Setup.exe Tab for a Release

Project:The Setup.exe tab is available in the following project types:

Advanced UI
Basic MSI
InstallScript
InstallScript MSI
Suite/Advanced UI

For more information on including Windows Installer redistributables in installations, see Adding Windows Installer Redistributables to Projects.

The Setup.exe tab is where you configure settings about your Setup.exe file. It is also where you specify whether you want to include redistributables for Windows Installer 3.1 or earlier. For more information on Windows Installer redistributables, see Adding Windows Installer Redistributables to Projects.

Settings on the Setup.exe Tab

Setting

Project Type

Description

Setup Launcher

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Specify whether you want to create a Setup.exe setup launcher.

To learn about scenarios that require a setup launcher, see Creating a Setup Launcher.

Executable File Name

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

Specify the file name—without the .exe file extension—that InstallShield should use for the setup launcher file that it generates at build time. If this setting is blank, InstallShield uses the default value of Setup, and the setup launcher file is called Setup.exe.

Show Suite Loading Screen

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

Use this option to control whether or not the Suite Loading Screen is displayed during installation. To hide the Suite Loading Screen for your Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI setup launcher, set this property to No.

Suite Loading Screen Message

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

Use this option, to add a message to the Suite Loading Screen for your Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI setup launcher.

Suite Loading Screen Image

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

Use this option to select the image to the Suite Loading Screen for your Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI setup launcher.

If the application supports scaling, insert the customized images of scales 100 and 150 under scale-150 and/or scale-200 folders of Support Files.

The name of the image should be same in the folders of the Support Files as given in the Suite Loading Screen Image field.

Single .exe File Name

InstallScript

If you want InstallShield to build a self-extracting executable file that runs your installation, specify its file name (including the file extension).

If you specify a file name, InstallShield creates a self-extracting executable file and adds it to the Package subfolder of the folder that is specified in the Release Location setting on the Build tab for this release.

If you leave this setting empty, InstallShield does not create a self-extracting executable file at build time.

Setup.exe Icon File

Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, Suite/Advanced UI

To use your own icon for the Setup.exe file, specify the fully qualified name of the file that contains the icon. To specify a file, type an absolute path or a path that is relative to a path variable, or click the ellipsis button (...) to browse to the file from within the Change Icon dialog box.

By default, the icon with index 0 is used; to specify a different icon, either select an icon in the Change Icon dialog box or append the icon’s index or resource ID (preceded by a minus sign) to the file name. For example, C:\Temp\MyLibrary.dll,2 indicates the icon with an index of 2, and C:\Temp\MyLibrary.dll,-100 indicates the icon with a resource ID of 100.

If you leave this setting blank, InstallShield uses a default icon for your Setup.exe file.

64-Bit Setup Launcher

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

Specify whether you want to build a 64-Bit Setup Launcher or a 32-Bit Setup Launcher.

Select Yes to build the 64-Bit setup launcher. InstallScript custom actions are not supported with 64-Bit setup launcher. 32-bit Extension DLLs are not supported.

Select No to build the 32-Bit setup launcher. For more detail, see Building 64-bit Setup Exe.

MSI Command-Line Arguments

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Indicate any command-line arguments that you want to pass from the setup launcher to Windows Installer. InstallShield writes the value that you enter in the Setup.ini file.

[Startup]

CmdLine=Your Value

Tip:To set a property, enter MYPROPERTY="My Value" for this setting.

Setup Command Line

InstallScript

Enter any command-line parameters that you want to pass to Setup.exe when end users launch the installation.

Generate Package Definition File

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Specify whether you want InstallShield to create a package definition file (.pdf) that enables end users to run your installation as an SMS job. If you select Yes, InstallShield creates a version 2.0 .pdf.

Required Execution Level

Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, Suite/Advanced UI

Use the Required Execution Level setting to specify the minimum level that is required by your project’s Setup.exe file for running on Windows Vista and later platforms. The available options are:

AdministratorSetup.exe requires administrative privileges to run. Administrators must authorize it; non-administrators must authenticate as an administrator.
Highest availableSetup.exe prefers administrative privileges. Administrators must authorize it; non-administrators run it without administrative privileges. This is the default option for InstallScript and InstallScript MSI projects.
InvokerSetup.exe does not require administrative privileges, and all users can run it without administrative privileges. Setup.exe does not display any UAC messages prompting for credentials or for consent. This is the default option for Advanced UI, Basic MSI, and Suite/Advanced UI projects.

