Distributions Properties

InstallShield 11 Universal

Distributions in the Releases view is where you set up an installation distribution launcher for each targeted platform.

No installation distribution will be created for any platform for which the Include check box is not checked in the Properties window. In addition, each platform must also be "included" in Platform Support (also in the Releases view). For example, if you need to target Windows and Linux, then those platforms must be "included" in Platform Support as well as included and configured here for a total of two distribution elements and installation distributions to be built into this project.
Standard properties are overridden by those same Platform-specific properties when the target system matches the specified platform.

All platform distributions have the same set of properties with the exception of the following. See their linked topics for instructions specific to their type of distribution.

To simply view these properties without setting them, click the platform name in the Properties window instead of its Include check box.

For all distributions except Applets, Generic UNIX, and Mac AppBundles, click the Include check box in the Properties window for each targeted platform. Set their properties as described below.

Property	Description
Comments (Premier Only)	This optional property enables you to specify comments about this action. These comments are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time.
Enabled	Leave this property set to "True" in order for this distribution to be built. Change it to "False" if you do not want the distribution to be built, but want to keep the properties of the distribution saved in your project.
File Name	Specify the name of the executable file that the Distribution should create. It can include a path that is relative to the Output Directory value specified in the Build Configuration. If the path does not exist, it will be created when you build the project.
Embedded JARs	If your distribution requires additional JAR files in order to execute, and you want to embed them in the distribution launcher, then specify them in this property. Add one JAR file path per line. Specify an absolute path on the build machine, or a path variable can be used. These JAR files will automatically be extracted at run time by the launcher into the temp directory and be included in its classpath. This property is useful for distributions that contain custom beans that require code from third-party JAR files in order to execute.
Additional Class Paths	This property is extremely useful if your installer requires custom beans that use third-party Java libraries. You would place your libraries (JAR files or entire directory structures) onto your distribution media, along with your installation launcher executable. Set this property by specifying the relative path from your launcher executable to each of the libraries that need to be included in your classpath. If your launcher executable is located at the root of your distribution media, and you have placed your additional JAR files and directory structures in a JAR subdirectory below root, then you would enter `JAR/extra1.jar` and `JAR/extra2` on separate lines in this property. This assumes that extra2 is a directory structure of classes. Those entries are then included in the classpath when the installer is launched. For the Mac OS X Launcher to be double-clickable, this property value must be an absolute path.
Embed Archive	Leave this property set to its default value of "True" to embed your installer archive within the launcher. This means that there will be one, single executable file that starts the installation process. Change this value to "False" to have the installer archive external to the installation distribution on your distribution media. A "False" setting is required if the installation includes files that are stored external to the archive. Universal automatically links the external file(s) to the JAR file for installation. This is also recommended for large installations distributed via a CD(s) to avoid the entire archive being extracted to a temporary directory before the setup initializes.
Launcher UI Display Time	Specify the number of seconds the launcher dialog box should display on the screen after the Java application starts. If the value is 0 (zero), then the launcher dialog box disappears as soon as the Java process starts, which could leave the end user wondering if any processing is occurring. Setting this property to a value greater than zero enables the UI to remain displayed while Java itself is initializing so the end user can see that processing is occurring. The launcher dialog box always displays for an installer while it searches for a JVM and/or installs a bundled JVM, except when the installer is run in silent mode.
Java Arguments	Specify additional arguments for Java. This can be done in a JVM-neutral way as follows: `%IF_EXISTS%("<setting name>", "@<setting value>@")` %IF_EXISTS% is a keyword that tells the launcher to perform conditional text replacement. The first argument to this function is the name of a JVM setting. If the specified setting exists for that JVM, then the second argument is resolved and placed in the launch command for the installer as an argument to Java. Both of the arguments passed to this function need to be enclosed in double quotes ("). If they are not, then they resolve to an empty string. You can include multiple `%IF_EXISTS%` function calls in this property by placing a space between them. For example: `%IF_EXISTS%("INIT_HEAP_SIZE", "@INIT_HEAP_SIZE@20m") %IF_EXISTS%("MAX_HEAP_SIZE", "@MAX_HEAP_SIZE@40m")` This is the command you would use to increase the heap size to accommodate the size of your project. If you receive an "out of memory" message when building or running your project, use this Java argument to increase the heap size until the error message is no longer received. This command resolves differently depending upon the JVM that is used to launch the installer, as follows: Java 1.2.2+ resolves to `-Xms20m -Xmx40m` JVIEW resolves to an empty string To see the settings that are available, view the files in the <InstallShield Universal home>/jvms/<platform> directory. However, this property should not be used for arguments to Java that are already handled by other properties within the Distributions, for example, the classpaths, since that would result in the same command line option being specified multiple times to Java. You can also hard code Java arguments without using the %IF_EXISTS% syntax, but that argument would not be JVM-neutral. When targeting Itanium 64-bit HP-UX (IA-64), a JRE 1.4.x must be used and the following must be added to the Java Arguments property of the HP-UX IA-64 launcher in order for the launcher to run in 64-bit: `%IF_EXISTS%("INIT_HEAP_SIZE", "@INIT_HEAP_SIZE@20m")`
Wizard Arguments	Specify the optional argument(s) to be passed to the wizard during installation. For Universal Dynamic Suite Installers, this property must contain the following: `-home <suite archive name>` where suite archive name is the name of the JAR file for the suite, which is set in the Archive Name property of the Build Configuration in the Releases view.
System Properties	Specify the system properties to be included in the Java command. They are entered using the following syntax: `propName=propValue` The "=" is parsed out and replaced by the appropriate separator specific to the JVM being used to launch the installer. Additionally, the appropriate command line option required by Java is automatically included in the launch command. Universal automatically determines the JVM-specific command line switch (for example, `-D`). (See Command Line/Installation Launcher Options for examples.) If you need multiple system properties, click Add to add each property separately (double-click an entry to edit it). They will display in the interface separated with commas.
Show Console	Leave this property set to "True" to display the Java console while the Distribution is launched during installation of the product. Set it to "False" to hide the Java console at run time. If this value is set to "False," then the end user still has the availability of the following command line commands to view the Java console at run time: `-is:javaconsole`—Overrides this property value by turning on the Java console during installation (does not affect how the wizard runs). `-console`—Overrides this property value by turning on the Java console during installation and runs the wizard in console mode. `-is:log <log file name>`—Traps the console output of the Java process and logs it to the specified log file name.
JVM Not Found Message	This property enables you to specify a custom message to display to the end user at run time if the installation cannot find a JVM. This enables you to give specific instructions to the end user on how to satisfy the requirement of having a JVM installed on their machine in order to install the product. For example, you can specify the URL to your Web site where you are providing JVMs for your customers to download. This message is only available in text, so an actual link cannot be provided. On Unix systems and in console mode, the message is sent to the stdout. On Windows systems, a message box displays. The default message is "No Java Runtime Environment (JRE) was found on this system." To change this, click the ellipsis ("...") and a Specify Text dialog box opens. Highlight the current text and type the message that you want to display.