Make Snapins Using FOSS

From FOGProject Wiki

Intro
Snapins are a feature of FOG, however I had a really hard time figuring out how to create them using free open source programs.

For this HOWTO I will be using Ubuntu 9.04 to create a snapin of Firefox 3.0.10 for Windows. The programs that I am using all have a Windows version so you can replicate what I am doing in Ubuntu in Windows if you are more comfortable with that.

Tools

• The 7-zip program
• A text editor
• The 7-zip extra tar ball

Begin
To install 7-zip in Ubuntu type:

sudo apt-get install p7zip-full

Or trying to install it using the Add / Remove Programs GUI

Next we have to use 7-zip to pack the file. We use the -y switch for the self-extracting program.

7z a -y file.7z FirefoxSetup3.0.10.exe

Now we need to create a config file that allows installation after inflating the file. Open your favorite text editor I am using default text editor Gedit.

I create a new text document and put this into it:

;!@Install@!UTF-8!
Title="Firefox Installation"
ExecuteFile="FirefoxSetup3.0.10.exe"
;!@InstallEnd@!

Make sure that you save your file as UTF-8 encoded (default in gedit) and that it has the name 7zip.conf

Now download the 7-zip extra file from Source Forge. You need the 7zS.sfx file out of that archive.

Now put everything together:

 cat 7zS.sfx 7zip.conf file.7z > firefoxinstall.exe

or if you want in windows

copy /b file.7z + 7zip.conf + 7zS.sfx firefoxinstall.exe

You are now ready to test and deploy your snapin.

Conclusion
I purposely choose a really simple example. Firefox is deployed much easier than this just upload the Firefox executable file to your fog server and then pass the -ms switch to make a silent install. However this gives a great overview on how to create snapins in a Linux environment. For more complex installs I end up having to use a Windows box and a great program called AutoIT the procedure is basically the same. Use 7-zip to create a self extracting archive and have it run a AutoIT script to finish the install. In my opinion this is much easier than trying to use install right and yields better results. Your mileage may vary.