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NKRISS
Level 3

Services View Missing - How can I install a service?

Evaluating a copy of InstallShield to see if it will work for our needs.  Doing some Google searching and looking in the help menu, it appears there should be a services menu where I can configure InstallShield to install our Windows service when we execute the installer.

However nowhere in the actual program can I find services at all.  The Installation Designer tab has no reference to Services and I've been through every option in the sidebar and most of the sub-options for things like components and Files and Folders with no reference to Services either.

Can anyone give me a quick breakdown on how I can install our service in InstallShield 2021?

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Revenera_Ian
Revenera Moderator Revenera Moderator
Revenera Moderator

Hi @NKRISS,

Thank you for your post.

Which project type are you using? Basic MSI? InstallScript? Or InstallScript MSI? The project type should be indicated in square brackets on the InstallShield title bar when your affected project is open: [<Project Type>]

Could you please provide a screenshot of the full InstallShield title bar when your project is open in InstallShield? There should be square brackets [<Project Type>] at the top. What does it say in square brackets?

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Hey Ian,

Thanks for pointing out that misstep @Revenera_Ian , I see in the documentation now that it's only available for InstallScript MSI project types not the regular InstallScript project I had created.  Time to make a new project!

Follow up question, if we need to install a service, register a devicesync.dll COM file, and deploy/configure a MySQL server installation and schemas, would InstallShield MSI be able to manage all those or should I be looking at a different project type?   

And what product version/license of InstallShield would we need to get all those features included?

Thanks so much for the assistance!

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Revenera_Ian
Revenera Moderator Revenera Moderator
Revenera Moderator

Hey @NKRISS,

Thank you for your reply.

You're welcome! Happy to help!

To be upfront, we only recommend using a Basic MSI project or an InstallScript project. We do not recommend using an InstallScript MSI project. An InstallScript MSI combines the InstallScript technology with the Windows Installer (MSI) technology, which sounds positive; however, as a result, it also combines the issues and complexities of both technologies. That's why we don't recommend InstallScript MSI projects.

Since you're not entrenched with a particular project that's fully developed yet, you might want to give a Basic MSI project a try. The Windows Installer (MSI) technology is mature, well-established, and industry-standard. It's a very robust technology that you get when you use a Basic MSI project, which InstallShield builds into a Windows Installer (MSI) package.

InstallShield 2021 would have these features included. If you don't need to build multi-language installers then InstallShield Edition might suit you. If you do need to build multi-language installers then you would definitely need InstallShield Premier Edition.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Thanks again @Revenera_Ian, going to try the basic MSI project with your recommendation at least until I can get a feel for the program and the differences a bit more myself.

Also appreciate the knowledge about the versions we should be looking at.

One last quick question, we package in our customer LogMeIn Rescue calling card into the install and run that .msi from our current installer so that the calling card is deployed whenever our software is installed for support purposes.  Is there a way for InstallShield to fire that CallingCard.msi at the end of our product installation?

Thanks for the prompt and informative responses!

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Revenera_Ian
Revenera Moderator Revenera Moderator
Revenera Moderator

Thank you for your reply. You're welcome @NKRISS! Happy to help!

We do not recommend launching an MSI from another MSI. There is a Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) limitation that two MSIs cannot be in their Execute Sequence at the same time. The Execute Sequence is the part of the install when the installation of files takes place. So two MSIs cannot be in that part of the install at the same time.

The recommended approach is to configure a Suite project. Suite installers are not MSIs so they don't have that limitation. Suite installers are designed to launch multiple installers as packages.

The InstallShield Edition has Advanced UI projects which are Suite projects with limitations. If this is the approach you decide to take, I suggest upgrading to the InstallShield Premier Edition, unless that's the edition you already have, to take full advantage of what Suite projects have to offer.

Here is a link to documentation about Advanced UI projects versus Suite / Advanced UI projects:

https://docs.revenera.com/installshield27helplib/helplibrary/SteVsAdvUIProj.htm

Hope that helps.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

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One last question for you @Revenera_Ian since you seem to have all the answers as I'm trying to feel out the new system.  Got the installer built and really, really impressed with what we can do so far but the one hitch we've run into now that we have a valid project that can install services is figuring out how to configure the recovery options for the service we're installing.

We want to set the service to restart and I found the spot for it, but when I build the installer and run it we get: Error 1939.  "Service 'OurService'(OurService) could not be configured.  This could be a problem with the package or your permissions.  Verify that you have sufficient privileges to configure system services."

Would love to know how to get this service installed with the recovery options set properly upon installation if you have any insight, searching here and Google for the error hasn't pulled up a lot of information about it.

Thanks again for all your help!

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Revenera_Ian
Revenera Moderator Revenera Moderator
Revenera Moderator

Hi @NKRISS,

Thank you for your reply. You're welcome! I'm happy to help!

Please accept our apologies for the delayed response.

You could try configuring a Recovery Action(s) for your service, per the documentation at this link:

https://docs.revenera.com/installshield27helplib/helplibrary/ServiceSettings.htm#ref-views_1289758803_1250525

See the entry for Recovery Actions.

Please give that a try. Does that work for you?

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

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