the Sequencer is installed in the snapshot that is used by PackBot). Using this option also disables the checkbox Reboot machine after installation because this is not supported by Sequencer APIs. Uncheck this option to convert to App-V formats using RayPack conversion which supports rebooting as well.
 

Conversion to Thin-App
Conversion to Thin-App requires Thin-App binaries. A radio button is shown prompting the user to select which machine has Thin-App installed - it can be either the host or the virtual machine itself.

 

The VIRTUAL MACHINES Tab

This tab defines a pool of Virtual Machines that is used for this task.

 

There are two scenarios which are supported:

 

•Single machine mode (Use the following virtual machine)
Specifies a one-to-one mapping. Only the selected machine is capable of repackaging this task.
 

•Multiple machines mode (Use the following pool of machines...)
Specifies more than one machine capable of running the task. This scenario can be particularly effective when a single machine has been cloned many times and all cloned instances are equally matching the repackaging needs. Note that RayPack cannot guarantee which machine will be used, as this is a runtime decision made dynamically based on the workload, other packages, the virtual machines idle state, and many other factors. For more information about processing with multiple machines, refer to the chapter Parallel Processing.

 

 

Automatic Selection of Virtual Machines

When the user is changing the target format, the current selection of virtual machines may change. There are special settings in the RayPack profile which define which machine types are to be used for which default types of tasks. For example, the user may define that all App-V related tasks are to run on a specific machine having the sequencer installed. For more information, refer to the chapter PackBot.

 

The automatic selection of a virtual machine works until the user manually overrides this selection.

 

The EXIT CODE + LOGGING Tab

This tab defines how the exit code is handled and where the log files are generated during the installation.

 

 

•Check exit code of the main setup
This defines whether exit codes should be checked when the process is finished or not. When the setting is active, it can also be defined which exit codes are indicating success. By default, only 0 is handled for generic setups and a bunch of reboot-related exit codes for MSI files are recognized as well. Separate valid exit codes using commas.

 

 

•Log file
This setting can provide a great value in case of bulk repackaging by specifying the location of the log files that are related to the setup. It is possible to use environment variables and wildcards to configure path(s) for the log files. After the installation, files matching this pattern are copied back to the host machine regardless of whether the setup succeeded or failed. This on the other hand can provide valuable clues for failed setups to a user that is using bulk repackaging.
 
Some types of setups (InnoSetup, Windows Installer) provide command line configuration for log files. Once RayPack determines that a setup provides the logging functionality out of the box, it will adjust the silent command line parameters and the log file name pattern accordingly. For other cases, a manual configuration of the pattern may be needed.
 
Once the package is done (either successful or as a failure) and the log files are available, a link will be shown in the overview. The log files are always copied to the folder where the repackaged output is stored on the host machine.

 

 

 

The FILES Tab

This tab defines any additional files that belong to the setup and must be copied to the virtual machine.

 

 

This setting should be used when the main setup has additional files that are required. A typical example are .cab files that are required to install an .msi package or .ini files with the configuration for .exe setups, etc.

 

RayPack automatically identifies supporting files for recognized setups. In case some additional files are required, those can be added by providing a relative path (where the base folder is the folder in which the main setup resides). For example, when repackaging C:\temp\setup.msi, in order to attach C:\temp\files\transform.mst simply use files\transform.mst as a relative file path name.