Windows Installer Properties
Properties are global variables used by Windows Installer during an installation. Their values can be set by the operating environment or by authoring them into the installation database. Properties can be used inside Formatted Type fields with the format [PROPERTY] and they will be replaced at install time with the value associated with the property's name. There are two main types of Windows Installer properties:
- Private Properties (contain lower-case letters in their name, example: My_Prop)
- Public Properties (contain only upper-case letters in their name, example: MY_PROP)
The difference between Private and
Public Properties consists in the way their values are
being passed on. The value of a Public Property is passed on from the
Wizard Dialogs Stage (in which the dialogs are showed) to the Install
Execution Stage (in which the system is modified). Additionally, only
Public Properties can be specified at the "msiexec" command
line.
Therefore, make sure that you use a Public Property for an UI control
(Editbox, Combobox etc) if you want its value to be available in the
InstallExecute Sequence (for instance, if the value of this Property is
written in the registry).
One very important group of properties are the Windows Installer predefined system Folders.
The Properties complete reference can be found using this link:
This topic is included in the Windows Installer SDK, which is part of the Windows SDK.
Most properties used in an installation package created with Advanced Installer are Windows Installer Properties. However, some of them are custom and they are specific only to Advanced Installer:
| Property Name | Description |
|---|---|
| APPDIR | Path of the Application Folder in the Files and Folders page (it is usually the main installation folder). |
| SHORTCUTDIR | Path of the Application Shortcut Folder in the Files and Folders page (it usually points to a folder in the Start menu). |
| SOURCEDIR | Custom public property which stores the location of the MSI file. It is resolved when you launch the MSI package, available throughout the installation process and it shouldn't be confused with the "SourceDir" Windows Installer property. |
| SETUPEXEDIR | Location of the EXE bootstrapper (it is resolved when you launch the installation through the EXE bootstrapper). |
| OLDPRODUCTS | A list with the Product Codes of the older versions of your installation package. This property is set only in a package which upgrades another package. |
| AI_INSTALL | Set (it is not empty) when the first installation of the package is performed. |
| AI_MAINT | Set (it is not empty) when the installation package is running in maintenance mode (Modify, Repair and Remove options). |
| AI_PATCH | Set (it is not empty) during a patch installation. |
| AI_CF_SHARP_CORNERS | Set to 1 when the installer has top sharp corners. If the property is not set, the installer will display round corners. |
| ODBC_RES_PROP | ODBC Resource set in the "SQLConnectionDlg" dialog. |
| SERVER_PROP | Server name set in the "SQLConnectionDlg" dialog. |
| PORT_PROP | Port set in the "SQLConnectionDlg" dialog. |
| DATABASE_PROP | Database name set in the "SQLConnectionDlg" dialog. |
| USERNAME_PROP | Username set in the "SQLConnectionDlg" dialog. |
| PASSWORD_PROP | Password set in the "SQLConnectionDlg" dialog. |
| AI_SH_DIR | Start menu folder in which the shortcuts will be placed (it can be set by using the "StartMenuShortcutsDlg" dialog). |
| IAgree | Set to "Yes" or "No", depending on whether the user accepts or doesn't accept the terms in the License Agreement. |
| AI_DESKTOP_SH | Set (it is not empty) when the user selects the "Desktop" option in the "ShortcutsDlg" dialog. |
| AI_STARTMENU_SH | Set (it is not empty) when the user selects the "Start Menu Program folder" option in the "ShortcutsDlg" dialog. |
| AI_STARTUP_SH | Set (it is not empty) when the user selects the "Startup folder" option in the "ShortcutsDlg" dialog. |
| AI_PACKAGE_TYPE | Set to the type of the package and it can have one of these values: Intel for a 32-bit package, x64 for a 64-bit package and Intel64 for an Intel64 (Itanium) package. |
| AI_ProgramFiles | Used only in a "Mixed 32/64-bit matching the platform" installation package. When creating this type of package the presence of this property in the field "Application Folder" from the Install Parameters page is mandatory. The property will automatically resolve to ProgramFilesFolder or ProgramFiles64Folder, depending on the machine's type on which the package is installed. |
| AI_UserProgramFiles | Set at install time when the installation type is "Per Machine/User" to one of the following values: ProgramFilesFolder if the user has administrative rights, LocalAppDataFolder otherwise. |
| AI_CUSTOM_EXTRACTION_PROP_COUNT | Set by the "Format existing data" predefined custom action when the Extraction operation is used with Delimiter or Custom delimiter criterias. Its value represents the number of tokenized output properties. |
| PINTOSTART | This property needs to be set to IDYES to automatically show tiles in the start menu. Once set, it will be globally available for all tiles declared in the Tiles page. |
Topics
- Folders
The Windows Installer Folders contain the Windows folder, Program Files, Temp, and others that are important for the applications installation architecture. - Windows Installer Properties - Topics
The Windows Installer predefined properties.