InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition User Guide

Task To display additional predefined folders:
1. In the Project Assistant, open the Application Files page.
2. Right-click Destination Computer and click Show Predefined Folder.
3. In the list of predefined folders, select the folder you want to display.
Tip: To hide predefined folders, deselect them in the list of predefined folders.
Application Shortcuts Page
File Extensions
Chapter 2: Getting Started
Project Assistant
The Application Shortcuts page lets you specify shortcuts for your application’s files on the target
system’s desktop or Start menu. By default, this page displays a shortcut for each executable file that you
have added to your project through the Project Assistant. You can delete these, and add shortcuts to
other files that you have included in your installation project.
File name–extension associations, or file associations, are registry settings that tell Windows what
application to use to open files of a certain type. For example, Windows typically opens text files (files
with the .txt extension) with Windows Notepad and opens bitmap files (files with the .bmp extension)
with Microsoft Paint.
A file extension allows someone to identify the type of file without accessing the file. A suffix (.abc) is
appended to the file name. The file extension is also useful because another application can recognize
whether the application can work with the file (for example, open the file or modify it), based on the
extension.
In InstallShield, you can register your own file extensions in the File Extensions view. Registering your
file extension instructs the target machine’s operating system to use your application to open files with
your file extension when an end user opens a file.
Task To access the File Extensions view in the Project Assistant:
On the Application Shortcuts page, in the Other Options area, click File Extensions. The File
Extensions view opens.
Creating Shortcuts to Files That Are Not Included in the Installation
You can configure your installation to create a shortcut that points to a file that already exists on the
target system. This file does not have to be included in your installation project.
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