Summary

Synopsis

This article discusses how to use the install level to turn features on and off for users in MSI installations. The article applies to Basic MSI Project Type.

Discussion

There is a defined install level specified by the INSTALLLEVEL global property. This property is an integral value from 1 to 32,767 that determines which features are installed and which are visible.

All features have individual install levels. If a feature's install level is greater than 0 and less than or equal to the installation's install level, then that feature will be turned on (i.e., installed unless the user chooses otherwise in a custom selection dialog). If a feature's install level is greater than the installation's install level, then that feature will be turned off (i.e., not installed unless the user chooses otherwise in a custom selection dialog). If a feature's install level is 0, then that feature is disabled and is not displayed in the custom selection dialog.

All features have a condition property. This property allows you to set the install level for the feature based on a condition. If the condition is met, then the feature's install level is set to the value specified. Thus, you can use the feature's condition to turn on, turn off, or disable your features at run time.

Following these steps in a sample project to learn how to turn feature on and off conditionally.:

1. Create 4 features: FLeaveOn, FTurnOn, FTurnOff, and FDisable.

2. Create a dummy component (i.e., NewComponentN) under each feature.

3. Set the install levels for the features as follows. Note that the default INSTALLLEVEL for a new project is 100.

   Feature	Level	Initial Status
   FLeaveOn	1	On
   FTurnOn	150	Off
   FTurnOff	50	On
   FDisable	50	On

4. Build (ignore warnings) and run the installation, selecting the custom setup type. This will show you how the install levels of the features affect the status of the feature. Cancel out of the installation.

5. Set conditions on the features as follows. Note that the properties in the conditions are capitalized. This is because we need to use global properties, which are denoted by all caps.

   Feature	Level	Condition
   FLeaveOn
   FTurnOn	1	FTURNON="On"
   FTurnOff	150	FTURNOFF="Off"
   FDisable	0	FDISABLE="Disable"

6. In the Project view's Property Manager, create the following properties.

   Name	Value
   FTURNON	Off
   FTURNOFF	On
   FDISABLE	Enable

7. In the Custom Actions and Sequences view, create the following Set Property custom actions. Note that type 51 is used to set a property. You may also use the custom action wizard to create these actions.

   Action	Type	Property Name	Property Value	Comments
   SetFDISABLE	51	FDISABLE	Disable
   SetFTURNOFF	51	FTURNOFF	Off
   SetFTURNON	51	FTURNON	On

8. In the Sequences view, expand the Installation | User Interface node.

9. Insert the three custom actions in this sequence before the CostFinalize action. Set the condition for each custom action to "NOT Installed" (no quotes). Note that the CostFinalize action queries the feature's conditions to determine the state of each feature. Calling your custom actions after CostFinalize will result in their initial values being used.

10. Build (ignore warnings) and run the installation, selecting the custom setup type. This will show you the results. FLeaveOn and FTurnOn should be turned on, FTurnOff should be turned off, and FDisable should be hidden and turned off. Cancel out of the installation.

Additional Information

For more information on the INSTALLLEVEL property, see the Windows Installer Help topic INSTALLLEVEL or the InstallShield HelpNet article on configuring a feature's install level setting.

For more information on creating Feature Conditions, see the InstallShield HelpNet article on Setting Feature Conditions.