Installer options

The Installer options page contains various options that control the behavior of the installer. They are used when you build an InstallMate package on the Project overview page.

Attributes and options

The following attributes and options are available on the Installer options page.

Attribute

Description

Installation level

Select the desired installation level for your product from the drop-down list. See the section Installation levels below for an explanation of the available options.

Reboot policy

Select the desired reboot policy from the drop-down list. The following choices are available:

Reboot policy	Description
Never reboot	Never reboot after installation. Any reboot requests, for example for delayed file copying, are ignored.
Reboot if required	Reboot the system if required, for example because one or more in-use files were encountered that must be replaced by delayed file copying.
Always reboot	Always schedule a reboot.

If a reboot is scheduled, then during interactive installs (only) the user is prompted at the end of the installation and may still suppress the reboot. During silent installs, the reboot is not performed but is marked as installer exit code 12.

Process check

Select the desired running process check option from the drop-down list. The following choices are available:

Process check	Description
Don't check	Don't perform any running process checks.
Advisory check	Check that the processes listed under Processes are not running. If they are, warn the user but allow the installation to continue anyway. This may lead to problems with in-use files during installation or removal.
Blocking check	Check that the processes listed under Processes are not running. If they are, then block the installation until the processes are no longer running, or the user cancels the installation.

Processes

Enter the list of process names to check for, separated by semicolons (';'). You must specify the file name and extension of the process, but not its path. Example: tin.exe;notepad.exe

Use RestartManager
for process check

Check this box to use Windows RestartManager to check and close running processes that hold files that must be replaced by the installer; clear the box to omit the use of RestartManager.

RestartManager is only available on Windows Vista and later. Its use may incur extra runtime overhead, because the installer must check ahead of time which files will be replaced during the session. Without RestartManager, the file replacement check is only done when a file is ready for installation, and the check time then is typically insignificant compared to the extraction and installation of the file.

Allow Cancel
during install

Check this box to allow the user to cancel the installation once it has started; clear the box to prevent cancellation. (It is always possible to cancel the Setup wizard before the installation proper has started.)

This option sets or resets the UIAllowCancel variable. This variable is used in the default Setup dialog sequence; you can also use it for your own purposes.

Warning: If you modify the default installer dialogs, then this option may no longer work as intended.

Suppress in-use
warnings

Check this box to suppress any warnings about in-use files during installation; clear it to warn the user if in-use files are encountered. In the latter case, the user has the opportunity to close any other applications in an attempt to make the files available for replacement.

If the problem cannot be cleared up, or if the warnings are suppressed, the in-use files will be prepared for delayed (post-boot) copying and a reboot will be scheduled.

Check this box to make the installer's DLL and typelib registration process look like regsvr32.exe; clear the box to use InstallMate's own name. This option usually improves compatibility during the DLL registration process, but occasionally AV tools interfere with regsvr32.exe and clearing this option might prevent that.

Advanced...

Click this button to open the Setup Error Handling and Extension DLL dialog boxes that allow you to specify further installer options.

Uninstaller type

Select the desired uninstaller registration option from the drop-down list. The following choices are available:

Uninstaller	Description
Don't register	Don't register the uninstaller. This is NOT recommended, because it makes it difficult for the user to remove your product.
Hidden uninstaller	Register only a hidden uninstaller, using the QuietUninstallString. The uninstaller will not appear in the Windows Add/Remove Programs control panel, but can still be uninstalled during an upgrade or as part of an Add-on installation.
Normal uninstaller	Register both a normal and a hidden uninstaller through UninstallString and QuietUninstallString. The uninstaller will appear in the Windows Add/Remove Programs control panel, but can also be automatically uninstalled during an upgrade or as part of an Add-on installation. This is the recommended option for most products, including add-on installers.
Update uninstaller	Register both normal and hidden uninstallers, but mark the program as an Update in the Add/Remove Programs control panel. The effect of this depends on the Windows version: On Windows Vista and later, the uninstaller is shown if you click the View installed updates link in the Programs and Features control panel. It is not visible in the standard panel. On Windows XP (SP2 and later), the uninstaller is only visible if the Show updates box is checked in the Add/Remove Programs control panel. It is then shown as a child of the main product. On all earlier Windows versions, the uninstaller is shown normally. The option is ignored if the current installer is not marked Add-on for product on the Product info project page. In that case, the option behaves as Normal uninstaller.

Include Change/
Modify option

Check this box to register a Change or Modify option (the term used depends on the Windows version) for the product in the Windows Add/Remove Programs control panel; clear it to register only a Remove option. This option is subject to the Uninstaller option and not available if you choose not to register an uninstaller at all.

Check this box to register the uninstaller under the 32-bit registry view on 64-bit Windows systems; clear it to register under the 64-bit view on those systems, which is the default and recommended option.

