Summary

Synopsis

This knowledge base article addresses how to read information from the registry and use it to determine if the installation should continue.

Discussion

The System Search Wizard is now available in InstallShield to step you through the process of creating and configuring install conditions (...read from registry or other sources) quickly and easily. This is accessible via the System Search view from within the InstallShield IDE.

Workaround

In the AppSearch table, add an entry for the following columns:

For example:

In the RegLocator table, add an entry for the following columns:

For Example:

The next step is to define your sequences. By default, the action that evaluates your Install Condition activates first, followed by the AppSearch action that queries the registry value. Therefore, it is necessary to place the AppSearch action right before the LaunchConditions action in both the Installation User Interface and Installation Execute sequences.

Be aware that the AppSearch action in each sequence has a condition of APPS_TEST on it. It is advisable to remove this condition, otherwise the AppSearch action will not execute.

It is now possible to query the property LAUNCHCONDITIONDATA, which was defined in the AppSearch table from the install condition. Depending on what value was read out of the registry, the Install condition might look something like:

LAUNCHCONDITIONDATA = "ProductInstalled"

It is also important to note that the property LAUNCHCONDITIONDATA does not exist by default. When AppSearch finds the registry key, it will generate and populate this property for you. Therefore, if the existence of the registry value is most important, you can use a launch condition to test for the existence of the LAUNCHCONDITIONDATA property. Your Install Condition would look like the example below:

LAUNCHCONDITIONDATA

Additional Information

If the key is found by RegLocator, the Property specified in AppSearch will be assigned the registry value.

Possible values for the Root column:

Root	Value
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT	0
HKEY_CURRENT_USER	1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE	2
HKEY_USERS	3

Possible values for the Type column:

Description	Value
Search for a directory	0
Search for a filename	1
Search for raw registry data	2

For more information on the tables discussed, see the Windows Installer Help Library topic AppSearch Table and RegLocator Table.

For more information on using the System Search view, see the InstallShield Help Library topic System Search Wizard.