For Advanced UI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, and Suite/Advanced UI projects, and for Basic MSI projects if Yes is selected for the Setup Launcher setting, InstallShield embeds an application manifest in the Setup.exe launcher. This manifest specifies the selected execution level. Operating systems earlier than Windows Vista ignore the required execution level.

If No is selected for the Setup Launcher setting for a Basic MSI project, InstallShield does not embed the Windows application manifest in a Setup.exe launcher.

Required Execution Level (cont.)

 

The benefit of elevating the required execution level in Basic MSI projects is that privileges can be elevated only once if necessary to run Setup.exe, and that these privileges can be carried over to all of the installation’s InstallShield prerequisites and the Execute sequence of the .msi package without requiring multiple prompts for approval. Thus, if two of your InstallShield prerequisites require administrative privileges, for example, you can change this setting to Administrator, and then end users are prompted only once during the installation, before Windows Installer runs the Setup.exe file.

A similar benefit exists for Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI projects, where privileges can be elevated only once if necessary to run Setup.exe, and that these privileges can be carried over to all of the installation’s Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI packages without requiring multiple prompts for approval.

Note, however, that if you elevate the privileges and also launch the application at the end of the installation, the elevated privileges are carried over to the application. In most cases, running an application with elevated privileges on Windows Vista and later platforms is discouraged.

For more information, see Minimizing the Number of User Account Control Prompts During Installation.

Uninstallation Order

Suite/Advanced UI

Use this setting to specify the uninstall order of the packages in a suite project. The available options are:

Same as Packages Order—Uninstall the packages in the same order that packages were installed (as defined in the project).
Reverse of Packages Order—Uninstall the packages in the reverse order that packages were installed (as defined in the project).

Advertise If Prerequisites Are Elevated

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

In the following common scenario, you may want to advertise your .msi file to help end users avoid a second User Account Control (UAC) prompt during your product's installation on Windows Vista and later systems:

Your installation includes one or more InstallShield prerequisites that require elevation.
In addition, your .msi file requires elevation. (That is, the Require Administrative Privileges setting in the General Information view is set to the default value of Yes.)

If this scenario does not apply to your installation, it is recommended that you leave the default value of No for the Advertise If Prerequisites Are Elevated setting because setting it to Yes would not avoid a second UAC prompt.

The Advertise If Prerequisites Are Elevated setting applies to installations that are run on Windows Vista and later systems. Installations that are run on earlier versions of Windows ignore this setting. Valid options are:

Advertise: Silent—Indicates that if InstallShield prerequisites in the installation are successfully installed with elevated privileges, the .msi file should be advertised and run silently (without a user interface). Then the main part of the installation does not require an additional UAC prompt for consent or credentials.
Advertise: Full UI—Indicates that if InstallShield prerequisites in the installation are successfully installed with elevated privileges, the .msi file should be advertised and run with a full user interface. Then the main part of the installation does not require an additional UAC prompt.

(cont.)

 

No—Indicates that the .msi file should not be advertised. When end users run the installation, one or more UAC prompts may be displayed to install the InstallShield prerequisites. If the .msi file also requires elevation, an additional UAC prompt may be displayed before the main part of the installation occurs.

Note:The package must support advertisement in order for either of the advertise options to work. Advertisement is not instantaneous, and it adds extra delays to the installation. In addition, unexpected behavior may occur if the end user clicks Cancel after advertisement but before the main part of the installation has finished. For example, advertised shortcuts for your product may appear on the desktop before the main installation begins, and a confused user canceling the main installation may leave your package advertised but not fully installed. Therefore, in some cases, it may be better to leave this setting as No to allow the second UAC prompt and avoid product advertisement.

In some cases, the .msi file is not advertised, and as a result, the second UAC prompt is displayed. For more information, see Specifying Whether a Product Should Be Advertised If Its InstallShield Prerequisites Are Run with Elevated Privileges.

Include MSI Engine

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Specify whether you want to include redistributables for Windows Installer 3.1earlier.

Note:This setting applies to redistributables for Windows Installer 3.1. For information on different methods of adding various versions of Windows Installer redistributables to a project, see Adding Windows Installer Redistributables to Projects.

MSI Engine Location

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Note:This setting applies to redistributables for Windows Installer 3.1. For information on different methods of adding various versions of Windows Installer redistributables to a project, see Adding Windows Installer Redistributables to Projects.

