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Writing new engine installers

Writing a new engine installer is a simple process as it involves modifying a supplied installer template which should suit most engines.

First install the NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System)
then follow these steps:

1. Make a copy of the installer samples

From the source directory you downloaded, copy:

Installer directory:
/SpeechHub_engine_installer
to the root of your hard drive so you get:
C:/SpeechHub_engine_installer

Product installation directory (where the directory and files you want to install are located)
/SpeechHub_engine_installer_dir
to the root of your hard drive so you get:
C:/SpeechHub_engine_installer_dir

2. Test NSIS with FreeTTS (optional)

A fully working sample installer for FreeTTS is provided. First you need to copy the FreeTTS engine directory from the source directory:
/speech-hub-engines/engine/freetts-0.1.0
to the product installation directory so you get:
C:/SpeechHub_engine_installer_dir/Windows/SpeechHub/sh/engine/freetts-0.1.1

Navigate to the FreeTTS installer source located in:
C:/SpeechHub_engine_installer/windows/SH-FreeTTSInstall.nsi

With the focus in Windows Explorer on the installer source file, bring up the context menu and select 'Compile NSIS script'. If all goes well, the installer source should compile successfully and an installer executable is generated in the same directory. You can now test the FreeTTS installer.

3. Create an installer for your new engine

It is assumed that you have tested your new engine contained in its own directory as described in this section; for illustration purposes the name of your new engine directory is
sometts-0.1.0

First copy your engine directory to the product installation directory so you get:
C:/SpeechHub_engine_installer_dir/Windows/SpeechHub/sh/engine/sometts-0.1.1

A sample license file is provided in:
C:/SpeechHub_engine_installer_dir/Windows/SpeechHub/SomeTTS_License.txt
Modify this file to suit your needs.

The installer source file is in:
C:/SpeechHub_engine_installer/windows/SH-FreeTTSInstall.nsi

If you still kept the template name 'SomeTTS for all files, the installer source code should compile. Change the names of the installer, the license and the engine directory to reflect the name of your new engine. In the case of the engine directory, do not forget that the name of the directory must be in lower case.

Open the installer source file with a text editor, modify the template name 'SomeTTS' with the name of your new engine; there are instructions in the source for any other changes you need to make.


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