Creating Installations
InstallShield 2020 Express Edition
If you have ever installed an application onto your computer, you have seen an installation in action—from the end user’s perspective. An installation’s primary task is to transfer files from the source medium to the local drive. An installation often also displays a user interface to obtain end user selections, configures the target system (for example, makes any required registry entries and creates shortcuts), and enables modification or uninstallation of the installed application. Creating an installation involves performing some or all of the following tasks.
Specify Installation Information
Basic information that you enter in the General Information view is used in various parts of the installation.
Organize and Transfer Files
File transfer involves copying files from the source medium, such as a CD or DVD, to a local drive on the end user’s machine. Depending on the configuration the end user chooses—by selecting a setup type or features—all or only some of the files may be transferred to the local disk.
Organize the files to be installed into setup types and features to help your end users select the most appropriate files.
Configure the Target System
In addition to installing files, many installations need to configure the target system by creating shortcuts and program folders, modifying the registry, modifying initialization file (.ini file) data, configuring Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) resources, modifying environment variables, or installing and starting Windows Services.
Customize Installation Behavior
InstallShield offers wide-ranging customization options. The installations can use custom actions to call .dll functions, launch executable files, run VBScript code, or run JScript code.
Define the End-User Interface
An installation’s end-user interface provides information and installation configuration options to the end user. Through the user interface, an end user can choose to install only part of a product, choose to leave some files on the source medium, view a license agreement, or provide to the installer information that may be necessary to ensure the proper configuration of the installation.
The user interface can be customized to meet the needs of your installation. For example, you can prompt a user for a serial number before starting the installation to protect your software against illegal use. During file transfer, an installation can display billboards that provide product information such as new features or usability tips. A status bar may also be displayed to show the progress of the file transfer process.
Configure Servers
A server-side installation may need to create and manage new Internet Information Services (IIS) Web sites or manage COM+ applications and components.
Prepare Installations for Update Notification via FlexNet Connect
FlexNet Connect lets you automatically notify your Web-connected end users when patches, updates, and product information for your application are ready for release. To take advantage of FlexNet Connect, you must enable FlexNet Connect in your original installation.
Prepare the Installation for Maintenance and Uninstallation
To uninstall, modify, or repair an application, the operating system must have some indication that the application is present. To accommodate this, an installation registers an application with the operating system so that it can be easily maintained or uninstalled.
Much of the information registered in this process is available to the end user through Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel. For example, technical support contact information, product update information, product version, and product publisher information are registered in this process.
Build, Test, and Deploy the Installation
Once you have created your installation project, you will want to build, test, and deploy the installation: create the files that you will release to your users, test the installation for errors, and optionally copy the files to a local or network location or an FTP site.