Specify where the Windows Installer engine installers should be located. Available options are:

Copy from Source Media—Leave the selected Windows Installer engine installers on the root of the source media. This option is not available for Web media types or Network Image media types with all of your files compressed into Setup.exe.
Extract Engine from Setup.exe—Compress the selected Windows Installer engine installers into Setup.exe, to be extracted at run time.
Download Engine from the Web—Download the Windows Installer engine installer (if necessary) from a URL that you specify. If you select this setting, be sure to set the engine URL settings to the appropriate Web locations, or leave the default value.

MSI 3.1 Engine URL

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

This setting specifies the location from which the setup launcher downloads the Windows Installer 3.1 engine, if needed. This setting is ignored unless the MSI Engine Location setting for the current release is set to Download Engine from the Web. Do not specify the file name in the URL.

Note:The default URL (http://www.installengine.com/Msiengine30) is a site maintained by Revenera for your convenience. The 3.1 engine is available for download from this location.

Delay MSI Engine Reboot

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Note:This setting applies to redistributables for Windows Installer 3.1 and earlier. For information on different methods of adding various versions of Windows Installer redistributables to a project, see Adding Windows Installer Redistributables to Projects.

Specify whether you want to postpone any reboot associated with installing or updating the Windows Installer engine on the target system until after your installation has completed.

Select Yes to postpone the reboot, if one is necessary. Select No to allow the system to reboot, if necessary, immediately after the Windows Installer engine has been installed or updated and before performing your installation.

Cache MSI Locally

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Specify whether the .msi file and other installation files for the current build should be cached on the target system.

Yes—Cache the .msi file and other installation files on the target system for use with application maintenance and repair. The Cache Path setting for the current release specifies where files should be cached.
No—Do not cache the .msi file and other installation files on the target system.

Note:This setting is enabled for releases that do not have the .msi file available in the same folder as the Setup.exe file on the target system.

Cache Path

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Specify where the cached .msi file and other cached installation files should be stored on the end users's system. You can enter a hard-coded value such as C:\CachedFiles, but it is recommended that you cache files in a path using a destination variable selected from the list. The default value is [LocalAppDataFolder]Downloaded Installations.

Note:This setting is used only if the Cache MSI Locally setting for the current release is set to Yes.

Media Password

InstallScript

Enter the password that end users must enter in order to run the installation. Leave this setting empty if you do not want to password-protect your installation.

Show Password Dialog

InstallScript

This setting is applicable only if you specify a non-null password in the Media Password setting.

Select Yes to set the SHOW_PASSWORD_DIALOG system variable to a non-zero value, which executes the password-checking code in the OnCheckMediaPassword event handler function’s default code.

If you select No, you must enter your own code in the script to request the password from the end user and check it by calling FeatureValidate.

Small Initialization Dialog

Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI

Specify whether you want to display a small initialization dialog when end users run this release.

When the installation initializes, by default, an initialization dialog is displayed. The standard initialization dialog is the same size as the Welcome dialog and contains initialization text, a progress bar, and a Cancel button. The small initialization dialog contains initialization text, progress and a Cancel button; however, it is smaller, it does not contain a bitmap image, and its background is the window color of the end user’s system.

Init Dialog Product Name

InstallScript

Optionally enter the product name to display in the setup initialization dialog. If you leave this setting empty, InstallShield uses the product name that you specify in the General Information view.

Minimum Initialization Time

Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI

Specify the minimum number of seconds that the installation should display the initialization dialog when end users run this release.

InstallShield uses the value that you specify for this setting as the value of the SplashTime keyname in the Setup.ini file.

When the installation initializes, by default, an initialization dialog is displayed. The splash screen, if provided, is also shown at this time. If you specify a minimum initialization time in this setting, the initialization dialog and splash screen are shown for at least the specified number of seconds. If initialization takes longer than the time specified, the dialog and splash screen are still displayed until the installation completes initialization. If initialization takes less time than the time specified, the installation continues to display the dialog and splash screen until the specified time has elapsed, and then the installation continues.

Password Protect Launcher

Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, Suite/Advanced UI

To password-protect your installation, select Yes, and then type a password for the Launcher Password setting.

Project:In Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects, this setting is available only if you select Yes for the Setup Launcher setting.

Launcher Password

Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, Suite/Advanced UI

Type a password to protect your installation. Passwords are case-sensitive.

