Windows Installer Editor Reference
314
Distributing an Installation
To copy a package to the share point directory
1. Select File menu > Distribute.
The Welcome page appears.
2. If you are in a .WSI that contains multiple releases, a drop-down list appears. Select
a release.
3. Mark Distribute to share point directory.
4. Click Next. If necessary, the installation file is saved and compiled.
The Distribute to share point directory page appears.
5. Share Point displays the share point directory to which the installation will be
copied. It defaults to the share point directory that is specified in Wise Options.
6. The Copy Installation File To check box enables Pathname. During distribution,
a copy of the installation file is placed in the directory you specify here, and its
source paths are updated to reflect the location of the source files in the share point
directory.
Warning
(Wise editor only.) If an installation file is in the share point directory, Copy
Installation File To is cleared by default. If you mark it, then two copies of the
installation file will be in the share point directory, which can lead to confusion about
which file to edit.
Warning
(Visual Studio integrated editor only.) If you clear this check box, the source paths
in the project are overwritten with the paths in the share point directory. If the
project is bound to other projects in the solution, these bindings will be broken.
In most cases, if the installation file is not already in the share point directory, it
is best to specify the Scripts\Application_Name\Package_Name subdirectory of
the share point directory, which is the default.
If you are distributing an .MSI or .WSI that is set to compile with external files,
specify either a subdirectory of Scripts or some other directory. This prevents
overwriting of any external files that might also be used by another installation.
To verify how the installation is set to compile, go to the Media page and view
the Compression Option on the Media Details dialog box.
Clear this if you don’t want to copy the installation file (recommended in the
Wise editor only).
7. Application Name and Package Name are pre-filled with data from the Product
Details page; the application and package names are used if defined; otherwise, the
product name and version are used. These names will be assigned to the installation
when it is imported into the Software Manager database.
If the package’s meta data is in the Software Manager database, don’t change these
names. If you change the names, you will have 2 packages in the database for the
same installation: a package with just meta data and the package you import.
See
Adding Meta Data to the Software Manager Database
on page 106.
8. Click Finish.