NSIS nsDialogs Plug-in

Next generation of user interface design

Table of Contents

Introduction

nsDialogs allows creation of custom pages in the installer. On top of the built-in pages, nsDialogs can create pages with any type of controls in any order and arrangement. It can create everything from a simple page with one label to form which reacts to user's actions. Modern UI 2, for example, uses nsDialogs to create the welcome and finish pages.

nsDialogs is a NSIS plug-in, introduced in version 2.29 as a replacement for InstallOptions. nsDialogs doesn't use INI files, so it's way faster than InstallOptions. Integration with the script is tighter and more natural - creating controls is done using plug-in functions and notification is done by directly calling a function in the script. Unlike InstallOptions, there isn't a predefined set of available control type and by providing a lower level access to Windows API, every type of control can be created and pages can be more customizable.

The same thing that makes nsDialogs more flexible can also make it more complicated for users with no knowledge of Win32 API. This is solved by creating a library of predefined functions, defined in script, that allow creation and handling of controls. This way, novices get easy access to the flexibility, while advanced users still get access to the core functionality by modifying the library or simply avoid using it.

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Custom Page

Before you can start adding controls you need to create a nsDialogs custom page. nsDialogs pages can only be created in a custom page's creator function, not in sections nor regular functions. Lets create a basic script with a empty nsDialogs page as our skeleton:

!include LogicLib.nsh

Name nsDialogs
OutFile nsDialogs.exe
XPStyle on


Var Dialog

Page custom nsDialogsPage
Page instfiles

Function nsDialogsPage
	nsDialogs::Create 1018
	Pop $Dialog

	${If} $Dialog == error
		Abort
	${EndIf}

	nsDialogs::Show
FunctionEnd

Section
SectionEnd

The first call must always be to nsDialogs::Create. It will create a new dialog in the page and return its HWND on the stack. The result must be popped from the stack to prevent stack corruption. If the result is error, the dialog couldn't be created and the page must be aborted!

nsDialogs::Create accepts one parameter. It has a very specific function, but to keep things simple for this tutorial, it must always be 1018.

HWND is a number that uniquely identifies the dialog and can be used with SendMessage, SetCtlColors and Win32 API functions.

The dialog is not fully constructed at this point and you can make modifications to it before it is displayed. To finalize and display the dialog you must call nsDialogs::Show. This function will not return until the user clicks Next, Back or Cancel.

Adding Controls

Compiling the last script and running it results in an empty page which is not very useful. So now we'll add some controls to it to. To do so, we'll use ${NSD_Create*} macros from nsDialogs.nsh. Each of those macros takes 5 parameters - x, y, width, height and text. Each macro also returns one value on the stack, which is the new control's HWND. Like the dialogs HWND, it must be popped from the stack and saved.

Each of the measurements that the macros take can use one of three unit types - pixels, dialog units or percentage of the dialog's size. It can also be negative to indicate it should be measured from the end. To use dialog units, the measurement must be suffixed with the letter u. To use percentage, the measurement must be suffixed with the percentage sign - %. Any other suffix, or no suffix, means pixels.

Dialog units allow creation of dialogs that scale well when different fonts or DPI is used. Its size in pixels is determined at runtime based on the font and the DPI. For example, standard pages in the classic NSIS user interface are 266 dialog units wide and 130 dialog units high. Pages in Modern UI are 300 dialogs units wide and 140 dialog units high. In different resolutions, using different fonts or DPI settings, the dialogs will always have the same size in dialog units, but different size in pixels.