This setting is used only if you select Yes for the Password Protect Launcher setting.

Project:In Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects, this setting is available only if you select Yes for the Setup Launcher setting.

Use Custom Version Properties

Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, Suite/Advanced UI

Specify whether you want to override the default copyright notice and file description for Setup.exe with your own copyright notice and file description. If you select Yes, enter your own information in the Launcher Copyright setting and the File Description setting.

The copyright and description are displayed on the Properties dialog box for the setup launcher; this Properties dialog box opens when end users right-click the Setup.exe file and then click Properties.

To learn more, see Customizing File Properties for the Setup Launcher.

Launcher Copyright

Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, Suite/Advanced UI

If you want to override the default copyright notice for Setup.exe with your product’s copyright notice, enter your product’s copyright notice. Note that you must also select Yes in the Use Custom Version Properties setting.

The copyright is displayed on the Properties dialog box for the setup launcher; this Properties dialog box opens when end users right-click the Setup.exe file and then click Properties.

To learn more, see Customizing File Properties for the Setup Launcher.

File Description

Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, Suite/Advanced UI

If you want to override the default file description for Setup.exe with your own description, enter the appropriate description. Note that you must also select Yes in the Use Custom Version Properties setting.

The description is displayed on the Properties dialog box for the setup launcher; this Properties dialog box opens when end users right-click the Setup.exe file and then click Properties.

To learn more, see Customizing File Properties for the Setup Launcher.

File Version

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, InstallScript

If you want to override the default file version for Setup.exe with your own file version, enter the appropriate file version. Note that you must also select Yes in the Use Custom Version Properties setting.

The file version is displayed on the Properties dialog box for the setup launcher; this Properties dialog box opens when end users right-click the Setup.exe file and then click Properties.

To learn more, see Customizing File Properties for the Setup Launcher.

Version

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

If you want to override the default product version and file version for Setup.exe with your own version number, enter the appropriate version number. Note that you must also select Yes in the Use Custom Version Properties setting.

The product version and file version are displayed on the Properties dialog box for the setup launcher; this Properties dialog box opens when end users right-click the Setup.exe file and then click Properties.

Note that the file version always contains four fields. If you specify fewer than four fields for your product version, the remaining fields are filled with zeros. For example, if you specify a product version of 1.1, the file version that is used in the version resources of Setup.exe is 1.1.0.0.

To learn more, see Customizing File Properties for the Setup Launcher.

Company

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

If you want to override the default company name for Setup.exe with your own company name, enter the appropriate name. Note that you must also select Yes in the Use Custom Version Properties setting.

The company name is displayed on the Properties dialog box for the setup launcher; this Properties dialog box opens when end users right-click the Setup.exe file and then click Properties.

To learn more, see Customizing File Properties for the Setup Launcher.

InstallShield Prerequisites Location

Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI

Specify where the InstallShield prerequisites that are selected in the Redistributables view (in Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects) or in the Prerequisites view (in InstallScript projects) should be located.

Project:The available options differ, depending on which project type you are using.

Follow Individual Selections—Use the locations that are specified for each individual InstallShield prerequisite’s properties in the Redistributables or Prerequisites view.

This option is available for Basic MSI, InstallScript, and InstallScript MSI projects.

Download From The Web—Download all of the InstallShield prerequisite files included in your project (if necessary) from the URL specified in the InstallShield prerequisite (.prq) file for each prerequisite. This option overrides the locations that are specified in the Redistributables or Prerequisites view for each InstallShield prerequisite’s properties.

This option is recommended if your installation will be downloaded from the Internet and you want to minimize the package size and download time. An InstallShield prerequisite will not be downloaded if the correct version is already present on the target machine.

This option is available for Basic MSI, InstallScript, and InstallScript MSI projects.

Extract From Setup.exe—Compress the InstallShield prerequisite files into Setup.exe, to be extracted at run time, if necessary. This option overrides the locations that are specified in the Redistributables view for each InstallShield prerequisite’s properties.

Select this option if the entire installation must be self-contained in Setup.exe. Note that the Download From The Web option results in smaller installations and shorter download time; however, the Extract From Setup.exe option provides for a completely self-contained installation.

This option is available for Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects.

InstallShield Prerequisites Location (cont.)

 

Copy From Source Media—Store the InstallShield prerequisite files on the source media. This option overrides the locations that are specified in the Redistributables view for each InstallShield prerequisite’s properties.

