InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition
Files are the core of any installation. The main purpose of an installation program is to transfer files from the source medium to the target destination. The Files view is divided into four panes: The two left panes contain folders and the two right panes display the files located within those folders. Above these four panes is the Feature list. Before you add files to your installation, you need to select the feature with which you want to associate your files. The feature that appears in the box is the feature to which your files are added.
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Pane |
Description |
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Source Folders (Top Left) |
The Source Folders frame is analogous to the left frame in Windows Explorer. This view contains folders located either locally or on a network. From here you can navigate to the folder that contains the files you want to add to your installation. |
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Source Files (Top Right) |
The Source Files frame displays the files contained in the currently selected folder of the Source Folders frame. You can drag files from this frame to a destination folder in the lower-left frame. The files you drop into the bottom frames are added to your installation project. |
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Destination Folders (Bottom Left) |
The Destination Folders frame contains a list of predefined destinations. |
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Destination Files (Bottom Right) |
The Destination Files frame displays all the files you have added to the currently selected destination folder. By right-clicking on a file in this view you can cut, copy, paste, delete, or edit its properties. |
You can add files to your installation project in one of three different ways. Each of these methods is described below:
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Method |
Description |
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Drag and Drop |
The most straightforward way to add files to your installation project is by using the Files explorer in the Files view. The top two panes in this view are functionally equivalent to Windows Explorer. The bottom two panes represent the destination for your files. Simply drag source files from the top frame to the destination folder in the bottom frame. Note: If you drag and drop a folder from the Source Folders to the Destination Folders, a dialog will prompt you to indicate whether you want to make the folder a dynamic link to the folder. |
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Dynamic File-Linking |
Another way to add files to your installation is by linking to the contents of an entire folder, or to specific files in the folder. This method allows you to point to a specific folder, either locally or on a network, that contains files for your installation. Every time you build your installation, the selected contents of the folder are added to your feature. Additionally, you can use wild cards to filter which files are added to your installation. |
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Dependency Scanning |
A third way to add files to your installation is accomplished through the Dependencies view. This view contains three wizards that can scan your installation project, a running application, or a Visual Basic project for all dependency files and add them to your installation. All three of these wizards can also be launched from the Tools menu. |
Note: To refresh any of the panes in the Files view, give focus to the pane you want to refresh and press F5.
See Also
Adding Files and Folders with the Files Explorer
Finding Files and Folders in Your Project
InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition Help LibraryMay 2012 |
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