InstallAnywhere 2026 R1 Help Library
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What Was New in Earlier Versions of InstallAnywhere
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New Features in InstallAnywhere 2024 R2
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What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2023 R1
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What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2022
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2021 SP2
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2021 SP1
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2021
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2020 SP2
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2020 SP1
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2020
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2018 SP1
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2018
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2017 SP1
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2017
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2015 SP1
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2015
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2014 SP1
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2014
What’s New in InstallAnywhere 2013
Using Help
Contacting Us
Getting Started
Introduction to the InstallAnywhere Interface
About the InstallAnywhere Advanced Designer Authoring Environment
Working with InstallAnywhere Projects
Creating a New InstallAnywhere Project
Opening an Existing InstallAnywhere Project
Switching to a Different Project
Upgrading from Earlier InstallAnywhere Versions
Obtaining Updates for InstallAnywhere
Concepts of InstallAnywhere Installer Development
Actions
About Actions
About Action Groups
Action Customizers and the Action Execution Sequence
About Action Customizers
About the Action Execution Sequence
About Get User Input Panels
Input Methods/Component Types
Bidi Orientation and Text Reading Order
Font and Color Settings
Results Variables
Defaults
VAR_BOOLEAN_X Variable
Mandatory Field
Build Tools
Custom Code
Custom Code Basics
About Custom Code and Variables
About Plug-ins
Hosts
Support for Application Servers
Support for Database Servers
Install Sets, Features, and Components
Install Sets
Features
Components
Standard Components
Dependencies
Shared Components
Installer Modes
Graphical User Interface (GUI) Installers
GUI Localization
Customization of the User Interface
Console Installers
Silent Installers
About Response Files and Silent Installers
Installer Types
Java Virtual Machines
About JVM Selection
How the Installer’s Launcher Selects a JVM
About the Installer’s JVM Search
About the Launcher’s JVM Selection Behavior at Run‑Time
About the Choose Java VM Panel
When Are VM Packs Installed?
Configuring Upgrade Installers that Use a Different JRE from the Previous Installer
About Java VM Selection Criteria
LaunchAnywhere
Localization
Dynamic and Static Text
Best Practices for Localizing
External Resource Bundles
Magic Folders
Merge Modules
Project File
Rules
Source Paths
SpeedFolders
Templates
Uninstaller
About Uninstallers and Custom Code
About Uninstallers and Variables
Feature Uninstallation
Uninstaller for Merge Modules and Multiple Products
Similarities Between the Sequences in an Installer and an Uninstaller
Variables
Variable Notation
Magic Folders and Variables
Methods of Setting InstallAnywhere Variables
Evaluation of InstallAnywhere Variables
Searching for InstallAnywhere Texts
Selecting Variables from a List
InstallAnywhere Tutorial
Creating a New Project
Adding Pre-Install Actions
Defining the Install Sequence
Adding a LaunchAnywhere Executable to the Install Sequence
Adding Post-Install Actions
Building the Installer
Testing the Installer
Creating Basic Installers
Working with InstallAnywhere Projects
Creating a New Project
Opening an Existing Project
Specifying Installer Information
Configuring General Information
Specifying the Product Version
Configuring Run-Time Logging Preferences
Including a Software Identification Tag for Your Product
Organizing Files for Your Installer
Best Practices for Components
Adding Components
Adding Folders to a Project
Adding Files to a Project
Assigning Files to Components
Removing Empty Components
Integrating Components that Are Already Installed on Target Systems
Adding Features
Assigning Files to Features
Assigning Components to Features
Installing Fonts
