How do i add the program in windows add/remove program list

Question

How do i add the program so that it is listed (so i can click on it to uninstall) in windows's add/remove program list?

Areopagite

Answer 1

The uninstall registration is stored in the registry, where in the registry you should save it depends on if your installer installs the program for all users or a single user (IE your RequestExecutionLevel setting):

• user = HKCU
• admin = HKLM
• highest = SHCTX (This means you must use SetShellVarContext correctly and also restore it correctly in the uninstaller)

There are only two values that are required: DisplayName and UninstallString.

!define REGUNINSTKEY "MyApplication" ;Using a GUID here is not a bad idea
!define REGHKEY HKLM ;Assuming RequestExecutionLevel admin AKA all user/machine install
!define REGPATH_WINUNINST "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall"

Section
WriteRegStr ${REGHKEY} "${REGPATH_WINUNINST}\${REGUNINSTKEY}" "DisplayName" "My application"
WriteRegStr ${REGHKEY} "${REGPATH_WINUNINST}\${REGUNINSTKEY}" "UninstallString" '"$INSTDIR\uninstaller.exe"'
SectionEnd

There are several optional values you can set, MSDN does not really provide a list of documented values but the NSIS Wiki has a decent list and this page has a even more complete list...

Serigraph

N.B. There's a separate location for 32-bit installations on a 64-bit machine: superuser.com/a/293896/41494 – Avidin

@Avidin That really depends. A 32-bit installer will write to the 32-bit part of the registry on 64-bit Windows. But to view the key in Regedit, then yes, you must view the WoW64 key if you run the 64-bit Regedit.exe. – Serigraph

Answer 2

Example usage:

 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "DisplayName" "<Name>" ;The Name shown in the dialog
 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "UninstallString" "$INSTDIR\<Path to uninstaller>"
 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "InstallLocation" "$INSTDIR"
 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "Publisher" "<Your Name>"
 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "HelpLink" "<URL>"
 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "DisplayVersion" "<Version>"
 WriteRegDWORD HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "NoModify" 1 ; The installers does not offer a possibility to modify the installation
 WriteRegDWORD HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "NoRepair" 1 ; The installers does not offer a possibility to repair the installation
 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "ParentDisplayName" "<Parent>" ;
 WriteRegStr HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Name>" \
   "ParentKeyName" "<ParentKey>" ; The last two reg keys allow the mod to be shown as an update to another software. Leave them out if you don't like this behaviour

Auk