Struct ipworkszip::ZipSFX

Properties   Methods   Events   Config Settings   Errors  

The ZipSFX struct implements a PKZip-compatible Zip compressor to create a self-extracting archive which will run natively on Windows platforms.

Syntax

ipworkszip::ZipSFX

Remarks

The struct uses the Deflate algorithm specified in RFC 1951 for compression, and then creates a self-extracting executable archive. This exe will bring up a dialog that will allow the user to select the target directory in which to decompress the files. There is also an optional splash screen that may be displayed before decompression. The text for this splash screen may be set with the banner_text property. You can also set the text that appears on the title bar of each dialog box using the caption_text property.

Example (Creating a Self-Extracting Archive)

struct.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.exe" struct.RecurseSubdirectories = true struct.SourceDirectory = "c:\foo\" struct.CaptionText = "Testing ZipSFX" struct.BannerText = "Press continue to decompress the archive." struct.CreateSFX()

Note: When creating a self-extracting archive which exceeds 4 GB or more of uncompressed data or which contains more than 64K files, the struct will create a 64-bit Zip archive.

The self-extracting archive that is created by the ZipSFX struct is a Windows application. However, there are command line options available if you wish to batch multiple files. The options are:

For example, the following suppresses all questions and message boxes, and decompress to the current directory, use the following options: ZipExtractor /targetpath="." /overwrite=1 /displaymessage=0 /openfile=0 /password=pass

Note that if you run the self-extracting archive with any command line options, the pop up message box containing the banner_text will be suppressed.

Object Lifetime

The new() method returns a mutable reference to a struct instance. The object itself is kept in the global list maintained by IPWorksZip. Due to this, the ZipSFX struct cannot be disposed of automatically. Please, call the dispose(&mut self) method of ZipSFX when you have finished using the instance.

Property List

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The following is the full list of the properties of the struct with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

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The following is the full list of the methods of the struct with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

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The following is the full list of the events fired by the struct with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

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The following is a list of config settings for the struct with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

archive_file property (ZipSFX Struct)

The name of the self-extracting zip archive to create.

Syntax

fn archive_file(&self ) -> Result<String, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_archive_file(&self, value : &str) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_archive_file_ref(&self, value : &String) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the name of the archive to be written when CreateSFX is called. Any pre-existing archive file will be overwritten.

The filename may be specified with or without a path. Paths may be relative or absolute, and should be specified in the format native to the host operating system. The filename should be specified with the appropriate ".exe" extension. An extension will not automatically be appended by the struct.

If the file cannot be written a trappable error will be generated.

Example (Creating a Self-Extracting Archive)

struct.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.exe" struct.RecurseSubdirectories = true struct.SourceDirectory = "c:\foo\" struct.CaptionText = "Testing ZipSFX" struct.BannerText = "Press continue to decompress the archive." struct.CreateSFX()

Note: When creating a self-extracting archive which exceeds 4 GB or more of uncompressed data or which contains more than 64K files, the struct will create a 64-bit Zip archive.

Data Type

String

banner_text property (ZipSFX Struct)

Optional banner text to show before the self-extraction starts.

Syntax

fn banner_text(&self ) -> Result<String, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_banner_text(&self, value : &str) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_banner_text_ref(&self, value : &String) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

""

Remarks

If this property is set, a dialog box will pop up displaying the contents of this property as soon as the SFX executable is run. If this property is set to an empty string (default) no banner dialog will be displayed.

Example (Creating a Self-Extracting Archive)

struct.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.exe" struct.RecurseSubdirectories = true struct.SourceDirectory = "c:\foo\" struct.CaptionText = "Testing ZipSFX" struct.BannerText = "Press continue to decompress the archive." struct.CreateSFX()

Data Type

String

caption_text property (ZipSFX Struct)

Optional caption (title) text for the self-extractor dialogs.

Syntax

fn caption_text(&self ) -> Result<String, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_caption_text(&self, value : &str) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_caption_text_ref(&self, value : &String) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the text which will appear on the title bar of the dialog boxes that appear when running the SFX executable file. If this property is not set, "IPWorks Zip Self Extractor - www.nsoftware.com" will appear in the title bar.

