Refreshing Dialog Controls in Windows Installer 3.1 and Newer

Yes

Summary

Using SetProperty control event in MSI 3.1 to support refreshing dialogs

Synopsis

Project Type: Basic MSI

In the past, the limited support for the refreshing of dialog controls has meant that Basic MSI dialogs are very limited in what they are capable of. However, with the addition of the SetProperty control event in MSI 3.1, more options are available for customization of the user interface.

Discussion

If you are running into a limitation of Windows Installer where a dialog control isn't refreshing, you may be able to use the SetProperty Control Event to get the dialog control to update correctly.

Some dialog controls that you may want to cause a refresh are:

--PushButton

--CheckBox

--SelectionTree

In order to have these controls refresh another control, the following steps are necessary:

--In the Events for the control, define a SetProperty event with no condition. The property that is set does not matter, since it only is getting set to trigger a refresh:

Event: [DUMMYPROPERTY]

Argument: 1

Condition: (blank)

--Next, add a Subscription for the dialog control to be updated. Below is an example for a dialog control that should be appear:

Event: SetProperty

Attribute: Visible

Note: It is necessary to manually type in 'SetProperty', as this is a recent addition to Windows Installer, and as such not yet included as an option in the drop-down list.

Additional Information

SetProperty Control Event

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa371695(VS.85).aspx

Refreshing Dialog Controls in Windows Installer 3.1 and Newer