Knowledge Base

It is possible to deploy your Toolbook application in such a way that nothing need be installed on the client's local Hard Drive.

This is true whether you want to put the application on a Network drive or burn it to a CD-ROM.

Here is the procedure for making this possible.

1. Save your book an EXE file. Do this by choosing "Save As EXE" from the File
   menu.
    
2. Launch the AutoPackager, following the instructions to deploy for a CD-ROM.
    
3. The AutoPackager will create 2 directories:
   
   \package
   \setup
   
   In the \setup directory are two directories:
   
   \setup\tbsystem
   \setup\yourapp   (specified by you in the AutoPackager)
    
4. Using Windows Explorer, open the setup folder.
    
5. Copy all the files from the tbsystem folder into the other folder  (the "yourapp" folder in the above example).
   
   NOTE: By default Windows Explorer hides files of certain extension types (like DLL). Therefore, it is best to use the "Select All" menu item under Explorer's "Edit" menu to be sure that even files which may be hidden by Explorer will be copied.
    
6. If you are using ToolBook 6, you will need to manually rename a file. ToolBook 7 and Higher users can go directly to the next step.
    
   Manually rename the "tb60_16r.exe" or the "tb60_32r.exe" file to "tb60run.exe". If you want this application to be able to run on Windows 3.1 as well as on Windows 95, 98 or NT, rename "tb60_16r.exe" to "tb60run.exe". If you are using 32-bit features (32-bit Extensions or DLLs) or do not need to run on Windows 3.1, rename "tb60_32r.exe" to "tb60run.exe".
    
7. At this point you now have the application, media files and ToolBook RunTime collected into a single main folder (e.g. "yourapp" in the above example).
    
   If you are deploying to a Network drive:
   Copy the entire folder to  the desired network drive. If multiple users will be simultaneously accessing the file, it is necessary to ensure all the files are 'read-only'. You are now done. Your clients will be able to launching your program simply by double-clicking on the file you saved as an EXE in step 1 (MAIN.EXE in our example). They may wish to create a shortcut to this file (for their convenience), but it is not necessary.
    
   If you are deploying to CD-ROM:
   If there is a need to have your program to run as soon as the client inserts the CD then go to step 8 to create an autorun.inf file. If you do not desire the autorun feature go to step 9.
    
8. The AutoRun feature is new in Windows 95, so previous versions of Windows will not support it. Also clients on the supported platforms may have the feature disabled (in which case the program won't launch when the CD is inserted). Below is a simple autorun.inf example that will launch a program and optionally set the icon for the CD drive in Windows Explorer. See Microsoft for documentation of the AutoRun feature and all of its capabilities.
    
   You can create a Windows AUTORUN.INF file using any text editor. The AUTORUN.INF file will call the file that you want to start automatically. You will need to have the following lines in your AUTORUN.INF:
    
   [autorun]
   open="yourapp\tbXXrun.exe" "yourapp\main.exe"
    
   Note: XX represents the version of ToolBook.
              For ToolBook version 6.0, 6.1, and 6.5 TB60RUN.EXE
              For ToolBook version 7.0, 7.1, and 7.2 use TB70RUN.EXE
              For ToolBook version 8.0 and 8.1 use TB80RUN.EXE
              For ToolBook version 8.5 and 8.6 use TB85RUN.EXE
              For ToolBook version 2004 use TB89RUN.EXE
    
   You will need to burn the AUTORUN.INF file to the ROOT directory of the CD-ROM in order for this feature to work.
     
9. Burning the CD - You will find that ToolBook runs best if it is not in the ROOT directory of the CD-ROM, so it is generally best to burn the entire "yourapp" folder (built up in steps 1-7) along with an AUTORUN.INF file (if specified in step 8).
    
   The goal would be to produce a CD-ROM that would look something like the following:
    
   AUTORUN.INF (optional)
   YOURAPP\ 
     MAIN.EXE
     TBxxRUN.EXE
     <a dozen or so ToolBook Runtime files>
     <any additional books or media files/folders>