Note 1: The use of the option is not recommended. It is provided only for backward compatibility with obsolete 32-bit software and its use violates Windows Logo requirements.

Note 2: This option is ignored if you build a pure x64 installer package by setting Installer type: x64 Windows only in the Package attributes of your installer package. In that case, the uninstaller is always registered under the 64-bit registry view.

Note 3: On 32-bit Windows systems the uninstaller is registered as 32-bit by definition.

Display name

Enter the display name for the uninstaller, i.e., the name under which your product will be listed in the Windows Add/Remove Programs control panel.

Uninstaller icon

Select the desired uninstaller icon option from the drop-down list. This icon is used when your product is registered for the Add/Remove Programs control panel. The following choices are available:

Uninstaller icon	Description
Same as package	Use the same icon as was specified for the installation package through its Custom icon setting, or the default icon if no custom icon was specified there.
Custom icon	Use a custom icon for the uninstaller registration, separate from the installation package's own icon. If you select this option, you must specify the custom icon in the Custom icon path field below.

Custom icon path

Enter the path to the icon file that must be used when your product is registered for the Add/Remove Programs control panel. You can select the desired icon file by clicking on ... (browse). To revert to the default icon (i.e., the same as the installation package), click X.

Installation levels

The installation level determines which access checks the installer performs and which, if any, folders and registry keys are redirected:

See Dealing with access rights for more information about the access rights that are required on different Windows versions.
Standard folders explains the folder redirections that take place for Current User installations.
In the registry, the HKEY_ALL_USERS key and its subkeys are mapped to HKEY_CURRENT_USER (and subkeys) for Current User installations and to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (and subkeys) for All Users installations.
Also in the registry, the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key and its subkeys are mapped to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes for Current User installations.

Note: Windows 95, 98, and Me have little or no conception of security or access privileges, so Installation level has little effect on these platforms beyond some folder and registry key redirection. You should choose the desired option based on its effect on NT-based platforms (Windows NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, and later).

The installation level can also be set with the /a Setup command line option and is accessible through the TsuInstallLevel variable.

The following installation levels are available:

Installation level	Description
Not checked	Does not perform any access checks and always installs as All Users. However, because no access checks take place, the installation may fail without prior warning if the installing user account does not hold the privileges that are required to perform the installation. This option is NOT recommended.
Current User	Always perform a Current User installation. This will redirect any common folders and registry keys to their Current User equivalent. As a result, your product will only be accessible to the user who performed the installation, and any shortcuts will only be visible to that user. Tip: With this option, multiple users can install and remove independent copies of your product. Do not install any files in the Windows folder or below, because this folder tree is not redirected and ordinary users cannot set or modify the SharedDLLs reference count for those files. Any attempt to install files with the Shared file attribute will therefore fail. If the project contains installation items that require elevated privileges (for example, service installation) and the installing user account does not hold these privileges, the installer will display a warning prior to installation and will refuse to install.
All Users, else Current User	Perform an All Users installation if possible, or fall back automatically to a Current User installation if the installing user account does not hold the required privileges. If the project contains installation items that require elevated privileges (for example, service installation) and the installing user account does not hold these privileges, the installer will display a warning prior to installation and will refuse to install.
All Users, query Current User	Perform an All Users installation if possible, or ask the user if he/she wants to perform a Current User installation instead if the installing user account does not hold the required privileges. If the user declines, the installer will refuse to install. If the project contains installation items that require elevated privileges (for example, service installation) and the installing user account does not hold these privileges, the installer will display a warning prior to installation and will refuse to install. Note: During silent installs (/q or /q2 Setup command line option), the installation will fail if an All Users installation is not possible.
All Users	Always perform an All Users installation. No redirection of folders or registry keys takes place and your product will be accessible to all users on the system. If the installing user does not hold the privileges for an All Users installation (the user must be a member of the Power Users or the Administrators group for an All Users installation), or if the project contains installation items that require elevated privileges (for example, service installation) and the installing user account does not hold these privileges, the installer will display a warning prior to installation and will refuse to install. Note: Members of the Power Users group cannot register files for delayed copying. You must therefore ensure that the installer will not encounter any in-use files that must be replaced, for example by specifying the appropriate Process check (see above).
Administrator	Always perform an All Users installation and in addition require that the installing user account is a member of the Administrators group. If the user is not, the installer will refuse to install. This option is mainly useful if you want to perform additional installation actions that you know require Administrator privileges. For any standard actions that require Administrator privileges (for example, service installation), the installer automatically checks if the installing user holds the required privileges. Administrator rights are also required to register files for delayed copying if the installer encounters in-use files that must be replaced. You can therefore use this option to handle in-use files as well. However, the preferred approach is to prevent in-use files in the first place by performing the appropriate Process check (see above).

Installer options

Attributes and options

Installation levels

Related topics