InstallShield

Expand the global reach of your products by presenting installation text and buttons in Hebrew and Arabic, which are read from right to left.

InstallShield 2009 lets you easily add managed-code custom actions to Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, and Merge Module projects.

Easily add managed-code custom actions to your MSIs, InstallScript MSIs, merge modules, and Web projects using the Custom Action Wizard. Managed-code custom actions allows for calls to be made to a public method in a .NET assembly that is written in managed code such as Visual Basic .NET or C#.

Give your MSIs the ability to install multiple instances of the same product on the same machine.

InstallShield lets you give your MSIs the ability to install multiple instances of the same product on the same machine. It gives you even more flexibility when creating installations.

At build time, InstallShield creates a product code–changing instance transform for each instance and streams the instance transforms into the .msi package. At run time, the setup launcher displays a new instance selection dialog that lets end users specify whether they want to install a new instance, or update or maintain an already installed instance.

InstallShield lets you add Windows Installer packages to Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects as chained MSI packages.

If your Basic MSI or InstallScript MSI installation includes chained MSI packages and Windows Installer 4.5 is present on the target system, the Windows Installer installs the multiple packages as a single transaction.

If one or more of the packages in the transaction cannot be installed successfully or if the end user cancels the installation, the Windows Installer initiates rollback for all packages to restore the system to its earlier state.

InstallShield makes it even easier to create installations with four new MSI tools. They save you time and effort by providing a rich UI for common troubleshooting tasks.

• InstallShield MSI Diff lets you easily compare two MSI, MSM, PCP, or MSP database files or two InstallShield project files. A color-coded display clearly shows what changes have been made to the files.
• InstallShield MSI Query helps you ensure the accuracy of SQL statements by testing them before they run in the build script. It saves you time by displaying a direct, visual representation of the success of your code.
• InstallShield MSI Sleuth eliminates hours of tedious research by letting you run a database query to identify MSI packages against third-party installers. It makes it easy to detect legacy setups so that they can be replaced with industry-standard MSI packages.
• InstallShield MSI Grep can run searches of MSI and MSM files to locate specific elements within the database. It saves you time by eliminating the manual scrutinizing of database lines to locate data.

InstallShield has always been about offering developers choices. Now with Value-Added Services, InstallShield presents an opportunity for your company to generate new revenue streams while providing an additional service to your end users.

With InstallShield, you can choose to offer your end users the option of installing the Yahoo! Toolbar along with your software. It gives your end users the convenience of an easily accessible search engine, and your company earns revenue every time end users run searches with it.

InstallShield is the ultimate setup solution for .NET software developers with full support for Visual Studio, including Visual Studio 2008 and 2005.

InstallShield lets you create your installations within the same Visual Studio interface where you create your products, making .NET install authoring more efficient. All InstallShield's views are presented within the Visual Studio .NET Solution Explorer in a separate window, so no scrolling is necessary and side-by-side viewing options are available.

With full .NET integration and support, InstallShield gives you everything you need to efficiently author reliable .NET software installations. You have the option of creating installations directly within the Visual Studio interface or using the intuitive InstallShield IDE. You can also link the primary outputs of your .NET projects to your installs, scan C# and .NET projects for file dependencies, configure .NET custom actions, distribute the .NET Framework or .NET Compact Framework, and much more.

InstallShield ensures your .NET installations are always current and reliable. It dynamically links your install project to other Visual Studio .NET project outputs, automatically updating your installation with your latest source files every time your product is built. Your installation projects also automatically include both Debug and Release build configurations, ensuring the proper source files will be included in your build.

InstallShield now supports the option to either install or include a requirement to install the .NET Framework 3.5 and the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 in Windows Installer installations—past versions of .NET are also still supported.

Several redistributables are available for mobile device installations: .NET Compact Framework 3.5, SQL Mobile 2005, SQL Client 2.0, and SQL Mobile 2005 Replication. In addition, installations for the latest smartphone support redistributables.

InstallShield ensures your .NET installations are always current and reliable. It dynamically links your install project to other Visual Studio 2005 project outputs, automatically updating your installation with your latest source files every time your product is built. Your installation projects also automatically include both Debug and Release build configurations, ensuring the proper source files will be included in your build.

InstallShield lets you associate InstallShield prerequisites with features to chain multiple MSIs together in a single installation.

It ensures that when your end users install a feature, the prerequisite is also installed (if it wasn’t already on their machine). Feature prerequisites are useful for applications or components that are used by only some configurations of the installed product and are not used during the installation itself.

InstallShield also still supports setup prerequisites not associated with any features. Setup prerequisites are installed before the main installation begins. They are useful for base applications and technology frameworks that must be installed for all configurations of the installed product or that provide functionality that is used during the installation itself.

InstallShield includes several new billboard-related features that give you more flexibility and control over the look and feel of the file transfer portion of your installation.

It gives you the ability to promote additional information to end users during the installation process in a professional manner. For example, you can now add an Adobe^® Flash^® application file (.swf) as a billboard in your project. Flash application files can consist of videos, movies, sounds, interactive interfaces, games, text, and more—anything that is supported by the .swf type of file.

Note: Billboards are currently only available in the InstallShield Express Edition.

Whether your installations are MSI-based, InstallScript-based, or any other project type, InstallShield has the tools you need to author professional installations optimized for Windows Vista.

