Adding Merge Modules and Objects to Your Project

InstallShield 11

Two types of redistributables—merge modules and objects—must be associated with a feature in order to be installed. You can associate a single redistributable with as many features or subfeatures as needed. If no features exist in your installation when you attempt to add a merge module or object, the Create a New Feature dialog box opens, enabling you to create a feature. If you do not create a feature, these two types of redistributables cannot be added to your installation.

To add a merge module or object to a Windows Installer–based project:

Open the Redistributables view.
To specify which types of redistributables should be displayed, select the appropriate option in the Object types to display list.
If you want merge modules that have been published to a repository to be displayed, right-click a redistributable and ensure that Show Merge Modules in Repository is enabled.
Select the check box in front of the redistributable that you want to add. If you select an object, the associated wizard opens to guide you through the customization process.
In the Conditional Installation pane, select the feature or features to which you want to add this redistributable.

To add a merge module or object to an InstallScript-based project:

Open the Objects view.
In the Features pane, select the feature to which you want to add an object or merge module.
Right-click the object or merge module that you want to add and select Add to selected feature. (You can instead drag the object or merge module and drop it on the feature.) For some objects, an associated wizard appears to guide you through the customization process.

Merge modules that are added to a feature appear in the Features pane as subitems of the Merge Module Holder object. This object requires the Windows Installer engine, so you must add the MSI 2.0 Engine object above the Merge Module Holder object.

To see information about an object or merge module, such as files it installs and other actions it performs, select the object or merge module name. The information is displayed in the pane on the right.

You should not alter another company's merge module.