Codesigning certificate

[Former Member]

Hi.

We have purchased a codesigning certificate from GoDaddy to sign our Visual Studio applications.

Is it possible to use this certificate to sign our PowerBuilder 12.5 applications?

We want to do this to elimate the "Unidentified Publisher" warning when running the exe-file.

And if so, how to we sign the PB-generated exe-file?`

Regards,

Bjarne Anker

Maritech Systems AS

Norway

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

You can sign your PB generated exe with Microsoft's SignTool:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa387764(v=vs.85).aspx

SignTool.exe (Sign Tool)

I use to sign the application and the installer exe with this tool.

[Former Member]

Hi Bjarne;

  Is this PB Classic or PB.Net?

   If PB Classic - do you publish Winform / SmartClient EXE's or P-Code / M-Code based EXE's?

Regards ... Chris

[Former Member]

Hi Chris!

This is PB Classic.

We generate P-Code and always use full build.

Bjarne

[Former Member]

You could create a stub exe in C++ that uses PBNI RunApplication function to run your app. You could sign the stub exe once and never have to do it again. When building the PB target you must check PBD on all libraries including the one containing the application object. The exe created by PowerBuilder can be discarded and the C++ stub used in its place.

[Former Member]

1) You can sign a Winform EXE

2) For a P-Code EXE you cannot (within PB)

  This would be a great enhancement request to have implemented by Appeon when they take over PB.

  For the P-CODE signing, you would have to use an external application to sign your PB Classic EXE. You might want to have a look at something like:

PowerGEN:  Code signing PB Executables (Page 1) / Support Forum / E. Crane Computing Support Forum

MS Sign: Using SignTool to Sign a File (Windows)

FYI:  SignTool.exe (Sign Tool)

HTH

Regards ... Chris

[Former Member]

Ok, thanks!

I'll look into to the Microsoft SignTool.

Just to ask: is it possible to change our application from P-Code to WinForm, or is it too late now?

Bjarne

[Former Member]

You can build a Winform EXE at any time with no code changes!   

Just build a new Winform TARGET against your existing PB Classic application and then create a new Winform Project object to handle the EXE generation and Signing.

[former_member185283]

Hi Bjarne, after you test the WinForm target please give us your feedback. 

[Former Member]

Hi.

I've tried to add a Winform target now, and I chose "Use the library list and application object from an existing target" and selected our current pbt.

PowerBuilder stops responding when it comes to "Specify Win32 Dynamic Library Files":

If I choose the middle option "Use an existing library and application object" and select the existing target in our application pbl, this happens:

So I guess that we cannot make this happen at this point.

Unless some of you have a solution for this?

Regards,

Bjarne

[Former Member]

    WOW ... I have never seen this issue before on any of my development PC's ... even way back to PB 11.0 where the Winform feature started and then all the way to my current W7 & W10 (PB 12.1, 12.5.1 and 12.6) installations.

I just follow the steps you were doing and the Winform Target is created & added to the WorkSpace every time.

1) Are you running on a real PC or a VM?

2) What build of PB 12.5.1 are you using (I'm on 12.5.1 build 4015)?

3) What MS-Windows version are you using?

4) Is your Workspace under SCM (Source Code Manager) control?

FYI ...

[Former Member]

1. A real computer (Dell Precision M6800)

2. PB 12.5.2 build 5703

3. Windows 10 Pro, 1511 (build 10586.14)

4. We are using external SCM to check in and out PBL's.

I know that Windows 10 perhaps is not the best OS for PB 12.5, but everything works great.

I have been running Windows 10 for about 2 months without any problems. Until now.

Bjarne

[Former Member]

Everything (thus far) in PB 12.1, 12.5.1 and 12.6 under W10 seems to be working fine for me as well.

• The only caveat is PB 12.6 which came with its own set of troubles from day#1 - which SAP never fixed!  

Can you try ...

a) copying your entire PB Workspace to a new folder

b) make sure that your copied PB application is not under SCM control.

c) now try creating the WINFORM Target again.

BTW: What SCM are you using?

[Former Member]

I've copied the entire workspace to a new folder - still the same problem.

We are using Visual SourceSafe as an external SCM, without any integration in PowerBuilder.

Bjarne

[Former Member]

  Weird behaviour for the PB IDE IMHO. Especially if you can do a clean full build on the classic Target beforehand.

My last suggestion would be to optimize your PBL's first before adding the Winform target (assuming the full build is OK).

PS: Make sure that the new folder and all of its file contents are not read-only!

[ricardojasso]

You probably have many pbls. On the first screenshot just give it enough time and it will eventually finish finding the Win32 library files.

BTW, what you are actually doing with this approach is creating a .NET WinForms application which will require the .NET framework. You may run into a lot of unsupported features. I'd rather go with Roland's approach or the use of a signing tool.

[Former Member]

Hi Ricardo;

  That is great advice (caution) about the unsupported features when using the Winform (and SmartClient) compilation & deployment vehicles ...

FYI:

Regards ... Chris