InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition User Guide

8
Organizing Files for Your Installation
The primary task of an installation is to transfer files from your distribution media to your end user’s
hard drive. In an InstallShield installation, files are organized in a hierarchy: files are included in
features (and optionally subfeatures), and features are associated with setup types.
At run time, your end user simply selects the setup type—or, if you allow it, the features and
subfeatures—that he or she wishes to install.
A file often relies on functions in other files to perform a task. However, you may not be aware of all
these other files—known as dependencies—when you include your application’s files in your project. To
help you identify dependencies, InstallShield offers three dependency scanners that automatically add
these files to your project.
In addition to including individual files in your project, you can also include redistributables
(InstallShield prerequisites, merge modules, and objects), which contain logic and files needed to install
distinct pieces of functionality. For example, to include the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) files in
your installation, you can add the InstallShield prerequisite for JRE to your installation project.
Designing Installations
A feature is the smallest separately installable piece of your product from the end user’s standpoint.
Individual features are visible to end users when they select a Custom setup type during installation.
Features
Features are the building blocks of an application from the end user’s perspective. Each feature
represents a specific piece of functionality for your product—such as the help files. End users should be
able to install and uninstall discrete features of your product.
For example, an end user with limited hard drive space could elect not to install a product tutorial. If the
user subsequently purchases another computer or frees resources on an existing one, the previously
uninstalled product tutorial could then be installed.
You should separate your application into features that correspond to functionality of your application
and that can be available in or removed from different setup types.
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