 
!include nsDialogs.nsh
!include LogicLib.nsh

Name nsDialogs
OutFile nsDialogs.exe
XPStyle on

Var Dialog
Var Label
Var Text

Page custom nsDialogsPage
Page instfiles

Function nsDialogsPage

	nsDialogs::Create 1018
	Pop $Dialog

	${If} $Dialog == error
		Abort
	${EndIf}

	${NSD_CreateLabel} 0 0 100% 12u "Hello, welcome to nsDialogs!"
	Pop $Label

	${NSD_CreateText} 0 13u 100% -13u "Type something here..."
	Pop $Text

	nsDialogs::Show

FunctionEnd

Section
SectionEnd

Available control types that can be created with ${NSD_Create*} are: HLine, VLine, Label, Icon, Bitmap, BrowseButton, Link, Button, GroupBox, CheckBox, RadioButton (FirstRadioButton and AdditionalRadioButton), Text, MLText, Password, Number, FileRequest, DirRequest, RichEdit, ComboBox, DropList, ListBox, SortedListBox, ProgressBar, Animation, HTrackBar, VTrackBar, UpDown, HotKey, DatePicker, IPAddress, NetAddress.

Control State

Now that we have some controls that the user can interact with, it's time to see what the user actually does with them. For that, we'll first add a "leave callback function" to our page. In that function, we'll query the state of the text control we've created and display it to the user. To do so, we'll use the ${NSD_GetText} macro. Use the ${NSD_GetState} macro for RadioButton and CheckBox controls.

Note that not all controls support ${NSD_GetText} and some require special handling with specific messages defined in WinMessages.nsh. For example, the ListBox control requires usage of LB_GETCURSEL and LB_GETTEXT. With time, the library of macros in nsDialogs.nsh will fill with more and more macros that'll handle more cases like this.

 
!include nsDialogs.nsh
!include LogicLib.nsh

Name nsDialogs
OutFile nsDialogs.exe
XPStyle on

Var Dialog
Var Label
Var Text

Page custom nsDialogsPage nsDialogsPageLeave
Page instfiles

Function nsDialogsPage

	nsDialogs::Create 1018
	Pop $Dialog

	${If} $Dialog == error
		Abort
	${EndIf}

	${NSD_CreateLabel} 0 0 100% 12u "Hello, welcome to nsDialogs!"
	Pop $Label

	${NSD_CreateText} 0 13u 100% -13u "Type something here..."
	Pop $Text

	nsDialogs::Show

FunctionEnd

Function nsDialogsPageLeave

	${NSD_GetText} $Text $0
	MessageBox MB_OK "You typed:$\n$\n$0"

FunctionEnd

Section
SectionEnd

Real-time Notification

One of the more exciting new features of nsDialogs is callback function notification of changes to the dialog. nsDialogs can call a function defined in a script in response to a user action such as changing of a text field or click of a button. To make nsDialogs notify us of events, we'll use ${NSD_OnClick} and ${NSD_OnChange}. Not every control supports both of the events. For example, there is nothing to notify about label changes, only clicks.

When the callback function is called, the control's HWND will be waiting on the stack and must be popped to prevent stack corruption. In this simple example, this is not so useful. But in case of a bigger script where several controls are associated with the same callback function, the HWND can shed some light on which control originated the event.

The new example will respond to the user typing "hello" in the text box.

 
!include nsDialogs.nsh
!include LogicLib.nsh

Name nsDialogs
OutFile nsDialogs.exe
XPStyle on

Var Dialog
Var Label
Var Text

Page custom nsDialogsPage nsDialogsPageLeave
Page instfiles

Function nsDialogsPage

	nsDialogs::Create 1018
	Pop $Dialog

	${If} $Dialog == error
		Abort
	${EndIf}

	${NSD_CreateLabel} 0 0 100% 12u "Hello, welcome to nsDialogs!"
	Pop $Label

	${NSD_CreateText} 0 13u 100% -13u "Type something here..."
	Pop $Text
	${NSD_OnChange} $Text nsDialogsPageTextChange

	nsDialogs::Show

FunctionEnd

Function nsDialogsPageLeave

	${NSD_GetText} $Text $0
	MessageBox MB_OK "You typed:$\n$\n$0"

FunctionEnd

Function nsDialogsPageTextChange

	Pop $1 # $1 == $ Text

	${NSD_GetText} $Text $0

	${If} $0 == "hello"

		MessageBox MB_OK "right back at ya!"

