Those setup.exe files generated with InstallShield inherently support the creation and use of answer files that may be used to silent install applications. Although it has no logic to handle anything not expected by the answerfile (more or less dialogs, more or less options in a dialog) it can be a helpful means of installation for some applications. The supported switches are as follows:

-d

Runs setup in debug mode. The -d switch also includes a [pathonly] option for specifying the path of the Setup.rul file. For more information, refer to the Visual Debugger help file.

-f[path\CompiledScript]

Specifies an alternate compiled script. Unless the compiled script (.ins file) also resides in the same directory as that of Setup.exe, the full path to the compiled script must be specified. _setup.dll must also reside in the same directory as your .ins file. For example, setup -ftest.ins will launch setup using Test.ins instead of Setup.ins.

-f1[path\ResponseFile]

Specifies an alternate location and name of the response file (.iss file). If this option is used when running InstallShield Silent, the response file is read from the folder/file specified by[path\ResponseFile]. If this option is used along with the -r option, the response file is written to the folder/file specified by[path\ResponseFile]. If an alternate compiled script is specified using the -f switch, the -f1 switch entry must follow the -f switch entry.

-f2[path\LogFile]

Specifies an alternate location and name of the log file created by InstallShield Silent. By default, Setup.log log file is created and stored in the same directory as that of Setup.ins. If an alternate compiled script is specified using the -f switch, the -f2 switch entry must follow the -f switch entry.

-m[filename]

Causes Setup.exe to generate a Management Information Format (.mif) file automatically at the end of the setup. Do not include a path - the .mif file is always placed in the Windows folder. [filename] is optional. If you do not specify a filename, the resulting file will be called Status.mif.

-m1[serial number]

Tells setup to place the indicated serial number in the created .mif file.

-m2[locale string]

Tells setup to place the indicated locale in the .mif file. English (ENU) is the default; refer to Microsoft documentation for a complete listing of locale strings.

-r

Causes Setup.exe automatically to generate a silent setup file (.iss file), which is a record of the setup input, in the Windows folder.

-s

Runs InstallShield Silent to execute a silent setup.

-SMS

Prevents a network connection and Setup.exe from closing before the setup is complete. This switch works with setups originating from a Windows NT server over a network. Please note that SMS must be uppercase; this is a case-sensitive switch.

-z

Prevents Setup.exe from checking the available memory during initialization. This switch is necessary when running a setup on a machine with more than 256 MB of memory; if it is not used, Setup.exe reports insufficient memory and exits.

-uninst

Runs the setup as an uninstallation without reading the script.

-verbose

Provides more detailed information when a Setup.exe error occurs.

Please note the following:

Setup.exe command line parameters are not case sensitive; upper case or lower case letters can be used.

Separate multiple command line switches with a space, but do not put a space inside a command line switch (for example, /r /fInstall.ins is valid, but not /r/f Install.ins).

When using long path and filename expressions with switches, enclose the expressions in double quotation marks. The enclosing double quotes tell the operating system that spaces within the quotation marks are not to be treated as command line delimiters.