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  • December 7, 2011 at 5:46 pm #381475
    macanics
    Participant

    I’m learning-by-doing with InstaDMG and getting along OK until I’m faced with how to install an app that does not have an installer. I mean those apps you would normally just drag in to the /Applications folder. In ARD I just do a copy and all’s well. however, InstaDMG seems to want pkgs and only pkgs (even if wrapped in dmgs). Is this correct? If so, is the answer to use Iceberg or equivalent to create an installer?
    cheers! —john—

    December 7, 2011 at 5:49 pm #381476
    Greg Neagle
    Participant

    Yes.

    InstaDMG wants packages and only packages.

    To install software that is not distributed in package format, you must package it.

    December 7, 2011 at 5:55 pm #381477
    macanics
    Participant

    That’s what I feared. Oh well – are there any recommended tutorials on repackaging? I saw the ones on managingosx about creating firstboot scripts and payload free packages, but any on actual re-packaging? I’m sure there are some pitfalls I’d like to avoid…

    December 7, 2011 at 6:42 pm #381479
    Allister Banks
    Participant

    No, you do not need a package for a drag-drop .app. It is not documented, but if instaDMG or instaUp2Date encounters one it will act accordingly. (Greg uses SIU, so its understandable he wouldn’t have come across this feature, added ~2009).

    There is a presentation on packaging from 2010 MacSysAdmin.eu you can find here: [url]http://documentation.macsysadmin.se/2010/2010doc.html[/url]
    and PSUMacAdmins: [url]http://osxdeployment.com/wiki/PSUMacAdmins[/url]
    I personally use the following, although the learning curve can seem steep. For drag-drop installs a optimized workflow is bundled: [url]https://github.com/unixorn/l_ggage[/url]
    (replace the underscore in the above url with a “u”, AFP’s spam filter is going bonkers)
    Allister

    December 7, 2011 at 9:09 pm #381480
    bw38
    Participant

    Yup, just like Allister said, it just takes that drag-drop app and adds it to the Applications folder. If you have apps like Firefox, it works great. No modification necessary.

    December 7, 2011 at 9:24 pm #381481
    macanics
    Participant

    [QUOTE][u]Quote by: Allister[/u][p]No, you do not need a package for a drag-drop .app. It is not documented, but if instaDMG or instaUp2Date encounters one it will act accordingly. …[/QUOTE]

    Very interesting. I presume the error I was getting was because the app (audacity) was supplied inside a folder inside a dmg (i.e. instDMG was expecting to find a .app rather than a plain folder)? I had assumed that the folder would be copied in. In the case of Audacity, it is in fact a folder full of filters and documentation alongside the app, so I will indeed have to package it to deploy. It’s a shame mainly because of the extra effort that’s going to be needed to repackage when the app is updated – and I’m planning to deploy several apps like this (Audacity, Burn, Endnote). I’m off to watch those videos then…
    cheers, —john—

    December 7, 2011 at 10:04 pm #381482
    Allister Banks
    Participant

    Hey John,

    Munki( [url]munki.googlecode.com[/url] ) in particular has a very gradual learning curve and is easier than a lot of other tools to bootstrap/deploy/maintain. It has a “copy from dmg” ‘catchall’ function that I think would fit your purposes in the short term, but packaging with any of the tools discussed in those videos is still very beneficial for future reference.

    Allister

    December 7, 2011 at 10:30 pm #381483
    macanics
    Participant

    Thanks All!

    Off to do some learning then, I’m sure I’ll be back with more questions soon!

    —john—

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