What Command Line Parameters Are Available for InstallScript 'setup.exe'?

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Summary

This article provides information on each command-line parameter that can be passed to a InstallScript 'setup.exe' file.

Synopsis

This article provides information on each command-line parameter that can be passed to a InstallScript 'setup.exe' file.

Discussion

You can pass command line switches directly to Setup.exe, or you can place them in Setup.ini. For testing purposes, while you are using the InstallShield IDE you can pass command line switches to Setup.exe in the Build Settings dialog box.

Syntax

Setup [switches]

Switches

These switches are optional. they are not case sensitive; upper- or lowercase letter can be used.

/d or -d

Runs setup in debug mode. the -d switch also includes a <PATHONLY> option for specifying the path of the Setup.dbg file (but not the filename, unlike previous versions of InstallShield). For more information, refer to the Visual Debugger help file.

/f1<PATH\RESPONSEFILE> or -f1<PATH\RESPONSEFILE>

Specifies an alternate location and name of the response file (.iss file). If this option is used when running InstallShield Silent, the response file is read from the folder/file specified by <PATH\RESPONSEFILE>. If this option is used along with the -r option, the response file is written to the folder/file specified by <PATH\RESPONSEFILE>.

/f2<PATH\LOGFILE> or -f2<PATH\LOGFILE>

Specifies an alternate location and name of the log file created by InstallShield Silent. By default, Setup.log log file is created and stored in the same directory as that of Setup.inx.

/l<LANGUAGE> or -l<LANGUAGE>

Specifies the language in which the setup runs. <LANGUAGE>is a numeric language ID of the form 0xnnnn or simply nnnn. The setup runs in this language regardless of the default setup language specified in the IDE or the default language of the target system. this switch has no effect when any of the following conditions is met:

• The setup is launched from another setup with the DoInstall function.
• The choose Setup Language dialog box in enabled.
• The setup is running silently and a Lang key is set in the [Application] section of Setup.iss. Recording a response file (by running Setup.exe with the -r switch) sets the Lang key automatically; for the -l switch to affect a silent setup, this key must be deleted from Setup.iss.

  Note: 00nn and 04nn are treated as being equivalent when this switch is processed. For example, if the setup supports English, ID 0x0009, Setup.exe -l0409 causes the setup to run in English; conversely, if the setup supports French - Standard, ID 0x040c, and French - Canadian, ID 0x0c0c, Setup.exe -l000c causes the setup to run in French - Standard.

/m<FILENAME> or -m<FILENAME>

Causes Setup.exe to generate a Management Information Format (.mif) file automatically at the end of the setup. Do not include a path or an extension. The .mif file is always placed in the temp folder. <<filename>>is optional. If you do not specify a filename, the resulting file will be called Status.mif.

/m1<SERIAL number> or -m<SERIAL number>

Tells setup to place the indicated serial number in the .mif file that is generated by the -m switch.

/m2<LOCALE string> or -m2<LOCALE string>

Tells setup to place the locale in the .mif file that is generated by the -m switch. English (ENU) is the default; refer to Microsoft documentation for a complete listing of locale settings.

/r or -r

Causes Setup.exe automatically to generate a silent setup file (.iss file), which is a record of the setup input, in the Windows folder.

/s or -s

Runs InstallShield Silent to execute a silent setup.

/uninst or -uninst

Runs the setup as an uninstallation without reading the script.

/f : Specify alternative compiled script

By default, Setup.exe looks for a compiled script file named Setup.inx. To specify a different name for the compiled script file, use the /f option, as in Setup.exe /f"script.inx".

/deleter : Do not clone a second Setup.exe process when debugging

Use this option when debugging a DLL function that is called from your setup script. This option specifies that Setup.exe does not clone a second Setup.exe process to perform the actual work of the setup. (By default, Setup.exe clones a second process, so that it properly uninstalls applications from machines on which no InstallScript setup had previously been run.)

/delayedstart:<number of seconds> : Delay initialization of the setup

Specifies the amount of time (in seconds) by which initialization of the setup is delayed after Setup.exe is launched.

Comments

Separate multiple command line switches with a space, but do not put a space inside a command line switch (for example, /r /f1Install.iss is valid, but not /r/f1 Install.iss).

When using long path and filename expressions with switches, enclose the expressions in double quotation marks. The enclosing double quotes tell the operating system that spaces within the quotation marks are not to be treated as command line delimiters.

User-defined command line switches

Along with the command line switches listed above, -f and -zi are command line switches reserved by InstallShield. User redefinition of these command line switches, either upper- or lowercase, can cause errors.

You can define your own command line arguments, which are copied to the system variable CMDLINE at run time. Like predefined command line switches, you can pass these arguments directly to Setup.exe, place them in Setup.ini, or (for testing purposes while you are using the InstallShield IDE) place them in the Setup Settings dialog box.

Note: Setup.exe always stays in memory until the setup is complete and initializes correctly even on systems with more than 256 megabytes of memory.

Additional Information

For command line parameters for Basic MSI or InstallScript MSI (formerly Standard) projects, please reference the article Setup.exe and Update.exe Command Line Parameters in the InstallShield Help Library.