Is it possible to "embed" an exe in your app?

[maVado]

Have you read?:

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/1269/vista_show_unhide_file_extensions/

Even if you have XP, if this checkbox is ticked you can rename the file to whatever you want it still stays an EXE because the EXE EXTENSION is hidden from you for renaming.

[Dynamite]

I'm so confused at the moment. Ok this is what I have:
1. The launcher, this launches the application.
2. The hidden application. I want users to run the launcher instead of running the application all by itself, the launcher contains a few important this that should be run before the application has run. The application is HIDDEN.

I have already ticked the "View hidden files". I can see the HIDDEN application cause I enabled my computer to see hidden files.

I don't get what you're trying to say. I already did everything in this website: http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/1269/vista_show_unhide_file_extensions/
But I'm not sure if that's teaching me how to rename an exe to something like "data.txt" or whatever.

The problem I have is that I need a 2 hour tutorial for me to finally understand something...

EDIT: Nevermind, the website was something different. I thought it just told us how to view hidden files not extensions.

[Retriever2]

It is possible to embed the file in your application, but it will be extracted to a temporary location in C:\Documents and Settings\<User>\Local Settings\Temp along with the rest of your program and resources. If this is acceptable, check the "Include external files" box in your project settings, and "open" your exe in an extension. I wrote a simple extension for this very purpose: http://www.clickteam.com/epicenter/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=138336#Post1383 36

You can launch your exe from a relative path.

[Dynamite]

I forgot to mention an important key part for this to work...

The hidden file has to be in the folder (not the temp folder) for it to run!

[Retriever2]

This is really dubious and sneaky but you may be able to take advantage of ADS Streams to completely conceal the file behind your real application (or another file). This will only work on the NTFS filesystem and may not work under lots of circumstances or with your particular application.

Other than that, or finding a way to run your EXE elsewhere (like out of temp), I think you're out of luck.

[Dynamite]

hmm, how would I use ADS stream?

And there should be many more possible ways to do this. We just have to think smart and be creative

[Retriever2]

I have never used ADS streams but it might be as simple as the colon syntax mentioned in the FAQ I posted. I only ran across this obscure feature while removing malware from a computer (told you it was dubious!)

After some testing though, after compiling your EXE you could run "type hidden.exe > myapp.exe:hidden.exe"

Then you could run the hidden EXE by calling "start .\myapp.exe:hidden.exe"

You may need something more powerful than the integrated "run external program" action in MMF to pull that off however. And once again your program will fail on a FAT filesystem, at minimum.

[Dynamite]

Hmm, I thought of a more easier way to do this (since the hidden file has to be in the folder to work.)

When you execute the game from the Launcher, it sends the hidden file into the folder for it to work, and when you finish using the file it sends it back to the temp folder.

So as long as the launcher is running, the hidden file remains in the folder.

[Ran_TH]

Why not use command line?
For example, if your hidden application opened by user, it will quit immediately. The only way to run the application is using command line by running it from your main application.