Windows Vista-related features in InstallShield:

• Certified for Windows Vista Validation Suite - The validation suite uses pre-configured validation testing, letting you test your MSI installations for compliance with Microsoft's Windows Vista Logo requirements. The suite uses over 20 validators to automatically scan your basic MSI and InstallScript MSI.
• Support for UAC - InstallShield includes robust support for the User Account Control (UAC) functionality that Microsoft added for Windows Vista, letting you eliminate unnecessary UAC prompts that spoil end users' installation experience.
• Support for Restart Manager - InstallShield 2008 integrates new capabilities for more elegant application shutdown when required by an installation - minimizing reboots and simplifying and improving the overall installation experience.
• Ability to Specifically Target Windows Vista - With the Project Assistant (MSI) and Platform Dialog (InstallScript) you can specifically target your installations for Windows Vista. This allows for Windows Vista-specific customization, while maintaining compatibility with existing operating systems.
• Support for Windows Installer 4.5 - Create MSI installations using the most current Microsoft installation technology.
• Automatic MSI Log File Creation - Windows Installer 4.0 supports automatic log-file creation. You can enable this option to create a log the first time you run the installation, instead of having to uninstall and re-install with the logging command line switch. If your setup fails, there is an added option to view the log file at the end of the installation.
• Better support for Windows Vista in InstallScript Projects - Required Execution Level setting now supported in InstallScript.  Previously, InstallShield always included a Highest Available manifest for InstallScript projects, and the Required Execution Level setting was available in only Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects
• Enhancements to Setup Prerequisites - Enhancements to the Setup Prerequisite Editor in InstallShield let you flexibly and easily redistribute setup prerequisites - giving you more direct control over your installations. The Setup Prerequisite editor also lets you test for Windows Vista.
• Improved Digital Signing Capabilities- Easily specify files in your project (static and dynamic) to have the InstallShield build engine digitally sign.
• Support for Elevation-free Patching - Patches, of setups that have been installed with elevated privileges, can be run without the end user seeing the elevation prompt.
• UAC Setup Prerequisites Support - You can now define a prerequisite as requiring administrative privileges - allowing you to run prerequisites with elevated privileges and then dropping down to user privileges to run the MSI user interface.
• Support to Display UAC Shield Icon - Ready to Install dialog will display "UAC shield" icon on the "Install" button in new projects. Users can now add Shield icon to any MSI button via the dialog editor.  Shield Icon will show up in the dialog editor (when run under Windows Vista).
• InstallScript Engine Overhaul - InstallShield's InstallScript engine overhaul ensures increased reliability. Several enhancements have been made to the InstallScript language - new and revised variables, functions, and constants are now available. No registration is required for the InstallScript engine, allowing you to now run the InstallScript engine on Windows Vista without admin privileges.
• Additional Windows Vista Support for InstallScript Projects - End users can now run InstallScript One-Click Install installations on Windows Vista systems, even if they have limited privileges; if elevated privileges are required because of the required execution level specified in the installation's manifest, the appropriate UAC prompt is displayed when the Setup.exe file is launched. 

InstallShield Premier and Professional Editions contain Windows Vista items listed above. InstallShield Express Edition does not contain validation or InstallScript and, therefore, does not contain Vista Validation or InstallScript-related Windows Vista support. InstallShield Express Edition also does not have a Setup Prerequisite Editor.

InstallShield is the ultimate setup solution for .NET software developers with full support for Visual Studio, including Visual Studio 2008 and 2005.

InstallShield lets you create your installations within the same Visual Studio interface where you create your products, making .NET install authoring more efficient. All InstallShield's views are presented within the Visual Studio .NET Solution Explorer in a separate window, so no scrolling is necessary and side-by-side viewing options are available.

With full .NET integration and support, InstallShield gives you everything you need to efficiently author reliable .NET software installations. You have the option of creating installations directly within the Visual Studio interface or using the intuitive InstallShield IDE. You can also link the primary outputs of your .NET projects to your installs, scan C# and .NET projects for file dependencies, configure .NET custom actions, distribute the .NET Framework or .NET Compact Framework, and much more.

InstallShield ensures your .NET installations are always current and reliable. It dynamically links your install project to other Visual Studio .NET project outputs, automatically updating your installation with your latest source files every time your product is built. Your installation projects also automatically include both Debug and Release build configurations, ensuring the proper source files will be included in your build.

Support customers around the world by enabling one installation to support 35 runtime languages for Windows installations, including new support for Arabic and Hebrew.

Multilingual support lets you localize your installations, eliminating hundreds of hours of installation dialog and message box translation effort. Additional languages can be added easily. Changes and additions to existing translations are made with a three-step process: export all or part of the associated string tables, make the changes, and re-import them.

The power of multilingual support can also be combined with installation conditions in InstallShield to create installations that include different files, registry entries, and other resources for each of your supported languages. The conditions will assure that only the correct resources get installed for each language.

Supported languages

Arabic	Indonesian	Russian
Chinese (Simplified)	Japanese	Thai
Chinese (Traditional)	Korean	Turkish
English	French (Canada)	Portuguese (Brazil)
Basque	French (France)	Portuguese (Portugal)
Bulgarian	German	Romanian
Catalan	Greek	Serbian
Croatian	Hebrew	Slovak
Czech	Hungarian	Slovenian
Danish	Italian	Spanish
Dutch	Norwegian	Swedish
Finnish	Polish

InstallShield provides a Standalone Build module that enables you to maintain a clean build system by using the part of InstallShield that compiles the installations, plus any redistributables that you want to include in your installations. This clean build system gives you more control over the quality of the installations that you compile.

The Standalone Build module can coexist with other versions of InstallShield, and you can run it from the command line. Each full license of InstallShield Premier Edition includes 10 Standalone Build modules.

 

In addition to the validation tests added to the Windows Vista Logo certification testing suite, InstallShield comes with the InstallShield Best Practices (ISBP) validation suite. Validators in this suite alert you if your installation violates any best-practices guidelines.

