Shiny-Windscape

Build a exe setup file for R Shiny in Windows

✨ Objective

To share wonderful R Shiny Apps with following user types:

1. You dont want to explain to user how to use and configure R or R Shiny
2. You want App to start just like any other Windows App
3. You want to run R Shiny App in complete offline environment
4. To package R Shiny App along with all required dependencies inside a single executable file

✨ Contents

Inno Setup Configuration:

• The Inno Setup file create_installer_.iss contains configuration settings such as the application name, version, default installation directory, program group name, compression options, and more.
• It specifies the base filename for the generated setup file.

File and Directory Installation:

• The [Files] section in the Inno Setup file create_installer_.iss lists the files and directories to include in the installation package.
• The specified files, such as R Portable, R scripts, app files, logs, and supporting files, are copied to specific directories within the user's system during the installation process.
• The Flags parameter is used to control specific behaviors, such as marking a file as a readme file.

Start Menu Shortcut:

• The [Icons] section in the Inno Setup file create_installer_.iss defines the shortcut icon and its associated properties.
• It creates a shortcut in the Start Menu's program group, pointing to the start_app.vbs file, and sets the icon for the shortcut.

VBScript Execution:

• The start_app.vbs file is a VBScript script responsible for launching the R Shiny application.
• It creates a WScript.Shell object and runs the R script runApp.R using the R interpreter.
• The R script execution is performed with the specified command-line arguments, including the log file name.
• This script acts as a bridge between the Inno Setup installer and the R Shiny application, allowing the installer to launch the application during setup.

Run Shiny App

• The runApp.R script launches the R Shiny application using the following steps:
• Set library paths to R Portable.libPaths("./R/App/R-Portable/library")
• Load the Shiny package library(shiny)
• Run the Shiny application: shiny::runApp("app", launch.browser = TRUE)

By combining these elements, the setup file generated with Inno Setup automates the installation process for the R Shiny application. It copies the necessary files, creates shortcuts, and sets up the environment for executing the R Shiny application. Users can then run the setup file to install the application on their system with ease.

📺 How to Create Setup.exe Installer

• Open create_installer_.iss file (You will need Inno Setup Application to open and compile this file)
• Verify all the parameters as shown in the Contents
• Move your R Shiny app inside app folder and delete the existing app.R file.
• Click on Compile to create Setup exe file
• The Setup.exe file will be stored in the same directory inside Output folder

• A demo setup file is added to current project's release. It will install the Faithful Geyser R Shiny app.
• Demo Setup File Download

📺 How to Run the App

• Install the program using the generated Setup.exe file.
• Configure the setup options, such as the installation directory.
• After successful installation, the application will be accessible from the Windows Start Menu.
• Select the app from the Start Menu to launch it in the default browser.

📺 How to Check the logs

• Go to the installed program directory.
• Open the "logs" folder.
• Select the latest log file based on its name, which specifies the date and time.
• Use the log file to debug any application problems if needed.

💙 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. If you find any bugs, please create an issue.

💖 Like this project ?

Leave a ⭐ If you think this project is cool.

🍁 Licence

• MIT License

👨‍💻 Authors

• Pawan Rama Mali

✨ Credits

• Inno Setup Application Download
• Inno Setup Github
• R Portable Download Link