Setup.exe Tab

InstallShield 2019 Express Edition » Releases View » Release

Note • For information on including Windows Installer redistributables in installations, seeAdding 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

Media Type

Description

Setup Launcher

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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.

Required Execution Level

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

Use the Required Execution Level setting to specify the minimum level required by your installation's Setup.exe file for running the installation (the setup launcher, any InstallShield prerequisites, and the .msi file) on Windows Vista and later platforms. The available options are:

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Administrator—Setup.exe requires administrative privileges to run. Administrators must authorize it; non-administrators must authenticate as an administrator.

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Highest available—Setup.exe prefers administrative privileges. Administrators must authorize it; non-administrators run it without administrative privileges.

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Invoker—Setup.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.

InstallShield embeds a Windows 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.

The benefit of elevating the required execution level 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 prerequisites and the .msi file without requiring multiple prompts for approval. Thus, if two of your 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. 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.

Include MSI Engine

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

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 3.1 Engine Location

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

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Copy from Source Media—Leave the selected Windows Installer engine installers on the root of the source media. This option is not available for WebDeployment or SingleImage media types with all of your files compressed into Setup.exe.

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Extract Engine from Setup.exe—Compress the selected Windows Installer engine installers into Setup.exe, to be extracted at run time.

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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

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

This setting specifies the location from which the setup launcher downloads the Windows Installer 3.1 engine, if needed. This property is ignored unless the MSI 3.1 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 is a site maintained by Flexera for your convenience. The 3.1 engine is available for download from this location.

Delay MSI Engine Reboot

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

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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.

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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

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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.

Minimum Initialization Time

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

This setting is available only if you select Yes for the Setup Launcher setting.

Launcher Password

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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.

Use Custom Version Properties

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

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.

InstallShield Prerequisites Location

Custom, CD-ROM, DVD, SingleImage, WebDeployment

Specify where the InstallShield prerequisites that are selected in the Redistributables view should be located. Available options are:

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

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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 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.

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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.

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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.

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 or the Copy From Source 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 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.

Setup.exe Tab

InstallShield 2019 Express Edition Help Library

April 2019