ionCube Bundler

ionCube Bundler

The ionCube Bundler is a simple to use tool for creating Windows self-extracting archives that can be transparently unpacked by end-users, with a post-unpack executable launched automatically if required.

Archives can be created from Windows and Linux, making it ideal for automating archive creation on a server.

By wrapping the actual installer setup.exe plus other files as a single new setup.exe, the bundler neatly solves cases where not all files for a package can be built into the main installer.

Features

·         Bundler available for Linux and Windows.

·         Easy to use Windows Bundler GUI.

·         < 50K file size overhead.

·         Convenient Windows drag-and-drop interface.

·         Transparent to end-users.

·         Option to allow end-users to choose extraction destination.

·         And more!

 

View the online documentation for more details on all Bundler features.

Introduction

This tool takes a folder or a list of files, and uses them to create a 'self-extracting archive' Bundle as a Windows executable. Upon execution, the Bundle extracts the embedded files, and has the ability to trigger a predetermined executable if required.

Usage

The following image shows the user interface for the ionCube Bundler.

The ionCube Bundler can run in two modes, corresponding to the Allow user to choose destination folder for extraction checkbox. If this checkbox is left empty, then files will be extracted to a temporary folder, otherwise the user will be prompted for the folder to extract files into.

Triggering Programs

After extraction, the tool can automatically run a program contained in the extracted files. If the files were extracted into a temporary folder, they will be deleted once this program has been closed.

Example

A typical use for the Bundler is as follows: a setup.exe file is produced with a third party tool, and depends on external files that must be bundled with the setup.exe. A suitable bundle is created by dragging the setup.exe and external files onto the Bundler window. The Run a file after extraction box is checked, and setup.exe entered as the corresponding path.