	${EndIf}

FunctionEnd

Section
SectionEnd

Memory

So far we have a page that has some basic input controls. But what happens when the user goes to the next page and comes back? With the current code, the user's input will not be remembered. To remember, we'll use the already present leave callback function to store the user's choice in variables and pass these values when creating the controls the next time. For a better example, we'll also add a checkbox to the page and use ${NSD_GetState} and ${NSD_SetState} to get and set its state.

For clarity, we'll remove some of the notifications from the previous step.

!include nsDialogs.nsh
!include LogicLib.nsh

Name nsDialogs
OutFile nsDialogs.exe
XPStyle on

Var Dialog
Var Label
Var Text
Var Text_State
Var Checkbox
Var Checkbox_State

Page custom nsDialogsPage nsDialogsPageLeave
Page license
Page instfiles

Function .onInit

	StrCpy $Text_State "Type something here..."

FunctionEnd

Function nsDialogsPage

	nsDialogs::Create 1018
	Pop $Dialog

	${If} $Dialog == error
		Abort
	${EndIf}

	${NSD_CreateLabel} 0 0 100% 12u "Hello, welcome to nsDialogs!"
	Pop $Label

	${NSD_CreateText} 0 13u 100% 12u $Text_State
	Pop $Text

	${NSD_CreateCheckbox} 0 30u 100% 10u "&Something"
	Pop $Checkbox

	${If} $Checkbox_State == ${BST_CHECKED}
		${NSD_Check} $Checkbox
	${EndIf}

	# alternative for the above ${If}:
	#${NSD_SetState} $Checkbox_State

	nsDialogs::Show

FunctionEnd

Function nsDialogsPageLeave

	${NSD_GetText} $Text $Text_State
	${NSD_GetState} $Checkbox $Checkbox_State

FunctionEnd

Section
SectionEnd

Function Reference

Create

nsDialogs::Create rect

Creates a new dialog. rect specific the identifier of the control whose location will be mimiced. This should usually be 1018, which is control mimiced for creation of built-in pages. The Modern UI also has control 1044 for the welcome and the finish page.

Returns the new dialog's HWND on the stack or error.

CreateControl

nsDialogs::CreateControl class style extended_style x y width height text

Create a new control in the current dialog. A dialog must exist for this to work, so nsDialogs::Create must be called prior to this function.

Returns the new control's HWND on the stack or error.

Show

nsDialogs::Show

Displays the page. Call this once finished with nsDialogs::Create, nsDialogs::CreateControl and the rest.

Returns nothing.

SelectFileDialog

nsDialogs::SelectFileDialog mode initial_selection filter

Displays a file selection dialog to the user. If mode is set to save, displays a file save dialog. If mode is set to open, displays a file open dialog.

initial_selection can be used to provide the user with a default file to look for and/or a default folder to look in. If initial_selection is empty no default filename will be provided for the user and the dialog will start in the current working directory. If initial_selection specifies just a filename, for example "test.exe", the dialog will be set up to look for a file called test.exe in the current working directory. If initial_selection specifies just a directory, for example "C:\Program Files", the dialog starts in the provided directory with no file name provided. If initial_selection specifies a directory and a filename, for example "C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe", the dialog will be set up to look for a file called calc.exe in the directory C:\Windows\System32.

filter is a list of available file filter pairs separated by pipes. A filter pair consists of a display string and a DOS-style wildcard pattern. If an empty string is passed, the default is used ("All Files|*.*").

Returns the selected file on the stack or an empty string if the user canceled the operation.

nsDialogs::SelectFileDialog open "$DOCUMENTS\Config.ini" ".ini files|*.ini|All Files|*.*"
Pop $0
StrCmp $0 "" ...

SelectFolderDialog

nsDialogs::SelectFolderDialog title initial_selection

Displays a directory selection dialog to the user.

Returns the selected directory on the stack or "error" in case the user canceled the operation or an error occurred.

SetRTL

nsDialogs::SetRTL rtl_setting

Sets right-to-left mode on or off. If rtl_setting is 0, it's set to off. If rtl_setting is 1, it's set to on. This function must be called before any calls to nsDialogs::CreateControl.

