Events View Settings

InstallShield 2016 » Events View

Project • The Events view is available in Suite/Advanced UI projects.

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.

The settings in the Events view are organized into the following categories:

Action area settings on the Action tab
Return Process Handling area settings on the Action tab for an .exe action
Events area settings

If you select a PowerShell action in the Actions explorer or the Events explorer, InstallShield displays a PowerShell Script tab on the right; you can use this tab to edit your script.

Action Area Settings on the Action Tab

The following action settings are available in the Actions area on the Action tab.

Action Settings in the Action Area on the Action Tab

Setting

Description

File

Note • This setting applies to .exe, DLL, and managed-code actions.

Enter the run-time path to the file that you want to use for your action. As an alternative, if the file is not present on target systems at run time, and if none of the packages in your Suite/Advanced UI installation are going to install it, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to browse to it.

If you browse to the file, InstallShield adds it to your project as a support file in the Support Files view of your Suite/Advanced UI project. At run time, the file is available on the target system only during your product’s installation process.

Source Path

Note • This setting applies to PowerShell actions.

Enter the source path to the PowerShell script (.ps1) that you want to use for your action. As an alternative, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to browse to it.

When you browse to the file, InstallShield adds it to your project as a support file in the Support Files view of your Suite/Advanced UI project. At run time, the file is available on the target system only during your product’s installation process.

Instead of hard-coding a location, you can use a path variable that is defined in the Path Variables view. At build time, InstallShield replaces the path variable with the appropriate value.

Tip • Use the PowerShell Script tab in this view to edit the code for this action.

Arguments

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

If appropriate, specify the command-line parameters that should be used with the action. Separate multiple parameters with spaces.

Function Name

Note • This setting applies to DLL and InstallScript actions.

For a DLL action: Enter the name of the function in the DLL that you would like to call.

For an InstallScript action: In the list of functions that are included in the project’s InstallScript files, select the InstallScript function that you want to call.

Class

Note • This setting applies to managed-code actions.

Enter the name of the class for the managed method that you want the selected action to call.

To learn more, see Working with a Managed-Code Action in a Suite/Advanced UI Installation.

Method

Note • This setting applies to managed-code actions.

Enter the public method that you want the selected action to call.

To learn more, see Working with a Managed-Code Action in a Suite/Advanced UI Installation.

Requires Administrative Privileges

Note • This setting applies to .exe, DLL, PowerShell, InstallScript, and managed-code actions.

Specify whether this action requires administrative privileges on systems that have Windows Vista or later or Windows Server 2008 or later.

To learn more, see Minimizing the Number of User Account Control Prompts During Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Installations.

Verb

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Specify the verb that should be used with the selected action’s file, or select the appropriate verb from the list.

If you leave this setting blank, the verb that is the default one on the target system for this file is used. If the default verb is not available, the open verb is used. If neither verb is available, the first verb that is listed in the registry is used.

The use of the runas verb is not recommended. If the action requires administrative privileges, select Yes for the action’s Requires Administrative Privileges setting. For more information, see Minimizing the Number of User Account Control Prompts During Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Installations.

Window

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Select the initial window state of the .exe action when it is launched. Available options are:

Show—Display the window in its current size and position.
Hide—Hide the window.
Minimize—Display the window as minimized.
Maximize—Display the window as maximized.
Normal—Display the window in its original size and position.

Wait for Exit

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Specify whether you want the installation to wait for the action to complete before proceeding with the next part of the installation. Available options are:

Yes—The installation waits for the action to complete before resuming. This is the default option.
No—The installation runs the action simultaneously as the next part of the installation proceeds.

If you select Yes for this setting, you can use the settings in the Return Process Handling area to specify the various codes that the action may return.

Property Name

Note • This setting applies to actions that set a property.

Enter the property name, or select it from the list of available properties.

The property names that are displayed in the list are the ones in the Property Manager view. You can enter any other property name and it will be available at run time. If you want to explicitly create a new property, you can do so from the Property Manager view.

Property Value

Note • This setting applies to actions that set a property.

Enter the value of the property.

If you select Yes for the Format Property Value setting, the value that you enter can include one or more formatted expressions that contain property names, environment variable references, and other special strings; at run time, the installation expands the values of these expressions. To learn about the syntax that is available for these expressions, see Using Formatted Expressions that Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Installations Resolve at Run Time.

Format Property Value

Note • This setting applies to actions that set a property.

Specify whether the value that you enter in the Value setting is a formatted expression that contains property names, environment variable references, or other special strings that you want to be resolved at run time. Available options are:

Yes—Replace the formatted expressions at run time.
No—Leave the property value as is at run time. The value that you are entering does not include formatted expressions.

To learn about the syntax that is available for these expressions, see Using Formatted Expressions that Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Installations Resolve at Run Time.

Return Process Handling Area Settings on the Action Tab for an .exe Action

The following action settings are available in the Return Process Handling area on the Action tab for an .exe action.

Return Process Handling Settings in the Action Area on the Action Tab for an .exe Action

Setting

Description

Ignore Code

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Specify a comma-delimited list of the codes that the action could return when the installation should proceed with the next part of the installation.

This setting is available if you select Yes in the action’s Wait for Exit setting.

Abort Code

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Specify a comma-delimited list of the codes that the action could return when the installation should be aborted. Note that if the action cannot be launched or loaded, the installation is aborted.

This setting is available if you select Yes in the action’s Wait for Exit setting.

Reboot Code

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Specify a comma-delimited list of the codes that the action could return when the target system should be restarted.

This setting is available if you select Yes in the action’s Wait for Exit setting.

Cancel Code

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Specify a comma-delimited list of the codes that the action could return when the installation should be cancelled.

This setting is available if you select Yes in the action’s Wait for Exit setting.

Default Response

Note • This setting applies to .exe actions.

Select the option that describes how you want the installation to respond if the code that the action returns is not specified for any of the other settings in the Return Process Handling area. Available options are:

Ignore—The installation proceeds with the next part of the installation. This is the default option.
Abort—The installation is aborted.
Reboot—The target system is restarted.
Cancel—The installation is cancelled.

This setting is available if you select Yes in the action’s Wait for Exit setting.

Event Area Settings

The following action settings are available in the Events area.

Action Settings in the Events Area

Setting

Description

Condition

This setting lets you specify one or more conditions that the Suite/Advanced UI installation should use to evaluate whether the action should be run. For example, if the action should be run only on certain platforms, you can create a platform requirement in a condition for this action; the Suite/Advanced UI would launch the action only on appropriate platforms.

To add one or more new action conditions, click the New Condition button in this setting. InstallShield adds a new row under the Condition setting. Select the appropriate option—All, Any, or None—from the list in this row. Then in this row, click the New Condition button, and select the appropriate option to continue building the conditional statement.

Tip • If you define a Feature Operation condition or a Package Operation condition for an action, the earliest event for which you can schedule the action is OnStaging.

For more information, see Building Conditional Statements in Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Projects.

If one or more conditional statements are configured, the Condition setting says (Condition). If none are configured, the Condition setting says (Empty).

Display Text

Note • This setting applies to .exe, DLL, PowerShell, InstallScript, and managed-code actions.

Enter text that describes the selected action. For example, if the action is running a script that configures the target system, you could enter the following string:

Configuring the system

If the installation launches the action when the InstallationProgress wizard page is displayed, the text that you enter is displayed on the wizard page.

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

See Also