• ISBP01: Verifies that no feature is named 'ALL'.
• ISBP02: Verifies that no directory is named 'DATABASE'.
• ISBP03: Verifies that no ComboBox is shorter than 50 units.
• ISBP04: Verifies that properties used on dialogs are secure or restricted public properties.
• ISBP05: Verifies that no ControlEvent condition is NULL.
• ISBP06: Verifies that InstallUISequence custom actions are also sequenced in the InstallExecuteSequence.
• ISBP07: Verifies that all features have associated components and all components are associated with features.
• ISBP08: Verifies that ARPINSTALLLOCATION is set after CostFinalize in the InstallExecuteSequence.
• ISBP09: Verifies that LIMITUI is not set without ARPNOMODIFY.
• ISBP10: Verifies that AppSearch properties are secure or restricted public properties.
• ISBP11: Verifies that no precompiled .NET assemblies are being distributed.
• ISBP12: Verifies that no file is self-registered.
• ISBP13: Verifies that properties set by dialog controls and used in the installation have a default value.
• ISBP14: Verifies that each file has the correct version information or an MsiFileHash entry.
• ISBP15: Verifies that no RadioButtonGroup has Text defined.
• ISBP16: Verifies that each component with a 64-bit destination is marked as a 64-bit component.

Not only does improved validation testing increase the usefulness of InstallShield as a tool to prepare your applications for Windows Vista Logo certification, with ISBP, you can now avoid common installation issues.

Enable a prospective customer to use the latest version of your product-with all of its features fully available-on a trial basis. No dongle is used to limit or lock software access. After a predetermined trial period, the trialware securely expires, and it no longer runs on the prospect's machine.

With the Trialware view, you can configure a product version key for your product to protect it from piracy. Using InstallShield to protect your product lets you:

• Invest minimal time and expense to turn your product into trialware.
• Set firm expiration dates using sophisticated, flexible security technology that blocks unauthorized extensions of trialware.
• Specify hyperlinks that should be displayed in the trialware run-time dialogs, which are launched whenever end users launch a protected application. The hyperlinks direct users to Web pages that inform them, for example, how to purchase your product.

With the Trialware view, you can configure a product version key for trialware. InstallShield uses the product version key to wrap a secure shell around your product's executable file (.exe). The .exe file can be unwrapped and used only according to the product version key settings that you configure, such as the number of days in the trial period.

Automation interface improvements in InstallShield give you more automation flexibility, lowering the number of times manual intervention through the IDE is required. Enhancements include automating functionality that was previously only available via the IDE.

The OverrideSystemAttributes, OverrideSystemSize, OverrideSystemVersion, and OverrideSystemLanguage properties are now available for the ISWiFile object in the automation interface; they replace the UseSystemSettings property, which is obsolete. In addition, the DeleteSubFolder and DeleteShortcut methods are now available for the ISWiFolder object. Other improvements include:

• OverrideSystemAttributes—To override the development system's settings for all of the file attributes, such as Hidden, ReadOnly, Vital, and System, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Hidden, ReadOnly, Vital, and System properties are ignored. 
• OverrideSystemSize—To override the development system's file size, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Size property is ignored. 
• OverrideSystemVersion—To override the development system's file version, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Version property is ignored. 
• OverrideSystemLanguage—To override the development system's file language, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Languages property is ignored. DeleteSubFolder—Deletes the specified subfolder from the current folder.
• DeleteShortcut—Deletes the specified shortcut from the current folder.

InstallShield is the most advanced solution ever built for creating script-based installations. InstallShield is the ultimate tool for leveraging the powerful and easy-to-use InstallScript language. With over 445 predefined installation-related functions, InstallScript enables script-based customization of any part of the installation, including the user dialog sequence, file transfer, error handling, reboot, and even uninstallation. InstallShield's scripting functionality ensures you meet your every installation requirement.
 
InstallShield offers you maximum power and flexibility by enabling any level of install customization. Source code control integration makes InstallScript project versioning possible, while the automation interface dramatically increases the number of ways in which projects can be updated programmatically. InstallShield's simplified patch and upgrade creation, clean build system support, and build report tools also assist in your product lifecycle management.
 
Complementing InstallShield's vast functionality and tool selection is its remarkable ease of use. You can use the Project Assistant to walk you through any script-based installation-authoring process, saving you significant development time. InstallShield can also add the latest source files at build time via linked folders, automatically find required file dependencies, and intelligently add third-party technology dependencies using over 70 technology modules. InstallShield does it all!

Use the Visual Dialog Editor to easily modify existing installation dialogs (dozens are included) or create completely new dialogs, tailoring the user interface experience for your customers.

A Dialog Creation Wizard allows you to select a dialog template and insert the dialog at any location in the user interface sequence. The new dialog will be automatically linked to the previous and following dialogs.

Dialogs can be exported and imported for sharing across projects, making project collaboration more efficient.

InstallShield makes it easy for software developers to create reliable, high-quality software patches and upgrades that can modify all aspects of a previously deployed package.
 
Everything you need to efficiently build Windows Installer (MSI) or InstallScript™ patches and updates. With InstallShield, you can easily author patches and updates that seamlessly modify any aspect of your previously installed applications. From a simple hot fix to a major upgrade, software updates built with InstallShield guarantee your customers always have the latest versions of your products. And InstallShield has rigorous automated quality-control tools that ensure installing your patches and updates never damages your customers' systems - or trust in you.
 
InstallScript patch and update creation made easy. Just use InstallShield's Release Wizard to create differential media that contains only the changed files from the original InstallScript installation to your new, updated one. Then distribute the differential media as part of an update install that includes an "update-aware" script. The script gives you the option to customize your customer's update experience with update-specific dialogs.
 
Advanced MSI patch and upgrade capabilities. InstallShield's MSI QuickPatch™ tool lets you quickly create reliable patches by simply pointing to your existing MSI installation and identifying whatever changes you wish to make - InstallShield captures the changes for you automatically. Managing QuickPatch technology is a breeze with the new history view. It allows you to quickly analyze previous QuickPatches made to a particular project. InstallShield also has full patch design and upgrade views for you to author even the most complex, customized software updates. Validation for all patches and updates occurs automatically to ensure they always function properly and follow Microsoft guidelines.
 
