General Information View Settings

Select the file format that you want to use for your project file (.ism or .dim). Available options are:

This is the default format for Basic MSI, DIM, InstallScript MSI, MSIX, and Merge Module projects. If you select this project file format for these project types, you can modify the .ism file in a Windows Installer database editor. You can also modify the .ism file by using the Windows Installer API or its automation interface.

This is the default format for InstallScript and InstallScript Object projects.

Note:Both project file formats let you build releases from the command line.

Project:The behavior of this setting varies, depending on the project type.

In Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, Merge Module, and Suite/Advanced UI projects, the Setup Languages setting lets you specify the languages that you want to be listed in the UI Languages setting in the Releases view. If a language is not listed for this Setup Languages setting at the project level, you cannot include that particular UI language in your project’s releases.

Advanced UI projects, which are available in the InstallShield, have support for only one language. Therefore, the Setup Languages setting in this project type is read-only.

In InstallScript and InstallScript Object projects, the Setup Languages setting lets you specify the languages that you want to be listed in the Languages setting in the Components and Releases views in your project. In general, if a language is not listed for this setting at the project level, you cannot designate that a particular component in your project is targeted for that language; in addition, you cannot designate that the components and UI strings for a particular language are included in your project’s releases.

When you add a supported language to an Advanced UI, Basic MSI, InstallScript, InstallScript MSI, InstallScript Object, Merge Module, or Suite/Advanced UI project through this setting, InstallShield adds string entries for that language to your project. The string entries include the built-in user-interface string resources that are already translated.

In DIM projects, the Setup Languages setting lets you specify the languages that you want the project to support. When you add a language to your project through this setting, InstallShield adds string entries for that language to your project. The string entries include string resources that you would need to have translated.

For more information, see Selecting the Installation Languages.

This setting lets you specify the platforms that you want to be available when you select operating for components or releases in your project. In general, if a platform is not listed for this setting at the project level, you cannot designate that a particular component or release in your project is targeted for that platform.

To change the platforms for your project, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting. The Platforms dialog box opens, enabling you to select the platforms for your project.

Note:Specifying platforms at the project level does not create target for running the installation. If you want to create target in an InstallScript or InstallScript Object project, use the SYSINFO structure to identify the operating platform of the target system.

Indicate whether you want to display the full maintenance user interface (UI) or the uninstallation UI when end users rerun the installation on a system on which the product is already present. Available options are:

To learn more, see Configuring the Enable Maintenance Setting.

Enter the name of the product, DIM, merge module, or object.

For information on how the product name is used, see Specifying a Product Name.

Project:For InstallScript and InstallScript Object projects—Instead of hard-coding a value, you can use a path variable that is defined in the Path Variables view. At build time, InstallShield replaces the path variable with the appropriate value. (To use a path variable: On the Project menu, click Settings. Then select the appropriate path variable on the Application tab.)

The product name is stored in the InstallScript system variable IFX_PRODUCT_NAME.

For DIM projects—The value in this setting is not displayed or used at run time. You can use this setting in DIM projects as a reference for internally identifying different versions of the project.

Enter a GUID that uniquely identifies this product. To have InstallShield generate a different GUID for you, click the Generate a new GUID button ({...}) in this setting.

Since this code uniquely identifies your product, changing the product code after you have already distributed your release is not recommended.

For more information, see Setting the Product Code in a Windows Installer–Based Project or Setting the Product Code in an InstallScript-Based Project.

This setting lets you specify one or more conditions that must be true in order for your installation to run. For example, you can test for a specific operating system or minimum . If the conditions do not evaluate to True at run time, an error message is displayed and the product is not installed.

To specify one or more conditions, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting. For more information, see Setting Product Conditions.

When you add a condition, InstallShield adds two new settings under the Install Condition setting:

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

When you add a condition, InstallShield adds two new settings under the Exit Conditions setting:

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

When you type a value for this setting, you can include one or more formatted expressions that contain property names, environment variable references, and other special strings; at run time, the installation expands the values of these expressions. To learn about the syntax that is available for these expressions, see Using Formatted Expressions that Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Installations Resolve at Run Time.

For more information, see Defining Exit Conditions for an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Installation.

Specify the value of the Windows Installer property INSTALLDIR, which indicates the destination directory where most of the files of the product, DIM, or merge module will be installed at run time.

Instead of hard-coding a path, you can enter a directory property as part of the path. To select a directory property, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting. This enables you to select the appropriate directory from a list, or to create a new directory within a predefined directory. Separate further levels of subdirectories with a backslash—for example, [ProgramFilesFolder]MyApp\Bin.

