Nutshell for Windows

Product Information

Version: 3.1
Author: Ecamm Network
http://www.ecamm.com/
Contact: http://www.ecamm.com/contact/
License: Commercial
Price: $29.95 (USD)

Introduction

Nothing burns me up more, within my mobile experiences, than when I come across a new Palm OS product and go to download it from the web on my Treo 650 - only to discover that I have to wait to I get home because the developer used a .exe file to pack its files. The frustration is magnified when the application is designed specifically for a Treo device, but I can't download and start using it from the Treo 650. I few years back, I used to feel this way when developers would pack them within a .zip file too. Over the years unzipping files on the Palm was made easier because of programs like Resco Explorer, HandZipperLite, LightNzip, myWorkbench and even Versamail (see - Tutorial: How to Unzip Files with VersaMail and Memory Card). So while coming across a .zip file is not much of a problem for most of us, the EXE file is a showstopper.

There is a program that is now available for Developers that could eliminate the need for both .exe and .zip files under most circumstances. The program is called Nutshell 3.1 by Ecamm Network. Nutshell is a handy utility for creating self-expanding installers.

Great for Developers

Developers can create a Nutshell to hold their multiple files and have it installed from a single PRC file. With Nutshell for Palm OS there is no longer any need to distribute multiple PRC and PDB files when distributing software. Just create a Nutshell self-expanding archive. After installing the single installer file on any Palm device, just tap it to automatically expand the archive. After the install process, the installer can automatically launch another program.

Not use for Developers

But it is not just for developers. Companies that issue Palm OS devices to their staff and great custom installation files that allow multiple programs to be installed simultaneously to the employee's device.

Cross-platform Installations

Nutshell is the only solution in its class that is completely cross-platform. No need for Java, or desktop software. No Windows PC? Who cares? Macintosh and Linux users can install or create Nutshell archives too.

It is Easy to Use

I wanted to put it to the test. I am not a developer, so I had to think of a way that I could use it for my purposes. I had recently did an article titled, "Essential Treo 650 Freeware Applications" where I recommended several free application for Treo 650 users. A reader who reads this article, and wanted to add all of the programs, would have to install 18 separate programs. This is not small feat either because they would have to click several links and unzip several files to get at the programs. If they were on a PC, they could queue them in the Palm Quick Install program and load them all at once - but it would be a long drawn out process either way. If they were on their Treo with an unzipping program, it would be worse.

Nutshell is a product that make this a much easier process. Since all of these programs are freeware (Software allowed to be distributed free by the author, but often with certain conditions applying (ie. the software cannot be modified etc), I don't see a problem with them being install with Nutshell. Freeware applications can distributed without modification to the code, I'll simply modify the installation process.

I will use Nutshell to do just that. I actually made two Nutshell installation files: one for TCPMP and one for all the other apps.

First of all, I gathered up all of the PRC files for the applications I wished to deliver.
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I launched the application on the PC.

I hit the "Add" button to retrieve and add my files. While I could select multiple files at once, I could not add all of them to the list at once. I had to click the "Add" button each time to select each file individually to add them to the list.
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The General tab allows you to customize the installation file. The shortcut name is what will display under the icon when viewed on the handheld application launcher screen. The long name and description will be displayed when the Nutshell installer program is unpacking the prc files to the handheld. The Category field allows you to indicated what category to place the installation file into on the handheld (Unfiled, Main, Games, etc). The creator ID should remain SHEL unless you have registered a special ID with PalmSource.
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Next I added the PRC files into the "Files to Be Installed" area. I created the TCPMP installation file first because it would be included inside the other installation file.

Notice that there are a few options available. "Ask before replacing databases" is crucial so that data is not wiped out or so that newer versions of a file (on a customer's handheld) is not replaced by older versions included within your install file. "Auto delete after installation" allows the install file to be removed from RAM when the files are extracted. Auto-Launch after install allows you to dictate which application is launched after the install. "Inherit Icon from Auto-Launch App" allows the install icon to be the same as the "main" app. In this case, the installation file will have the same icon as the TCPMP file. This helps the handheld owner recognize the main app once the installation file is deleted.
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The Install Message tab allows you to display a message on the handheld before or after the application files are installed unto the handheld. The message can be what you want. My message was a follows "All programs are owned by their respective owners. Palmloyal.com provides them for convenience sake and for used with the Nutshell Review. Consult the application owners for support issues. Install at your own risk." I choose to have the user Accept or decline the message. If they declined then the installation was aborted. If they accepted then the installation proceeded. Additionally I made it mandatory to scroll down to the end of the message. You will see why this is important later when I show screenshots of the installation on the handheld.

Finally, you can create a separate message in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. So I could warn Spanish readers with "Todos programas son poseídos por sus dueños respectivos. Palmloyal.com los proporciona para consideración de conveniencia y para utilizado con la Revisión de Cáscara de nuez. Consulte a los dueños de la aplicación para asuntos de apoyo. Instale en su propio riesgo."