Get patches and updates to your customers more easily. Whether you wish to distribute your InstallScript and MSI upgrades via the Internet, CD-ROM, Acresso's FLEXnet Connect, or any other method, InstallShield makes it happen.

Enhancements to the Setup Prerequisite Editor in InstallShield let you flexibly and easily redistribute setup prerequisites:

• Improved user interface give you menus that list easy-to-access commands.
• The new Behavior tab lets you specify whether end users may skip the prerequisite installation. You can also specify how the prerequisite installation should proceed if it appears that the target machine does or does not need to be restarted. 
• Create prerequisite installation conditions for DWORD registry comparisons. You can also create conditions for 64-bit machines.
• Specify different methods for supplying each individual setup prerequisite in your installation. This enables you to store some of the setup prerequisite files on the source media; compress some of the setup prerequisite files into Setup.exe, to be extracted at run time; and download some of the setup prerequisite files.
• Assign release flags to setup prerequisites; include and exclude any combinations of setup prerequisites when you build different releases. 

You can use the intuitive Project Assistant to seamlessly guide you through the installation-authoring process. The Project Assistant offers a simplified look at the project data, and allows you to switch to more detailed views and back again while maintaining all updates.

The Project Assistant reduces the time required for new users or setup authors unfamiliar with either Windows Installer or smart device install formats to complete an installation project quickly. It also enables veteran setup authors to save time by more efficiently jumpstarting a new installation project.

InstallShield has unparalleled Windows Installer support, giving you complete control over your MSI installations.

Use InstallShield's powerful wizards, task-based views, and a full Direct Table Editor to easily enable your installs to leverage Windows Installer service benefits (such as install-on-demand, auto-repair, and installation rollback). With InstallShield you can easily create or edit an MSI file directly using rich views and create or edit a transform based on an existing MSI file. Plus InstallShield gives you enhanced control and error management capabilities with a MSI debugger, MSI differencing tools, and instant access to InstallShield Error Central.

InstallShield offers you maximum power and flexibility by enabling any level of install customization. Source code control integration makes MSI project versioning possible, while the automation interface dramatically increases the number of ways in which projects can be updated programmatically. InstallShield's simplified patch and upgrade creation, clean build system support, debugging, and build report tools also assist in your product lifecycle management.

What is MSI?

The Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) service is a native service of Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows Server 2008, and more. It is also available as an add-on service for Windows NT 4, Windows 98, and Windows 95. The Windows Installer service enables the operating system to track installed applications and manage components that are shared by various applications.

• Automatically repair key product files that have been corrupted
• Advertise applications without initially loading software on a system
• Install/uninstall applications with component-level management
• Roll back to a computer's original state during an interrupted installation

Windows Installer can be described as a combination of two major components:

1. A set of guidelines and APIs for software developers, and
2. The services designed to process commands put forth by the APIs; these services include a Client Install

It is also an Install Service that can run with elevated administration privileges.

In addition to the validation tests added to the Windows Vista Logo certification testing suite, InstallShield comes with the InstallShield Best Practices (ISBP) validation suite. Validators in this suite alert you if your installation violates any best-practices guidelines.

• ISBP01: Verifies that no feature is named 'ALL'.
• ISBP02: Verifies that no directory is named 'DATABASE'.
• ISBP03: Verifies that no ComboBox is shorter than 50 units.
• ISBP04: Verifies that properties used on dialogs are secure or restricted public properties.
• ISBP05: Verifies that no ControlEvent condition is NULL.
• ISBP06: Verifies that InstallUISequence custom actions are also sequenced in the InstallExecuteSequence.
• ISBP07: Verifies that all features have associated components and all components are associated with features.
• ISBP08: Verifies that ARPINSTALLLOCATION is set after CostFinalize in the InstallExecuteSequence.
• ISBP09: Verifies that LIMITUI is not set without ARPNOMODIFY.
• ISBP10: Verifies that AppSearch properties are secure or restricted public properties.
• ISBP11: Verifies that no precompiled .NET assemblies are being distributed.
• ISBP12: Verifies that no file is self-registered.
• ISBP13: Verifies that properties set by dialog controls and used in the installation have a default value.
• ISBP14: Verifies that each file has the correct version information or an MsiFileHash entry.
• ISBP15: Verifies that no RadioButtonGroup has Text defined.
• ISBP16: Verifies that each component with a 64-bit destination is marked as a 64-bit component.

Not only does improved validation testing increase the usefulness of InstallShield as a tool to prepare your applications for Windows Vista Logo certification, with ISBP, you can now avoid common installation issues.

Support customers around the world by enabling one installation to support 35 runtime languages for Windows installations, including new support for Arabic and Hebrew.

Multilingual support lets you localize your installations, eliminating hundreds of hours of installation dialog and message box translation effort. Additional languages can be added easily. Changes and additions to existing translations are made with a three-step process: export all or part of the associated string tables, make the changes, and re-import them.

The power of multilingual support can also be combined with installation conditions in InstallShield to create installations that include different files, registry entries, and other resources for each of your supported languages. The conditions will assure that only the correct resources get installed for each language.

Supported languages

Arabic	Indonesian	Russian
Chinese (Simplified)	Japanese	Thai
Chinese (Traditional)	Korean	Turkish
English	French (Canada)	Portuguese (Brazil)
Basque	French (France)	Portuguese (Portugal)
Bulgarian	German	Romanian
Catalan	Greek	Serbian
Croatian	Hebrew	Slovak
Czech	Hungarian	Slovenian
Danish	Italian	Spanish
Dutch	Norwegian	Swedish
Finnish	Polish

InstallShield provides a Standalone Build module that enables you to maintain a clean build system by using the part of InstallShield that compiles the installations, plus any redistributables that you want to include in your installations. This clean build system gives you more control over the quality of the installations that you compile.

