Starting the MSI Debugger

InstallShield 2020

Before starting the MSI Debugger, you must have built a release and opened the MSI Debugger view in InstallShield. In addition, you should always set a breakpoint so that you can view the state of the installation at a particular action or dialog.

When you open the MSI Debugger and begin debugging, it acts on the release that currently has focus in the Releases view. If you have not yet built the release or if the release is compressed into Setup.exe, the debugger is blank and its toolbar and menu items are disabled. Switch to a built release or rebuild with the required options to debug the package.

To start debugging, do one of the following:

Click the MSI Debugging button on the MSI Debugger toolbar.
Click the Step Over button on the MSI Debugger toolbar.
On the Build menu, point to MSI Debugger and click Start MSI Debugging.
On the Build menu, point to MSI Debugger and click Step Over.
Press F5.
Press F11.

The debugger runs the installation, returns focus to itself, and stops the execution of the installation when it reaches the breakpoint. Back in the debugger, you can do any of the following:

View and set Windows Installer properties.
Step through the rest of the installation.
Exit the debugger and/or the installation.

See Also