Example (Creating a Self-Extracting Archive)

struct.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.exe" struct.RecurseSubdirectories = true struct.SourceDirectory = "c:\foo\" struct.CaptionText = "Testing ZipSFX" struct.BannerText = "Press continue to decompress the archive." struct.CreateSFX()

Data Type

String

compression_level property (ZipSFX Struct)

The compression level to use.

Syntax

fn compression_level(&self ) -> Result<i32, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_compression_level(&self, value : i32) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

4

Remarks

This property specifies the level of compression to be used, between 0 and 6. Higher values will cause the struct to compress better; lower values will cause the struct to compress faster. A value of 0 will store the file without compression.

Data Type

i32

extract_to_path property (ZipSFX Struct)

Optional target directory for the self-extractor.

Syntax

fn extract_to_path(&self ) -> Result<String, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_extract_to_path(&self, value : &str) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_extract_to_path_ref(&self, value : &String) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

""

Remarks

If set to empty string (default), the self-extractor will attempt to extract files into a subdirectory of the directory it is being executed from.

The name of the subdirectory is derived from the name of the self-extracting archive by removing its extension.

Data Type

String

file_to_execute property (ZipSFX Struct)

Optional file to execute (open) after the archive is extracted.

Syntax

fn file_to_execute(&self ) -> Result<String, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_file_to_execute(&self, value : &str) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_file_to_execute_ref(&self, value : &String) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

"."

Remarks

This property specifies an executable file which will be run after the archive has completed decompressing. This must be a relative path to a file located within extract_to_path. If this property is set to ".", the folder to which the archive has been decompressed will open in Windows Explorer. If this property is set to "" (empty string), the extractor will close and take no action.

Data Type

String

password property (ZipSFX Struct)

An optional password for the self-extracting archive.

Syntax

fn password(&self ) -> Result<String, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_password(&self, value : &str) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_password_ref(&self, value : &String) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies a case-sensitive password used to encrypt or decrypt the archive. If set to an empty string (default), no encryption is used.

The maximum supported length of the password is 128 characters.

Example (compressing an SFX archive):

struct.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.exe" struct.RecurseSubdirectories = true struct.SourceDirectory = "c:\foo" struct.Password = "nsoftware" struct.CreateSFX()

Data Type

String

recurse_subdirectories property (ZipSFX Struct)

Whether or not to recurse into subdirectories during archive creation.

Syntax

fn recurse_subdirectories(&self ) -> Result<bool, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_recurse_subdirectories(&self, value : bool) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

true

Remarks

If this property is set to true, when calling CreateSFX the struct will recurse into all the subdirectories under source_directory and include them in the self extracting archive. If this property is false, only the files in source_directory will be included in the archive.

Data Type

bool

source_directory property (ZipSFX Struct)

Directory to be compressed into a self-extracting archive.

Syntax

fn source_directory(&self ) -> Result<String, IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_source_directory(&self, value : &str) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 
fn set_source_directory_ref(&self, value : &String) ->  Option<IPWorksZipError> 

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the name of the directory containing the files to be compressed. This may be a local or absolute path. If the recurse_subdirectories property is true, all the subdirectories under source_directory will be recursed into, and those files will also be compressed.

Example (Creating a Self-Extracting Archive)

struct.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.exe" struct.RecurseSubdirectories = true struct.SourceDirectory = "c:\foo\" struct.CaptionText = "Testing ZipSFX" struct.BannerText = "Press continue to decompress the archive." struct.CreateSFX()

Data Type

String

config method (ZipSFX Struct)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

fn config(&self, configuration_string : &str) ->  Result<String, IPWorksZipError>

Remarks

config is a generic method available in every struct. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the struct.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the struct, access to these internal properties is provided through the config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

create_sfx method (ZipSFX Struct)

Compresses the files and creates a self-extracting archive.

Syntax

fn create_sfx(&self) -> Result<(), IPWorksZipError>

Remarks

Invoking CreateSFX creates the archive specified by archive_file. When the method is called, all files specified by source_directory will be compressed and written to archive_file. If recurse_subdirectories is true, all the subdirectories under source_directory and the files they contain will also be compressed and written to archive_file.

If archive_file exists when you call CreateSFX it will be overwritten.

As the files in source_directory are being compressed, the on_progress event will fire periodically to indicate how many bytes have been processed and the percentage of compression that has been completed.