The Standalone Build module can coexist with other versions of InstallShield, and you can run it from the command line. Each full license of InstallShield Premier Edition includes 10 Standalone Build modules.

 

A repository is a collection of common elements can be shared and reused in different installation projects for quickly rolling out new setups. Examples of elements that can be stored in a repository include end-user dialogs, InstallScript™ files, merge modules, SQL scripts, system searches, and project templates. Repositories provide you with the ability to reuse project elements in multiple projects to ensure consistency. They also save you from having to duplicate work. For example, if many of the installations for your organization's products include a particular custom dialog, you can create that custom dialog once and then publish it to your repository. Any time you want to use that dialog in another installation, simply add the dialog from your repository to your project. Two types of repositories are available: 

• Local repository - A local repository is your own collection of installation elements that you want to be able to reuse in multiple projects. A local repository is stored on your local machine, and it is not available to other installation authors.
• Network repository - A network repository is a collection of installation elements that multiple installation authors can access and reuse in their projects as needed. A network repository fosters collaboration among installation authors; it is stored on a network.

InstallShield 2009 lets you easily add managed-code custom actions to Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, and Merge Module projects.

Easily add managed-code custom actions to your MSIs, InstallScript MSIs, merge modules, and Web projects using the Custom Action Wizard. Managed-code custom actions allows for calls to be made to a public method in a .NET assembly that is written in managed code such as Visual Basic .NET or C#.

Give your MSIs the ability to install multiple instances of the same product on the same machine.

InstallShield lets you give your MSIs the ability to install multiple instances of the same product on the same machine. It gives you even more flexibility when creating installations.

At build time, InstallShield creates a product code–changing instance transform for each instance and streams the instance transforms into the .msi package. At run time, the setup launcher displays a new instance selection dialog that lets end users specify whether they want to install a new instance, or update or maintain an already installed instance.

InstallShield lets you add Windows Installer packages to Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects as chained MSI packages.

If your Basic MSI or InstallScript MSI installation includes chained MSI packages and Windows Installer 4.5 is present on the target system, the Windows Installer installs the multiple packages as a single transaction.

If one or more of the packages in the transaction cannot be installed successfully or if the end user cancels the installation, the Windows Installer initiates rollback for all packages to restore the system to its earlier state.

InstallShield lets you associate InstallShield prerequisites with features to chain multiple MSIs together in a single installation.

It ensures that when your end users install a feature, the prerequisite is also installed (if it wasn’t already on their machine). Feature prerequisites are useful for applications or components that are used by only some configurations of the installed product and are not used during the installation itself.

InstallShield also still supports setup prerequisites not associated with any features. Setup prerequisites are installed before the main installation begins. They are useful for base applications and technology frameworks that must be installed for all configurations of the installed product or that provide functionality that is used during the installation itself.

Automation interface improvements in InstallShield give you more automation flexibility, lowering the number of times manual intervention through the IDE is required. Enhancements include automating functionality that was previously only available via the IDE.

The OverrideSystemAttributes, OverrideSystemSize, OverrideSystemVersion, and OverrideSystemLanguage properties are now available for the ISWiFile object in the automation interface; they replace the UseSystemSettings property, which is obsolete. In addition, the DeleteSubFolder and DeleteShortcut methods are now available for the ISWiFolder object. Other improvements include:

• OverrideSystemAttributes—To override the development system's settings for all of the file attributes, such as Hidden, ReadOnly, Vital, and System, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Hidden, ReadOnly, Vital, and System properties are ignored. 
• OverrideSystemSize—To override the development system's file size, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Size property is ignored. 
• OverrideSystemVersion—To override the development system's file version, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Version property is ignored. 
• OverrideSystemLanguage—To override the development system's file language, set this property to True. If you set this property to False, the Languages property is ignored. DeleteSubFolder—Deletes the specified subfolder from the current folder.
• DeleteShortcut—Deletes the specified shortcut from the current folder.

Enhancements to the Setup Prerequisite Editor in InstallShield let you flexibly and easily redistribute setup prerequisites:

• Improved user interface give you menus that list easy-to-access commands.
• The new Behavior tab lets you specify whether end users may skip the prerequisite installation. You can also specify how the prerequisite installation should proceed if it appears that the target machine does or does not need to be restarted. 
• Create prerequisite installation conditions for DWORD registry comparisons. You can also create conditions for 64-bit machines.
• Specify different methods for supplying each individual setup prerequisite in your installation. This enables you to store some of the setup prerequisite files on the source media; compress some of the setup prerequisite files into Setup.exe, to be extracted at run time; and download some of the setup prerequisite files.
• Assign release flags to setup prerequisites; include and exclude any combinations of setup prerequisites when you build different releases. 

Save time by quickly testing XML configuration changes to installation projects. With unit testing in InstallShield, you can test just the XML file changes without having to build and run your entire installation.

The XML File Changes view supports namespaces in XML files. With quick and easy XML testing, you can increase the reliability of XML configurations.

InstallShield brings you deeper XML support—letting you create more flexible installations by specifying the XML encoding of an XML file.

With InstallShield,  you can require that end users scroll through the complete End-User License Agreement (EULA) before installation can proceed.

InstallShield includes support for disabling the Next button on the LicenseAgreement dialog until the end user reaches the end of the EULA text in the scrollable EULA control through mouse or keyboard scrolling. The end user must also select the "I accept the terms in the license agreement" option before the Next button is enabled; this behavior is the same as with earlier releases of InstallShield.

The scroll requirement is not available in the LicenseAgreement dialog by default. To use this functionality, you must add to your project the new Windows Installer DLL custom action called WatchScroll. This custom action calls the EulaScrollWatcher.dll file. In addition, you must modify the Next button's Control conditions and add an event to the Memo control. This is available for Basic MSI projects.

