[RESOLVED] detecting an install

[litlewiki]

my applic uses the neevia sdk(neevia.com) to convert documents to pdf .so it is necessay to have it installed if one wants to create a pdf.

my query is that how can i detect whether neevia sdk is already installed or not.
its displayed as "docuPrinter sdk 5.2" in the control panel..

[ProMac]

Find the registry key for this on your own machine (where it's definitely installed) then run a check in your program that looks for the same one on the user's machine. If it's not there then raise an error.

[litlewiki]

i knew it had something to do with registries .but i have never worked on registries before .are u aware of sources when i can get enough help on managing registries.

[ProMac]

Google?

[Hack]

my applic uses the neevia sdk(neevia.com) to convert documents to pdf .so it is necessay to have it installed if one wants to create a pdf.

my query is that how can i detect whether neevia sdk is already installed or not.
its displayed as "docuPrinter sdk 5.2" in the control panel..

Is this like CutePDF that gets installed as if it were a printer?

[litlewiki]

yea and it has a wonderful documentation on how to implement its api functions.
it gets installed into all office applications.nice one though not free.

[Hack]

Then you don't need to mess with the registry. Use this

Private Sub Command3_Click()
Dim MyPrinters As Printer
If VB.Printers.Count > 0 Then
  For Each MyPrinters In Printers
    If MyPrinters.DeviceName = "CutePDF Writer" Then
       MsgBox "CutePDF installed"
       Exit For
    End If
  Next
End If
End Sub

Change CutePDF Writer to the printer name you are looking for. I just tested this on my box (and I do have CutePDF), and I got the message box informing me that it was here.

[litlewiki]

that should defintely work as that was installed as a printer
what if the required application was installed as a program alone and not a printer

[Hack]

that should defintely work as that was installed as a printer
what if the required application was installed as a program alone and not a printer

If you know the name of the .exe file, then you can use the SearchTreeForFile API to find it. If you need an example let me know.

[ProMac]

Have you tried PDFTK?

It's a completely free (and very good) app that converts to pdf.

Find it here.

[SeanK]

Have you tried PDFTK?

It's a completely free (and very good) app that converts to pdf.

Find it here.

He already has a PDF creator. Why would he want another?

[litlewiki]

no i would opt a free pdf converter provided it has enough documentation on using its api... specially from vb6!!. hack i need some example code for the query u answered

[Hack]

hack i need some example code for the query u answered

Private Declare Function SearchTreeForFile Lib "imagehlp" _
(ByVal RootPath As String, ByVal InputPathName As String, _
ByVal OutputPathBuffer As String) As Long
 
Private Const MAX_PATH = 260
 
Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Dim tempStr As String, Ret As Long
    'create a buffer string
    tempStr = String(MAX_PATH, 0)
    'returns 1 when successfull, 0 when failed
    Ret = SearchTreeForFile("c:\", "YourPDFExecutableFileName.exe", tempStr)
    If Ret <> 0 Then
        MsgBox "Located file at " + Left$(tempStr, InStr(1, tempStr, Chr$(0)) - 1)
    Else
        MsgBox "File not found!"
    End If
End Sub

[litlewiki]

does this code search the entire c: in every folder whether such an executable file exists? would'nt that be a long and tedious process??

[Hack]

does this code search the entire c: in every folder whether such an executable file exists? would'nt that be a long and tedious process??

Try it on something you know is there like WINWORD.EXE

It took roughly one second for it to return:

Located file at c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE

[litlewiki]

i don say its a bad idea .but i thought there are other better ways to do .what if it was installed somewhere in the 4th partition on a 120 gb hdd(just an example).wouldnt that take a long time?.

p.s:i fully agree with your soln though,thanks hack

[Hack]

i don say its a bad idea .but i thought there are other better ways to do .what if it was installed somewhere in the 4th partition on a 120 gb hdd(just an example).wouldnt that take a long time?.

Yes, and it would also take one whole heck of a lot of recursive code.

However, your alternative is.......??????

[litlewiki]

every program when installed adds itself to the control panel which means it adds itself to the registry .i made a search and found the unistall info located at hklm/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/uninstall (replace / with \) .so may be if we could make a search here and find the value!! just an idea never played with the registry!!

[Hack]

every program when installed adds itself to the control panel which means it adds itself to the registry .i made a search and found the unistall info located at hklm/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/uninstall (replace / with \) .so may be if we could make a search here and find the value!! just an idea never played with the registry!!

If that works for you, then do it. There are a ton of examples on writing registry code on this forum.

[litlewiki]

hack i serached the forum got his code snippet and modified a little it searches if windows media player 10 is installed or not ..

any suggestions ,tips,tricks,tweaks???

[Hack]

hack i serached the forum got his code snippet and modified a little it searches if windows media player 10 is installed or not ..

any suggestions ,tips,tricks,tweaks???

It looks like it works, so go for it.

The only suggestion is to make sure Option Explicit is set (which it is not in your sample project.)

[litlewiki]

sure hack !!