To include your own custom text on the title bar of all of the self-extractor dialog boxes, set the caption_text before calling CreateSFX. Setting the optional banner_text property will cause a small dialog to pop up when the self-extractor is run. You can put in a description of the contents, instructions, or any text you like.

Example (Creating a Self-Extracting Archive)

struct.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.exe" struct.RecurseSubdirectories = true struct.SourceDirectory = "c:\foo\" struct.CaptionText = "Testing ZipSFX" struct.BannerText = "Press continue to decompress the archive." struct.CreateSFX()

Note: When creating a self-extracting archive which exceeds 4 GB or more of uncompressed data or which contains more than 64K files, the struct will create a 64-bit Zip archive.

The self-extracting archive that is created by the ZipSFX struct is a Windows application. However, there are command line options available if you wish to batch multiple files. The options are:

For example, the following suppresses all questions and message boxes, and decompress to the current directory, use the following options: ZipExtractor /targetpath="." /overwrite=1 /displaymessage=0 /openfile=0 /password=pass

Note that if you run the self-extracting archive with any command line options, the pop up message box containing the banner_text will be suppressed.

reset method (ZipSFX Struct)

Resets the struct.

Syntax

fn reset(&self) -> Result<(), IPWorksZipError>

Remarks

reset resets the state of the struct. All properties will be set to their default values, and any files open will be closed.

on_error event (ZipSFX Struct)

Information about non-fatal errors.

Syntax

// ZipSFXErrorEventArgs carries the ZipSFX Error event's parameters.
pub struct ZipSFXErrorEventArgs {
  fn description(&self) -> &String
  fn error_code(&self) -> i32
  fn index(&self) -> i32
  fn file_name(&self) -> &String
  fn ignore(&self) -> bool
  fn set_ignore(&self, value : bool)
}

// ZipSFXErrorEvent defines the signature of the ZipSFX Error event's handler function.
pub trait ZipSFXErrorEvent {
  fn on_error(&self, sender : ZipSFX, e : &mut ZipSFXErrorEventArgs);
}

impl <'a> ZipSFX<'a> {
  pub fn on_error(&self) -> &'a dyn ZipSFXErrorEvent;
  pub fn set_on_error(&mut self, value : &'a dyn ZipSFXErrorEvent);
  ...
}

Remarks

The on_error event is fired when non-fatal errors occur during compression or decompression. Note that if this event is fired during decompression this may indicate that the archive is corrupt.

By default these errors will cause the component to fail with an exception. The exception may be overridden by setting ignore to true. This will cause the error to be ignored, the file will be skipped if necessary, and the struct will continue operation.

error_code will correspond to one of the following errors:

description contains a textual description of the error. index and file_name contain the array index (where appropriate) and filename of the file being processed at the time of the error.

on_progress event (ZipSFX Struct)

Fired as progress is made.

Syntax

// ZipSFXProgressEventArgs carries the ZipSFX Progress event's parameters.
pub struct ZipSFXProgressEventArgs {
  fn file_name(&self) -> &String
  fn bytes_processed(&self) -> i64
  fn percent_processed(&self) -> i32
}

// ZipSFXProgressEvent defines the signature of the ZipSFX Progress event's handler function.
pub trait ZipSFXProgressEvent {
  fn on_progress(&self, sender : ZipSFX, e : &mut ZipSFXProgressEventArgs);
}

impl <'a> ZipSFX<'a> {
  pub fn on_progress(&self) -> &'a dyn ZipSFXProgressEvent;
  pub fn set_on_progress(&mut self, value : &'a dyn ZipSFXProgressEvent);
  ...
}

Remarks

The on_progress event is automatically fired as compression is performed.

file_name contains the name of the file being written.

bytes_processed contains the total number of uncompressed bytes processed.

percent_processed contains the percent of uncompressed bytes processed, corresponding roughly to the running time of the operation.

Config Settings (ZipSFX Struct)

The struct accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the struct, access to these internal properties is provided through the config method.

ZipSFX Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (ZipSFX Struct)

Errors

The following errors may be generated by the struct. Note that frequently the error message will contain more specific information than what is listed here.

Note that some non-fatal errors may be trapped and explicitly ignored in the on_error event. This will allow the struct to continue operation even in case of error.

ZipSFX Errors