Acresso Software has released SP1 for InstallShield 2009 in a bid to support Windows Installer 4.5 (full version) with the product. InstallShield 2009 sans SP1 only supports the beta version of Windows Installer 4.5.

In addition to above, Acresso has also released an updated version of Standalone Build and InstallShield MSI Tools (MSI Diff and MSI Query). As part of these upgrade, you will also be able to download the latest InstallScript Object that supports Windows Installer 4.5 via the product’s built-in update service module.

Useful links on InstallShield 2009 SP1

Q200241: InstallShield 2009 Service Pack 1

Q200150: InstallShield 2009/InstallShield 2009 SP1 Release Notes

Acresso Software has announced the release of their latest version of Windows Setup Authoring tool InstallShield 2009. InstallShield 2009 includes beta support for Windows Installer 4.5 and many of it’s new features are directly related to new features in MSI 4.5 e.g. Managed Code Custom Action support, Installation Chaining, and Installing Multiple Product instances. In addition to above, the product also has support for .Net Framework 3.5 and built-in integration with Visual Studio 2008.

You can get more information about InstallShield 2009 by joining their Marketing & Sales Webinar on InstallShield 2009 at http://mktg.acresso.com/mk/get/WHATSNEWIS2009?mc=www&link_id=topPromo

Microsoft has finally released the long awaited version of Windows Installer 4.5 that will support pre-vista Operating systems such as Windows XP and Windows 2003. In addition to features packed in MSI 4.0, MSI 4.5 also includes the following enhancements -

• Multiple Package Transaction
• Embedded UI Handler
• Update Supersedence resiliency
• Shared Component Patching resiliency during uninstall
• Custom Action execution on Update Uninstall

More information on MSI 4.5 can be found below -

Windows Installer 4.5 Blog on MSDN

Download Windows Installer 4.5

MSI 4.5 Release Information in KB Article 942288 on MSDN

How to Set/Get a property via a VBScript Custom Action?

You can either use the Session object or simply use the ‘Property’ keyword to set a property via  a vbscript custom action:

e.g Session.Property(“ARPNOCOMPONENT”)=”1″

Property(“REINSTALL”)=”ALL”

To get the value of a property, you can use the following e.g.

dim myvar

myvar = Property(“INSTALLDIR”)

MsgBox(myvar)

How to Set ‘INSTALLDIR’ property via a VBScript CA?

You will not be able to set the value of INSTALLDIR by using the ‘Property’ keyword through vbscript as the package uses the directory table to store the value of INSTALLDIR. Thus you will have to use the ‘TargetPath’ method of the ‘Session’ Object to achieve this. Follow the example below to reset the value of INSTALLDIR via your custom action:

dim myvar

myvar = “C:\newpath\newfolder”

Session.TargetPath(“INSTALLDIR”)=myvar

Note: When changing the value of INSTALLDIR in the UI Sequence, be sure to place the above custom action after the CostFinalize Standard Action.

How to Enable Logging inside an msi package?

In msi 3.1 and older, you can create a vbscript custom action to enable logging within the package. You can use the EnableLog Method of the Session object to achieve this. However, do remember that this custom action should be placed in the UI Sequence of the package in order for logging to take place. Thus if the package is run in silent mode, the log file will not be created as the custom action will be skipped. Following is an example that shows you how to achieve this:

Set Installer = CreateObject(“WindowsInstaller.Installer”)
Installer.EnableLog “wearcmpvo”, “C:\temp\setup.log”

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• Course Level – Beginner & Intermediate
• Course Duration – 1 Day
• Course Price – $349.99
• Who Should Attend – Application Packagers, System Administrators, Setup Developers
• Upcoming Course Dates – 6/23/08

Course Outline

• Overview of Windows Installer Service
• Preparing for Application Migration
• Repackaging Legacy Installations
• Testing the Repackaged Application
• Customizing Vendor Application with Transforms
• Miscellaneous Topics

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InstallShield 2008 – MSI (Web Course)

• Course Level – Beginner & Intermediate
• Course Duration – 6 hrs
• Course Price – $349.99
• Who Should Attend – Setup Developers, Architects
• Upcoming Course Dates – 6/30/08

Course Outline

• Overview of Windows Installer Service
• Introduction to InstallShield 2008 IDE
• Customizing the Project in the Installation Designer View
• Architecting the Installation
• Using the Files & Folders View
• Customizing the Installation
• Special Consideration Files
• Building Releases
• Introduction to Custom Actions

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ClickOnce is a new deployment technology created by Microsoft to ease the deployment of applications over the web. This new deployment technology was first unleashed in 2004 and has quite a fan following. ClickOnce was first shipped with .Net Framework 2.0 and has close integration with .Net applications.

Windows Installer Service is a system level component that allows you to install and manage your applications in a manner consistent and contingent with the Windows Operating System. Windows Installer Service is known for its ability to handle shared and low level system components, while providing setup authors with features that allow them to repair when needed and rollback when installation fails.

Choosing Between ClickOnce and Windows Installer is an article on MSDN that compares the differences between Windows Installer Service and ClickOnce and talks about how the two can complement one another if used together.