Getting Started

When you run Customizer, you will see a screen with settings, allowing you to choose how the resulting PADUpdater  will look. Then click the "Generate" button, and it will generate a small application file called "PADUpdater.exe"  that can be bundled with your own software (along with your PAD.XML file).

It is recommended to copy your own PAD.XML to the same folder as PADUpdater-Customizer, so that you could see how PADUpdater would really look with your software.

It's easiest to start by loading one of the presets (use "Load Preset.."  button), then generating (using the "Generate PADUpdater" button) which will create and run an updater.


Load Preset

This will load one of the previously saved settings. Several presets are already provided, and you can save your own. See "Save Preset"  for more information.

Save Preset

This will save settings. Settings are the state of all options of the software - so you can choose colors and fonts that you like, and save this as a Preset, so you could load and use it later. Several presets are already provided, and you can save your own.

Default Language

Choose the language used by PADUpdater when it first starts. If Detect Default Language is selected, then this language will only be used if PADUpdater will fail to detect the language of Windows.
Edit:
Launches Notepad for editing the language file. This allows you to change the text displayed. see Editing Language Files for more information.
New:
Creates a new language file. Use this to add languages to PADUpdater. Note that in order to have a flag image displayed with your new language, you need to put a BMP file with the flag in the languages folder (for example  English.lng  has  English.bmp), see the "Languages" folder for examples. To delete a language, you'll need to delete its .lng file from the "Languages" folder.

Detect Default Language

If selected, then PADUpdater will try to detect the language of Windows every time it runs. If detection fails, then the language selected in the "Default Language" box will used.

Show Language Selector

If selected, PADUpdater will show a small flag icon on the top right that will allow the user to change the language. Otherwise the user won't be able to select a language.

Show Title / Main Info / Extended Info / Footer

If selected, that area will be shown. For example, you can un-select "Footer" to hide the footer text.
Edit - will pop up a the following window, where you can choose the colors and font of that area.


The PADUpdater areas are shown here:


Background Image

You can choose an image file that will be used as background for PADUpdater. Note that except for the buttons, almost everything on the screen is a part of the background, so this allows you to drastically change the look of your updater. The size of the image will determine the size of the PADUpdater window. Look at the "Backgrounds" folder to see some examples of background images.
Browse:
Click it to select an image file.
View:
Will open the selected image file in your default image viewer, so you can preview the image.

Window Borders

Allows you to select the type of window edges your updater will have. Note that in "Normal" border, the default X button on the upper right will be provided by Windows, so the custom close button won't be shown. If you choose to have no border ("None") It is recommended to draw a border yourself on the background image - this will look nicer.

Generate PADUpdater

This is the button you finally click when you have chosen all the settings you desire. This generates the application file called "PADUpdater.exe"  (which is what you will copy to your own software folder). It will also run the generated PADUpdater.exe so you could see the resulting appearance.
It is recommended you put your own PAD.XML file in the Customizer folder, so that you could see how PADUpdater would really look with your software.



Editing Language Files (.lng)

The languages used by PADUpdater.exe are inserted into it by the Customizer (when you click "Generate"). Each language is a file with .lng extension, that resides in the "Languages" folder. By adding an ".lng" file, you add a language to the Customizer.
The language file actually a text file, in the same format as INI files, meaning each line has a string name, an equal sign, and the text for that string name.
For example:
 title=Hello everyone!
this means that the string named "title" will contain the text "Hello everyone!".
You'd want to change the text to whatever you'd like, but leave the string name intact.
Each string name is used at some point during the update, and when PADUpdater needs to show something on the screen, it looks for the string name in the language file of the currently selected language, and display the text set for it.

In order to have more flexibility, the text can include special words called Macros. When PADUpdater sees such a macro in your text, it will display something special instead of the macro. for example:
 title=Hello <program_name>!
this will cause PADUpdater to display the name of the program being updated instead of the text "<program_name>", so if for example the name of the program is "Winamp" then PADUpdater will display "Hello Winamp!"

If you want to start a new line within the text, put the two letters: \n
for example:
 title=Hello\nEveryone!
will make PADUpdater show:
Hello
Everyone!

There are many macro tags available, some macros are specific to PADUpdater, and most are standard tags taken from the PAD.XML file. For a complete list of macros taken from the PAD file, see PAD Spec published by ASP. Below is a list of the most useful macros (sorted by interest):

Macros:

  • <Program_Name>  -  the name of the program being updated
  • <Company_Name>  -  the name of the programs' company
  • <Company_WebSite_URL>  -  the address of the web site of the programs' company
  • <Program_Version_New>  -  the version number of the program that on the website (taken from the remote PAD file)
  • <Program_Version_Old>  -   the version number of the program installed on the local PC (taken from the local PAD file)
  • <Program_Change_Info>  -  describes what's new in the new version
  • <Program_Release_Date_Local_Format>  -  the release date of the new version (in the user local date format)
  • <File_Download_Total_Bytes>  -  the size of the file being downloaded in bytes (usually the installer of the new version)
  • <File_Download_Total_K>  -  same as above, but in Kilobytes
  • <File_Download_Total_MB>  -  same as above, but in Megabytes
  • <File_Downloaded_Bytes>  -  the amount of bytes we have downloaded from the file (increases during download)
  • <File_Downloaded_K>  -  same as above, but in Kilobytes
  • <File_Downloaded_MB>  -  same as above, but in Megabytes
  • <Download_File_Name>  -  the name of the file being downloaded (name and extension, no path. Example: setup.exe)
  • <Download_File_Local>  -  the name of the file being downloaded with local path (example: C:\TEMP\setup.exe)
  • <File_Download_URL>  -  the web address of the file being downloaded (example: http://mycompany.com/setup.exe)
  • <Pad_File_Local>  -  the name and path of the local PAD.XML file.
  • <Pad_File_URL>  -  the web address of the remote PAD file.
  • <Char_Desc_45>  -  a description of the program (up to 45 letters)
  • <Char_Desc_80>  -  a description of the program (up to 80 letters)
  • <Char_Desc_250>  -  a description of the program (up to 250 letters)
  • <Char_Desc_450>  -  a description of the program (up to 450 letters)
  • <Char_Desc_2000>  -  a description of the program (up to 2000 letters)
  • <Program_System_Requirements>  -  the system requirements for the program
  • <Program_OS_Support>  -  the name of the operating systems compatible with the program
  • <General_Email>  -  the email address for contacting the programs' company
  • <Sales_Email>  -  the email address for contacting the sales department for the program
  • <Support_Email>  -  the email address for contacting the support team for the program
  • <Contact_Email>  -  the email of the contact person
  • <Sales_Phone>  -  the phone number of the sales department
  • <Support_Phone>  -  the phone number of the support team
  • <General_Phone>  -  the phone number of the company
  • <Program_Release_Day>  -  the day part of the date the program was first released
  • <Program_Release_Month>  -  the month part of the above
  • <Program_Release_Year>  -  the year part of the above



FAQ

How can i protect the updater i generated from being distributed by others?

The Pro version of PADUpdater.exe you generated using your Customizer will be marked with your Licensed User Number which is a number unique to your license. It can be viewed when right clicking the PADUpdater background and selecting "About PADUpdater" from the menu. If another company is distributing your updater they are violating the agreement and the law, so both you and the manufacturer have the right to sue them.

License

The generated application file called "PADUpdater.exe" (Pro version) can be distributed when bundled with your own software. The Customizer can be used on your computer only. For the full license terms please see the Software License Agreement (License.txt).

Support

You are welcome to contact our support team with any questions or suggestions. Visit PADUpdater Customizer support page.



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