Rob van der Woude's Scripting Pages

Parameters Reference for UpdateCheck.ini, version 1.40

Notes: [1] Though each of the following parameters is listed as not mandatory, at least one of them must be used: CommandLine, Executable, RegPath, RegVersion, and/or Win32Product.
See the UpdateCheck Help page for a detailed discussion on which parameter to use when.
  [2] Boolean parameters are considered false if empty or 0, otherwise true.
  [3] The parameters listed on this page are for "external" programs.
UpdateChech.hta itself, and its INI file, may not be bound to use mandatory variables and may use parameters not listed here.

 

Parameter [ProgID]
Type String
Category List programs
Mandatory Yes
Description The program ID opens a new section in the INI file
Example [IrfanView]
Requirements Must be unique
Pros  
Cons  

 

Parameter CommandLine
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Command to make the executable return its version
Example CommandLine=CMD.EXE /A /C PERL.EXE -v 2>&1
Requirements Executable (or script) must be found in the PATH
Pros No need for the program to be installed by an installer.
Allows the use of external scripts to get the program version.
Cons Executable or script must be found in the %PATH% environment variable, or (not recommended) its fully qualified path must be specified.
Possible performance penalty.
Use SearchPATH instead, if possible.

 

Parameter CustomEntry
Type Boolean
Category List programs
Mandatory No
Description Include this key for your customized program entries
Example CustomEntry=1
Requirements  
Pros Entry will be saved separately in case of INI file backups
Cons  

 

Parameter DisplayName
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Browse HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall subkeys and compare this parameter value against the registered Displayname
Example DisplayName=Java \d+ Update \d+
Requirements  
Pros Fast and reliable.
Supports regular expressions.
Cons Registry value not always available

 

Parameter DownloadRegistered
Type Boolean
Category Check latest version
Mandatory No
Description Adds a prompt that a different download URL may be required for registered software
Example DownloadRegistered=1
Requirements  
Pros May prevent overwriting registered software with a trial version
Cons Extra confirmation required for download

 

Parameter Executable
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Either the executable name or its relative or absolute path
Examples Executable=7z.exe
Executable=%ProgramFiles%\Manufacturer\ProductName\product.exe
Requirements RegPath or SearchPATH is required only if Executable is not an absolute path
Pros Always available
Cons Beware of non-standard installations

 

Parameter Excecutable2
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Used if Executable not found, intended for 64-bit Windows
Example Executable2=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Manufacturer\ProductName\product.exe
Requirements RegPath is required only if Executable2 is not an absolute path
Pros Always available
Cons Beware of non-standard installations

 

Parameter HideProg
Type Boolean
Category List programs
Mandatory No
Description Do not list this program but still include it when modifications are saved
Example HideProg=1
Requirements  
Pros Prevents removal from list when modifications are saved
Cons  

 

Parameter IgnoreDots
Type Boolean
Category Compare versions
Mandatory No
Description Use if version on the web and file or registry version use different notation, e.g. 2.38 vs. 2.3.8
Example IgnoreDots=1
Requirements  
Pros Find match even if the program's version numbering system is flawed
Cons Possible false matches, e.g. 2.38.4 vs. 2.3.8.9

 

Parameter OutputGrep
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Regular expression to extract version number from command line output
Example OutputGrep=(\d+(?:\.\d+)*)
Requirements CommandLine
Pros  
Cons  

 

Parameter ProgName
Type String
Category List programs
Mandatory Yes
Description The program's display name as it will appear in the table
Example ProgName=Adobe Reader
Requirements  
Pros  
Cons  

 

Parameter RegexPattern
Type String
Category Check latest version
Mandatory Yes
Description Regular expression to extract the latest available version from the (manufacturer's) web page
Example RegexPattern=<p><strong>Current Version:\W*(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)\W*released
Requirements  
Pros  
Cons  

 

