Workflow Project Example: Using the New Workflow Project Wizard

AdminStudio 2022 | 23.0

The following basic example covers creating a workflow and project which takes advantage of command-line functionality available in AdminStudio.

Prior to creating projects, you must create a workflow on which to base the project. This workflow might involve few steps, or it might cover as broad of a task as repackaging a legacy installation, editing it in InstallShield Editor, customizing it in Tuner, performing application isolation, identifying and resolving conflicts, distributing it, and entering information about it into a third-party tracking system.

In this example, you are going to create a basic workflow involving three steps: repackaging a legacy installation, building a Windows Installer package in Repackager, and then importing that package into Application Catalog.

Creating a New Workflow

To create a new workflow, perform the following steps.

To create a new workflow:

1. Open the Process Template Editor.
2. Right-click in the Workflows tree pane and select New Workflow. A new workflow is created.
3. Name the workflow My Workflow Example.
4. Right-click My Workflow Example and select New Task, and name the task Repackage a legacy setup.
5. With the Repackage a Legacy Setup task selected, make the following selections in the Task Properties pane:
a. From the Tool list, select Repackaging Wizard.
b. From the Tool Configuration list, select Repackage a legacy setup.

Note:Selecting this tool configuration associates the following predefined command lines with this task:

-app "[SourcePackage]" -pp "[TargetFileName]" -o "[TargetDir]"

-sb -app "[SourcePackage]" -pp "[TargetFileName]" -o "[TargetDir]"

-sn -app "[SourcePackage]" -pp "[TargetFileName]" -o "[TargetDir]"

6. Right-click My Workflow Example and select New Task, and name the task Build a Windows Installer package.
7. Right-click My Workflow Example and select New Task, and name the task Import package into Application Catalog.
8. With the Import package into Application Catalog task selected, make the following selections in the Task Properties pane:
a. From the Tool list, select Application Catalog.
b. From the Tool Configuration list, select Import Package.

Note:Selecting this tool configuration associates the following predefined command lines with this task:

-app -iwiz "[SourcePackage]"

Creating a Project Based on the Workflow

To create a project based on a workflow, perform the following steps.

To create a project based on your new workflow:

1. Open AdminStudio and open the Process Assistants tab.
2. In the All Projects list, right-click and select New Project. The Welcome panel of the New Workflow Project Wizard opens.
3. Click Next. The Workflow Selection panel opens.
4. In the Provide a name for the new project field, enter My Sample Project and click Next. The Source Package panel opens.
5. Select My Workflow Example and click Next. The Source Package panel opens.
6. From the Source Package Panel, click Browse and select a legacy (.exe) installation program.

Note:This value (the directory and package name) are stored in the SourcePackage variable, which is used by the command line in Repackager set when you created the workflow.

7. Click Next. The Target Directory and Filename panel opens.
8. In the Target Directory field, browse to the directory where you want to store files associated with your project. For this example, use C:\AdminStudio Shared\Test\WorkflowExample.

Note:This value is written to the TargetDir variable used in the command line set for InstallShield Editor when creating the workflow.

9. Set the Target File Name to WorkflowProjectEx.

Note:This value is written to the TargetFileName variable used in the command line set for InstallShield Editor when creating the workflow.

10. Click Finish. The new Workflow Project is now listed.

Running the Workflow

To run the workflow, perform the following steps.

To run the workflow:

1. Expand the workflow My Workflow Example in the Projects tree.
2. Right-click on the Repackage a Legacy Setup task and select Run Task on the shortcut menu. The Repackaging Wizard opens.

Note:When Repackager launches, it reads the value SourcePackage to determine the file to repackage. It also reads TargetDir and TargetFileName to determine where to place the output and what to call the output file.

3. On the Welcome panel, click Next.
4. On the Method Selection panel, select Installation Monitoring and click Next.
5. On the Collect Product Information panel, if a company name is not yet listed, enter a Company Name, such as My Company and click Next.
6. On the Set Target Project Information and Capture Settings panel, click Start. The Repackaging panel opens and repackaging begins.
7. When repackaging is complete, the new WorkflowProjectEx.irp file opens in the Repackager interface.
8. Return to the Process Assistants tab and mark the Repackage a legacy setup step complete.
9. Return to the Repackager interface and select Repackaged Output in the tree to open the Repackaged Output view.
10. Click Build. The Repackager project is built into a Windows Installer package.
11. Return to the Process Assistants tab and mark the Build a Windows Installer package step complete.
12. Right-click on the Import package into Application Catalog task and select Run Task on the shortcut menu. Application Catalog opens and the Import Wizard is launched.
13. Proceed with the steps in the Import Wizard to import the following package into the Application Catalog:

AdminStudio Shared\Test\WorkflowExample\MSI_Package\WorkflowProjectEx.msi

The WorkflowProjectEx application is now listed in the Application Catalog tree.

14. Return to the Process Assistants tab and mark the Import package into Application Catalog step complete.

Summary

This is just a brief example of how AdminStudio tools can be made aware of each other during a project. When crafting workflows, create command lines to streamline your projects.