| Notes: | [1] | Though each of the following parameters is listed as not mandatory, at least one of them must be used: CommandLine, Executable, RegPath, RegVersion, and/or Win32Product. See the UpdateCheck Help page for a detailed discussion on which parameter to use when. |
| [2] | Boolean parameters are considered false if empty or 0, otherwise true. | |
| [3] | The parameters listed on this page are for "external" programs. UpdateChech.hta itself, and its INI file, may not be bound to use mandatory variables and may use parameters not listed here. |
| Parameter | [ProgID] |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | List programs |
| Mandatory | Yes |
| Description | The program ID opens a new section in the INI file |
| Example | [IrfanView] |
| Requirements | Must be unique |
| Pros | |
| Cons |
| Parameter | CommandLine |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Command to make the executable return its version |
| Example | CommandLine=CMD.EXE /A /C PERL.EXE -v 2>&1 |
| Requirements | Executable (or script) must be found in the PATH |
| Pros | No need for the program to be installed by an installer. Allows the use of external scripts to get the program version. |
| Cons | Executable or script must be found in the %PATH% environment variable, or (not recommended) its fully qualified path must be specified.Possible performance penalty. Use SearchPATH instead, if possible. |
| Parameter | CustomEntry |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | List programs |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Include this key for your customized program entries |
| Example | CustomEntry=1 |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | Entry will be saved separately in case of INI file backups |
| Cons |
| Parameter | DisplayName |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Browse HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall subkeys and compare this parameter value against the registered Displayname |
| Example | DisplayName=Java \d+ Update \d+ |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | Fast and reliable. Supports regular expressions. |
| Cons | Registry value not always available |
| Parameter | DownloadRegistered |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | Check latest version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Adds a prompt that a different download URL may be required for registered software |
| Example | DownloadRegistered=1 |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | May prevent overwriting registered software with a trial version |
| Cons | Extra confirmation required for download |
| Parameter | Executable |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Either the executable name or its relative or absolute path |
| Examples | Executable=7z.exe Executable=%ProgramFiles%\Manufacturer\ProductName\product.exe |
| Requirements | RegPath or SearchPATH is required only if Executable is not an absolute path |
| Pros | Always available |
| Cons | Beware of non-standard installations |
| Parameter | Excecutable2 |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Used if Executable not found, intended for 64-bit Windows |
| Example | Executable2=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Manufacturer\ProductName\product.exe |
| Requirements | RegPath is required only if Executable2 is not an absolute path |
| Pros | Always available |
| Cons | Beware of non-standard installations |
| Parameter | HideProg |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | List programs |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Do not list this program but still include it when modifications are saved |
| Example | HideProg=1 |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | Prevents removal from list when modifications are saved |
| Cons |
| Parameter | IgnoreDots |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | Compare versions |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Use if version on the web and file or registry version use different notation, e.g. 2.38 vs. 2.3.8 |
| Example | IgnoreDots=1 |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | Find match even if the program's version numbering system is flawed |
| Cons | Possible false matches, e.g. 2.38.4 vs. 2.3.8.9 |
| Parameter | OutputGrep |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Regular expression to extract version number from command line output |
| Example | OutputGrep=(\d+(?:\.\d+)*) |
| Requirements | CommandLine |
| Pros | |
| Cons |
| Parameter | ProgName |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | List programs |
| Mandatory | Yes |
| Description | The program's display name as it will appear in the table |
| Example | ProgName=Adobe Reader |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | |
| Cons |
| Parameter | RegexPattern |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check latest version |
| Mandatory | Yes |
| Description | Regular expression to extract the latest available version from the (manufacturer's) web page |
| Example | RegexPattern=<p><strong>Current Version:\W*(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)\W*released |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | |
| Cons |
| Parameter | RegPath |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Registry key or value pointing to the program's executable or parent folder |
