Organization View

InstallShield 2026

Project: The Organization view is available in the following project types:

Advanced UI
Basic MSI
DIM
InstallScript
InstallScript MSI
InstallScript Object
Merge Module
MSI Database
MSM Database
Suite/Advanced UI
Transform

The first step in building anything is to lay a solid foundation. The base of your project is formed by specifying application information through the General Information view and—for installation projects—creating features in the Features view.

Setup Design

Project: The Setup Design view is available in the following project types:

Basic MSI
InstallScript
InstallScript MSI
InstallScript Object
MSI Database
Transform

The most important step in designing any setup is to lay out the various elements, the “building blocks” of the installation. You need to think both from your user’s perspective as well as your own. The Setup Design view gives you a full look at your setup and all the features, components, and redistributables associated with it.

Features

Project: The Features view is available in the following project types:

Advanced UI
Basic MSI
InstallScript
InstallScript MSI
InstallScript Object
MSI Database
Suite/Advanced UI
Transform

Features are the building blocks of your installation. They represent a distinct piece of your application—such as program files, help files, or clip art—to your end users. You can create features and subfeatures in the Features view.

Components

Project: The Components view is available in the following project types:

Basic MSI
DIM
InstallScript
InstallScript MSI
InstallScript Object
Merge Module
MSI Database
MSM Database
Transform

Components are setup-authoring tools that help you organize similar application data, such as files, registry entries, and shortcuts, into logical groups. Unlike features, they constitute the developer’s view of a project.

Setup Types

Project: The Setup Types view is available in the following project types:

InstallScript
InstallScript MSI

Setup types offer your customers multiple configurations of your applications. Generally, these configurations include Complete and Custom. Setup types allows your users to choose the best configuration for their needs. This view is available only for InstallScript and InstallScript MSI setup projects.

Packages

Project: The Packages view is available in the following project types:

Advanced UI
Suite/Advanced UI

Edition:The Advanced UI project type is available in the Professional edition of InstallShield. The Suite/Advanced UI project type is available in the Premier edition of InstallShield. For information about the differences between these two project types, see Advanced UI Projects vs. Suite/Advanced UI Projects.

Use the Packages view to add packages and InstallShield prerequisites that you want to include in your Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation. This view is also where you define conditions for each package, associate each package with one or more Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI features, and configure other settings for each package.

DIM References

Project: The DIM References view is available in the following project type:

Basic MSI
DIM

Use the DIM References view to manage all of the DIM references in your project, view any specific instructions that are required for the referenced DIMs, and associate each referenced DIM with one or more features. This view also lets you schedule the DIM’s custom actions and dialogs in the Basic MSI installation’s sequences.

See Also