I'm using Advanced Installer to let users install my game and its associated prerequisites (DirectX, etc).
The game isn't supported on Windows XP- it requires DX10 and Vista+. What's the best way in the installer to let the user know that the game won't work if they try to install on XP?
Ideally the installer would allow me to put up a custom message of some kind.
You can go to Launch Conditions page and uncheck from the tree of OS-es all versions that you do not support. This will make the installer present a message to your users when they try to install it on XP.
You can customize this message only in the Enterprise edition, from the Table Editor page, in Launch Conditions table. But the default message is pretty well written, I don't think you'll need to customize it.
Related
I wrote a windows service that runs on Framework 4.0 and running in VS 2015.
I also created a setup project (free Installshield version).
My service did not show under services.msc after I installed it, so according to some other posts I had to mark the Primary Output in InstallShield as 'Installer Class', but when I do that I get Error 1001 when I run the setup.exe.
This post states that "Error code 1001 ALWAYS means a failure in the Installer class custom action." and that I should not use Custom Actions. I'm not using any custom actions at the moment.
Most of the solution on this site have instructions for Installshield 2010, and the steps does not work for 2015.
The error appears on both my dev machine as well as all client machines.
Any suggestions?
EDIT:
The event viewer displays "Failed to create restore point (Process = C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe /V; Description = Installed My App Name.; Error = 0x80070422).
I had this exact same issue. Suddenly after upgrading to VisualStudio 2013 and the newer InstallShield LE and building my installation packages they would fail with the cryptic 1001 error.
Definitive Answer
I found the definitive answer. You can no longer have the checkbox for "installer class" selected in InstallShieldLE. You must uncheck that item.
In order to open this dialog box, go to Specify Application Data > Files and right click on your Primary Output and select Properties.
Previously, You Had To Have It Selected: Now It Must Not Be Selected
Previously (Visual Studio 2012 and before you had to have that item selected or the service installation would fail. This is quite terrible.
Now, you have to go to following tree item in the InstallShield LE project and double-click the Services node:
After that the Services item appears on the left (have I mentioned what a terrible UX and UI this entire thing is?) and right click it so you can add the service.
Choose the menu item which appears to add the service and you'll get a form which allows you to set up the installer details.
Once you do that and rebuild your MSI will work and this will resolve the 1001 error.
This was all a terrible waste of time that the original InstallShield Devs could've resolved. Unfortunate.
If you have .NET 4.6 installed on your build machine, you'll need the 2015 version of the limited edition to avoid a versioning bug with InstallShield's support for Installer Classes. (There are many causes for a 1001 error, so this is not a guaranteed fix.) Note that InstallShield 2015 Limited Edition does not support the community edition of Visual Studio.
Hopefully this will help some of you encountering the Error 1001 when trying to install a .NET Windows Service using InstallShield 2015 LE installer project with the Primary Output set as an Installer.
It's a known bug when .NET 4.6 is installed on Windows 10.
https://flexeracommunity.force.com/customer/articles/en_US/ISSUE/HOTFIX-Install-Fails-With-Error-1001-When-a-NET-Installer-Class-Component-is-Present-in-InstallShield-2015-SP1
Since i cant comment yet i will just reply with an answer to your own accepted answer. I know it has been a while since you asked the question but here goes.
If you want auto start after install you can go to step 3. Configure the Target System. Choose the Services tab. Right click Services and add Service. You should be able to locate any service in your Primary Output. Once added you can select different settings related to auto start and so on. Hope it helps you.
On a side note, i am still looking for the answer to my 1001.
This error occurs when targeted .NET framework is not installed.
If you are targeting the same development machine then please check if that service (EXE) is already running on that machine or not (It should not running).
I found something to get rid of the problem, but it does create a new question, albeit a much simpler and less critical one.
What caused my problem is that I had to remove the following code from my ServiceInstaller's AfterInstall:
new ServiceController(ServiceInstaller.ServiceName).Start();
This was added to auto start my service once it has been installed. For now I will just manually start the service.
I am using VS 2012 with InstallShield LE 2015 targeting .NET 4.5 and I have to uncheck the "Installer class" for it to work.
After some digging I found out that the installer fails with that error when it tries to remove the service (associated with whatever you are installing) - AND (the service) is not there anymore.
My use case scenario - Start install from MVS2015 of a complex solution that comprises also a windows service.
