summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/doc/installerfw-using.qdoc
blob: 5c5bbbbc4d727a7862c9b5cef0a71d2df7848e53 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
/****************************************************************************
**
** Copyright (C) 2021 The Qt Company Ltd.
** Contact: http://www.qt.io/licensing/
**
** This file is part of the Qt Installer Framework.
**
** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:FDL$
** Commercial License Usage
** Licensees holding valid commercial Qt licenses may use this file in
** accordance with the commercial license agreement provided with the
** Software or, alternatively, in accordance with the terms contained in
** a written agreement between you and The Qt Company. For licensing terms
** and conditions see https://www.qt.io/terms-conditions. For further
** information use the contact form at https://www.qt.io/contact-us.
**
** GNU Free Documentation License Usage
** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Free
** Documentation License version 1.3 as published by the Free Software
** Foundation and appearing in the file included in the packaging of
** this file. Please review the following information to ensure
** the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 requirements
** will be met: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-1.3.html.
** $QT_END_LICENSE$
**
****************************************************************************/

/*!
    \previouspage ifw-getting-started.html
    \page ifw-use-cases.html
    \nextpage ifw-use-cases-install.html

    \title End User Workflows

    The end user experience is similar for offline and online installers.
    Along with your application, the installers install a maintenance tool that
    consists of a package manager, an updater, and an uninstaller. End users can
    use the maintenance tool to add, update, and remove components. The
    maintenance tool connects to an external repository to fetch the components
    to add or update. You can specify the repository in the configuration file
    or end users can specify it in the maintenance tool settings.

    You can support the following end user workflows:

    \list

        \li \l{Initial Installation}

        \li \l{Adding Components}

        \li \l{Removing Components}

        \li \l{Updating Components}

        \li \l{Specifying Settings}

        \li \l{Using from Command Line}

    \endlist
*/

/*!
    \previouspage ifw-use-cases.html
    \page ifw-use-cases-install.html
    \nextpage ifw-use-cases-add.html

    \title Initial Installation

    The following image illustrates the default workflow for installing
    applications:

    \image ifw-user-flow-installing.png "Installation workflow"

    This section uses the \e {Your Application Installer} example run on macOS
    to illustrate the default workflow for end users. The installers have the
    native look and feel on each supported desktop platform, and therefore they
    look and feel different when run on Linux and Windows.

    The example files are stored in the \c{examples\tutorial} directory
    in the Qt Installer Framework repository. You can use the \c binarycreator
    tool to create \e {Your Application Installer}.

    \section1 Starting Installer

    When end users start the installer, the introduction page opens:

    \image ifw-introduction-page.png "Introduction page"

    You specify the name of the installer and the product to install in the
    \c config.xml configuration file.

    When end users select \gui Continue, the target directory selection page opens.

    \section1 Selecting Target Directory

    End users must specify the target directory for the installation. You can
    specify a default value in the \c config.xml configuration file.

    \image ifw-target-directory-page.png "Target directory selection page"

    When end users select \gui Continue, the component selection page opens.

    If the directory already contains files, a warning page opens:

    \image ifw-warning-existing-installation.png "Warning page"

    \section1 Selecting Components

    The component selection page lists the components available for installation
    and a short description of each component. End users select the components
    to install. They can select \gui {Select All} to select all components,
    \gui {Deselect All} to deselect them, or \gui Default to revert to the
    default selection.

    \image ifw-select-components.png "Component selection page"

    You add the installable components to the \c data directory in the package
    directory. You specify information about the components in the
    \c package.xml file in the \c meta directory.

    You can use a boolean operator or a script to specify whether a component is
    selected by default.

    When end users select \gui Continue, the license check page opens.

    \section1 Accepting License Agreements

    On the license check page, end users must accept the terms of the license
    agreement for the installation to continue.

    \image ifw-license-check-page.png "License check page"

    The license check page is displayed, if you specify a license file in the
    \c package.xml file and copy the file to the \c meta directory.

    \section1 Selecting Windows Program Group

    On Windows, the Start menu directory selection page enables end users to
    select the program group for the product in the Windows \gui Start menu.

    \image ifw-win-program-group.png "Start menu directory selection page"

    You specify a default value for the program group in the \c config.xml
    configuration file.

    When end users select \gui Next, the ready for installation page opens.

    \section1 Installing Components

    The ready for installation page informs end users that the installation can
    begin when users select \gui Install.

    \image ifw-ready-for-installation.png "Ready for installation page"

    During the installation, the perform installation page displays information
    about how the installation is progressing. End users can select
    \gui {Show Details} to view more information.

    \image ifw-perform-installation.png "Perform installation page"

    When the installation is complete, the installation finished page opens.

