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How to Link to a Readme File

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This topic describes how to use the BizTalk Server Administration console or the command line to add a Readme.htm file that will appear when a user clicks a link in Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel.

When you install a BizTalk application, a link to a file named Readme.htm is automatically created in Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If a Readme.htm file exists in the application's installation folder, a user can open it by clicking the "Click here for support information" link that appears under the name of your application and then clicking "%BTAD_InstallDir%\Readme.htm." (%BTAD_InstallDir% is an environment variable representing the application installation folder.)

So that the link to the Readme.htm file from Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel will function, you should do the following:

  • Name the file Readme.htm.

  • When you add Readme.htm to your application, specify the application installation folder as the destination location of the file (as described in step 6 below). The default application installation folder is %ProgramFiles%\Generated by BizTalk\ApplicationName. You can express this path as %BTAD_InstallDir%.

    If you want to overwrite a Readme.htm file that already exists in the application, specify the Overwrite option. If you do not specify that option and a Readme.htm file already exists in the application, the add operation will fail.

Note

If you install more than one .msi file for this application, and select a different installation path for each .msi file, the Readme.htm file included in the last installed .msi file will be opened when the user clicks the Readme link in Add or Remove Programs.

Important

If you do not create a Readme file and add it to your application as described in this topic, nothing will appear when the user clicks the Readme link.

Prerequisites

To perform the procedure in this topic, you must be logged on with an account that is a member of the BizTalk Server Administrators group. For more detailed information on permissions, see Permissions Required for Deploying and Managing a BizTalk Application.

To add a Readme file to an application

Using the BizTalk Server Administration console

  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft BizTalk Server 20xx, and then click BizTalk Server Administration.

  2. In the console tree, expand BizTalk Server Administration and the BizTalk group containing the application to which you want to add a Readme.htm file.

  3. Expand Applications and the application to which you want to add a Readme.htm file.

  4. Right-click the Resources folder, point to Add, and then click Resources.

  5. Click Add, select the Readme.htm file, and then click Open.

  6. In Destination location, the full path of the application installation folder is specified by default, as follows: %BTAD_InstallDir%\Readme.htm. You should not change this path. If the correct path to the application installation folder is not provided, the file is not copied to it during installation, and the link will not work.

  7. When finished, click OK.

Using the command line

  1. Open a command prompt as follows: Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

  2. Type the following command, substituting the appropriate values, as described in the following table:

    BTSTask AddResource [/ApplicationName:value] /Type:System.BizTalk:File [/Overwrite] /Source:value [/Destination:value] [/Server:value] [/Database:value]

    Example:

    BTSTask AddResource /ApplicationName:MyApplication /Type:System.BizTalk:File /Overwrite /Source:"C:\Readme Files\MyApplication\Readme.htm" /Destination:%BTAD_InstallDir%\Readme.htm" /Server:MyServer /Database:BizTalkMgmtDB

    Parameter Value
    /ApplicationName Name of the BizTalk application to which to add the Readme file. If the application name is not specified, the default BizTalk application is used. I the name includes spaces, you must enclose it in double quotation marks (").
    /Type System.BizTalk:File (This value is not case-sensitive.)
    /Overwrite Option to overwrite an existing file. If not specified, and a file already exists in the application that has the same name as the file being added, the AddResource operation fails.
    /Source Full path of the source file, including the file name. If the path includes spaces, you must enclose it in double quotation marks (").
    /Destination %BTAD_InstallDir%\Readme.htm

    This represents the full path of the application installation folder and Readme.htm file and is the location where the Readme.htm file will be copied during installation. If not provided, the file is not copied to the application installation folder and the Readme.htm link in Add or Remove Programs will not function.
    /Server Name of the SQL Server instance hosting the BizTalk Management database. Required if you specify the Database parameter. If not provided, localhost is used. If Server and Database parameters are not specified, the default BizTalk Management database for the group is used.
    /Database Name of the BizTalk Management database. Required if you specify the Server parameter. If Server and Database parameters are not specified, the default BizTalk Management database for the group is used.

See Also

Creating and Modifying BizTalk Applications
AddResource Command: File