Share via

Setup Information (.inf) Files

  • Article

Windows® Internet Explorer® Administration Kit 8 (IEAK 8) uses .inf files to provide installation instructions for custom Internet Explorer packages to run on Windows.

You can also provide instructions for uninstalling components as part of your custom .inf files. Do this by adding a section that removes the files, registry entries, and shortcuts, and then adds your component to the list of programs that can be uninstalled from the Add or Remove Programs dialog box in Control Panel. An example file, Uncheck.inf, is included in the IEAK Toolkit in the <systemdrive>:\Program Files\Windows IEAK 8\toolkit\inf folder.

To add your component to the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, add a new key and values under the following registry key:

HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\app-name,"DisplayName",,"description"

HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\app-name,"UninstallString",,"command-line"

description

This string is displayed in the list box in the Add or Remove Programs dialog box.

command-line

This is the command that is run when the component is selected from the list box in the Add or Remove Programs dialog box. To run a section in an .inf file, you can use the Setupx.dll InstallHinfSection entry point.

Note

Your installation script must copy the .inf file to the Windows\Inf folder when your component is installed. This is the default location that is searched when the Setupx.dll InstallHinfSection entry point is called. Your uninstall script should remove the key you created under the Uninstall registry key, so that your program will no longer show up in the Add or Remove Programs list box after it was uninstalled.

Additional references:

  • For more information about additional resources and references for IEAK 8, see References.