InstallScript MSI Installation Projects

The InstallScript MSI project type uses InstallScript to control the installation and Windows Installer to handle many core functions. It is designed for installations requiring a highly customized user interface or post-MSI configuration steps.

Because this project type uses two different engines, it is more complex than pure InstallScript or Basic MSI installation projects. It is recommended only for advanced users.

InstallScript MSI setups are less desirable to systems administrators because they require the use of Setup.exe, rather than being self-contained in an .msi file, and may not be fully customizable prior to deployment. If your software will be customized by corporate systems administrators prior to deployment, Macrovision recommends that you create a Basic MSI project.

The Script-Driven Model

With InstallScript MSI projects, the run-time user interface is rendered and its flow controlled by InstallScript, while the changes that are made to the target operating system are done through Microsoft’s Windows Installer service. The model that this project type follows is sometimes referred to as an External User Interface (UI) model, because it does not use the Windows Installer’s native UI rendering capabilities. This type of setup is also known as the script-driven model, because InstallScript acts as a driver to the Windows Installer setup.

InstallScript MSI projects require Setup.exe because Setup.exe initiates the External UI for Windows Installer.

Additional Features for InstallScript MSI Projects

InstallScript MSI projects provide a few additional features that are not available in Basic MSI projects:

Additional InstallScript MSI Project Features
Feature	Description
Setup Types view	This view allows the setup developer to easily create different predefined installation configurations for your application, such as Typical or Compact. This view also allows you to select the defaults for the Custom Setup Type.
Billboard Support	Run-time billboard support is available only for InstallScript MSI projects. Billboards allow you to show bitmaps to the user while files are being transferred to their machine. You can use these bitmaps to entertain or educate the user.