I have several DLLs and EXEs as support files in my InstallShield MSI project.
When trying to create a patch for the first time, using Quick Patch Wizard, it asks me for the source setup.exe and tries to decompress that installation.
Then it reports that it can not find one support DLL and aborts.
However, support DLL is definitely available and compressed somewhere inside the setup.exe, otherwise my regular installation would never work.
This project was migrated from IS 8. I have no problems with a regular installation - it works as it worked with version 8. But now when I decided to start making minor update patches it has problems finding support files.
Does this mean that only the basic MSI project patches are supported? Can patches be produced from mixed IS MSI projects that need support files?
If you are trying to patch an InstallScript MSI installation that was built in Developer 8, this will not typically work correctly. In InstallShield 12 there were some major changes to the InstallScript engine used in InstallScript MSI projects to improve its reliability. As a result of these changes, patching between pre-IS 11.5 and IS 12 InstallScript MSI projects will not function correctly.
The recommended solution would be to deploy a major upgrade to ensure the Developer 8 InstallScript MSI is uninstalled and upgraded with a package built with InstallShield 12 or newer. Then, patches can be targeted against the new version.
More information on the changes introduced with InstallShield 12 can be found in the following article (this information is applicable to all InstallShield versions since IS 12): Q112115: HOWTO: Upgrading Projects to InstallShield 12
