Product Uninstaller Properties

InstallShield 11 Universal

A Product Uninstaller is automatically included in the build of and required in all Universal project types except Static Suite Installers. The properties of the Product Uninstaller are located in the General Information view Product Uninstaller group. They determine the name and location of the Product Uninstaller's JAR file, and whether the Product Uninstaller will include an optional launcher. You can also specify additional Java commands to be executed and additional classpaths to be included with the uninstallation in this view.

Once your product has been installed, the uninstaller engine and its related platform pack extensions are written to the VPD Registry directory structure.

Set the properties of the Product Uninstaller as described below.

Property Description

Property	Description
Uninstaller Archive	This is the uninstaller for the application or suite, and contains all of the information required to uninstall and reinstall the product(s). Click the ellipsis ("...") to display the Properties dialog box, and set the following properties as described: Install Location—This is the directory in which the uninstaller should be created on the target machine. It is relative to the installation location of the product unless an absolute path is specified. The default is "_uninst." A string resolver such as `$D` can also be used for this property. Archive Name—This is the name of the Uninstaller Archive (JAR) file. The default is "uninstall.jar." To change it, click in the text field, highlight the name, and type the new name. Comments (Premier Only)—This property is for you to specify comments about the uninstaller. They are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time. Comments—This property is for you to specify comments about the uninstaller. They are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time.
Uninstaller Launcher	This is the launcher for the Product Uninstaller. If you do not want to create a launcher for the Product Uninstaller, then do not set any of its properties. The default value of its Active property is "False." To include a Product Uninstaller launcher with your product or suite, click the ellipsis ("...") in the text field and set its properties as described below. Standard Properties Display Name—This property represents the Uninstaller Launcher name as it displays in the Universal interface. It is for administrative purposes only. Active—Set this property to "True" to include a launcher for the Product Uninstaller. If left set to the default of "False," then it will not be included. Advanced Properties Comments (Premier Only)—This optional property enables you to specify comments about this Product Uninstaller Launcher. These comments are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time. Comments—This optional property enables you to specify comments about this Product Uninstaller Launcher. These comments are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time. Wizard Arguments—Specify the optional argument(s) you want to pass to the uninstaller being launched. Enter them exactly as they should appear in the command line. They are added to the launch command after the main class name of the Product Uninstaller. Java Arguments—Specify other optional arguments for Java that are required by the Product Uninstaller specific to the JVM being used. To see the settings that are available for the JVM you are using, open the search file for the JVM (file name ends in .jvm) in the <Universal Home>/jvms/<platform> directory using any text editor. This property should not be used for arguments to Java that are already handled by other properties such as the classpath since that would result in the same command line option being specified to Java multiple times. Additional Class Paths—This property is extremely useful if the Uninstaller Launcher requires a custom bean(s) and/or uses third-party Java libraries. Place those libraries (JAR files or entire directory structures) on your distribution media along with the Product Uninstaller launcher. Set this property by specifying a relative or absolute path from the Product Uninstaller launcher (the Install Location property value of the Uninstaller Archive) to each of the libraries that need to be included in its classpath. If you need multiple system properties, then add one property per line. They display separated by commas in the interface. On Mac OS X platforms, this property must be an absolute path. For example, if the Uninstaller Launcher is at the root of your distribution media, and you have placed the additional JAR files and directory structures in a subdirectory below root, then you would enter the following: `JAR/uninstallExtra1.jar` `JAR/uninstallExtra2` This example presumes that uninstallExtra2 is a directory of classes. If the Uninstaller Launcher is not at the root of your distribution media, then an absolute path would be required. For example: `$P(absoluteInstallLocation)/jars/extra.jar` These entries would then be included in the classpath when the Product Uninstaller launches. System Properties—These are the Java system properties for the Java application being launched. They are entered as `propName=propValue`. The appropriate command line option required by that JVM is automatically included in the launch command. If you need multiple system properties, then add one property per line in the dialog box. They display separated by commas in the interface. The Product Uninstaller Launcher automatically uses the JVM that was used to install the product or suite. If you want it to use a different JVM, access to its JVM Resolution properties are located in the Launcher/Advanced view.