    \image ifw-installation-finished.png "Installation finished page"

    To this page, you can add the option to start the installed product upon
    closing the installer. You specify the product to start and the text to
    display in the \c config.xml configuration file.
*/

/*!
    \previouspage ifw-use-cases-install.html
    \page ifw-use-cases-add.html
    \nextpage ifw-use-cases-remove.html

    \title Adding Components

    If end users did not select all the components available for installation
    during the initial installation, they can use the package manager to install
    the remaining components from a repository later. The package manager is
    part of a maintenance tool that is installed together with the application
    during the initial installation. This only works if a repository that
    contains the components is available either locally or externally.

    The following image illustrates the default workflow for installing
    additional components:

    \image ifw-user-flow-adding.png "Add components workflow"

    This section uses the \e {Maintenance Tool} installed by the Qt 5 installer
    run on macOS as an example implementation of how end users can add components
    after the initial installation. The Maintenance Tool contains the package
    manager, updater, and uninstaller.

    \section1 Starting Package Manager

    When end users start the Maintenance Tool, the introduction page opens:

    \image ifw-add-components-introduction.png "Introduction page"

    When end users select \gui {Package manager}, and then \gui Continue, the
    component selection page opens.

    \section1 Selecting Additional Components

    The component selection page lists the components available for installation
    and a short description of each component. Installed components are
    displayed selected in the list. End users select additional components to
    install. They can select \gui Reset to display the currently installed
    components again.

    \image ifw-add-components-selection.png "Select Components page"

    When end users select \gui Continue, the ready to update page opens.

    \section1 Installing Selected Components

    The ready to update page informs end users that the components are installed
    when users select \gui Update.

    \image ifw-ready-to-update.png "Ready to Update Packages page"

    The update page displays information about how installation is progressing.
    End users can select \gui {Show Details} to view more information.

    \image ifw-perform-update.png "Update page"

    When the installation is complete, the update finished page opens.

    \image ifw-update-finished.png "Update finished page"

*/

/*!
    \previouspage ifw-use-cases-add.html
    \page ifw-use-cases-remove.html
    \nextpage ifw-use-cases-update.html

    \title Removing Components

    The following image illustrates the default workflow for removing either
    all or some installed components:

    \image ifw-user-flow-removing.png "Remove components workflow"

    This section uses the Qt 5 Maintenance Tool run on macOS as an example
    implementation of how end users can remove all or selected components.

    \section1 Removing All Components

    When end users start the Maintenance Tool, the introduction page opens:

    \image ifw-add-components-introduction.png "Introduction page"

    End users can select \gui {Remove all components}, and then \gui Continue, to
    remove all installed components.

    The ready to uninstall page informs end users that the uninstallation can
    begin when users select \gui Uninstall.

    \image ifw-ready-to-uninstall.png "Ready to uninstall page"

    \section1 Removing Selected Components

    End users can select \gui {Package manager}, and then \gui Continue, to select
    components to remove on the component selection page:

    \image ifw-add-components-selection.png "Component selection page"

    When end users deselect the components to remove, and then select \gui Continue,
    the ready to update page opens. It informs end users that the components are
    removed when users select \gui Update.

    \image ifw-ready-to-update.png "Ready to update page"

    The update page displays information about how removal is progressing.
    End users can select \gui {Show Details} to view more information.

    \image ifw-removing-components.png "Update page"

    When the removal is complete, the update finished page opens.

    \image ifw-update-finished.png "Update finished page"
*/

/*!
    \previouspage ifw-use-cases-remove.html
    \page ifw-use-cases-update.html
    \nextpage ifw-use-cases-settings.html

    \title Updating Components

    The following image illustrates the default workflow for updating installed
    components:

    \image ifw-user-flow-updating.png "Updating workflow"

    This section uses the Qt 5 Maintenance Tool run on macOS as an example
    implementation of how end users can update installed components.

    \section1 Starting Updater

    When end users start the Maintenance Tool, the introduction page opens:

    \image ifw-updating-introduction.png "Introduction page"

    When end users select \gui {Update components}, and then \gui Continue, the
    component selection page opens.

    \section1 Selecting Components to Update

    The updater displays a list of available updates that end users can select
    from.

    \image ifw-updating-components.png "Component selection page"

    When end users select \gui Continue, the ready to update page opens.

    \section1 Updating Selected Components

    The ready to update page informs end users that the components are updated
    when they select \gui Update.

    \image ifw-ready-to-update.png "Ready to update page"

    The update page displays information about how updating is progressing.
    End users can select \gui {Show Details} to view more information.

    \image ifw-perform-update.png "Update page"

    When update is complete, the update finished page opens.

    \image ifw-update-finished.png "Update finished page"
*/

/*!
    \previouspage ifw-use-cases-update.html
    \page ifw-use-cases-settings.html
    \nextpage ifw-use-cases-cli.html

    \title Specifying Settings

    Settings pages enable end users to specify proxy settings or install add-on
    components. End users select \gui Settings on the introduction page to
    specify the settings.

    \section1 Specifying Proxy Settings

    By default, the installer uses system proxy settings. End users can
    select to use no proxy or specify the proxy settings manually.