When you change the version of the solution, the installer stops in its tracks finding that the your app was installed before and can not uninstall it as it is a different version. It pops up a dialog box stating this and exits .... BUT IT HAS UNINSTALLED the service.
Now trying to install or uninstall fails with the error 1001 because windows doesn't find the service to uninstall it.
If somebody has a better solution please post it, but my solution is to use sc command line utility. sc is a utility that can be used to manipulate services from the command line (type sc for help). So i use sc to add the service (by name), and then I can do uninstall, or install as usual. Is compulsory to have a valid bin path in command - but ANY valid path will be accepted.
sc <server> create [service name] [binPath= ] <option1> <option2>...
Example:
sc create MyService binPath= C:\Windows\explorer.exe
[SC] CreateService SUCCESS
I'm planning to use list & label as a reporting tool for my MVC Web Application, I downloaded the trial version and the sample code was really helpful.
I'm almost settled on using this as my app's reporting tool but I'm thinking twice on their web app report designer tool, because I needed to install the chrome extension before I can use it.
I'm using version LL v.20
So my questions are:
Is the chrome extension really needed for the designer to work? I'm thinking that if my app goes live, will I require my clients to install this plugin first?
Will the designer have issues on other browser? So far I haven't seen extensions/plugins for IE (only Fireforx, Safari, Opera, Chrome).
PS. If all else fail, can you suggest an alternative for this? The reporting tool that I need is web-based and allows end-users to edit the reports. Thanks!
1) Yes, you need to install the plugin on the client side.
2) For IE, there's a Designer ActiveX. Simply open your existing app in IE, you should be offered to install the OCX right away.
As to your general concerns:
We plan to replace the plugins with a client-side application that can be one-time installed with a couple of clicks in LL21. The reasoning is the step-by-step deprecation of plugins by most browser vendors. Changing between the plugins and the new designer app will be quite easy. The new designer will also support previewing at design time. Depending on when you plan to ship your application it may well be worth the wait till October.
I have tried List and Label Web Designer and found that installing additional application for all users is not a good idea. Will look for another solutions, may be FastReport.Net. That online designer is realy online and can work not only on Windows.
I have made a simple installer application in Delphi, nothing fancy. Basically I include files into the Exe, and then extract them to a user specified path.
I stumbled across a problem however, and I have noticed this works with ANY Windows Executable, it does not matter if it is an installer or not.
If an Exe is named, or contains the following words in the filename, "Setup", "Build", "Install" and maybe others, then.. whenever the Application is run and closed, Windows pops up a Product Compatibility Assistant dialog, saying the Application may not have installed correctly.
This is a problem, as even though the Files from my installer have actually extracted, and in my eyes the installer has done its job, Windows is complaining about it.
The only idea I have regarding this, is that Windows must check the filename of the Applications when executed, and in this case has identified it as an Installer. Windows must of then set a flag or something on the System, my Installer must then update this flag to say that the installation was a success?
Windows does not complain about this when debugging from the IDE, so it cannot be code related, it must be the OS - this only happens when launching the Application from Windows, not Delphi.
You can try this easily, either create an Application or rename one as Setup.exe, Run it and then close it - wait a few seconds and the Product Compatibility Assistant Dialog will show.
I don't know where to start investigating how to stop this dialog, or where a setting may be to tell Windows the Installer was completed correctly.
Appreciate your thoughts and solutions thanks.
If I recall correctly, this happens when your install app does not include an application manifest. When UAC was introduced, MS introduced a heuristic detection for installers and shows the UAC elevation dialog. The heuristic checks for names like setup.exe, install.exe. The simple solution is to include an application manifest. If it is an installer you probably want to use the requireAdministrator setting.
The feature is known as Installer Detection and is discussed here.
For what it is worth, I would always build an installer with a dedicated install tool like InnoSetup for example.
As David pointed out, MS uses some fuzzy logic to try to guess if the program is an installer. I wouldn't rely on this, as this is only for supporting legacy installer applications.
All new applications should have a manifest file, specifying whether it requires elevated privileges.
If an application has a manifest file that includes the requestedExecutionLevel directive, then Windows does not attempt Installer Detection.
Any program that is detected as an installer program but does not add a registry entry to the Add Remove Programs section of the registry (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall) will get the message "This program might not have installed correctly".
We have a suite of programs that check for new versions at startup, and then download new versions to run if required. This is obviously a problem in Windows 7, when it is locked down as a 'standard user', as they can't write to the c:\program files directory and below. Anyone seen a example of an application that gets around with issue ?
