Component Destination vs. Feature Destination

Project:This information applies to the following project types:

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Basic MSI

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DIM

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InstallScript MSI

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Merge Module

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MSI Database

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MSM Database

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Transform

Note that DIM, Merge Module, and MSM Database projects do not include features. These types of projects are added to features in Basic MSI projects. Thus, components in DIM, Merge Module, and MSM Database projects are associated with the features in the installation projects that consume them.

Both components and features have a destination setting, but there are some differences in how they are used when an end user runs your installation.

Allowing End Users to Change the Destination

You can use the feature’s destination setting if you want to allow the end user to modify where the feature is installed on the target system. Because a feature’s destination can be changed by the end user, you must use a public property for the feature destination. A public property has a name with only uppercase letters (for example, INSTALLDIR).

Note:If you want all the components in a feature to be installed to the feature’s destination, you must set all of the components’ destinations to match the feature’s destination.

Setting a Specific Destination

If you want a component to go to a specific location that cannot be changed by the end user, you must set the component destination to some directory that is not used as a feature destination.