8 replies to this topic

[Vincent]

Hello

I'm analyzing the advantages and the drawbacks between the three kinds of projects available in InstallShield 11.5
Currently, our firm has lots of applications to deploy, and they were all designed with InstallScript Projects. My aim is to migrate these applications from InstallShield 6.5 to InstallShield 11.5, and I'd like to know which are the advantages and the drawbacks of the kinds of projects. I saw InstallScript MSI Projects were often avoided, but I'd like to know why.
As given Basic MSI Projects are more and more used by firms, I'd like to know whether it would be an error from me to let the applications in InstallScript, but I think the firm would like to migrate to MSI Projects.
In these applications there are some specific functions, and I don't know how they could be adpated in a Basic MSI Project. So I wonder whether I couldn't create some DLLs which will be included in my Basic MSI Project.
Or maybe I could create InstallScript MSI Projects, so that I won't need to design again all the scripting. I'm using Orca to edit MSI files, but I don't see where are located the DLLs needed for the application.
Thanks for your help. It's rather urgent actually.
PS : I'm sorry if I made some mistakes in this post, but I'm French.

[Stefan Krueger]

Why do you need to migrate to MSI? If InstallScript is doing what you need you could continue using (pure) InstalLScript projects.
Combining two instalaltion technologies often results in badly designed setups, and also frquently breaks on your customer machines. Also there are some design limitations for InstallScript MSI. Most importantly you need to launch it via setup.exe so you cannot deploy it via Group Policy as you could with a "Basic MSI" project. If deployment enhancements is a reason for your migration to MSI then InstallScript MSI will void it.

Note that even in a Basic MSI project you can still call InstallScript functions as custom actions, although a DLL would be leaner and more robust. If you want to use InstallScript custom actions I highly recommend upgrading to IS 12 as this type of action should be much more robust in version 12.

If you list the tasks that you don't know how to do in Basic MSI maybe we can give some hints how they can be accomplished.

[kgiloo]

The need for MSI is obvious when you need some administrative/silent/customizable installs and this is what I believed when migrating from IS6 to IS12.
I built an MSI file from my pure IS script and realized that it is of no use!
Would I ever find somewhere an example/any sample of a pure IS Script which has been redesigned with IS12 to meet all the MSI capabilities?
I need some help. Thx.

[Stefan Krueger]

[kgiloo]

Thanx for your reply Stefan,
I guess there's a huge amount of work for me now...
In my hands there's the "Macrovision Training - Learning MSI Projects Using InstallShield". Do you think it's a good reference book?

Where may I find some good samples about custom basic msi projects?

[RikRak]

[Stefan Krueger]

Yes I think that's possible (but I'm not sure) - but don't do it. You can use InstallScript in a custom action in Basic MSI however.

[Glytzhkof]

Please don't convert to Installscript MSI, you will create a world of pain for yourself and others. Here is more details: http://forum.install...?showtopic=8734

[Glytzhkof]

The only real value added for Installscript MSI is the fact that the GUI is more flexibile, but even this is buggy.

Installscript MSI should never have seen the light of day. Plain and simple.