Shiny Stone Digital

SSDD Software Director

This is our "standard installer" used to install any and/or all of our products. It also contains the following features:

(Trivia: During early development this product was code named 'Kratos'.)

Preparing System (Pre-Installation)

Download and install the following packages directly from Microsoft.

Download Setup.zip

(AKA The let's be warned far, far, far less times, but slightly more technical version.)

This section of the instructions assume you are downloading and working with the setup.zip version of the installation.

Download setup.zip.

(The following is assuming you are running Edge; other browsers are similar in functionality so modify accordingly.)

After you click on the setup.zip file, you should be prompted with What do you want to do with setup.zip? and three different buttons; Open, Save as and Save. Select the save option you desire, saving the file in a known location that you can access in order to continue.

Once the file is downloaded, hover over the downloaded entry and click on the folder icon that becomes visible when you hover of the entry.

Now that you see the downloaded setup.zip file on your system, right click on it to display the context menu.

At the bottom of this context menu, you should find the Properties menu item; click it.

In the Properties dialog, toward the bottom left hand portion of the dialg you'll find and Unblock check box. Activate the Unblock check box by clicking on it. Then proceed to click on the OK button to accept and close the Properties dialog.

Again, let's right click on the setup.zip file to display the context menu. This time we want to click on the Extract All... menu entry.

In the presented Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog we can accept the default values and jump straight to clicking on the Extract button in the lower right portion of the dialog.

At this point you should be presented with new folder being created (setup) where this folder contains a single file setup.exe. You can now double click on the setup.exe to launch the installation.

(At this point you can skip the Download Setup.exe (next) section and jump to the Install section further below.)

Download Setup.exe

(AKA The let's be warned several times!!! version.)

This section of the instructions assume you are downloading and working with the setup.exe version of the installation.

(The following is assuming you are running Edge; other browsers are similar in functionality so modify accordingly.)

Download setup.exe.

After you click on the setup.exe file, you should be prompted with What do you want to do with setup.exe? and three different buttons; Open, Save as and Save. Select the save option you desire, saving the file in a known location that you can access in order to continue.

At this point you will probably see something like the following:

setup.exe isn't commonly downloaded. Make sure you trust setup.exe before you open it.

Hover over this message and you should see a ... to the right of the message; click this. After doing so, you are presented with a context menu containing several options including a Keep and Report this file as safe. (If you feel like it, click the Report this file as safe and follow the instructions presented.)

At this point, click the Keep context menu item. Doing so will now present you with a Make sure you trust setup.exe before you open it prompt further stating something along the lines of:

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen couldn't verify if this file is safe because it isn't commonly downloaded. Make sure you trust the file you're downloading or its source before you open it.

There are two buttons also presented; Cancel and Delete. Above these buttons is a Show More with a chevron just to the right of it. Click on the Show More chevron to expand the options. You should now see a Keep anyway as well, again, a Report this app as safe. Click on the Keep anyway option.

At this point the file should download... it should be pretty quick. Once completed, you should see a link below the downloaded file to Open file. Click on Open file.

And yet more protections kick in; you will (most likely) be presented with a Windows protected your PC window stating:

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk.

At the bottom of the window is a Don't run button and below the above message is a link displaying More info. Clicking on More info will present, well, more info (not helpful); however it will also make visible the Run anyway button (next to the Don't run button). Click Run anyway.

And for even more protections... you will be presented with a The app you're trying to install isn't a Microsoft-verified app. Click the Install anyway button.

Install

You should see a One moment please... window in the center of your screen; presenting you with status information as it works through installing the SSDD Software Director on your machine.

Usage

Like most software, the layout contains a main menu, a status bar and a general main content area.

Main Menu

Content Area

The content area contains a list of available software package(s) and/or any pending software update(s) that are available. Each entry is contained within a software category and contains an associated check box. The check box is initially unchecked. Check each entries check box to select and prepare the associated entry for installation/update.

Info Pane

The info pane contains the name of the software as well as any details about the select software package currently highlighted in the content area. Additional details may include the latest available version number, the release date and helpful links.

Close / Install Button

The Close or Install button are in the lower right portion of the screen. The Close will close the application (minimizing it to the system tray). The Install button will initiate the process of downloading the selected package(s) and install accordingly.

Status Bar

The status bar (bottom of the window) will potentially contain a message regarding what is currently being processed as well as the version information for SSDD Software Director.

All Items

The All Items window presents the full list of the available applications with information about each (whether they are installed or not). The layout is similar to the main window where the content list is on the left and an information pane is on the right. In the lower right portion of the window is an OK button; which closes this window.

You can right click on any of the available entries and choose the context menu that is available.

Technical Details

Once the installation is complete, you should have a new folder on your machine located at c:\ssdd containing:

You should also see an SSDD icon on your desktop as well as SSDD Software Director running on your desktop.

When you exit the SSDD Software Director, the application will minimize to your system tray and will remain there until you shut down (or force close it). Once you install any of the software that it makes available, several of these applications will create the associated desktop icon and, upon launching these, will automatically launch the SSDD Software Director directly to the system tray as these applications work together to manage software updates.

Additional Information

End User License Agreement