Read File Contents / Pre Installation Step / ***infinite recursion in variable releasenotes***

[brettparkhurst]

I'm trying to read a txt file called releasenotes.txt which is a file that gets bundled into the installer.  The step in the installer gets the following error when displaying the releasenotes variable.

***infinite recursion in variable releasenotes***

I have configured the EOL and it should be fine.  How do you read a text file into a variable prior to the installer starting? 

By the way, the reading of this file works fine when testing on the Mac.  It gets the infinite recursion issue when running on Windows.

Thanks!

[michieldhont_]

Hi @brettparkhurst,

Could you share the code snippet where you are trying to read the file and also the file itself? Does the file contain any InstallBuilder variables?

Regards,

Michiel

[brettparkhurst]

<readFile>
<abortOnError>0</abortOnError>
<encoding>utf-8</encoding>
<name>releaseNotes</name>
<path>/Users/brettparkhurst/Dev/Epicor/CrossPlatform/pl-epicor-edge-agent/installv2/releasenotes.txt</path>
<show>0</show>
<showMessageOnError>0</showMessageOnError>
</readFile>

[brettparkhurst]

I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this?  It's not working as stated in the documentation and holding up our installation because we must be able to display the release notes.

Thanks!

[michieldhont_]

Hi @brettparkhurst, 

Does the file contain any variables or XML? Could you share it?

Regards,

Michiel

[brettparkhurst]

Sure, just try putting together a standard text file with some lines in it and it happens.  Attached is my releasenotes.txt with a bunch of test lines in it that causes the issue.

[michieldhont_]

Hi @brettparkhurst,

Could you paste the complete project, or a sample project that reproduces the issue?

Regards,

Michiel

[brettparkhurst]

Ok, so I misunderstood what this would do.  I thought this would read a file contents within your package if you pointed it to a file included in your installation.  This is not the case as I have now found out through more testing.

Is there a way to display the contents of a file packed into the installation as part of a custom dialog?  I would use the Readme but I want it displayed as the first screen rather than at the end of the installation.

[michieldhont_]

Hi @brettparkhurst,

Yes, you can use an <infoParameter> for that:

<infoParameter>
  <name>readme</name>
  <title>Readme</title>
  <explanation>Readme</explanation>
  <value>${textValue}</value>
  <htmlValue>${htmlValue}</htmlValue>
   <preShowPageActionList>
     <readFile>
        <path>${installdir}/readme.html</path>
        <name>htmlValue</name>
     </readFile>
     <readFile>
        <path>${installdir}/readme.txt</path>
        <name>textValue</name>
     </readFile>
   </preShowPageActionList>
</infoParameter>

Regards,

Michiel