Parameter RegPath
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Registry key or value pointing to the program's executable or parent folder
Example RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\The Bat!\DefaultIcon\
Requirements If RegPath points to a folder or to a file other than the program's executable, the relative path to the executable must be specified in Executable
Pros Fast and reliable, surpassed only by RegVersion.
Supports wildcards (*)
Cons Registry value not always available

 

Parameter RegPath2
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Used if RegPath not found, intended for 64-bit Windows
Example RegPath2=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Clients\Mail\The Bat!\DefaultIcon\
Requirements RegPath; if RegPath2 points to a folder or to a file other than the program's executable, the relative path to the executable must be specified in Executable
Pros Fast and reliable, surpassed only by RegVersion / RegVersion2.
Supports wildcards (*)
Cons Registry value not always available

 

Parameter RegVersion
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Registry key or value holding the program version
Example RegVersion=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Manufacturer\Product\Version
Requirements  
Pros Fastest and most reliable.
Supports wildcards (*)
Cons Registry value not always available

 

Parameter RegVersion2
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Used if RegVersion not found, intended for 64-bit Windows
Example RegVersion2=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Manufacturer\Product\Version
Requirements RegVersion
Pros Fastest and most reliable.
Supports wildcards (*)
Cons Registry value not always available

 

Parameter SearchPATH
Type Boolean
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Search Executable in the PATH
Example SearchPATH=1
Requirements Executable (file name and extension only, no path)
Pros Can be used if executable's location is unknown
Cons Executable's location must be in the %PATH% environment variable

 

Parameter TryInstallLocation
Type Boolean
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Instead of directly using the Version returned by the WMI query, try using InstallLocation and then check the file (or product) version
Example TryInstallLocation=1
Requirements Win32Product
Pros If available, the file or product version of the executable returns a more reliable result than the (initial) program version listed in WMI
Cons Slight performance penalty

 

Parameter UseProductVersion
Type Boolean
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description Return the executable's Product Version instead of its File Version
Example UseProductVersion=1
Requirements Executable and/or Regpath, or TryInstallLocation (which in turn requires Win32Product)
Pros Sometimes more reliable than file version
Cons Slight performance penalty.
Language dependent property names: right now, the HTA needs to be modified to use this parameter in languages other than English or Dutch.

 

Parameter UserAgent
Type String
Category Check latest version
Mandatory No
Description User Agent string to be used when reading the contents of a web page
Example UserAgent=Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:35.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/35.0
Requirements Ignored for WGetUseIE
Pros Some web servers block requests to read a page if the User Agent is not a known browser, this modification circumvents these blocks
Cons

 

Parameter WebsiteDownload
Type String
Category Check latest version
Mandatory Yes
Description The download URL for the latest version
Example WebsiteDownload=http://www.hamrick.com/
Requirements  
Pros  
Cons  

 

Parameter WebsiteVersion
Type String
Category Check latest version
Mandatory Yes
Description The URL to search for the latest version
Example WebsiteVersion=http://www.hamrick.com/
Requirements Use WGetUseIE too, if the latest release version is not displayed "hard coded" on the (manufacturer's) website
Pros  
Cons  

 

Parameter WGetUseIE
Type Boolean
Category Check latest version
Mandatory No
Description Uses Internet Explorer instead of WinHTTP to search the web page for the latest version
Example WGetUseIE=1
Requirements  
Pros Use this option for "dynamic" pages, i.e. pages without "hardcoded" version numbers, that use (ajax) scripts to display the latest version number
Cons Slight performance penalty

 

Parameter Win32Product
Type String
Category Check currently installed version
Mandatory No
Description (Part of) WMI query: Win32_Product's Caption to search for
Example Win32Product=XML Notepad%
Requirements WMI
Pros Finds programs listed in WMI, even if not registered in the Windows registry.
Supports wildcards (%)
Cons Extremely slow, may take over 100 times as long compared to registry and file version checks.
WMI doesn't always update its registered initial version whith software updates.

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