Returns nothing.

GetUserData

nsDialogs::GetUserData control_HWND

Returns user data associated with the control on the stack. Use nsDialogs::SetUserData to set this data.

SetUserData

nsDialogs::SetUserData control_HWND data

Associates data with the control. Use nsDialogs::GetUserData to get this data.

Returns nothing.

OnBack

nsDialogs::OnBack function_address

Sets the callback function for the Back button. This function will be called when the user clicks the back button. Call Abort in this function to prevent the user from going back to the last page.

Use GetFunctionAddress to get the address of the desired callback function.

Returns nothing.

OnChange

nsDialogs::OnChange control_HWND function_address

Sets a change notification callback function for the given control. Whenever the control changes, the function will be called and the control's HWND will be waiting on its stack.

Use GetFunctionAddress to get the address of the desired callback function.

Returns nothing.

OnClick

nsDialogs::OnClick control_HWND function_address

Sets a click notification callback function for the given control. Whenever the control is clicked, the function will be called and the control's HWND will be waiting on its stack.

Use GetFunctionAddress to get the address of the desired callback function.

Returns nothing.

OnNotify

nsDialogs::OnNotify control_HWND function_address

Sets a notification callback function for the given control. Whenever the control receives the WM_NOTIFY message, the function will be called and the control's HWND, notification code and a pointer to the NMHDR structure will be waiting on its stack. Use ${NSD_Return} to return a value.

Use GetFunctionAddress to get the address of the desired callback function.

Returns nothing.

CreateTimer

nsDialogs::CreateTimer function_address timer_interval

Sets a timer that'd call the callback function for the given control every in a constant interval. Interval times are specified in milliseconds.

Use GetFunctionAddress to get the address of the desired callback function.

Returns nothing.

KillTimer

nsDialogs::KillTimer function_address

Kills a previously set timer.

Use GetFunctionAddress to get the address of the desired callback function.

Returns nothing.

Macro Reference

nsDialogs.nsh contains a lot of macros that can make nsDialogs usage a lot easier. Below is a description of each of those macros including purpose, syntax, input and output.

NSD_Create*

${NSD_Create*} x y width height text

Create a new control in the current dialog. A dialog must exist for this to work, so nsDialogs::Create must be called prior to this function.

Available variants:

Returns the new control's HWND on the stack or error

NSD_OnBack

${NSD_OnBack} function_name

See OnBack for more details.

NSD_OnChange

${NSD_OnChange} control_HWND function_name

See OnChange for more details.

See Real-time Notification for usage example.

NSD_OnClick

${NSD_OnClick} control_HWND function_name

See OnClick for more details.

NSD_OnNotify

${NSD_OnNotify} control_HWND function_name

See OnNotify for more details.

NSD_Return

${NSD_Return} value

Used to return a value back to Windows from a OnNotify callback.

NSD_SetFocus

${NSD_SetFocus} control_HWND

Sets focus to a control.

NSD_CreateTimer

${NSD_CreateTimer} function_name timer_interval

See CreateTimer for more details.

NSD_KillTimer

${NSD_KillTimer} function_name

See KillTimer for more details.

NSD_AddStyle

${NSD_AddStyle} control_HWND style

Adds one or more window styles to a control. Multiple styles should be separated with pipes `|'.

See MSDN for shared and per-control style descriptions.

NSD_AddExStyle

${NSD_AddExStyle} control_HWND style

Adds one or more extended window styles to a control. Multiple styles should be separated with pipes `|'.

See MSDN for style descriptions.

NSD_RemoveStyle

${NSD_RemoveStyle} control_HWND style

Removes one or more window styles from a control.

NSD_RemoveExStyle

${NSD_RemoveExStyle} control_HWND style

Removes one or more extended window styles from a control.

NSD_GetText

${NSD_GetText} control_HWND $output_variable

Retrieves the text of a control and stores it into output_variable. Especially useful for textual controls.

See Control State for usage example.

NSD_SetText

${NSD_SetText} control_HWND text

Sets the text of a control.

