Create Self-Extracting EXE with No User Interface

 Chilkat Perl Module Downloads for Windows, Linux, and MAC OS X

Perl script to create a self-extracting EXE that automaticallly unzips to a temp directory and runs a setup.exe after extracting.

# file: SelfExtractExe3.pl

use chilkat;

# How to create a self-extracting executable in Perl with options.
$zip = new chilkat::CkZip();
$zip->UnlockComponent("anything for 30-day trial");

# Calling NewZip does not actually create a file on disk.  The filename
# argument indicates the name of the zip file name to be created when
# WriteZip is called.  However, in this example, WriteExe is called instead,
# so the zip filename is meaningless.
$zip->NewZip("notUsed.zip");
$zip->AppendFiles("exampleData2/*",true);

# Set some options with respect to how the EXE will behave when run:

# Create a self-extracting EXE that has no user-interface, extracts
# to a temp directory, and automatically runs a setup.exe 
$zip->put_AutoTemp(true);
$zip->put_ExeNoInterface(true);

# Use a custom icon for the EXE:
$zip->put_ExeIconFile("box.ico");

# After unzipping, run a program that was unzipped.
$zip->put_AutoRun("exampleData2/setup.exe");
# Note: Sometimes people have trouble in determining the filepath to use
# for the AutoRun EXE.  A good way to determine it is to call $zip->WriteZip to
# create the .zip file and then examine it with WinZip.  Use the filepath
# as listed by WinZip for the AutoRun EXE's filepath.

# Pass command line parameters to the AutoRun EXE:
$zip->put_AutoRunParams("-a -b 123 -xyz");


# Write the self-extracting EXE
$zip->WriteExe("example.exe");