ActiSetup 4.5 Help

Working With Projects

Introduction

ActiSetup 4.5 supports five different types of projects. With ActiSetup you can create installations, patches, merge modules, validation suites, and Updater projects.

Creating a Project

When creating a new project, you are presented with this window:

To create a new project, first select the type of project you'd like to create. Then, enter the project's name in the Project Name box. Then, browse for the location where the project will be created. A new folder having the project's name will be created at that location when you click OK, and you may be presented with a wizard depending on what type of project you selected.

ICE Database

This project type ultimately compiles into a .cub file which can be used to validate other installations. An ICE database is a very streamlined installation that contains only custom actions and a single action sequence (the ICE sequence). The custom actions must all be tests of some sort, performed on an installation with which the .cub file is merged during validation.

Installation Package

This is the most common type of project. It allows you to create an installation package (.msi file) for an application. When you first create an installation package, you are presented with the project wizard. This wizard guides you through the process of creating your new installation. Follow the instructions on the wizard. To skip the wizard, click Cancel, and a blank project will be created.

Merge Module

A merge module is a database that is merged into an installation package to install an additional component such as a shared DLL file. Merge modules contain components but no features. The module's components are added to the features in the installation package when the module is merged. Merge modules cannot be separately installed or uninstalled and once merged, they cannot be unmerged. To create a new merge module, choose this type of project. At build time, a .msm file is created.

Patch

This project type allows you to create one or more patches for a certain installation package. Use the patch wizard to specify the original and updated packages. A patch (.msp file) is essentially a transform storing only the differences between the original package and the new package. Therefore, distributing patches is more efficient than distributing the entire package.

Updater Project

This project is not an actual MSI database but rather an XML file which is used by Dacris Updater to look for updates for one or more products. The updater project generates an XML file at build time. Typically you upload this XML file to a server where it is downloaded by Dacris Updater whenever it checks for updates.

Importing an MSI Database

In addition to creating a new project, you can also create a project from an existing MSI database. ActiSetup supports importing .msi, .pcp, .msm, and .cub files into their corresponding project types. To import an MSI database, select Import from the File menu and then click MSI Database....

For .msi and .msm files, you can import them in two ways: for direct editing, or converted into full-featured projects. When you import an .msi or .msm file for direct editing, you cannot add any new files to the database using the editing views. There are also many other limitations. However, it allows you to make very minimal adjustments to the package.

When you import an .msi or .msm file to be converted into a full-featured ActiSetup project, all the files contained in that original database are extracted to a folder in the project's directory. Essentially, the database is reverse-engineered by ActiSetup.