Dragging and Dropping Registry Entries to Create Registry Keys

InstallShield 2014 Express Edition

The quickest way to add registry entries to your installation project is to drag them from one of the source panes in the Registry view and drop them into one of the destination panes. When you drop an entire key onto the Destination computer’s Registry view pane, all of that key’s subkeys and values are added to the selected feature.

To drag and drop a registry entry from the source computer to the destination computer:

In the View List under Configure the Target System, click Registry.

In the Feature list, select the feature with which you want to associate the new key.

In the Destination computer’s Registry view pane, click the registry key under which you want to create your new key.

In the Source computer’s Registry view pane, locate the key that you want to include in your installation and drag it to a destination folder in the Destination computer’s Registry view pane. If you drop an entire key onto the destination pane, all of that key’s subkeys and values are added to your installation.

Tip: If you are creating a 64-bit installation and you want to install registry entries to 64-bit registry locations (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software instead of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node), add the entry to the SOFTWARE (64-Bit) node, or a subnode. Note that a 64-bit installation cannot be run on 32-bit target systems. To learn more, see Challenges of Supporting Both 32-Bit and 64-Bit Target Operating Systems.

Using the Context Menu to Drag and Drop Keys

You can use the context menu to move multiple keys and values at one time. Right-click a registry entry, drag it to a destination, and click a command on the context menu.

Commands Available from the Registry Entry Context Menu
Option	Description
All keys & values	Adds all selected keys, subkeys, and values.
Key and its values only	Adds only the selected key and the key’s values. No subkeys are added.
Only this key	Adds only the selected key, not any of its subkeys or values.
Cancel	Ends the drag and drop operation without making any changes.

Importing Data From Another Machine

A limitation of the drag-and-drop procedure is that it works only if the registry entries exist on your installation development system. If you have registry data from another machine, you can import that data with the Import REG Files Wizard.

Dragging and Dropping Registry Entries to Create Registry Keys

InstallShield 2014 Express Edition Help Library

May 2014