InstallShield enables you to add a merge module that contains .dim files to any project type that supports merge modules—for example, Basic MSI, InstallScript, and Direct MSI projects. You can also add a merge module that contains .dim files to another merge module as a dependency.

Merge Module projects now include the DIM References view, which was previously available only in Basic MSI projects. The DIM References view lets you add to your project .dim files that were created with InstallShield Collaboration or InstallAnywhere Collaboration.

New functions added to InstallScript in InstallShield continue to expand the level of flexibility and control that is available to you.

New functions that have been added to InstallScript include the following categories:

• Launching applications
• SQL support
• Unloading .NET libraries
• FLEXnet Connect support

InstallShield comes with a major InstallScript engine overhaul for increased reliability. Several enhancements have been made to the InstallScript language—new and revised variables, functions, and constants are now available. These changes were made and available since InstallShield 12.

 

Starting with Windows XP, instead of writing COM information to the registry on a target system, you can write COM information to an application manifest file, which is an XML file that contains information about an application and the libraries it depends on. Use the new Reg-Free COM Wizard in InstallShield to create and modify registry-free manifest files to include in your installations.

A local repository is your own collection of installation elements that you want to be able to reuse in multiple projects. A local repository is stored on your local machine, and it is not available to other installation authors. Examples of elements that can be stored in a repository include end-user dialogs, InstallScript™ files, merge modules, SQL scripts, system searches, and project templates.
 
Repositories provide you with the ability to reuse project elements in multiple projects to ensure consistency. They also save you from having to duplicate work. For example, if many of the installations for your organization's products include a particular custom dialog, you can create that custom dialog once and then publish it to your repository. Any time you want to use that dialog in another installation, simply add the dialog from your repository to your project.

 

InstallShield provides functionality to select an existing Windows user account or create a new one at installation time.

• Select an existing Windows user account at installation time. Many server applications require the specification of a named user account to enable a server application to access resources restricted to other users. This restricted resource access is a fundamental construct in creating secure applications.
• Create a new Windows user account at installation time. System Administrators may decide to create a user account explicitly for an application. This limits the resource access for a given user account to only those resources required to run the application.

InstallShield is the most advanced solution ever built for creating script-based installations. InstallShield is the ultimate tool for leveraging the powerful and easy-to-use InstallScript language. With over 445 predefined installation-related functions, InstallScript enables script-based customization of any part of the installation, including the user dialog sequence, file transfer, error handling, reboot, and even uninstallation. InstallShield's scripting functionality ensures you meet your every installation requirement.
 
InstallShield offers you maximum power and flexibility by enabling any level of install customization. Source code control integration makes InstallScript project versioning possible, while the automation interface dramatically increases the number of ways in which projects can be updated programmatically. InstallShield's simplified patch and upgrade creation, clean build system support, and build report tools also assist in your product lifecycle management.
 
Complementing InstallShield's vast functionality and tool selection is its remarkable ease of use. You can use the Project Assistant to walk you through any script-based installation-authoring process, saving you significant development time. InstallShield can also add the latest source files at build time via linked folders, automatically find required file dependencies, and intelligently add third-party technology dependencies using over 70 technology modules. InstallShield does it all!

Save your project file in the format used by an earlier version of InstallShield, allowing you to easily share your project with others who may not be using the same version as you.

Edit MSI packages without having to convert them to an ISM project and save the changes made into a transform (MST) file.

Opening Existing Transforms for Editing
Browse for an existing MST file. Before InstallShield can open the MST file, it needs the base MSI to which this file should be applied. Also, it requires the names of any additional MSTs that should be applied to the base MSI before opening the MST for editing.

The first time you open an MST file, the MST Wizard launches. This wizard allows you to specify the MST file (completed by default), the base MSI file, and any additional transforms to apply before editing. When the wizard is finished, the transforms are applied and the MST opens in the IDE in Direct MST mode. The data specified in the wizard is saved so the next time the file is opened, the MST opens directly in the IDE.

Creating New Transform Projects
You can use the transform project type to create a new MST for editing. As with opening an existing transform, when you create a new transform project, the MST Wizard launches.

The MSI debugging tools ensure your installations always function as expected. InstallShield lets you step through both the Windows Installer user interface sequence and execute sequence to confirm conditional behavior or to identify and eliminate trouble spots in your install. Break points can be set and variables can be monitored. When custom actions are encountered, the appropriate debugging tool can be launched.

You can also validate your packages for internal consistency and compliance with Microsoft guidelines, and test run an install without transferring files. In addition, build reports can be generated to review installation project contents.

The source code control (SCC) integration gives you the power to manage and edit your installation projects the same way you manage your other code. Installations authored using  InstallShield can be easily checked in and out of source code control no matter which SCC solution you use, ensuring greater consistency between your applications and installations. InstallShield is capable of interacting with any source code control system that complies with the Microsoft SCC Interface, including Microsoft Visual SourceSafe®, Rational ClearCase®, Merant PVCS®, and more. Save projects in XML format, making them far easier to manage and manipulate. XML project files integrate more efficiently with source code control than a binary file and enable additional command-line processes to be built around installation authoring.

Save projects in an XML format, making them easier to manage and manipulate. XML project files integrate more efficiently with source code control tools than a binary file and enable additional command-line processes to be built around installation authoring.

InstallShield makes it easy for software developers to create reliable, high-quality software patches and upgrades that can modify all aspects of a previously deployed package.
 
Everything you need to efficiently build Windows Installer (MSI) or InstallScript™ patches and updates. With InstallShield, you can easily author patches and updates that seamlessly modify any aspect of your previously installed applications. From a simple hot fix to a major upgrade, software updates built with InstallShield guarantee your customers always have the latest versions of your products. And InstallShield has rigorous automated quality-control tools that ensure installing your patches and updates never damages your customers' systems - or trust in you.
 
