5 replies to this topic

[shuttledude]

My company is currently using InstallShield Pro 5.1, and we are wondering whether to upgrade all our products to Pro 7, Developer 7, or a mixture.  My question is this:  does anyone know if the upgrade process from 5.1 Pro to 7.0 Pro is SEAMLESS (i.e., click a button and the install is 100% migrated to the new version)?  

I don't mind a multiple-step migration ... e.g., first 5.1 to 5.5, then 5.5 to 6.3, then 6.3 to 7.0, as long as no functionality is broken.  What I'm looking to avoid is a lengthy upgrade process that would require a lot of manual intervention.

ALSO, very important ... if you can also please answer this same question regarding the ease of upgrading from Pro 5.1 to Developer 7.0, I'd appreciate any information you can give.

Thanks for any info.  

[Stefan Krueger]

Pro 7 uses an event based script model (similar to Pro 6) so your migration from Pro 5 to Pro 7 should experience similar difficulties. Although you don't have to use the event script model, I would recommended to start from scratch, let Pro 7 do the standard stuff, and insert only those parts of your old script that really include custom code.
It might be a bit easier to migrate to Pro 7 than top Pro 6 because some functions (like ComponentFileEnum) had been removed in Pro 6 and are available again in version 7. Also you can install multiple instances of an application side by side, which is not possible in Pro 7 or Developer (or at least requires some tweaking)

What I said about the scripts is basically true for the migration to Developer, too. In addition, the names of some functions have changed (to adjust MSI terminology), which the migration tool tries to translate automatically. However there's one major difference: in Dev7 the underlying technology is MSI, and you should get some understanding of MSI concepts. This will require additional learning.

[Stefan Krueger]

InstallShield has published some technical documentation about migration from IS5 or IS6 to IS7.
They even have a migration guarantee (from IS6 only) - they will fix your project if it doesn't cleanly migrate from IS6 to IS7.
http://www.installsh...ion.asp?source=

[shuttledude]

Thanks for the information Stefan, I've printed the documentation you mentioned.

[Taco Bell]

Stefan:

Quote

Also you can install multiple instances of an application side by side, which is not possible in Pro 7 or Developer (or at least requires some tweaking)

Huh?  Is there a typo here?  Did you mean to say Pro 6 or Developer 7?

[Stefan Krueger]

Yes, this was a typo.
You CAN install multiple instances side by side with IS Pro 5 and with IS Pro. 7
You CANNOT do this with IS Pro 6 or IS Developer (at least not out of the box)