Specifying the Installation Order of InstallShield Prerequisites

InstallShield 2019

Project • Basic MSI projects include support for feature prerequisites.

The following project types include support for setup prerequisites but not feature prerequisites:

InstallScript
InstallScript MSI

To learn about the differences between setup prerequisites and feature prerequisites (which are the two types of InstallShield prerequisites), see Setup Prerequisites vs. Feature Prerequisites.

The Redistributables view is where you specify the order in which InstallShield prerequisites should be installed if you include more than one in a Basic MSI project or an InstallScript MSI project. The Prerequisites view is where you specify the order in which InstallShield prerequisites should be installed if you include more than one in an InstallScript project.

To specify the order in which the InstallShield prerequisites should be installed on the target machine:

1. In the View List under Application Data, click Redistributables (in a Basic MSI or InstallScript MSI project) or Prerequisites (in an InstallScript project).
2. Add the necessary InstallShield prerequisites to your project if you have not already done so.
3. Right-click any redistributable and click Set InstallShield Prerequisite Order. The InstallShield Prerequisite Installation Order dialog box opens.
4. Select a prerequisite in the list and then click the up or down arrow to move it up or down in the order for installation.

Project • Note that when you are specifying the order in a Basic MSI project, InstallShield does not distinguish between setup prerequisites and feature prerequisites. Thus, if your project contains a mix of setup prerequisites and feature prerequisites, they are all listed in one combined list on the InstallShield Prerequisite Installation Order dialog box. At run time, before the main installation launches, the Setup.exe setup launcher evaluates only the setup prerequisites and—if appropriate—installs them in the order that you specified on the InstallShield Prerequisite Installation Order dialog box. Then later during the installation, the Windows Installer engine evaluates only the feature prerequisites and—if appropriate—installs them in the order that you specified.

Tip • If the Windows Installer engine, the .NET Framework, or both must be installed before an InstallShield prerequisite is installed, you can open the InstallShield prerequisite in the InstallShield Prerequisite Editor and specify this requirement. For more information, see Specifying Parameters for Installing an InstallShield Prerequisite.

See Also