Frequently Asked Questions
InstallShield 2020
This section lists common questions (sorted by topic) and provides links to answers. Where the techniques or steps to perform a specific task are different in different project types, answers for each project type are displayed.
Project Types
| • | Which project type should I use? |
| • | How do I convert my project to a different project type? |
| • | Why do I get “error C8025 ‘INSTALLDIR’: undefined identifier” when compiling my script after conversion? |
| • | Why do I get the following error: “String PRODUCT_NAME was not found in string table”? |
Files and Folders
| • | What is the difference between INSTALLDIR and TARGETDIR? |
| • | How does Windows Installer determine whether to overwrite an existing file? |
| • | How do I register a COM server? |
| • | How do I install, start, stop, delete, uninstall, or configure a Windows service? |
| • | How do I create an empty folder? |
| • | How do I set a key file for a dynamic file link? |
| • | What happens if I put more than one executable file in the same component? |
Features and Components
| • | How do I conditionally select a feature? |
| • | How do I conditionally hide a feature? |
| • | Why should I use uppercase directory identifiers when setting component destinations? |
| • | How do I change the value in the Link To column for a component? |
Redistributables
| • | How do I add the Windows Installer to my project? |
| • | How do I add the .NET Framework to my project? |
Shortcuts
| • | How do I create an Internet shortcut? |
| • | How do I create a shortcut to a folder? |
Registry
| • | How do I read data from the registry? |
| • | How do I write a property’s value to the registry? |
InstallScript
| • | How do I find out what sort of built-in functions are available in the InstallScript language? |
| • | What is the maximum number of statements that I can use in a compiled script file? What other limits exist for InstallScript? |
INI Files
| • | How do I read data from an .ini file? |
| • | How do I get all key names from an .ini file? |
Properties
| • | How do I get or set a Windows Installer property in InstallScript? |
| • | Why does my deferred custom action show a blank value for a Windows Installer property? |
Conditions
| • | How do I detect administrator privileges? |
| • | How do I detect a first-time installation? |
| • | How do I call a function only during the installation sequence? |
| • | How do I detect if the user has selected a specific feature? |
| • | How do I detect if the user is running a particular operating system? |
End-User Interface
| • | How do I populate a list box at run time? |
| • | How do I display a file browse dialog? |
| • | How do I display a network browse dialog? |
Custom Actions
| • | How do I search for a file on the end user’s system? |
| • | How do I launch my application after the installation is complete? |
| • | How do I place a file in the .msi database and extract it during run time? |
| • | How do I exit the installation from within a custom action? |
| • | How can I use the INSTALLDIR variable after I have created a custom action that runs VBScript code? |
| • | How can I change ODBC properties (like DBQ and SystemDB) through script? |
SQL Scripts
| • | How do I override the default SQL run-time behavior? |
| • | How can I control the execution of a SQL script based on certain conditions in an InstallScript project? |
| • | How do I enforce a server-side installation in an InstallScript project? |
| • | How do I enforce a SQL server-side installation in a Windows Installer-based project? |
| • | How do I handle SQL run-time errors? |
| • | How do I ensure that my SQL scripts run only against a full of SQL Server? |
Building Releases
| • | How do I build my release from the command line? |
| • | How do I change project settings from the command line? |
Deployment
| • | How do users run my installation in silent mode? |
Uninstallation
| • | How do I remove files that were created by my product? |
| • | How do I remove registry data created by my product? |
Answers to many other questions are available in the Knowledge Base.