Desktop shortcut is reused on Multi-Instance install
I am running InstallShield 2010 with a Basic MSI project that supports Multi-Instance installations. When I install the first (default) instance a desktop icon is created pointing to that instance. When I subsequently install a second instance, I was expecting a new desktop icon to be created pointing to the second instance with the default instance icon left untouched. Instead I see that only one icon exists and the directory for that icon now points to the 2nd instance. It seems that the desktop icon takes the instance of the last install. Is there any way to get multiple desktop icons to appear for a multi-instance installs?
Unfortunatly Windows Installer doesn't allow formatting of the shortcut name. You'll have to use a custom action to create the shortcuts with transformed names based on the instance.
The cleanest way I've ever found to do it is not author the shortcut in the installer. Instead use a custom action to emit temp rows into the shortcut table at install time and then let MSI create the shortcut as if you had authored it.
The less clean way is to just use a custom action to create the shortcut but then you have to be sure to handle your normal install, uninstall, repair, rollback type stories.
Thanks for your reply. Just so I get this straight, on your preferred solution, create a dll that gets launched as a custom action that adds the shortcut entry to the shortcut table. MSI will pick this up automatically during the intall. thanks.