Windows Logo Guideline:To comply with the Windows logo program, your product's default destination should be a subfolder of the Program Files folder ([ProgramFilesFolder]), which can vary depending on the system’s locale and user settings.

Project:In Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, MSI Database, and Transform projects, the default value is as follows:

[ProgramFilesFolder]My Company Name\My Product Name

The value that you enter in this setting is assigned to the property INSTALLDIR, which is the default destination folder for all of your product’s features and components. For more information, see Setting the Default Product Destination Folder (INSTALLDIR).

In DIM, Merge Module, and MSM Database projects, the default value is as follows:

[TARGETDIR]

In DIM, Merge Module, and MSM Database projects, if you would like to let the users of this DIM or module override the default destination directory, leave that default value in this setting. For more information, see Specifying the Default Destination Folder for a Merge Module.

This read-only setting displays a GUID that uniquely identifies the merge module. Whenever you create a new merge module, InstallShield generates a new GUID for it.

The module ID GUID is appended to all merge module GUID foreign keys. For example, if you create a component in a merge module project, that component is listed in the Direct Editor and in the built .msm file as ComponentName.MergeModuleGUID.

If you want to change this GUID, you can use the Direct Editor view to edit the ModuleID field of the ModuleSignature table. Note that if you change this value, you must also update the value in all of the tables in your project; you can do this from within the Direct Editor view.

This read-only setting shows one of the following values:

This setting is displayed only if you have added a merge module dependency to your project.

If you want to remove this dependency from your project, you can click the Delete this module dependency button in this setting.

If the merge module that you are creating requires a dependency of a particular language, specify the language. If any language of the dependency is acceptable, select Language Independent.

This setting is displayed only if you have added a merge module dependency to your project.

This setting lets you specify one or more merge modules that are incompatible with the merge module that you are creating. This may be necessary, for example, if an earlier version of your merge module is not compatible with your new module.

To add one or more exclusions that are available in your redistributables gallery, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting. The Module Exclusions dialog box opens, enabling you to select the modules that are incompatible with your merge module.

To add an exclusion that is not present on your machine, click the Add a new module exclusion button, and then specify the requirements for the version, language, and module GUID.

Specify the maximum version number of the merge module that should be excluded.

If you leave this setting blank, all versions after the value that you specify in the Min. Version setting are excluded. If you leave both the Max. Version and Min. Version settings blank, there is no exclusion based on version.

This setting is displayed only if you have added a merge module exclusion to your project.

If you want to exclude merge modules that have a specific language or change the current value of this setting, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting. The Exclusion Languages dialog box opens, enabling you to specify whether you want to exclude a particular language or all of the languages except a particular language. This dialog box also lets you select Language Independent, which indicates that the language should not be used to exclude a merge module.

This setting is displayed only if you have added a merge module exclusion to your project.

This read-only setting displays a GUID that uniquely identifies the DIM. Whenever you create a new DIM, InstallShield generates a new GUID for it.

The DIM GUID is appended to all DIM GUID foreign keys. For example, if you create a component in a DIM project, that component is listed in the Direct Editor as ComponentName.DIM_GUID.

If you want to change this GUID, you can use the Direct Editor view to edit the ModuleID field of the ModuleSignature table. Note that if you change this value, you must also update the value in all of the tables in your project; you can do this from within the Direct Editor view.

Select the type of permissions that you want to use for securing files, folders, and registry keys for end users who run your product in a locked-down environment. Available options are:

It is often more advantageous to use the custom InstallShield handling than the traditional Windows Installer handling. For example:

This is a project-wide setting that affects all new permissions that you set for files, folders, and registry keys in your project. If you have already configured some permissions in your project and then you change the value of this setting, InstallShield lets you specify whether you want to use the alternate handling method for those already-existing permissions.

For more information about configuring this setting, as well as information about InstallScript support for setting permissions, see Securing Files, Folders, Registry Keys, and Windows Services in a Locked-Down Environment.

To specify whether Windows Installer 4.0 or later should log your installation, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting, which launches the Logging Options for Windows Installer 4.0 and Later dialog box. This dialog box is where you specify whether Windows Installer should log your installation. You can also use this dialog box to customize the types of messages that are logged.

There are three possible values for this setting:

If the value of this setting is Yes or Custom, and if the installation is run with Windows Installer 4.0 or later, as well as Windows Vista or later or Windows Server 2008 or later, the following occurs:

If you want to reduce the time that is required to install a large Windows Installer package, consider selecting the check boxes for one or more of the following options:

This setting configures the Windows Installer property MSIFASTINSTALL, which can be set at the command line.

