Multiple Releases From One Project

[#1]

Summary

MSI based projects in InstallShield allows you to create different installation products that may share some components with a single project.

Synopsis

MSI based projects in InstallShield allows you to create different installation products that may share some components with a single project. This is done through the use of release flags to determine which set of features and modules are included as a part of the build process. Each release will be treated as a separate product entirely through the use of unique Product configurations for each build.

Discussion

Features in the project can be associated to certain product configurations or releases based on the release flags that have been set on the feature level. From the Setup Design view or the Features view, one can select a feature and then populate the Release Flags field with a flag. A flag is simply any arbitrary word that is used to identify and associate the group of features and modules. In the Redistributables view, one can select a feature that has been selected to be included in the project, right click and choose properties and the Release Flags field is available in the Properties dialog of the prerequisites. Merge modules are associated to a feature and therefore follows the flags set on the feature it is associated in.

After setting the flags in the features list, one can go to the Releases view to filter which features are included as a part of a release build based on the flags. Simply specify the flags that is to be included in the release or product configuration through the product configuration or release entry as needed. Additionally, if each set of releases are to be separate products, create a new product configuration for each release and populate a different Product Name, Product Version, Product Code, and Upgrade Code.

It is also possible to condition custom actions to run based on release flags. At build time, InstallShield includes an ISReleaseFlags property to the Property table and populate the value of the property with a comma delimited value all of the release flags that is contained in the build. It is therefore possible to add a condition to a custom action using this property. For instance, adding a condition ISReleaseFlags >< "MyFlag" to a custom action makes the custom action run only if the MyFlag is contained in the value of the ISReleaseFlags property.

Additional Information

Neither Release Flags nor Product Configurations are available for the InstallScript project type.

For more information regarding Release Flags, please refer to the following HelpNet article:
http://helpnet.flexerasoftware.com/installshield22helplib/installshield22helplib.htm#StartTopic=helplibrary/IHelpReleaseFlags.htm

For more information regarding the Product Configurations view, please refer to the following HelpNet article:
http://helpnet.flexerasoftware.com/installshield22helplib/installshield22helplib.htm#StartTopic=helplibrary/ProdConfigGeneralTab.htm