Summary

Symptoms

When running an installation, error 2705 occurs in the following format:

Invalid table: [TABLE]; Could not be linked as tree.

Cause

InstallShield Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI and Express projects are based on the Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) Service. Some MSI tables have columns that reference other columns within the same table or possibly other tables. Error 2705 occurs if a column references a value in another column, but there is an invalid or missing value in the referenced column.

This error normally occurs because of an invalid Directory table entry in which an entry has a Directory_Parent value that does not exist in the Directory column. Take the following Directory table example:

In this example, error 2705 occurs because the Directory MYDIR1 does not exist in the Directory column.

Resolution

1. Download and install the Microsoft ORCA utility from the article, What ORCA Is And How to Acquire It.

   Note: Because Orca allows for direct modification of the MSI package or ISM, ISE files, which may have an impact on the project, it is recommended that users make a backup copy of the file they are about to modify. Because Orca is a third-party tool, InstallShield Technical Support will not support any issues encountered due to direct modification of a package via Orca.

2. Open the Express project file (.ism or .ise) in this utility.

3. Find the MSI table that was displayed in the error message.

4. Analyze the entries in the table's columns to see if they depend on one another as they did in the Directory table. example under the Cause section.

5. After finding the invalid entry, modify it accordingly.

The solution to the Directory table example could be:

Notice that the Directory_Parent column of the MYDIR Directory has been changed to TARGETDIR. Changing the value to INSTALLDIR would also resolve the issue.

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