Can I get Feature conditions to re-evaluate during a Repair/Modify Maintenance Install?
Hi there,
I have a couple of features that are installed conditionally based on the presence of a third party app. The app is detected via a System Search of the Registry for a raw value which sets a property used in the condition. During initial installation, it works fin as expected both in the absence and presence of the third party app.
Here is where an issue comes in. If a target machine does not have the third party at time of installation of our product. Afterwards, the user installs the third party app and needs are 'stuff' contained in the said feature(s) to work in conjunction. I thought one could simply run a Repair or Modify, the registry would be searched, conditions reevaluated and the pieces would be put in place. That does not appear to be the case.
No matter what I try after initial installation, I can't get the now needed Feature components to install via a Maintenance install. The only thing that currently works is uninstall/reinstall. Is there any way to get this to work from a maintenance install? The features are displayed on the Modify dialog. I even tried marking the components to reevaluate conditions thinking that may use the feature conditions because there are no component conditions involved.
Any help in getting this to work from Repair/Modify, if possible, would, as always, be GREATLY APPRECIATED!
THANKS!!
Answers (4)
Use ADDLOCAL property to install additional features after initial install.
MsiExec /I {productcode} ADDLOCAL=feature1,feature2 /qb
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa367536(v=vs.85).aspx
I'm not quite sure what the Modify option is on the maintenance dialog is for then. I would think that should handle the ADDLOCAL adjustment by setting the desired, displayed features to install.
In my install, the two features in question are the only two set as visible.
I can't quite comprehend that the command line is the only way to add these two features. If the modify option doesn't do it, I would need a custom action to get the list of currently installed features, add the ones now selected to be installed and go from there.
I'm using InstallShield 2012 and I think I'm just missing something. There has to be a way to get selecting the Modify option to do the trick.
The conditions once set on initial installation are not re-evaluated on the maintenance task.. it uses the cached copy of the properties/conditions set during initial installation.
~Piyush Nasa
~My Blog: http://msiworld.blogspot.com/
Why then is the Modify option displayed during maintenance at all? That makes no sense to me. If the modify option is selected, the Feature tree is displayed so that they can be set to install locally, remove, or run from source.
This has to work somehow. I'm almost positive that we've had installations in the past where both the addition and removal of Features from the Modify option had worked as expected. ??