The Language tab would allow you to check boxes for 
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Finally, if you wish to have an uninstaller file, you can use the uninstaller tab to customize this.
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Once you are ready to make the install file, click the "Create Nutshell Installer" button at the bottom of the dialog window. You will be prompted to name and save to the file.
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If you used the uninstaller tab, you will be prompted to name and save the uninstaller file. In this case, I only created the installation file. I named it tcpmp-install.prc.
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I then repeated the above steps to create the main installation file called Treo650Apps.prc. This file included the tcpmp-install.prc as well as the other 17 essential apps from my article. Finally I saved the Nutshell configuration settings or template for future use. Here are the three files saved on the PC when done.
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So all I had to do is get the installer PRC to the handheld. This single file contains all 18 files mentioned in the "Essential Treo 650 Freeware Applications" article. I could make it available as a download on a web site; provide it on a memory card in the /PALM/Launcher/ directory, HotSync it from a PC or email it to a handheld user's device (As I do with anything that is bigger than the 2MB limit that Blazer and/or Sprint places on my device). Nutshell also has a version that can create installation file straight from the handheld. Here is the application's icon.
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Here is the Palm OS Version of the installation creator program (Looks like it as created from BeamPRO, another application from Ecamm Network).
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Both the PC version and Palm OS version were really simple to use; however, the PC version was easier. The Palm OS version needs to be tweaked to be perfect in my mind. I would like to see the option to create the installation file on the memory card instead if in RAM. I also would like to see a option to remove files on the memory card from the list of files so that I can just see what is in RAM. No matter which method you use, you will end up with one or two files that get loaded to your handheld. Now that's go to the handheld and install the files. With the main installation file, I did not use the "Inherit Icon from Auto-Launch App" because I would not be launching any of the files. Therefore, the Install and arrow icon was used. To start the install, I simply click the icon. Installing the Treo650Apps.prc will produce the following icon.
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When the user clicks the icon, warning message will be presented.
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If the user clicks the "Accept" button, there would get this message.
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Scrolling to the bottom makes a difference in whether the user see "Install at" or "Install at your own risk"
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The un-displayed message portion makes a different to the meaning of the warning. Because I checked the option to "Ask before replacing databases", the user is warned and given options whether to replace or cancel the database replacement. It seems to me that the word "Cancel" should be replaced "Skip".
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The main installation screen look like the one below with a scrolling line on the bottom showing you the process and file name that is being installed at the time. Once completed, the following message is displayed.
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Notice that files from the list like FlightStatus, LEDOff, LinkStart, NVBackup and PalmPDF are visible in the screen below. Notice that the Install TCPMP installation file is here as well . Note that that icon picture is the same as the one used with the TCPMP application and not the install and arrow one used above with the Treo650Apps.prc file.
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The above picture is added to show you that the files are loaded; however,  because I told the TCPMP installation file to "Auto-Launch after Hotsync" it will auto launch after the above reset. So then I am presented with this file's warning message.
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There is no need to scroll because the message is short enough, so I click the "Accept" button. The installation process adds all of the files to my device and immediately launches the TCPMP application as requested.
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Again you can create a single file that contains multiple programs, like with my Treo650Apps.prc file or you can used it to make a single application like TCPMP take one file to install instead of many. You can Download and install TCPMP - 0.71 from the developer with multiple files to be installed or from us TCPMP 0.71 as a single installation file.

Final Thoughts

NutShell is excellent program that looks to improve how applications are distributed and packed. This application is positioned to assist Developers, Corporate IT personal, Software Resellers and even individuals who need a clean efficient way to distribute installation files for Palm OS applications.

Pros

• Combine multiple files into one.
• Self-expanding installer.
• Compress files for over-the-air (OTA) delivery
• Auto-launches an app after install
• Auto-run after HotSync or reset.
• Distribute just one file.
• Installer will auto-delete after installing.
• Include Address and Datebook data.
• Ideal for distributing your apps built with: Satellite Forms, PDA Toolbox, CASL, NS Basic, AppForge, more.

Cons

• Installation could be cleaner (PC version only)
• Can't Exclude Files on Card (Palm PRC Version)
• Can't Save Nutshell made PRC to card (Palm PRC Version)

This review is of the Windows version, click here for the Nutshell for Mac OS X 3.1 version.

Automate and Customize with Nutshell PRO

Nutshell PRO is a full-featured command-line version of Nutshell available for Windows, Mac OS X and X86 Linux. This powerful tool allows developers to automate builds, adding Nutshell support to batch files and shell scripts. The PRO version also adds the ability to create install-time scripts using C shared libraries. See the advanced features section of the documentation for more info.

Make A Nutshell On-The-Go

Nutshell and Nutshell PRO include a full-featured Palm OS version of Nutshell. (See the screen image on the right.) Nutshell for Palm is a great way to take a perfect snapshot of the contents of any Palm. Additionally, Nutshell for Palm can be used to add Address Book and Calendar items to your Nutshell installer.