Summary

Generating InstallAnywhere Build Log specifically for Windows and Linux.

Synopsis

This article outlines the steps necessary to generate a verbose build-time debug log, specifically for Windows and Linux.

Discussion

An InstallAnywhere verbose build-time debug log can be generated through a number of ways:

From the Advanced Designer:

• When running a GUI build through the InstallAnywhere Advanced Designer, the build output can be redirected to a text file by setting the following two properties in the InstallAnywhere.lax file.

lax.stderr.redirect=buildconsole.txt

lax.stdout.redirect=buildconsole.txt

The InstallAnywhere.lax file is found in the location where InstallAnywhere is installed. Setting the above two properties to a text file will generate the text file in the same directory as the InstallAnywhere.lax file is located. A path can also be specified, so that the log will be created in that specific location. Write permissions to the directory where a file is being created are necessary.

Note: You will need to restart the InstallAnywhere IDE after making the change in the InstallAnywhere.lax file.

To generate a verbose GUI build-time debug log (in InstallAnywhere versions prior to 2011), add the following line to the top of the InstallAnywhere.lax file:

lax.nl.java.option.additional=-Dlax.debug.all=true -Dlax.debug.level=4

In InstallAnywhere 2011 and later, this property is already included in the InstallAnywhere.lax file. Therefore, if the property already exists in the InstallAnywhere.lax file, append

"-Dlax.debug.level=4 -Dlax.debug.all=true" 

(without quotes) at the end of the existing property (like shown below)

lax.nl.java.option.additional=ExistingValue -Dlax.debug.level=4 -Dlax.debug.all=true

where, ExistingValue is the value that is already present and assigned to the property.

Note: Ensure that there is only one entry for the lax.nl.java.option.additional property, otherwise the build-time log with not be verbose.

• The Build Log tab in the Build section of the InstallAnywhere Advanced Designer displays a build log in XML format once a build is complete (only applicable to the Premier Edition).

From the Command-Line:

• If you are building from the command line using the application launcher named "build.exe" then, use the following approach:

build.exe "C:\MyProduct.iap_xml"

You can use the build output displayed in the console window as a build-time log. To save the log information in a file, copy the output of the build from the console window to a text file.

• When running a command line build, the build output can also be redirected to a text file by setting the following two properties in the build.lax file located in IA HOME where InstallAnywhere is installed.

lax.stderr.redirect=buildconsole.txt

lax.stdout.redirect=buildconsole.txt

Setting, the properties as shown above will generate a file named buildconsole.txt in IA HOME, in the same directory containing the build.lax file. You can also specify a path to a text file if you want to create the text file in another location.

To generate a verbose command line build log (in InstallAnywhere versions prior to 2011), add the following line to the top of the build.lax file:

lax.nl.java.option.additional=-Dlax.debug.all=true -Dlax.debug.level=4

Note: For InstallAnywhere 2011 and later, append

"-Dlax.debug.level=4 -Dlax.debug.all=true"

(without quotes) at the end of the existing property in the build.lax file as explained in the From the Advanced Designer section above.

Note: Ensure that there is only one entry for the lax.nl.java.option.additional property, otherwise the build-time log with not be verbose.

Additional Information