Expanding Archive Files on the Target System
Working with Source Paths
Enabling Source Paths
Adding and Removing Source Paths
Updating the Location of Files and Resources
Customizing Sequences
Customizing the Pre-Install Sequence
Customizing the Install Sequence
Overview on Defining the Install Sequence
Adding Actions to the Install Sequence
Adding LaunchAnywhere Executable Files to the Install Sequence
Re-creating the InstallAnywhere Uninstaller and Associated Components
Customizing the Post-Install Sequence
Customizing the Uninstall Sequence
About Uninstaller Customization
Adding Uninstall Categories and Actions to the Uninstall Sequence
Assigning Actions in the Uninstall Sequence to Product Features and Components
Preventing the Actions in an Uninstall Category from Being Uninstalled
Reordering Uninstall Categories and Actions in the Uninstall Sequence
Defining Rules and Rule Expressions that Evaluate Conditions on Target Systems
Assigning a Rule to the Installer
Assigning a Rule to an Action
Assigning a Rule to a Group of Actions
Building Complex Rule Expressions
Using the Rules Manager to Create Complex Rule Expressions at the Project Level
Configuring and Saving a New Rule Expression
Associating a Rule Expression to a File Extension
Loading a Rule Expression
Deleting a Saved Rule Expression
Customizing Built-in Rules
Customizing a Check File/Folder Attributes Rule
Customizing a Check If File/Folder Exists Rule
Customizing a Check Platform Rule
Customizing a Check Running Mode Rule
Customizing Evaluate Custom Rule Rules
Customizing a Compare InstallAnywhere Variable Numerically Rule
How Rules Are Evaluated at Run Time
Configuring Servers
Managing Application Servers
Adding an Application Host to Your Project
Specifying Which Deployment Options to Support for Apache Tomcat Servers
Specifying Which Deployment Options to Support for IBM WebSphere Servers
Deploying Web Applications (WAR and EAR Archives) to Servers
Enabling End Users to Specify Apache Tomcat Server Information
Enabling End Users to Specify IBM WebSphere Server Information
Managing Database Servers
Adding a SQL Database Host to Your Project
Including JDBC Drivers for Connecting to SQL Databases
Obtaining DB2 Drivers
Obtaining a MySQL Driver
Obtaining an Oracle Driver
Obtaining a Generic JDBC Driver
Running a SQL Script
Enabling End Users to Specify Database Connection Information
Preparing Your Installer for Maintenance Mode
Enabling and Configuring Maintenance Mode
Enabling Maintenance Mode
About Maintenance Mode Action Groups
Customizing Maintenance Mode Text and Images
About Check Running Mode Rules
Specifying Instance Management Behavior
About the Uninstaller/Maintenance Mode Launcher
Run-Time Behavior for Maintenance Mode
Configuring Installation Rollback Behavior
Building and Testing Installers
Working with Build Configurations
Creating a New Build Configuration
Renaming a Build Configuration
Copying a Build Configuration
Removing a Build Configuration
Adding a Build Configuration to the Project Build
Using Tags to Customize Build Configurations
Determining Whether a Project Element Is Included in a Build Configuration
Creating New Tags
Assigning Tags to Project Elements
Associating Tags to Build Configurations
Searching for Tags
Importing Tags from Merge Modules
Specifying Locale Settings
Defining Build Targets
Specifying Build Distribution Options
Creating Web Installers
Creating CD-ROM/DVD Installers
Creating Merge Modules
Advertising Merge Module Installer Variables
Specifying How to Show the Progress of a Merge Module Installation
Building Installers Using Build Configurations
Building a Specific Build Configuration
Building the Build Configurations That Are Enabled for Project Build
Building All of the Build Configurations in a Project
Using build.exe to Build Installers from the Command Line
Using an Ant Task to Build Installers from the Command Line
Testing Installers
Working with JRE VM Packs
Downloading JRE VM Packs for Bundling in Installers
Adding JRE VM Packs for Your Installers to Your Development and Build Machines
Adding a VM Pack to Your Project
Targeting 32-Bit and 64-Bit Windows-Based Systems
Enabling or Disabling WOW64 Emulation on 64-Bit Windows-Based Target Systems
Creating Pure 64-Bit Installers for 64-Bit Windows-Based Target Systems
Creating Launchers for Java Applications
Run-Time Behavior for LaunchAnywhere Files on OS and OS X–Based Systems
Launching Additional Installers
Working with Source Code Control Software
