Creating a Branded version of Exodus

1. The easiest way to do these is to check out from Subversion.
2. Get or build a copy of these files:
• Exodus.exe
• IdleHooks.dll
• exodus.ico
• exodus-installer.bmp
• GPL-LICENSE.TXT
• ZipDLL.dll
• exodus-new.nsi
• version.nsi
• example-plugin-i18n-new.nsi
• NSIS 2
3. These files you might want to host on your own web server:
• indy_openssl096k.zip
• richupd.exe
• branding.xml
4. Create a branding.xml file. Here is a template, with the defaults. Any preference you set in this file will become the default. You can set other preferences in here as well, such as these, or things that you find in your exodus.xml file. Good candidates are fonts and colors.
5. Move ZipDll.dll to $NSIS_HOME\Plugins.
6. Read the NSIS docs, to find out how to customize exodus.nsi. I'd suggest removing the "Bleeding-edge updates" section, and adding branding.xml to the !Exodus section. Search for the word BRANDING for hints.
7. If you want your branding.xml file to auto-update (seperately from your setup.exe file), put your branding.xml file on a web server, and set the <branding_url/> option in the branding.xml that you distribute in your setup.exe. When your uses start up exodus, it will check to see if there is a later branding.xml file at the specified URL.
8. Build your setup.exe file. I use: "c:\program files\nsis\makensis.exe" /v2 exodus.nsi
9. Distribute your new setup.exe.