Build-time variables

In general, you can use symbolic variables as part of your build actions. Symbolic variables are expanded immediately prior to the build action in which they are used. See Alphabetical reference for a full description of the available symbolic variables.

General variables

Most symbolic variables can be used normally in build actions, because they do not depend on the system configuration and are not sensitive to timing issues (unless you redefined them in a way that does refer to runtime or build time information).

However, be aware that some variables refer to runtime information that depend on the target system (for example, physical memory size or the full path to the Windows folder). If you use these variables in build actions, they may be undefined or refer to your development system instead of the customer's system, which may or may not be what you intended.

Build time variables

The following variables are set by InstallMate each time you build a project and are considered build time variables:

Variable	Description	Scope
BuildBase	Build target base name	Set per package configuration
BuildDate	Build date as YYYYMMDD	Set for the entire build process
BuildDayNo	Build day number, starting from 1 = 1 January 2000	Set for the entire build process
BuildFolder	Folder containing the build target	Set per package configuration
BuildName	Package name	Set per package configuration
BuildSerial	Builder's registration code	Set per package configuration
BuildTarget	Build target file path	Set per package configuration
BuildTime	Build time as HHMMSS	Set for the entire build process
BuildType	Build type: TSU	Set per package configuration
BuildVersion	InstallMate version that created the installer	Set per package configuration
InstallMatePath	Root folder of the InstallMate product installation	Set for the entire build process
ProjectFolder	Folder containing the InstallMate project file	Set for the entire build process
ProjectName	InstallMate project file base name	Set for the entire build process
ProjectPath	Fully qualified path to the InstallMate project file	Set for the entire build process

Validity of build variables

During the build actions, the values of build time variables are available for use in the actions. However, their values may change during the build process as different configurations or targets are processed. Use the table below to determine which variables can be safely used during each custom build action.

n/a - indicates that the variable's value is either not available or cannot be relied upon.

Variable	PreAll	PreCheck	PostAll
		For each package configuration
BuildBase	n/a	Valid	n/a
BuildDate	Valid
BuildDayNo	Valid
BuildFolder	n/a	Valid	n/a
BuildName	n/a	Valid	n/a
BuildSerial	n/a	Valid	n/a
BuildTarget	n/a	Valid	n/a
BuildTime	Valid
BuildType	n/a	Valid	n/a
BuildVersion	n/a	Valid	n/a
InstallMatePath	Valid
ProjectFolder	Valid
ProjectName	Valid
ProjectPath	Valid