InstallShield Questions From a Novice

[Rockmus]

Hello,

My first post here and I am new to the installers world, so please bare with me. I am in need of creating an installation package for an MVC Web Application authored in VS 2012. So far only InstallShield LE is available to me as part of VS. I've read lots of materials on InstallShield but I am still not sure if IS can fulfil ceratin requirements. They are as follows:

-- First round of input from user (IIS settings)
-- Folder path where to extract web site files (installation)
-- Port number
-- Web Server name;
-- Action: create web site/app pool/binding with the information provided abvove
-- Second round of input from user
-- Credentials (user name/password) for a custom action to follow;
-- Server name for a custom action to follow;
-- A few checkboxes for a custom action to follow;
-- Action: a custom action (right now an .exe C# console app) that will take the user input above and perform necessary steps

My knowns are:

-- Custom action sequencing is not available with LE edition, will need a better edition to schedule the custom action when I want it.

My questions are:

-- Is this scenario possible with any edition of IS? And if so, what's the lowest grade that I should use?
-- How do I gather input from user, is there any ability to create custom dialogs?
-- Lastly, how do I pass user input parameters to IIS settings page/custom action?

Would greatly appreciate an input and please let me know if I can clarify anything.

Thanks in advance!
Ilya

P.S. I've also posted this inquiry on stackoverflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19369077/seeking-advice-on-mvc-web-application-deployment

[DebbieL]

You can use the Professional or Premier edition to accomplish these tasks. These editions enable you to create custom dialogs in your project. The following help topics provide more information:

• Using Windows Installer Properties to Dynamically Modify IIS Settings
  
• Creating New Dialogs in Basic MSI Projects
  
• Adding a Control to a Dialog in a Basic MSI Project
  

You can download either of these editions and try them out before purchasing:
http://www.flexerasoftware.com/resources/free-trials/

[Rockmus]

Thank you for the answer! Do you happen to know how parameters can passed from custom dialogs to custom action applications?

[DebbieL]

What kind of custom action do you plan on creating?

For example, if you are using an InstallScript custom action, you can use MsiGetProperty in the InstallScript code of your immediate custom action to obtain the value of a property. For more info, see Getting and Setting Properties.

[Rockmus]

It is a C# .exe console app. At this point I am trying to use Limited edition, so Install Script is not an option. Is there a way to pass parameters to an .exe?

[DebbieL]

The Limited edition does not have any support for creating custom dialogs, so I do not know how you would work around that limitation. In any case, the Limited edition has its own dedicated community forum:
http://community.flexerasoftware.com/forumdisplay.php?264-InstallShield-Limited-Edition-for-Visual-Studio

I'll have this thread moved to that forum, since posts about the Limited edition should be posted there.

Thanks.

[Chaitra]

Hi Ilya,

Yes it is possible to pass parameters to a Setup.exe . Kindly refer the help topic "Setup.exe" in InstallShield Limited Edition Help Library.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Thank you,
Chaitra