NSD_Edit_SetTextLimit

${NSD_Edit_SetTextLimit} control_HWND limit

Sets the input length limit for a text control.

NSD_Edit_SetReadOnly

${NSD_Edit_SetReadOnly} control_HWND readonly

1 to make the text control read-only or 0 to allow the user to input data.

NSD_Edit_SetCueBannerText

${NSD_Edit_SetCueBannerText} control_HWND displaywhenfocused text

Set a text hint displayed when the control is empty. The text is only visible on WinXP and later. Requires XPStyle on.

NSD_RichEd_SetTextLimit

${NSD_RichEd_SetTextLimit} control_HWND limit

Sets the input length limit.

NSD_RichEd_SetEventMask

${NSD_RichEd_SetEventMask} control_HWND eventmask

NSD_RichEd_SetCustomBackgroundColor

${NSD_RichEd_SetCustomBackgroundColor} control_HWND COLORREF

NSD_GetState

${NSD_GetState} control_HWND $output_variable

Retrieves the state of a check box or a radio button control. Possible outputs are ${BST_CHECKED} and ${BST_UNCHECKED}.

See Memory for usage example.

NSD_SetState

${NSD_SetState} control_HWND state

Sets the state of a check box or a radio button control. Possible values for state are ${BST_CHECKED} and ${BST_UNCHECKED}.

See Memory for usage example.

NSD_Check

${NSD_Check} control_HWND

Checks a check box or a radio button control. Same as calling ${NSD_SetState} with ${BST_CHECKED}.

NSD_Uncheck

${NSD_Uncheck} control_HWND

Unchecks a check box or a radio button control. Same as calling ${NSD_SetState} with ${BST_UNCHECKED}.

See Memory for usage example.

NSD_CB_AddString

${NSD_CB_AddString} combo_HWND string

Adds a string to a combo box.

NSD_CB_InsertString

${NSD_CB_InsertString} combo_HWND index string

${NSD_CB_PrependString} combo_HWND string

${NSD_CB_AppendString} combo_HWND string

Insert a string in a specified position in a combo box.

NSD_CB_SelectString

${NSD_CB_SelectString} combo_HWND string

Selects an item that begins with the characters in the string. Use NSD_CB_SelectStringExact to match the complete string.

NSD_CB_GetCount

${NSD_CB_GetCount} combo_HWND $output_variable

NSD_LB_AddString

${NSD_LB_AddString} listbox_HWND string

Adds a string to a list box.

NSD_LB_InsertString

${NSD_LB_InsertString} listbox_HWND index string

${NSD_LB_PrependString} listbox_HWND string

${NSD_LB_AppendString} listbox_HWND string

Insert a string in a specified position in a list box.

NSD_LB_DelString

${NSD_LB_DelString} listbox_HWND string

Deletes a string from a list box.

NSD_LB_DelItem

${NSD_LB_DelItem} listbox_HWND itemindex

Deletes a string from a list box.

NSD_LB_Clear

${NSD_LB_Clear} listbox_HWND

Deletes all strings from a list box.

NSD_LB_GetCount

${NSD_LB_GetCount} listbox_HWND $output_variable

Retrieves the number of strings from a list box.

NSD_LB_SelectString

${NSD_LB_SelectString} listbox_HWND string

Selects a string in a list box.

NSD_LB_GetSelection

${NSD_LB_GetSelection} listbox_HWND $output_variable

Retrieves the selected string from a list box. Returns an empty string if no string is selected.

NSD_Anim_OpenFile

${NSD_Anim_OpenFile} anim_HWND avi_path

Opens the specified (silent) .AVI movie clip.

NSD_Anim_Play

${NSD_Anim_Play} anim_HWND

Plays the movie clip repeatedly.

NSD_Anim_Stop

${NSD_Anim_Stop} anim_HWND

Stops playback.