| Example | RegPath=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\The Bat!\DefaultIcon\ |
| Requirements | If RegPath points to a folder or to a file other than the program's executable, the relative path to the executable must be specified in Executable |
| Pros | Fast and reliable, surpassed only by RegVersion. Supports wildcards ( *) |
| Cons | Registry value not always available |
| Parameter | RegPath2 |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Used if RegPath not found, intended for 64-bit Windows |
| Example | RegPath2=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Clients\Mail\The Bat!\DefaultIcon\ |
| Requirements | RegPath; if RegPath2 points to a folder or to a file other than the program's executable, the relative path to the executable must be specified in Executable |
| Pros | Fast and reliable, surpassed only by RegVersion / RegVersion2. Supports wildcards ( *) |
| Cons | Registry value not always available |
| Parameter | RegVersion |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Registry key or value holding the program version |
| Example | RegVersion=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Manufacturer\Product\Version |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | Fastest and most reliable. Supports wildcards ( *) |
| Cons | Registry value not always available |
| Parameter | RegVersion2 |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Used if RegVersion not found, intended for 64-bit Windows |
| Example | RegVersion2=HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Manufacturer\Product\Version |
| Requirements | RegVersion |
| Pros | Fastest and most reliable. Supports wildcards ( *) |
| Cons | Registry value not always available |
| Parameter | SearchPATH |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Search Executable in the PATH |
| Example | SearchPATH=1 |
| Requirements | Executable (file name and extension only, no path) |
| Pros | Can be used if executable's location is unknown |
| Cons | Executable's location must be in the %PATH% environment variable |
| Parameter | TryInstallLocation |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Instead of directly using the Version returned by the WMI query, try using InstallLocation and then check the file (or product) version |
| Example | TryInstallLocation=1 |
| Requirements | Win32Product |
| Pros | If available, the file or product version of the executable returns a more reliable result than the (initial) program version listed in WMI |
| Cons | Slight performance penalty |
| Parameter | UseProductVersion |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Return the executable's Product Version instead of its File Version |
| Example | UseProductVersion=1 |
| Requirements | Executable and/or Regpath, or TryInstallLocation (which in turn requires Win32Product) |
| Pros | Sometimes more reliable than file version |
| Cons | Slight performance penalty. Language dependent property names: right now, the HTA needs to be modified to use this parameter in languages other than English or Dutch. |
| Parameter | UserAgent |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check latest version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | User Agent string to be used when reading the contents of a web page |
| Example | UserAgent=Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:35.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/35.0 |
| Requirements | Ignored for WGetUseIE |
| Pros | Some web servers block requests to read a page if the User Agent is not a known browser, this modification circumvents these blocks |
| Cons |
| Parameter | WebsiteDownload |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check latest version |
| Mandatory | Yes |
| Description | The download URL for the latest version |
| Example | WebsiteDownload=http://www.hamrick.com/ |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | |
| Cons |
| Parameter | WebsiteVersion |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check latest version |
| Mandatory | Yes |
| Description | The URL to search for the latest version |
| Example | WebsiteVersion=http://www.hamrick.com/ |
| Requirements | Use WGetUseIE too, if the latest release version is not displayed "hard coded" on the (manufacturer's) website |
| Pros | |
| Cons |
| Parameter | WGetUseIE |
|---|---|
| Type | Boolean |
| Category | Check latest version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | Uses Internet Explorer instead of WinHTTP to search the web page for the latest version |
| Example | WGetUseIE=1 |
| Requirements | |
| Pros | Use this option for "dynamic" pages, i.e. pages without "hardcoded" version numbers, that use (ajax) scripts to display the latest version number |
| Cons | Slight performance penalty |
| Parameter | Win32Product |
|---|---|
| Type | String |
| Category | Check currently installed version |
| Mandatory | No |
| Description | (Part of) WMI query: Win32_Product's Caption to search for |
| Example | Win32Product=XML Notepad% |
| Requirements | WMI |
| Pros | Finds programs listed in WMI, even if not registered in the Windows registry. Supports wildcards ( %) |
| Cons | Extremely slow, may take over 100 times as long compared to registry and file version checks. WMI doesn't always update its registered initial version whith software updates. |
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