Billboard Control
InstallShield 2020
Project:This information applies to the following project types:
| • | Basic MSI |
| • | Merge Module |
If your installation includes a Setup.exe launcher, you can have the launcher display billboards during the file transfer process; this is an alternative to the billboard control, which is a Windows Installer control. This Setup.exe billboard support is available in Basic MSI, InstallScript, and InstallScript MSI installations. To learn more about this type of billboard, see Displaying Billboards.
A billboard control is used to display data that can be updated in response to control events. Billboards can contain other controls for displaying this information, but they must be static controls—including text, bitmaps, and icons—that are not linked to a Windows Installer property. You can use a billboard, for example, to display the progress of a protracted custom action.
Billboards are not fully supported in the Dialog Editor. In order to have the billboard interact with Windows Installer actions and display other controls, you must make changes to the Billboard and BBControl tables in your project; you can use the Direct Editor view to modify these tables.
When you select a billboard control in a dialog of the Dialogs view, InstallShield displays the following settings in the right pane.
|
Setting |
Description |
|
Name |
Enter a name for this billboard. The name must be unique among all of the controls in your project. |
|
Base Text Style |
This font style is used for the control’s label if you specify nothing for the Text Style setting. |
|
Cancel |
If this is the only control on the dialog that will dismiss the dialog, select True. Clicking the cancel control has the same effect as pressing the ESC key or clicking the Close button on the title bar. The Cancel or Finish button is usually the cancel control. This value is ignored if True is selected for the ErrorDialog setting of the dialog that contains this control. |
|
Context Help |
This setting is reserved for future use. Windows Installer does not currently support launching context-sensitive help topics from the installation. |
|
Default |
If this is the only control on the dialog that you want to be the default control, which means that it is activated when the end user presses the ENTER key, select True. The Next or OK button is usually the default control. |
|
Height |
Specify the height of the control in Windows Installer user interface units (1/12 of the height of the system font). |
|
Left |
Specify the distance from the left edge of the dialog to the start of the control in installer units (1/12 of the height of the system font). |
|
Sunken |
To give the control’s edges a recessed, three-dimensional appearance, select True. To use the default visual style for the control, select False. |
|
Tab Index |
Assign an integer that—along with the other controls on this dialog but excluding controls such as static text—specifies the order in which each control on the dialog receives focus when the end user presses the TAB key. The lowest tab index that you can use is the number 0. |
|
Tab Stop |
Indicate whether this control receives focus within the tab order. True indicates that the control receives focus; False indicates that the control does not receive focus. |
|
Text |
This setting contains the text that is used for the initial value of the billboard’s control (see the BBControl table). When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield. If the billboard’s control contains a bitmap or icon, this value must be a foreign key into the Binary table to the file that is initially displayed on the control. |
|
Text Style |
Select the font style, size, and color (if available) in which you want the billboard’s label to be displayed. Leaving the value as <Default> displays the font that is contained in the DefaultUIFont property. |
|
Tooltip |
Enter the text that you want to be displayed when the end user places the mouse pointer over the control. When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield. |
|
Top |
Specify the distance from the top of the dialog to the top of the control in installer units (1/12 of the height of the system font). |
|
Visible |
True means that the control is visible, and False means that it is hidden. You can also make the control visible by editing its condition in the Behavior area for the dialog. |
|
Width |
Specify the width of the control in Windows Installer user interface units (1/12 of the height of the system font). |
See Also
Billboard Table (Windows Installer Help Library)