Our applications are written in Delphi, but an example in any language would be useful.
Thanks in advance
Update:
We already have a system for determing whether a new version exists, the only problem is the download and install (if required), as this requires elevation. I can't think of a way that doesn't require an elevation prompt, or our users to reduce their security settings.
Update 2 :
I've asked a subsequent question, rather than adding a new one here
There are two options for application installation:
Application is available for all users: installation or update requires elevation for Windows Vista and up
The application is available for one user: install or update the application in the user profile in %LOCALAPPDATA%, no elevation is required
Ad 2: Google Chrome does this. It installs the .exe here:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
--jeroen
Typically what you will see an application do if it needs to escalate permissions is something like this.
Application determines if upgrade is needed
Application launches an "updater" service that requires "Administrator" permissions
Application updates itself with this updated
Application re-starts
This is a pretty common scenario, especially since to update your own DLL you need to go to a secondary process anyway.
Here are some tips for you to get around updating challenges:
If your file is names 'update.exe' or 'install.exe' then it will automatically force a UAC elevation prompt. This is an easy way to make existing software bypass Windows Vista/7 permissions.
It is not a good idea to have the update checking and update process managed from within your application. The problem is that your app is likely to lock files and need updating itself. An external app should manage your updates.
The simplest update solution is to make an HTTP call that checks for the current product version number, and then download the installer binary if necessary. This won't give you any flexibility in updates, but it is a quick and easy solution.
Our company sells software that specifically helps with automatic updates on Windows 7 UAC (you can visit AutoUpdate+ by clicking here: link text). The best reasons for using a third party solution - any solution - are that you will have more flexibility with your updates and also avoid the finicky challenges of supporting different Windows releases.
Or you can have it so that the user runs a launcher app.
The application uses the LOCALAPPPATH\ folder to store a cache of the main application.
Launcher checks to see if the internet has newer version of file(s) than the cached file.
Launcher launches the cached application in LOCALAPPPATH
Your app can check if a new version is available on the remote server. If it does, then it can download update files in one of user-specific folders, like user's temp folder. You can get address of such special folders using SHGetSpecialFolder API function.
Once the download is done, you can pop up a dialog box telling user that you are ready for update. If user agrees with update, then you can run the updater process with elevated privileges (as administrator), and updater process can replace existing files in your installation path with the ones already downloaded in user Temp folder. To run your updater as administrator, you can use ShellExecute:
ShellExecute(0,'runas','notepad.exe',nil,nil,SW_SHOWNORMAL);
When updating is done, your updater process can restart your app.
You need to have a separate executable to the updating work. The updater needs to have a manifest that marks it as requiring elevation.
See: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb756929.aspx
If your application uses MSI (Windows Installer) for its installer, then User Account Control Patching, if properly configured, can let you install updates without elevation.
If your installer wasn't run under admin - you don't need any additional rights to install update.
If your installer was run under admin - then it can create a task in Task Sheduler. Say, run this task once a week, under this account (admin) and with highest privs. Task will be your updater. Simple.
Currently my InstallShield project uses a custom prerequiste to install Adobe Reader on the target machine if it is not already installed.
The prerequisite executable (Adobe Reader SetUp) is installed locally and so it is packaged into the SetUp.exe by InstallShield.
Everything works as desired with the Adobe Reader setup completed prior to my program (if it is not already installed).
Now while you can apply for an Adobe reader distribution licence my company needs to investigate the legal implications of the licence first.
Therefore in the meantime I would like to link to the adobe site and install the application from there. Is this possible as I cannot see a way of doing this?
If not, how do I supply a link to the adobe site and then pause or exit the installshield setup while it is downloaded and installed?
If you could provide some pointers / an example or point me to any relevant resource it would be most appreciated.
InstallShield does not provide a built-in way to pause your install and direct a user to a donwload, although you could certainly create a prerequisite which runs an custom executable to do this. I believe it's more common to create a prerequisite that downloads an installation off the web - just provide URLs to all files in it, and set its location to Download - but I can't comment usefully as to whether that has different legal implications.
It's not possible to do what I want within InstallShield.
My company has decided that they do not want to distribute Adobe with our software and so the way I implemented this was to simply have the tool check for the presence of Adboe before opening any PDFs. If Adobe is not installed the user is presented with a message requesting them to visit the Adobe website to install Reader.