Application Packaging Online Training - August 2012 Batch- Weekend

New batch of Application Packaging Online Training starting from 25th August 2012

This is a weekend batch with 2 to 3 hours a day during saturdays and sundays. Anyone interested?, please contact me on Virtual.App.Packager@gmail.com

visit www.apprepack.in for more information on training topics.

MSI Kill Process - Installshield 2012 Spring

Installshield has introduced new feature in Installshield 2012 Spring edition, A inbuilt custom action which can terminate/kill process.

In Installation Designer -> Behavior and Logic -> CustomActions and Sequences, Right Click and select "New Kill Process"

Provide the name of custom action and then choose FunctionName, In-Script options

-> If you are trying to terminate process using name choose FuncatioName as KillProcess or else choose KillProcessByID

-> Choose when you want to run the action and provide condition to run when satisfied.

-> If In-Script Execution is selected as one of Execute Immediate process. Goto Properties and create a New Property with Name ISTerminateProcesses and provide the list of process to be terminated.

-> If In-Script exeuction is selected as one of the deferred execution then create a property whose name is same as the name of the custom action ( in this example: KillWord )  give and provide the list of process to be terminated.

Uninstall MSI using WiseScript

Following script checks for Veritas Netbackup Client if it is installed on the machine, 


If exists, app will be uninstalled.

Create Log file using Wise Script

Use the Installation Log page to create an installation log and to specify its location and name. As an alternative, set the compiler variable _LOGFILE_PATH_ to the path of the log file.


The installation log is a text file that lists the events that occur while the installation runs. (Example: It contains the list of files that are replaced.) Entries are also added to the log when files are deleted or backed up, but the uninstaller does not take  suchentries into account during rollbacks.


Select Installation Expert > Installation Log page and complete the page:


􀁺 Do not create installation log: Mark this to prevent an installation log from being created. If you do this, the end user will get an error upon attempting to uninstall.


􀁺 Create installation log in same directory as first installed file: This saves the installation log in the root, because the first Install File action is in the
uninstal.wse include script, which appears before any of your Install File lines. This option is included for backwards compatibility.


􀁺 Create installation log in custom directory: Mark this to save the installation log in a directory you specify. This enables the options for selecting the directory. Select a directory and enter a name for the installation log in Install Log File Name. (Example: Install.log.) To create a new directory for the log within the Application or Windows directory, click New Folder.

INSTALLDIR vs. TARGETDIR

INSTALLDIR represents the main product installation directory 


TARGETDIR represents the installation directory for an administrative Windows Installer–based installation (when the user runs MsiExec.exe with
the /a command-line switch).

Custom Action that Terminates Specific Processes - Installshield 2012 Spring

InstallShield 2012 Spring includes support for a new kill-process type of custom action. If you add this type of custom action to your project, you can specify the name or process identifier (PID) of one or more processes that you want to be terminated at run time, and you can schedule the custom action for immediate or deferred mode.


The procedure for creating this type of custom action involves adding and configuring the custom action in the Custom Actions and Sequences view of your project, and using the Property Manager view to define a property with the names or PIDs of the appropriate processes.

Support for PowerShell Custom Actions - InstallShield 2012 Spring

Windows PowerShell is a .NET Framework–based command-line shell and script language that enables system administrators to automate system configuration tasks. InstallShield now has support for custom actions that run PowerShell scripts. You may want to add this type of custom action to a project to perform system configuration tasks at installation run time.


In order for an installation to run a PowerShell custom action, Windows PowerShell must be installed on target systems. InstallShield includes a new predefined PowerShell system search that checks for the presence of PowerShell on target systems. You can include this system search in your project and configure your PowerShell custom action to run only if the system search determines that PowerShell is installed.


The PowerShell execution policy, which determines whether PowerShell scripts can be run on a target system, is set to restricted by default, which does not permit PowerShell scripts to be run. If you want your installation to override the target system’s execution policy with an appropriate one for your installation’s PowerShell custom actions, you can use the new Windows Installer property IS_PS_EXECUTIONPOLICY to indicate the appropriate execution policy.