InstallScript patch and update creation made easy. Just use InstallShield's Release Wizard to create differential media that contains only the changed files from the original InstallScript installation to your new, updated one. Then distribute the differential media as part of an update install that includes an "update-aware" script. The script gives you the option to customize your customer's update experience with update-specific dialogs.
 
Advanced MSI patch and upgrade capabilities. InstallShield's MSI QuickPatch™ tool lets you quickly create reliable patches by simply pointing to your existing MSI installation and identifying whatever changes you wish to make - InstallShield captures the changes for you automatically. Managing QuickPatch technology is a breeze with the new history view. It allows you to quickly analyze previous QuickPatches made to a particular project. InstallShield also has full patch design and upgrade views for you to author even the most complex, customized software updates. Validation for all patches and updates occurs automatically to ensure they always function properly and follow Microsoft guidelines.
 
Get patches and updates to your customers more easily. Whether you wish to distribute your InstallScript and MSI upgrades via the Internet, CD-ROM, Acresso's FLEXnet Connect, or any other method, InstallShield makes it happen.

Sometimes one installation doesn't fit with every end user. Whether you're a developer creating installations for use by various departments on a corporate network or if you just have a wide range of end users, you probably need to develop your installation to meet multiple sets of requirements.

The Release Wizard is your key to quickly building your distribution media. You can create different CDs with different components if that's your preferred distribution method. Or you can build a single project that contains as many different flavors of your installation as is necessary for your varied end users.

Maintain consistency across installation projects using project templates. You can generate project outlines that can be used over and over again, enhancing project efficiency.
 
A project template (.ist file) contains all of the default settings and design elements that you want to use as a starting point when you create an installation project or merge module project.
 
You can open a template in InstallShield and edit it as you would a project. To create a template, save any project as an .ist file.
 
InstallShield project templates serve only as a starting point for new projects. After you have created a project based on a template, there is no link between the current project and the existing template. If you change an element in the template, it does not affect the project that you created based on that template. However, you can modify the template and create another project based on the updated version of the template.

Identify if certain files, folders, or registry entries exist on a customer's system before conditional action is taken. This helps to ensure your products are installed properly in a variety of scenarios.

This view and its subviews do not appear in the following project types:

• InstallScript
• InstallScript Object
• QuickPatch
• Smart Device

InstallShield provides the Windows Installer capability in the System Search view to locate a particular file, folder, registry key, .ini file value, or .xml file value on a target system prior to installation. Essentially, this feature lets you perform application, version, and configuration data searches.

The System Search view displays a grid listing each search that you want to conduct on the target system. You can use this view to add a predefined system search—whether it is a search that is included with InstallShield or one that is stored in a repository—to your project. You can also use the System Search view to customize any predefined searches or define your own system searches for your installation.

Whenever you define your own search, the System Search Wizard is launched. From there, you can select from a list of search options and specify search details, such as the number of subfolder levels to search. When you modify an existing search, you can alter your initial selections in the System Search Wizard.

Media spanning functionality enables you to build an installation that spans more than one CD, DVD, or other media, so you never have to impose limits on the size of your application.
 
For example, if the installation's payload is too large to fit onto one CD or DVD, the installation is automatically built onto multiple pieces of that media. The quantity of media required is automatically determined by Universal.

The user-friendly automation interface makes it easy to edit virtually any element of an installation project programmatically.
 
Automate the build process by building your project from the command line with powerful command-line tools. Change product name and upgrade code, release settings, summary information stream items, release flags, and any property—in addition to initiating the build process and adding/changing/removing features, components, registry entries, files, and more.
 
These capabilities will enhance routine build processes, such as those that run during non-business hours. They will be especially useful in cases where many projects or many versions of the same project need to be modified prior to build.

While past InstallShield versions only supported partial file-set signing (e.g., .msi, .hdr, and Setup.exe files) InstallShield comes with enhanced support for digital signatures, letting you save time by digitally signing all your files at build time.  This includes signing with certificates stored in .pfx files (in addition to InstallShield's pre-existing ability to sign with certificates stored in .spc+.pvk file pairs).

Working with icons that have shortcuts gives you more control over the icons that will be used in your installation projects.
 
To change the icon that is used for a shortcut, you can right-click on the shortcut and then click the new Change Shortcut icon command. InstallShield opens the Change Icon dialog box, which enables you to select the icon file and associated icon index that should be used when the shortcut is created on target systems at run time.
 
Shortcuts that are listed in the Shortcuts explorer now show the icon image that will be used on the target system. Previously, the Shortcuts explorer used a different image for all types of shortcuts, even if an icon was specified for the shortcut.

 

InstallShield gives you the ability to change the Product Version from the Command Line or through an MSBuild Task Parameter. Using the -y command-line parameter or the InstallShield task ProductVersion parameter is especially helpful if you want to increment the build version (the third field) of the product version.

The ability to override Windows Installer Property Values from the Command Line or through an MSBuild Task Parameter lets you override or create the property if it does not exist.

 

View a summary of a build's contents for troubleshooting, training, or creating documentation.
 
Each time you build an installation, a log and build report are generated. The log contains the same information displayed in the Output window during the build process. The build report contains a concise summary of your build, as well as a listing of all features and files included in your build. Since both the log and report are generated and time-stamped each time you build the installation, you can use these for manual verification of the contents of installations, as well as for your records.

To prevent InstallShield from extracting undesired COM data from a COM server, you can edit a new Filters.xml file that is installed with InstallShield. Editing this Filters.xml file enables you to customize the list of registry keys that will be excluded from COM extraction.

