Can you set the resdistributables to be an optional install (a check box) so that a program like Direct X can be installed at the users discretion?
Also can you setup a your install so that it detects if the program is currently installed or not? And gives you the option to uninstall or repair? I cannot seem to find the option to set this up.
About your first question: I don't know of a way to do exactly this in the Express edition. The Express edition doesn't have much flexibililty for modifying the run-time dialogs. The Premier and Professional editions do.
However, you may want to consider putting your Direct X redistributable in its own feature. (When you select this object in the Redistributables view, the Conditional Installation pane on the bottom lets you specify which feature or features in your project should contain the selected redistributable.) Then, you can use the Setup Types view to specify which custom setup types should include that Direct X feature. You can also use the Setup Types view to modify the text that's displayed in the Setup Types dialog at run time. Maybe the description for one of the types could say something like "includes Direct X". The following help topic has a screen shot of the Setup Types dialog with default text: http://helpnet.acresso.com/Robo/BIN/Robo.dll?tpc=/robo/projects/isxhelp14/IHelpISXDialogsSetupTypes.htm. I think that this implementation would have the final result that you're looking for: end users can choose whether Direct X (or other redistributables) are installed with your product.
As for the second question, the behavior that you describe is what occurs at run time: If an end user tries to launch your installation but your product is already installed, the installation displays a dialog asking if the end user wants to modify, repair, or remove your product.
