InstallMate Builder command line syntax

The InstallMate development environment (InstallMate Builder) can be used interactively or in batch mode. In batch mode, no interaction is required except if you want to sign the installation package with a digital signature; in that case, you must provide your private key password.

Command line options

InstallMate Builder uses the following command line syntax. Parts between [brackets] are optional; ellipsis "..." indicate parts that may be repeated. Options may start with / or - and are not case-sensitive. Therefore, -build, /build, and /BUILD all have the same effect. Options are processed from left to right, and if you specify conflicting options, the rightmost one "wins".

[path\]tin.exe [/build[:name]] [/check[:name]] [/q[n]] [/nosign] [/sign]
  [/license:licensepath] [/log:logpath] [/dvar=value...] [project.im7]

Argument	Description
[path\]tin.exe	Specifies the (fully qualified) path to the InstallMate executable. The default location for this executable is C:\Program Files\InstallMate\Bin\tin.exe.
/build /build:all /build:name	Builds one or more configurations from the project and exits. /build on its own builds the default configuration; /build:all builds all configurations; /build:name builds the named configuration. The results are written to the project log file and reflected in InstallMate Builder's exit code.
/check /check:all /check:name	Checks one or more configurations from the project and exits. /check on its own checks the default configuration; /check:all checks all configurations; /check:name checks the named configuration. The results are written to the project log file and reflected in InstallMate Builder's exit code.
/q /qn	Sets the user interface level for batch builds (/build or /check). If specified, n must be 0, 1, or 2: /q0 is the default level and shows a progress dialog with Cancel and Help buttons enabled; /q1 shows the same progress dialog, but with disabled Cancel and Help buttons; /q2 does not show any progress dialogs. Specifying /q without a suffix is equivalent to /q1.
/nosign	Does not sign the installation package, even if the build configuration has its Sign after build attribute checked. This option is useful to avoid user interaction during a batch build.
/sign	Signs the installation package, even if the build configuration has its Sign after build attribute cleared. This option requires user interaction during a batch build to enter the private key password, if any.
/license:licensepath	Tells InstallMate Builder to use a different license certificate for the duration of the session. The licensepath path must refer to a plain text file that contains the InstallMate 7 registration certificate that you received when you purchased the license. The file must include the entire certificate, starting with the -----BEGIN TARMA CERTIFICATE----- line and ending with the -----END TARMA CERTIFICATE----- line. If the license file contains a valid InstallMate 7 certificate, it will be used in preference to any preinstalled registration that you entered through the Help > Register... command. If the license file cannot be read or does not contain a valid certificate, then the preinstalled certificate, if any, will be used. Note: This option is primarily meant for situations where the normal registration information is not available, for example when the correct HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry hive is not loaded in certain automated build scenarios. However, you can also use it during interactive builds.
/log:logpath /log:+logpath /log:*	Sets the log file name to logpath instead of the default, which is the project name with a .log extension. /log:logpath uses logpath as the log file path and overwrites any previous file with that name. /log:+logpath uses logpath as the log file path and appends the new log information to the existing file, if any. /log:* sends all log information to the standard output.
/dvar=value...	Specifies zero or more var=value pairs that allow you to set the value of symbolic variables from the command line. Any values set on the command line override the values of the corresponding variables from the project, for the duration of the session (only). Note - If value contains spaces or special characters such as '<' and '>', you should quote the option as in "/dvar=value" or /dvar="value".
project.im7	Specifies the name of the project to open. Be sure to enclose the path in quotes if it contains spaces. You must also include the .im7 extension.

Exit codes

InstallMate returns one of the following exit codes when it completes.

Exit code	Description
-1	Internal error
0	Success
1	No project file specified
2	Invalid build mode specified
3	Error while opening project file
4	Error while opening log file
5	Project check or build failed
6	Unknown build configuration
7	Unspecified error

Tip

If you run InstallMate Builder from a batch file or command line prompt, the default Windows behavior is to continue with the next command as soon as InstallMate Builder is started; it does not wait until InstallMate Builder has finished. As a result, the value of %ERRORLEVEL% does not necessarily reflect InstallMate Builder's exit code.

To remedy this, run InstallMate Builder as follows:

start /wait path\tin.exe other options...

This ensures that the command does not return until InstallMate Builder has exited.

Tip

If the InstallMate Builder program path in the start command contains spaces, you must quote it. However, the start command on Windows NT-based systems interprets the (first) quoted string as the program title and not as a program path. Therefore, you should include a dummy, quoted program title prior to the actual program path, thus:

start /wait "title" "path\tin.exe" other options...

This is only necessary if you quote the InstallMate Builder path for some reason.