Adding Advanced Functionality to Installers
Working with Variables
Setting Variables in the Advanced Designer
Preventing the Substitution of Unknown Variables
Checking the Value of a Variable
Encrypting Variable Values
Resolving Variables at Build Time
Creating JRE VM Packs
Using the Create JRE VM Pack Wizard
Directory Name Requirement for Preparing a JRE VM Pack
Running the Create JRE VM Pack Wizard as a Standalone Tool
Creating a JRE VM Pack Manually
JRE VM Pack Structure
JRE VM Pack Properties
Making a JRE VM Pack FIPS-Compliant
Controlling the JVM That Your Installers Use
Controlling the Installation of Bundled JVMs
Preventing the Installation of the Bundled JVM
Installing the Bundled JVM When the Installer Includes a Launcher
Installing the Bundled JVM Only When No Valid JVM Exists
Preventing the Uninstallation of the Bundled JVM
Changing the Bundled JVM Install Folder
Changing the Bundled JVM Install Subfolder
Controlling the JVM that Your Launchers Use
Customizing the VM Search Settings for Your Launchers
Customizing the VM Search Paths and Patterns
Customizing Windows Search Paths
Customizing Java Executable Patterns for Windows-Based Installations
Customizing UNIX Search Paths
Customizing Java Executable Patterns for UNIX-Based Installers
Customizing Individual Launcher Settings
Using the Choose Java VM Panel
JVM Spec Files
Generating Response Files
Getting User Input at Run Time
Using the Get User Input - Simple Panel
Using the Get User Input - Advanced Panel
Using Command-Line Arguments with Installers and Uninstallers
Setting Project Version at Build Time
Checking Disk Space During Installation
Preparing Your Installer for Update Notifications
Adding an Enable Update Notifications Action
Registering Your Product with the FlexNet Connect Publisher Site
Removing an Enable Update Notifications Action
Localizing Projects and Installers
Generating Multilanguage Installers
Localizing Resources
Localizing Custom Installer Labels
Localizing the Splash Screen
Localizing the Get User Input Panels
Adding an External Resource Bundle
Referencing an External Resource Key
Internationalizing Custom Code
Default to Base Locale for French-Canadian and Portuguese-Brazilian
Packaging and Executing Custom Code
Support for Signed JARs as Dependencies
Calling InstallShield MultiPlatform APIs in InstallAnywhere
Packaging Custom Code as a Plug-in
Digitally Signing Windows-Based Installers
Support for Digital Signature in Standard Signing
Support for Digital Signature in Custom Signing
Verifying that Your Output Files Are Digitally Signed on Windows–Based Target Systems
About Authentication and Code-Signing Support for OS or OS X–Based Installers
Code-Signing Methods for OS or OS X–Based Installers
Requirements for Code-Signing Support for OS or OS X–Based Installers
Obtaining a Developer ID Application Certificate for Code Signing OS or OS X–Based Installers
Adding the Code-Signing Capability to Your InstallAnywhere Build Machines or Code-Signing Machines
Code Signing Your OS or OS X–Based Installers and Including Authentication Support
Verifying that Your Code-Signing Output Files Are Working as Expected on OS or OS X–Based Target Systems
Troubleshooting Tips for Code-Signing and Authentication Support for OS or OS X–Based Target Systems
OS X Notarization
Introduction
Notarizing your OS or OS X–Based Installers and Including Authentication Support
Requiring Elevated Privileges for OS or OS X–Based Installers and Uninstallers
Determining Whether an Installation Was Successful
Troubleshooting Issues with Installers
Improving Installation Performance
Debugging During Installer Development
Directing Installer Debug Output
Using the Output Debug Information Action
Debugging Using Display Message Panel
Debugging LaunchAnywhere-Launched Executable Files
Debugging During Post-Development
Debugging a Windows-Based Installer
Debugging a UNIX/Linux or Pure Java Installer
Debugging OS or OS X–Based Installers
Reviewing Debug Information
Troubleshooting Issues with OS or OS X–Based Magic Folders
Troubleshooting EBCDIC Encoding Issues
Exit Codes
Build Exit Codes
Installer Exit Codes
Updating Applications
Requirements for Upgrade Support
Creating an Upgrade
Configuring Upgrade Settings
Enabling Upgrade Support
Detecting Installed Earlier Versions that Need to Be Updated
Adding Upgrade-Specific Actions to Sequences
Special Considerations for Upgrade Support
Creating Virtual Appliances
About Virtual Appliances
Components of a Virtual Appliance
Advantages of Using Virtual Appliances
