How to Write an INF
Credits
This guide was originally created and hosted by Crucifer [old, went the 404
way :-(].
Copies of this INF Guide can (still) be found at:A MUSTAll Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) builds
listed here are compatible with all Windows 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems (95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 + 7) and with MS Internet Explorer (IE) 4.x, 5.x, 6.0, 7.0 + 8.0:- IEAK 6.0 SP3 Toolkit Upgrade [4.11 MB, multilanguage] = installs all available languages (25): advpack.dll, iexpress.exe + wextract.exe 6.0.2900.5512 (from Windows XP SP3) = see _READ1ST.TXT (included inside the ZIP archive) for more details.
- IEAK 6.0 SP1 Toolkit Upgrade
[4.66 MB, multilanguage] = installs all available languages (28): advpack.dll, iexpress.exe + wextract.exe 6.0.2800.1106/6.0.2800.1168 (from MS IE 6.0 SP1) = see READ1ST.TXT
(included inside the ZIP archive) for more details.
- IEAK 6.0 SP1 Toolkit Full [2.56 MB, English] = installs IEAK 6.0
SP1 6.0.2800.1106 compilers, executables, support, help, libraries, scripts + templates.
More guides, resources + downloads:
Overview
Here we will discuss only Windows 9x OSes (95, 98 + ME). Most INF + Self
Extraction Directive (SED) file functions are actually similar in Windows NTx OSes (NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 + 7).
You can take advantage of the built-in setup engine (API) in Windows 95/98/ME [SETUP4.DLL,
SETUPAPI.DLL + SETUPX.DLL and also ADVAPI32.DLL + ADVPACK.DLL (advanced Setup functions), all located in the %windir%\SYSTEM folder] by writing a setup script [a Setup INFormation file (INF)], and use various methods to execute
the script. The advantages of using the built-in engine is size: the functions to copy files, add registry entries, create shortcuts etc. are already present in the Windows 95/98/ME operating systems, so you don't need to ship a
separate setup engine, only an INF and the program files you want to install. Windows 95/98/ME INFs can be used to install and uninstall a particular component. However, a separate script is required for each.
The
disadvantages of using the Windows 95/98/ME setup engine are inflexibility and lack of some features found in other setup programs. Windows INFs cannot prompt the user for a destination
directory, it must be hard-coded in the INF. It also does not have the capability of executing enough logic in determining what is already on the user's machine, and eventually branching out accordingly.Use INF Guide
Offline
If you prefer to browse through this INF Guide offline, please download it [402 KB, English]:INF_WEB.ZIP
You need an unZIPping tool [free(ware)] to extract the files.
Then use your favorite web
browser [free(ware)] to open index.htm .
Enjoy.Authoring an INF
The easiest way to create an INF is to use an existing/sample INF as template, open it in Notepad [or better free(ware) replacement], and customize it for your own use. A pointer to a generic sample is provided below. Other good examples abound in the %windir%\INF [usually
C:\WINDOWS\INF] folder on any Windows 95/98/ME machine. Ones that are especially good are WORDPAD.INF, APPLETS.INF + APPLETPP.INF .Executing an INF
Once you have
created an INF, there are a number of ways to execute the script: