InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition User Guide

Chapter 12: Defining the End-User Interface
Editing Run-Time Text and Message Strings
Editing Run-Time Text and Message Strings
InstallShield provides you with complete control over all of the localizable strings displayed in your
installation. You can customize everything from the text on the Next buttons to the descriptions of
features.
The Text and Messages view in InstallShield lists all of the dialogs and messages that can be displayed
during the installation process. If you click one of the dialogs in this view, you can see a sample screen
shot of the dialog, as well as a string table that contains all of the text strings that belong to the dialog.
Likewise, if you click a message in this view, you can see a sample message box and the string table with
all of its associated strings. All run-time strings are accessible in this view.
Localization for international audiences is an important aspect of creating installations, and
InstallShield enables you to export all of the run-time strings in your installation project to a text (.txt)
file to ease translation. When you export the strings, they can be sent for translation in one common file
type and can then be imported back into your installation project for a localized user interface.
Editing Run-Time Strings
Task To edit a run-time string:
1. In the View List under Customize the Setup Appearance, click Text and Messages.
2. In the Text and Messages explorer, click the dialog or message that you want to edit.
3. Double-click the value of the string that you want to edit and type the new string.
Tip: You can use Windows Installer properties in your dialog text. To do this, surround the property with square brackets—
[INSTALLDIR], for example.
Adding Comments to Text and Message Strings
You can add comments to a text or message string in your project. The end user does not see these
comments. They exist only to assist in identifying strings.
Task To add comments to a string:
1. In the View List under Customize the Setup Appearance, click Text and Messages.
2. In the Text and Messages explorer, click the dialog or message to which you want to add a
comment, and then find the string that should have the comment.
3. Double-click the Comment value for that string and then type your comment. You may need to
scroll to the right to see this value.
264 ISE-1900-UG00 InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition User Guide