Organizing Features, Packages, Prerequisites, and Files in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Installation

InstallShield 2024

Project: This information applies to the following project types:

Advanced UI
Suite/Advanced UI

Edition:The Advanced UI project type is available in the Professional edition of InstallShield. The Suite/Advanced UI project type is available in the Premier edition of InstallShield. For information about the differences between these two project types, see Advanced UI Projects vs. Suite/Advanced UI Projects.

An Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation is a bootstrap application whose primary purpose is typically to conditionally launch packages on target systems as needed. An Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation may also need to run InstallShield prerequisites to install third-party or custom redistributables to ensure that the product can function properly.

A feature is the smallest installable part of an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation from the end user’s perspective. Each package and InstallShield prerequisite that is included in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI installation should be associated with a feature in the project.

For information on adding and configuring packages and InstallShield prerequisites in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI project, review this section of the documentation. This section includes the following topics:

Guidelines for Adding Packages to an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding an .msi Package, an .msp Patch, or a Transaction to an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding an InstallScript Package to an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Special Considerations for InstallScript Packages in Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Projects
Adding an InstallShield Project (.ism) as a Package in a Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding an InstallScript Package to an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Special Considerations for InstallScript Packages in Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Projects
Adding an InstallShield Project (.ism) as a Package in a Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding an Executable Package (.exe) to a Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding a Web Deploy Package to a Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding a Sideloading Windows App Package (.appx | .msix) to a Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding a Sideloading Windows App Bundle (.appxbundle | .msixbundle) to a Suite/Advanced UI Project
Adding a Windows Package Manager Package in a Suite/Advanced UI Project
Static vs. Dynamic Files for Packages in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Including InstallShield Prerequisites (.prq) in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Primary Packages vs. Dependency Packages in Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Projects
Specifying the Installation Order of Packages and Transactions in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Configuring Settings for a Package in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Associating a Package in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project with a Feature
Sharing Common Packages Among Different Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Installations
Specifying a Run-Time Location for a Specific Package in an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Project
Configuring Package Operations for an Advanced UI or Suite/Advanced UI Installation
Using Custom Folder Names for Packages in Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI Installations