Supported Hypervisors and Platforms for Virtual Appliances
Virtual Appliance Creation Workflow
Obtaining VM Templates for Virtual Appliances
Downloading VM Templates
Creating Custom VM Templates
About Creating VM Templates
Creating VM Templates Using the Create InstallAnywhere VM Template Wizard
Creating VM Templates Using the Command Line
Creating a VMware vSphere 5 Virtual Appliance
Creating an Amazon EC2 Virtual Appliance
Working with Virtual Appliance Configurations
Creating a New Appliance Configuration
Renaming an Appliance Configuration
Copying an Appliance Configuration
Removing an Appliance Configuration
Adding an Appliance Configuration to the Project Build
Specifying Connection Settings for Building Virtual Appliances
Configuring the Appropriate Appliance Output and Type for VMware-Based Virtual Appliances
Specifying the Appliance URL
Support for Elastic Block Store (EBS) for Amazon
About EC2 and S3 Regions of Deployment for Amazon
Working with VM Configurations for a Virtual Appliance
Selecting a VM for a VMware Virtual Appliance
Specifying Hardware Requirements for a Virtual Appliance
Installing Operating System Packages for a Virtual Appliance
Specifying Which OS Package Repository to Use for Virtual Appliances
Adding Installers to Your Virtual Appliance
Using RPM/Debian Packages for Proprietary Operating Systems on Virtual Appliances
Using Custom Boot and Login Scripts for a Virtual Appliance
Customizing Product Properties
Identifying Different Virtual Appliances and VMs
Managing Multiple Tiers for a Virtual Appliance
Building a Virtual Appliance
Building a Specific Appliance Configuration
Building the Appliance Configurations That Are Enabled for Project Build
Building All of the Appliance Configurations in a Project
Using build.exe to Build Virtual Appliances from the Command Line
Building Virtual Appliances Through Ant Task-Based Build
Build Output for VMware vSphere 5 Virtual Appliances
Build Output for Amazon EC2 Virtual Appliances
Deploying a Virtual Appliance
Deploying a VMware vSphere 5 Virtual Appliance on Demand
Deploying an Amazon EC2 Virtual Appliance on Demand
Deploying an Amazon Virtual Appliance Through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Management Console
Deploying an Amazon EC2 Virtual Appliance Through Command-Line Tools
Using the IABookstore Sample for Creating Virtual Appliances
Using the IABankingApplication Sample for Creating Multi-Tier Virtual Appliances
Reference
Advanced Designer Reference
Project Page
General Settings View
Platforms View
Locales View
Manage Expressions View
Installer Rules View
JVM Settings View
General Settings Tab in the JVM Settings View
Installer Settings Tab in the JVM Settings View
Search Panel Settings Tab in the JVM Settings View
Variables View
Advanced View
Maintenance Mode Settings
Windows WOW64 Emulator Settings
Instance Management Settings
Manage Tags Settings
Rollback Settings
Upgrades View
Installer UI Page
Look & Feel Settings View
UI Panel Settings Area
General UI Settings Area
Maintenance Mode Runtime Panel Label Settings Area
Installer Icon Area
Billboards View
Help View
Organization Page
Install Sets View
Features View
Components View
Modules View
Hosts View
Application Server Host Settings
Database Server Host Settings
Sequence Page
Pre-Install View
Install View
Post-Install View
Pre-Uninstall View
Uninstall View
Post-Uninstall View
Build Page
Build Installers View
Build Configurations Tab
Build Targets Subtab
Distribution Subtab
Tags Subtab
Locales Subtab
Build Log Tab
Build Appliances View
Appliance Configuration Tab
VM Configuration Tab
Product Properties Subtab
Hardware Subtab
OS Packages Subtab
Installers Subtab
Script Info Subtab
Repository Settings Subtab
Manage VM Tiers Tab
Build Log Tab
Troubleshooting “Out of Memory” Error Upon InstallAnywhere Launch or Command Line Build
Wizard Reference
Choose a VM Wizard
Select a Virtual Machine/Template Panel
Summary of Selected VM Panel
Create InstallAnywhere VM Template Wizard
InstallAnywhere VM Template Information Panel
VMware OS Information Panel
Amazon OS Information Panel
Review EULA for Creating the VM Template Panel
VMware vCenter/vSphere 5 Information Panel
Review Summary Information Panel
Creating the Baseline VM Panel
Finish Panel
Menu Reference
File
Edit
Tools
Help
Dialog Box Reference
About InstallAnywhere Dialog Box
Add Files to Project Dialog Box
Add Installer/Edit Installer Dialog Box
Add New/Manage Connection Dialog Box
Advertise Variables Dialog Box
