InstallShield 2012 Express Edition User Guide - Knowledge Base ...

Adding Files Dynamically
Task To dynamically add files to a folder in your installation:
1. In the View List under Specify Application Data, click Files.
2. In the Feature list, select the feature with which you want the files associated.
Chapter 8: Organizing Files for Your Installation
Including Files and Folders
3. In the Destination computer’s folders pane, right-click the folder that should contain the
dynamically linked files, and then click Dynamic File Linking. The Properties dialog box opens.
Tip: If the folder that should contain the dynamically linked files does not already exist in the Destination
computer’s folders pane, you must first create it. To learn how, see Adding Files and Folders with the Files Explorer.
4. Click the File Linking tab.
5. Define the dynamic link and click OK.
Overwriting Files on the Target Machine
In the Files view, you can specify the overwrite property of files in your installation. The Windows
Installer service uses the overwrite property of each file to determine whether it should be replaced if a
file in the installation already exists on the target system.
Table 8-5: File Overwrite Rules
File Overwrite Property Value Behavior on the Target Machine
Windows Installer Versioning
Rules (Recommended)
If you select this option, Windows Installer versioning rules are used to determine
whether a file that already exists on the target system should be replaced.
Windows Installer enforces the following rules:
• Versioned files—In all cases, the file with the highest version is maintained,
even if the file already on the target machine has a higher version than the
one being installed. Additionally, a file of any version is maintained over
unversioned files.
• File language—All other things being equal, the file that is the same
language as the installation is maintained over different language versions of
the file. The only exception to this rule applies to multiple language files. Files
with multiple languages are maintained over single language versions of a
file.
• Date—If the modified date of a file already present on the target machine is
later than the creation date of that file, the file is not overwritten. This rule
protects user preference files from being wiped out during an upgrade or
reinstallation.
Never Overwrite If you select this option, the file—if it exists on the target system—is never
overwritten, regardless of the file version.
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