Use this option if the installation will be run uncompressed from fixed media—CD, DVD, or local network.

This option is available for Basic MSI and InstallScript MSI projects.

Include with Media—Store the InstallShield prerequisite files on the source media or in Setup.exe, depending on how you configure the settings for the release. This option overrides the locations that are specified in the Prerequisites view for each InstallShield prerequisite’s properties.

This option is available for InstallScript projects.

Note that if an InstallShield prerequisite is added to a project as a dependency of another prerequisite, the location for the prerequisite dependency follows the location setting of the prerequisite that requires it.

Tip:If you select the Extract From Setup.exe option, the Copy From Source Media option, or the Include with Media option and then build a release that includes an InstallShield prerequisite that is not available on your computer, one or more build errors are generated for every file that the prerequisite requires. To avoid these build errors, use the Redistributables view or the Prerequisites view to either download the InstallShield prerequisite from the Internet to your computer or remove it from your project before building the release.

To learn more, see Specifying the Run-Time Location for InstallShield Prerequisites at the Release Level.

Package Location

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

Specify the run-time location for the packages that are configured in the Packages view. Available options are:

Copy From Source Media—Store the packages on the source media. This option overrides the run-time locations that are specified for each individual package’s Location setting in the Packages view.

If the Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation will be run uncompressed from fixed media—CD, DVD, or local network—select this option.

Extract From Setup.exe—Compress the packages into Setup.exe, to be extracted at run time, if necessary. This option overrides the run-time locations that are specified for each individual package’s Location setting in the Packages view.

If the entire installation must be self-contained in Setup.exe, select this option. Note that the Download from the Web option results in smaller installations and shorter download time; however, the Extract from Setup.exe option provides for a completely self-contained installation.

Download from the Web—Download all of the packages that are included in your project (if necessary) from the URLs that are specified for each package in the Packages view. This option overrides the run-time locations that are specified for each individual package’s Location setting in the Packages view.

This option is recommended if your Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation will be downloaded from the Internet and you want to minimize the installation size and download time. A package will not be downloaded if the correct version is already present on the target system.

Follow Individual Selections—Use the locations that are specified for each individual package’s the Location setting in the Packages view.

To learn more, see Specifying the Run-Time Location for Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Packages at the Release Level.

Cache Packages Locally

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

Specify whether you want to cache the Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI packages that are run on a target system in the location that is defined for each package in the Packages view. The default value is Yes.

If you are building an uncompressed release, you may want to select No for this setting.

Note:For exe package, it is required to specify Cache Packages Locally to Yes to do successful uninstallation.

Custom Return Code

Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI

Specify whether you want to override the return code of Setup.exe with your own custom values during the runtime. The default value is No.

Select Yes to specify the values for a successful, failed or aborted installation.

The supported values ranges from 0 to 32767 for successful, failed and aborted installation.

Important:If the filed is blank, the actual error code is returned during Cancel/Abort.

Expiration Date

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

To prevent end users from being able to run Setup.exe on or after a certain date, enter the expiration date, or click the arrow in this setting to select the date from a calendar.

To remove the expiration date, click the Delete button in this setting.

If you specify an expiration date in this setting, use the Expiration Date setting to specify the message that you want to be displayed at run time if an end user tries to launch Setup.exe on or after the expiration date.

Expiration Message

Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI

Enter the message that you want to be displayed at run time if an end user tries to launch Setup.exe on or after the expiration date that is configured in the Expiration Date setting.

Always Create Debug Log

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

If you want to create debug logs for your Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI setup launcher, select Yes.

You can also use the CreateDebugLog method in the automation interface to specify the Always Create Debug Log setting. Set CreateDebugLog to True to create debug logs. The default value is False.

Log File Name

Advanced UI, Suite/Advanced UI

The default Log File Name is InstallShield.log.

You can also customize the Log File Name,

to any given name of your choice.
with any absolute path and relative path to the installer location. For example: C:\abc\xyz.log or ..\xyz.log. If the folder does not exist in the given location, a folder will be created.
with any environment variable. For example: %TEMP%\xyz.log.

Note:If the installer doesn't have access to the directory, it falls back to installer location with the name provided.

Setup File Name

Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI Suite/Advanced UI

Specify the file name - without the .exe file extension - that InstallShield should use for the setup launcher file that it generates during the build time.

If this setting is blank, InstallShield uses the default value of Setup, and the setup launcher file is called setup.exe.