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Write registry entries

This page allows you to specify the registry entries to be installed or edited by the package on the destination computer. Once again this feature is available with custom actions, but it is much easier to manage registry entries using this editor.

Registry Entry Manager

  • To add an entry, click the Add button and the entry editor dialog will be displayed.

  • To edit an entry, select it and click the Edit button, or double-click it.

  • To remove an entry, select it and click the Remove button or press DEL.

  • To import/export registry files (.reg), click REG tools and select the desired option.

Using the mouse context menu (right click a registry item), you can also copy/cut/paste registry entries. This feature is useful if you wish to keep properties of an entry and only change one property for example.

Import/export registry files

You can import registry entries from .REG files created using RegEdit (RegEdit.exe in Windows folder). Currently only registry files in the REGEDIT4 format are supported (non unicode). If you try to import other registry formats, Paquet Builder will raise an exception.

Be sure to select the "W9X/WNT" .reg format in the list when exporting with RegEdit.

Another solution consists in editing a .reg file with NotePad and changing the header to REGEDIT4. Be sure to save the file in the ANSI format.

Paquet Builder will only import string and dword values. Other entries are just ignored.

You can also export registry entries to .REG files compatible with RegEdit. These .reg files may also be edited using NotePad or any other text editor.

Entry Editor

  • Using the editor: The Windows registry entry editor lets you enter or modify the settings for the selected entry. Please have a look at the help topic of the "Write a registry entry" custom action for explanation about the different terms in the editor.

  • Component: Specifies the component's name the registry entry belongs to. Component names are available in the list box: use the "drop down" button to see available components. If the component is not installed, then the registry entry will not be created. Set the component to None if you want the registry entry to be always created.

Accessing an Alternate Registry View

By default, a 32-bit package running on WOW64 accesses the 32-bit Windows Registry view and a 64-bit package accesses the 64-bit Windows Registry view.

Custom actions related to modifying or reading the Windows registry have a property named Access that allows you to choose which registry view you want to access.

The Access property can have the following values:

  • regaDefault: default behavior (as explained above in first paragraph)
  • regaWOW64_64KEY: request access to a 64-bit key from either a 32-bit or 64-bit package.
  • regaWOW64_32KEY: request access to a 32-bit key from either a 32-bit or 64-bit package.

There is no effect on shared registry keys.

Warning

On a 32-bit Windows system, regaWOW64_32KEY and regWOW64_64KEY flags are just ignored. No error will be thrown.

For further information, please refer to Microsoft Windows documentation.

Notes

  • If you wish to modify the default value of a registry key, then leave the "Ident" field blank.

  • Paquet Builder supports working with four types of registry entries: string (REG_SZ), dword (REG_DWORD and REG_QWORD) and expanded strings (REG_EXPAND_SZ). Do not forget to specify the type when you create registry entries.

  • Disclaimer: only advanced users who know how the Windows Registry works should use this feature.

  • Regarding administrative rights: only users with administrative rights can write or modify registry entries under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. To know whether end users have such a right, you can use the %ISADMIN% variable.

  • Registry entries created with the registry manager are by default automatically removed by the uninstaller.