Build Time Variables Dialog Box
Configure Input Items Dialog Box
Change Disk Space and Name Dialog Box
Choose an Action Dialog Box
Choose Icon Dialog Box
Choose Label Settings Dialog Box
Choose Variable Dialog Box
Configure Search and Replace Strings Dialog Box
Create New Project Dialog Box
Create JRE VM Pack Dialog Box
Custom Rules Dependencies Dialog Box
Edit Advertised Variables Dialog Box
Edit Build Time Variables Dialog Box
Edit Installer Properties Table Dialog Box
Filter File Dialog Box
Install Step Label Settings Dialog Box
InstallAnywhere Merge Module Import Assistant Dialog Box
InstallAnywhere Preferences Dialog Box
General Settings Tab
Resources Tab
Source Paths Tab
Updates Tab
Installer Steps Dialog Box
LaunchAnywhere Properties Dialog Box
Manage Instances Dialog Box
Manage Upgrade Configurations Dialog Box
Create/Open Project Dialog Box
Create New Project Dialog Box
Open Project File Dialog Box
Prepare the Helper Tool Dialog Box
Read/Modify XML File Dialog Box
RPM Specification Settings Dialog Box
Save New Project As Dialog Box
Search Results Dialog Box
SWVPD Registry Settings Dialog Box
Uninstaller Properties Dialog Box
Uninstaller Steps Dialog Box
Uninstall Step Label Settings Dialog Box
Actions
Install Actions
Create Alias, Link, Shortcut Action
Create Folder Action
Create LaunchAnywhere for Java Application Action
Create Uninstaller Action
Deploy WAR/EAR Archive Action
Download File Action
Enable Update Notifications Action
Expand Archive Action
Expand Archive (7-zip) Action
Expand Archive (TAR) Action
Install Archive Action
Install File Action
Install HP-UX Depot Action
Install Merge Module Action
Install Solaris Package Action
Install SpeedFolder Action
Set System Environment Variable Action
Run SQL Script Action
Trigger Rollback Action
Uninstall Actions
General Actions
Delete Folder Action
Execute Ant Script Action
Execute Command Action
Execute Custom Code Action
Execute Script/Batch File Action
Find Component in InstallAnywhere Registry Action
Modify Text File - In Archive Action
Modify Text File - Multiple Files Action
Modify Text File - Single File Action
Read/Modify XML File Action
Show Message Dialog Action
Associate File Extension/URL Prefix - Windows Action
Panel Actions
Choose Database Connection Panel Action
Choose Install Sets Panel Action
Choose Java VM Panel Action
Custom Code Panel Action
Display HTML Panel Action
License Agreement Panel Action
Minimal UI Panel Action
Pre-Install Summary Panel Action
Tomcat Runtime Deployment Panel Action
WebSphere Runtime Deployment Panel Action
Console Actions
Choose Database Connection Console Action
Get Password Console Action
Tomcat Runtime Deployment Console Action
WebSphere Runtime Deployment Console Action
System i (i5/OS) Actions
Choose Remote System i (i5/OS) Install Folder Action
Get System i (i5/OS) Login Credentials Action
System i (i5/OS) Command Action
System i (i5/OS) Find Component in RAIR Action
System i (i5/OS) Install File Action
System i (i5/OS) Integrated File System (IFS) Action
System i (i5/OS) Library Action
System i (i5/OS) Licensed Program Action
System i (i5/OS) Object Action
System i (i5/OS) Process Remote Install (Merge Modules) Action
System i (i5/OS) Program Action
System i (i5/OS) Program Temporary Fix (PTF) Action
Plug-In Actions
ExecuteAsRoot Action
ExtractToFile Action
Properties File Reader Action
Common Action Settings
Common Customizer Settings
Panel Action Settings
Get User Input Panels
Get User Input - Simple
Get User Input - Advanced
Get User Input - Console
Rules Reference
Check File/Folder Attributes Rule
Check If File/Folder Exists Rule
Check Platform Rule
Check Running Mode Rule
Compare InstallAnywhere Variables Numerically Rule
Compare Versions
Evaluate Custom Rule Rule
Variables
Standard InstallAnywhere Variables
$IA_BROWSE_FOLDERS$ Variable
LAX Properties
Magic Folders
Localization Reference
Language Codes
Common Localizable Elements
Files and File Formats
Product Registry
Install Log File Format
Manifest Files
Response Files
BuildProperties.xml File
Supported Properties in the BuildProperties.xml File
buildproperties.properties File
Supported Properties in the buildproperties.properties File
Command-Line Reference
Build Command-Line Arguments
Installer and Uninstaller Command-Line Arguments
Maintenance Mode Command-Line Arguments
Launcher Command-Line Arguments
InstallAnywhere Ant Task Reference
Custom Code APIs
Project Automation API Code Samples
Project Automation APIs for Maintenance Mode and Instance Management