Overview of Multiple-Package Installations that Use Transaction Processing

InstallShield 2019

Project • The following project types support multiple-package installations that use transaction processing:

When you add one or more .msi packages to your installation as chained packages and an end user runs your installation on a system that has Windows Installer 4.5, the Windows Installer can install all of the packages in 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.

When the Windows Installer uses transaction processing, it batches together the various script states from the .msi packages. For example, Windows Installer executes the InstallInitialize action during the Execute sequence; at this point in the sequence Windows Installer executes all of the immediate actions for all of the packages and puts all of the deferred actions in the installation script. Next, Windows Installer executes the deferred actions—but not the commit or rollback actions—in the installation script for all of the packages. In addition, Windows Installer copies the rollback actions to the rollback script. If the products for each of the packages are successfully installed up until this point, the Windows Installer runs all of the commit actions for each of the packages; otherwise, the Windows Installer executes the rollback script to return the target system to its original state.

For more information about this functionality, see Multiple-Package Installations in the Windows Installer Help Library.

Note • Windows Installer 4.5 includes support for installing multiple packages using transaction processing. Earlier versions do not launch any chained .msi packages.

If you want your installation to install Windows Installer 4.5, see Adding Windows Installer Redistributables to Projects to learn how.

See Also

Configuring Multiple Packages for Installation Using Transaction Processing

Adding a New Chained .msi Package to Your Project

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