NSD_TrackBar_GetPos

${NSD_TrackBar_GetPos} track_HWND $output

NSD_TrackBar_SetPos

${NSD_TrackBar_SetPos} track_HWND pos

NSD_TrackBar_SetRangeMin

${NSD_TrackBar_SetRangeMin} track_HWND minpos

NSD_TrackBar_SetRangeMax

${NSD_TrackBar_SetRangeMax} track_HWND maxpos

NSD_TrackBar_SetTicFreq

${NSD_TrackBar_SetTicFreq} track_HWND frequency

Sets the interval frequency for tick marks.

NSD_UD_SetBuddy

${NSD_UD_SetBuddy} ud_HWND buddy_HWND

NSD_UD_GetPos

${NSD_UD_GetPos} ud_HWND $output

NSD_UD_SetPos

${NSD_UD_SetPos} ud_HWND pos

NSD_UD_SetPackedRange

${NSD_UD_SetPackedRange} ud_HWND packedrange

Sets the min-max range. Two signed 16-bit numbers packed into 32-bits.

NSD_HK_GetHotKey

${NSD_HK_GetHotKey} hk_HWND $output

Bits 0..7 specify the virtual key code and bits 8..15 specify the HOTKEYF modifier flags.

NSD_HK_SetHotKey

${NSD_HK_SetHotKey} hk_HWND packedhotkey

NSD_Date_GetDateFields

${NSD_Date_GetDateFields} HWND

Returns the month, day and year on the stack.

NSD_SetBitmap

${NSD_SetBitmap} control_HWND image_path $output_variable

Loads a bitmap from image_path and displays it on control_HWND created by ${NSD_CreateBitmap}. The image handle is stored in output_variable and should be freed using ${NSD_FreeBitmap} once no longer necessary.

The image must be extracted to the user's computer prior to calling this macro. A good place to extract images is $PLUGINSDIR.

!include nsDialogs.nsh

Name nsDialogs
OutFile nsDialogs.exe

Page custom nsDialogsImage
Page instfiles

Var Dialog
Var ImageCtrl
Var BmpHandle

Function .onInit
	InitPluginsDir
	File /oname=$PLUGINSDIR\image.bmp "${NSISDIR}\Contrib\Graphics\Header\nsis-r.bmp"
FunctionEnd

Function nsDialogsImage
	nsDialogs::Create 1018
	Pop $Dialog

	${If} $Dialog == error
		Abort
	${EndIf}

	${NSD_CreateBitmap} 0 0 100% 100% ""
	Pop $ImageCtrl
	${NSD_SetBitmap} $ImageCtrl $PLUGINSDIR\image.bmp $BmpHandle

	nsDialogs::Show

	${NSD_FreeBitmap} $BmpHandle
FunctionEnd

Section
SectionEnd

NSD_SetStretchedBitmap

${NSD_SetStretchedBitmap} control_HWND image_path $output_variable

Loads and displays a bitmap just like ${NSD_SetImage} but stretches the image to fit the control.

NSD_ClearBitmap

${NSD_ClearBitmap} control_HWND

Clears a bitmap from a image control.

NSD_FreeBitmap

${NSD_FreeImage} image_handle

Frees an image handle previously loaded with ${NSD_SetImage} or ${NSD_SetStretchedBitmap}.

NSD_SetIcon

${NSD_SetIcon} control_HWND image_path $output_variable

Same as ${NSD_SetImage}, but used for loading and setting an icon in a control created by ${NSD_CreateIcon}. The image handle is stored in output_variable and should be freed using ${NSD_FreeIcon} once no longer necessary.

NSD_SetIconFromInstaller

${NSD_SetIconFromInstaller} control_HWND $output_variable

Loads the icon used in the installer and displays it on control_HWND created by ${NSD_CreateIcon}. The image handle is stored in output_variable and should be freed using ${NSD_FreeIcon} once no longer necessary.

NSD_ClearIcon

${NSD_ClearIcon} control_HWND

Clears an icon from a control.

NSD_FreeIcon

${NSD_FreeIcon} icon_handle

Frees an icon handle previously loaded with ${NSD_SetIcon} or ${NSD_SetIconFromInstaller}.

FAQ