The Filters.xml file also now lists files that the Static, Dynamic, and Visual Basic dependency scanners will exclude or include. Previously, two different file—Userscan.ini and Iswiscan.ini—were used to list excluded and included files.

InstallShield supports the Microsoft Build engine (MSBuild) included with the .NET Framework.  MSBuild support allows you to build Visual Studio solutions with InstallShield projects in build lab environments where Visual Studio is not installed. MSBuild is an extensible build framework designed to remove the build dependence on Visual Studio.
 
InstallShield Express users: Since Express does not support the standalone build, MSBuild will be used on a machine with the Express IDE installed. This allows you to create an automated build environment that includes both your code and your installation.

 

The InstallShield integration with Visual Studio now uses an MSBuild-compatible XML format project file (.isproj), which enables MSBuild to seamlessly build Visual Studio solutions that include InstallShield projects. To build solutions in a standalone environment, simply install the InstallShield Standalone Build on the build machine.

 

InstallShield now references Developer Installation Manifest (DIM) files created with the new InstallShield Collaboration module. InstallShield Collaboration automatically incorporates installation requirements defined by developers into the installation project. A single license of InstallShield Collaboration is included with InstallShield Premier and Professional Editions. InstallShield Collaboration is available as an additional module for Express Edition users.

Easily check for and install any prerequisite applications or system components before your installation is executed.

Choose from our preconfigured setup prerequisites, like Internet Explorer 6 and Java 2 Runtime Environment. You can even choose to deploy your setup prerequisites with your product or download them from the Web as needed. In addition, you can design your own prerequisites from the ground up using the powerful Setup Prerequisite Editor that is included in the Premier and Professional editions of InstallShield.

For setups that will be downloaded over the Internet, the Compact Engine lets you quickly deploy an installation with the smallest overhead of any installation engine.
 
InstallShield's Compact Engine boasts the industry's smallest overhead of any commercial installation engine—less than 100 KB.

Distributing your applications via the Internet a snap with One-Click Install technology. You can offer your customers a seamless, familiar download and installation experience with a single mouse click.
 
Automatically create a Web page that contains your complete installation package for users to easily download. With One-Click Install technology, unnecessary user steps, such as responding to the cumbersome "save as" dialog and finding the location of the application on their system before installing it, are eliminated. Using this process, success rates for installations increase significantly, which means fewer support calls for you and increased customer trust in your products.
 
You can customize your One-Click Install installation to only install files not already present on the user's PC—including the Windows Installer or InstallScript™ engines—saving your customers valuable bandwidth. A default location, hosted by InstallShield, can be used for retrieval of the engines, or you can set and maintain your own. Optionally, you can also allow users to choose to save your installation to run later.
 
Special build options include digitally signing and password-protecting your installations. Additionally, LZX compression capability can be optionally used to create the smallest installation possible. This is ideal for a final build before Web distribution.

Edit and format your VB Script and J Script custom action code directly inside the InstallShield interface.
 
Access this dialog from the Script Text field in the properties grid of VB/JScript custom actions. In the dialog, enter the script code your custom action should execute.

Seamlessly add the setup information from a COM+ application to an installation package with absolutely no script writing using the Component Services view.

The Component Services view enables you to manage COM+ applications and components for your installation package. You can manage both COM+ server applications and application proxies. A COM+ application proxy consists of a subset of the attributes of the server application, and it enables remote access from a client machine to the machine where the application resides.

 

Reduce development time by not having to manually track every changed project file. Dynamically linking to your source files enables you to add the contents of complete folders and subfolders to your project without hard-coding their paths or file names. When you add or remove any files from the source folder, your list of included files is dynamically updated when you build the project.
 
For example, you have a folder called MyApp, and it contains all of the files that you want to include in your installation. If you add the contents of this folder to your project statically, you would need to add files to and remove files from your project every time you added files to or removed files from the MyApp folder. However, if you dynamically add the contents of that folder to your program, you can change the contents of MyApp, and Universal automatically refreshes the list of associated files. Of course, this is a simple example and emphasizes only one aspect of dynamic file linking.
 
Dynamically linked files are displayed in the Files view. This list is refreshed whenever you return to it from another view or right-click in the list and select Refresh.
 
Another feature of dynamic file linking is the ability to specify only certain file types within that directory to be included in your installation. For instance, if all of your image files are in one folder along with sound files, you would specify that you want to include only the .xpm, .gif, and .ico files.

File dependency scanners are time-savers for your setup. They automatically determine the required files for your projects. For example, the Visual Basic 6 Scanner collects dependencies of a standard Visual Basic project. The Static Scanner scans portable executables (DLL, EXE, OCX, etc.) and finds out which files they need to run successfully. And the Dynamic Scanner identifies files called by an application while it is running.

You can view the results of the scanning processes in a displayed list and select which files you would like to add to your project. These lists will be pre-filtered to exclude system level files that could negatively impact the target system. A user defined filtering list is also available if changes to the filtering process are desired.

From time to time, you may need to do a little more to customize an installation to meet your individual needs. The Custom Actions view makes it easy for you to schedule a custom action, such as an EXE or VBScript file, to run at precisely the right moment in your installation.
Custom actions allow you to add functionality to your installation that is not inherently supported. These actions can be used for any task, such as displaying a Readme file or deleting a registry entry.

You can create custom actions that will launch an executable (.exe), call a function in a DLL, or execute a VBScript. These custom actions can be inserted in numerous locations within the installation process.

You can further tailor your installation process by choosing to run custom actions only when a required feature, operating system file, folder, registry entry, or INI file entry exists on an end-user's machine. Predefined conditions can be selected or the System Search Wizard can be used to create unique ones for your needs.

This option allows you to quickly rebuild only part of an installation, without retrieving and compressing all the files again. This accelerates testing of changes to the user interface, such as the dialogs included or specific dialog graphics, or to project properties.