Before beginning my evaluation I need to know the answer to one thing that I could not fully determine through your website. Can InstallShield create an installer that has multiple main components each with their own dependent components WITHOUT the need to purchase the Premier edition that has the Suite capabilities in it?
In the below example I would like this to be the first interactive screen a user would see when running the setup.exe or setup.msi file (after the welcome and agreement screens of course). The user would be able to select any or all of the "Main Apps" to be installed. Selecting an option under a Main App would automatically select the Main App above. Then, depending on the Main Apps and options selected, the installer should then be able to show specific addition install screens based on those selection(s), install those selection(s) and any pre-requisites that each Main App may need.
For example, within one installer and selectable through a main installer screen: [] = checkbox () = radiobutton
[] Main App 1 ..()Main App 1 option 1 ..()Main App 1 option 2 [] Main App 2 ..[]Main App 2 option 1 ....[]Main App 2 option 1 sub option 1 ....[]Main App 2 option 1 sub option 2 ..[]Main App 2 option 2 ..[]Main App 2 option 3 [] Main App 3 [] Main App 4
Chained packages in a Basic MSI project get you most of the way there, but you'll have to wire up that dialog yourself, as well as conditions for the chained packages, and there are problems with embedded chaining (the method Basic MSI's Chained packages uses) that manifest primarily on server variants of Windows. So my answer to can this be done without a Suite project is a "Yes, but...."