Windows Installer 5 includes support for this setting. Earlier versions of Windows Installer ignore it.

Enter the name of the application’s main executable file. This value can be retrieved at run time by calling the MediaGetData function.

Tip:Instead of hard-coding a value, you can use a path variable that is defined in the Path Variables view. At build time, InstallShield replaces the path variable with the appropriate value. (To use a path variable: On the Project menu, click Settings. Then select the appropriate path variable on the Application tab.)

If you are storing the installation package and its related files for the product on a network server or Web site, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to specify the server or Web site locations. The locations should have the .msi package, as well as all of the files that might be required to, for example, repair the product or advertise a feature.

The validity of the server location that you specify is determined when the installation needs to access the server remotely. That is, if a server is not available, or if you added an invalid server, the entry will be ignored if the resource is needed, and errors might be generated. Each location that is specified must have the complete source for the installation. The entire directory tree at each source location must be the same and must include all of the required source files, including any .cab files. Each location must have an .msi file with the same file name and product code.

Tip:Server paths can contain environment variables that are identified with a percent sign (%). For example, the following path uses the Home environment variable:

\\Server1\%Home%\Office

The paths that you specify are stored in the SOURCELIST property. Windows Installer appends this list to the end of an end user’s existing source list for the product at run time.

Select the type of wizard, if any, that you would like to use for your object’s default language. Available options are:

As an alternative, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting if you want to select a custom wizard that you created for your object.

To learn more about creating a custom wizard and using the InstallShield stock wizard, see Designing an Object’s Wizard.

If you want all of the font files in your project to be registered on the target system at run time, select Enabled. Static file links have an individual setting for font registration as well. This setting must be used to set the behavior for dynamically linked font files.

To enable DIFx support in your project for installing device drivers on 64-bit Itanium systems, select Enabled. If you select Enabled, InstallShield adds the DIFxAPI libraries to your project when you build a release.

For more information, see Installing Device Drivers.

Enter the name of the product.

Project:In Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, Merge Module, MSI Database, MSM Database, and Transform projects—The value that you enter is used on the Summary tab of the Properties dialog box that is displayed if you right-click the Windows Installer database and then click Properties.

For DIM projects—The value in this setting is not displayed or used at run time. You can use this setting in DIM projects as a reference for internally identifying the project. The value that you enter is displayed in the DIM References view of the project that contains this DIM.

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

Specify keywords that describe the Windows Installer database for your product.

Project:In Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, Merge Module, MSI Database, MSM Database, and Transform projects—The value that you enter is used on the Summary tab of the Properties dialog box that is displayed if you right-click the Windows Installer database and then click Properties.

For DIM projects—The value in this setting is not displayed or used at run time. You can use this setting in DIM projects as a reference for internally identifying the project.

Specify the processor type and default language that your installation supports. List the processor type first, followed by your installation’s default language, and separate them with a semicolon. If you have multiple entries in the language category, separate them with a comma.

For example, if your installation runs only on Intel processors and English-based systems, enter Intel;1033. If your product runs on x64 processors and supports English and German, enter x64;1033,1031. For the language portion of this setting, use the number 0 if your installation is language neutral.

Valid processor values include:

Note that you can specify only one processor value.

For more information, see Using the Template Summary Property.

If the target machine does not meet the requirements that you specify for this setting, an error message is displayed and the installation exits.

This setting lets you specify the integer that identifies the minimum Windows Installer version that is required for your installation package or DIM. For a minimum of Windows Installer 2.0, enter 200. For a minimum of Windows Installer 3.0, enter 300. For a minimum of Windows Installer 3.1, enter 301. For a minimum of Windows Installer 4.5, enter 405.

If the end user’s system has a Windows Installer version earlier than the minimum requirement that you specify for the Schema setting—for example, if you specify a schema value of 405 because your installation uses Windows Installer 4.5 features, but an end user has Windows Installer 3.1—the installation displays an error message and exits.

The value that you enter for the Schema setting is used for the Page Count Summary property of your Windows Installer database.

Note:You can override this value for all of the releases that are associated with a particular product configuration in your project by setting the Schema setting for the product configuration in the Releases view.

Project:The value that you should enter for this setting depends on what project type you are using.

In Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, MSI Database, and Transform projects: Enter the path on your development system to the .ico, .exe or .dll file that contains the icon resource that you want to be used for your product’s entry in Add or Remove Programs. Instead of manually typing the path and file name, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to browse to the file.

For InstallScript and InstallScript Object projects: Enter the path on the target system to the .ico or .exe file that contains the icon resource that you want to be used for your product’s entry in Add or Remove Programs. You can specify a path relative to a system variable that is enclosed by angle brackets—for example:

<TARGETDIR>\icon.ico

In Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI projects: Enter the path on your development system to the .ico, .exe or .dll file that contains the icon resource that you want to be used for your product’s entry in Add or Remove Programs. Instead of manually typing the path and file name, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to browse to the file. If you want to use the icon in a file that is present on target systems (for example, in a file that is installed by one of the packages in the Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation), select a directory property from the list in this setting, and then enter the rest of the path for the icon file. If you leave this setting blank, InstallShield uses the icon that is specified in the Setup.exe Icon File setting on the Setup.exe tab in the Releases view.

Specify whether you want to disable the Change button for your product’s entry in Add or Remove Programs. The Change button enables end users to change installation options after the product has been installed. End users can remove or add features as needed.

Project:In an InstallScript project, the OnMoveData event handler writes the data for this setting to the target system's registry.

Also in an InstallScript project, you can specify a combined Change/Remove button by setting the Disable Change Button and Disable Remove Button settings to Yes and setting the system variable ADDREMOVE_COMBINEDBUTTON to TRUE in your script before the MaintenanceStart function is called. (MaintenanceStart is called by the default code for the OnMoveData event handler.)

Specify whether you want to disable the Repair button for your product’s entry in Add or Remove Programs. The Repair button enables end users to run the Windows Installer repair option if any files have been deleted or corrupted.

Enter a general URL for your company or product—for example, http://www.installshield.com.

On some versions of Windows, the publisher name on the Support Info dialog box is a hyperlink to this URL. The Support Info dialog box is displayed when an end user clicks the support information hyperlink for your product’s entry in Add or Remove Programs.

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

Project:In an InstallScript project, the OnMoveData event handler writes the data for this setting to the target system’s registry.

Enter the URL that you would like end users to visit for technical support information for your product. This URL is displayed for your product’s entry in Add or Remove Programs.

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

Windows Logo Guideline:If you want to meet the requirements of the Windows logo program, you must enter a valid URL.

Project:In an InstallScript project, the OnMoveData event handler writes the data for this setting to the target system’s registry.

Enter the name or path of the Readme file for your product. As an alternative, you can link to a Readme file located on the Internet by specifying a valid URL. For more information, see Specifying a Readme File.

On some versions of Windows, this information is displayed on the Support Info dialog box for your product's entry in Add or Remove Programs.

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

Project:In an InstallScript project, the OnMoveData event handler writes the data for this setting to the target system’s registry.

Enter comments about your product. This information is displayed for your product's entry in Add or Remove Programs.

When you type a value for this setting, you are creating a string entry and setting its initial value for all of the languages that are currently in the project. As an alternative to typing a new value, you can click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting to select an existing string. For more information, see Using String Entries in InstallShield.

Project:In an InstallScript project, the OnMoveData event handler writes the data for this setting to the target system’s registry.

If this setting is for a language other than the default language, specify whether you want to use the default language settings’ values for this language. If you select Yes, the other settings under the Use Default setting become disabled. If you select No, the other settings under the Use Default setting become enabled so that you can specify language-specific values.

This setting is disabled for the default language.

Enter a shortened version of your object’s name, if desired. You can enter the same name that you entered for the Display Name setting.

Specify whether you want to require your product to have a corresponding software entitlement in order for software reconciliation to be considered successful. In general, if the software must be purchased, Yes should be selected for this setting; if the software is free, No should be selected for this setting.

Enter the name of the organization that created the tag.

Enter the name of the organization that created the software.

This setting is optional. If you leave this setting blank, InstallShield uses the value of the Tag Creator setting for the name of the software creator.

Enter the name of the organization that owns the copyright for the software.

This setting is optional. If you leave this setting blank, InstallShield uses the value of the Tag Creator setting for the name of the software licensor.

Specify whether you want to include application model data for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager in the software identification tag in your installation. If you select Yes, configure this setting’s subsettings as needed.

For more information, see Including Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Application Model Data About Your Product.

If you want the installation that you are creating to supersede other installations, click the ellipsis button (...) in this setting. The Supersedence dialog box opens, enabling you to browse to the Windows Installer packages (.msi) that you want to be superseded.