    \image ifw-settings-network.png "Network tab on Settings page"

    \section1 Installing Add-on Components

    To install add-on components, end users select the \gui Repositories tab.

    \image ifw-settings-repositories.png "Repositories tab on Settings page"

    If the web server requires authentication, end users can add their username
    and password. To display passwords, end users select \gui {Show Passwords}.

    To add their own repositories to the installer, end users can select
    \gui Add and specify the URL that points to the repository.

    Temporary repositories can be used only once, for initial installation.
    After the installation, only default and user-defined repositories will be
    available.

*/

/*!
    \previouspage ifw-use-cases-settings.html
    \page ifw-use-cases-cli.html
    \nextpage ifw-tutorial.html

    \title Using from Command Line

    Qt Installer Framework 4.0.0 introduces a new command line interface workflow. Most
    of the end user use cases can now be performed using a text based interface, either
    interactively, or unattended by specifying the desired options beforehand. This
    topic describes the basic use cases. For more information about the syntax
    and a description of all supported options, see \l{Command Line Interface}.

    \section1 Installing Components

    Both the installer and the maintenance tool support installation of new components from
    command line. The following will install the components given as an argument and
    their respective dependencies:

    \code
    maintenancetool.exe install componentA componentB componentC
    \endcode

    If no components are specified, the default set of components will be installed instead.
    This includes components with elements \c <Default> or \c <ForcedInstallation> set to \c true.
    The default installation can be only done with an installer binary. The \c --root option can be
    used to select an installation target directory:

    \code
    installer.exe --root "C:\Users\MyUser\MyInstallation" install
    \endcode

    \section1 Checking for Available Updates

    To print information about available component updates, run the \c check-updates
    command with the maintenance tool:

    \code
    maintenancetool.exe check-updates
    \endcode

    \section1 Updating Components

    Running \c update without arguments will update all components that have an update
    available. Essential and ForcedUpdate components are always updated first, same way as
    when launching the updater from GUI. After Essential and ForcedUpdate components
    are updated, the installer needs to be restarted for other updates. To update only
    a specific subset of installed components, they can be provided as an optional argument
    for \c update:

    \code
    maintenancetool.exe update componentA componentB
    \endcode

    \section1 Uninstalling Components

    The \c remove command can be used to uninstall selected components. This will
    automatically uninstall their children and other components depending on the
    components about to be uninstalled:

    \code
    // This would also automatically uninstall componentC.subcomponent1, componentC.subcomponent2,...
    maintenancetool.exe remove componentC
    \endcode

    \section1 Listing Installed Components

    To get a list and print additional information about currently installed components, run the
    \c list command with the maintenance tool. The command also accepts an optional regular
    expression argument to filter the shown component list.

    \code
    maintenancetool.exe list
    \endcode

    \section1 Searching for Available Components

    The \c search command can be used to search components from available repositories, or
    from integrated binary content in case of an offline installer. It can be used with
    no arguments to list all available components or with a regular expression to get a list
    of only components matching the pattern. The \c --filter-packages option can be
    used to specify additional filters for the search operation. For a list of usable
    information elements with the option, refer to \l{Summary of Package Information File Elements}.

    \code
    installer.exe --filter-packages "DisplayName=MyComponent, Version=1.0" search "expression"
    \endcode

    \section1 Performing Full Uninstallation

    To uninstall all components and remove the program directory, including maintenance tool,
    run \c purge command:

    \code
    maintenancetool.exe purge
    \endcode

    \section1 Creating Custom Offline Installers

    To create a personal offline installer containing a selected set of components from online repositories,
    use the \c create-offline command. This is a useful feature for scenarios where the same installation
    content will be deployed multiple times or on several machines, as it saves time spent on downloading
    component archives and enables easily reproducible installations. The \c --offline-installer-name
    option can be used to set a desired name for the generated offline installer.

    Note that you can create offline installers only from online installers with valid repositories enabled.

    \code
    installer.exe --root "C:\TargetFolder" --offline-installer-name "MyInstaller" create-offline componentA componentB
    \endcode

    \section1 Unattended Usage

    By default, the generated installers may ask for additional information during installation,
    which requires user attention. Unattended usage is possible by providing all information
    beforehand with appropriate options:

    \code
    installer.exe --root "C:\MyInstallation" --accept-licenses --default-answer --confirm-command install componentA
    \endcode

    In this example, \c --accept-licenses is used to automatically accept all license agreements
    required by components to be installed. The \c --default-answer option is used to answer all
    message queries with their default answer. Alternatively, \c --accept-messages and \c --reject-messages
    can be used to accept or reject all message queries. To provide unique answers for individual
    queries, for example to confirm overwriting of an existing directory, you could use
    \c {--auto-answer OverwriteTargetDirectory=Yes}. Automatic answers are shown on the
    console output and installation log.

    By default, the installer and maintenance tool will print a summary of components to be
    affected by the command and then ask for permission to continue performing the action,
    to prevent accidental changes. For unattended usage, this can be skipped by using the
    \c --confirm-command option.
*/