Uninstaller Archive

This is the uninstaller for the application or suite, and contains all of the information required to uninstall and reinstall the product(s). Click the ellipsis ("...") to display the Properties dialog box, and set the following properties as described:

Install Location—This is the directory in which the uninstaller should be created on the target machine. It is relative to the installation location of the product unless an absolute path is specified. The default is "_uninst." A string resolver such as $D can also be used for this property.
Archive Name—This is the name of the Uninstaller Archive (JAR) file. The default is "uninstall.jar." To change it, click in the text field, highlight the name, and type the new name.

Comments (Premier Only)—This property is for you to specify comments about the uninstaller. They are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time.

Comments—This property is for you to specify comments about the uninstaller. They are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time.

Uninstaller Launcher

This is the launcher for the Product Uninstaller. If you do not want to create a launcher for the Product Uninstaller, then do not set any of its properties. The default value of its Active property is "False."

To include a Product Uninstaller launcher with your product or suite, click the ellipsis ("...") in the text field and set its properties as described below.

Standard Properties

Display Name—This property represents the Uninstaller Launcher name as it displays in the Universal interface. It is for administrative purposes only.
Active—Set this property to "True" to include a launcher for the Product Uninstaller. If left set to the default of "False," then it will not be included.

Advanced Properties

Comments (Premier Only)—This optional property enables you to specify comments about this Product Uninstaller Launcher. These comments are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time.

Comments—This optional property enables you to specify comments about this Product Uninstaller Launcher. These comments are stored in the project file and are for your use only. They are ignored at run time.

Wizard Arguments—Specify the optional argument(s) you want to pass to the uninstaller being launched. Enter them exactly as they should appear in the command line. They are added to the launch command after the main class name of the Product Uninstaller.

Java Arguments—Specify other optional arguments for Java that are required by the Product Uninstaller specific to the JVM being used. To see the settings that are available for the JVM you are using, open the search file for the JVM (file name ends in .jvm) in the <Universal Home>/jvms/<platform> directory using any text editor.

Note

This property should not be used for arguments to Java that are already handled by other properties such as the classpath since that would result in the same command line option being specified to Java multiple times.

Additional Class Paths—This property is extremely useful if the Uninstaller Launcher requires a custom bean(s) and/or uses third-party Java libraries. Place those libraries (JAR files or entire directory structures) on your distribution media along with the Product Uninstaller launcher.

Set this property by specifying a relative or absolute path from the Product Uninstaller launcher (the Install Location property value of the Uninstaller Archive) to each of the libraries that need to be included in its classpath. If you need multiple system properties, then add one property per line. They display separated by commas in the interface.

Note

On Mac OS X platforms, this property must be an absolute path.

For example, if the Uninstaller Launcher is at the root of your distribution media, and you have placed the additional JAR files and directory structures in a subdirectory below root, then you would enter the following:

JAR/uninstallExtra1.jar
JAR/uninstallExtra2

This example presumes that uninstallExtra2 is a directory of classes.

If the Uninstaller Launcher is not at the root of your distribution media, then an absolute path would be required. For example:

$P(absoluteInstallLocation)/jars/extra.jar

These entries would then be included in the classpath when the Product Uninstaller launches.

System Properties—These are the Java system properties for the Java application being launched. They are entered as propName=propValue.

The appropriate command line option required by that JVM is automatically included in the launch command. If you need multiple system properties, then add one property per line in the dialog box. They display separated by commas in the interface.

The Product Uninstaller Launcher automatically uses the JVM that was used to install the product or suite. If you want it to use a different JVM, access to its JVM Resolution properties are located in the Launcher/Advanced view.

Platform Properties

The Platform properties of the Uninstaller Launcher are generally consistent across platforms. To activate a platform, select the platform and click its Enable check box. Its Delete icon changes to a checked check box and its properties can then be set. To remove a platform and its properties, clear its check box, and the Delete icon returns.

Standard properties are overridden by those same platform-specific properties when the target system matches the specified platform.

Property	Description
File Name	This field is required. Specify the file name of the Product Uninstaller Launcher for this platform, which is the name of the executable file that will be created at run time. Its location will be relative to the Install Location of the Uninstaller Archive unless an absolute path is specified. For example, the name of this file for Windows could be UninstallMyApp.exe; for Solaris, UninstallMyApp.bin (which would be executed by typing `./UninstallMyApp.bin`). If Universal determines that the product requires more than one piece of media, then it will utilize the media spanning function. In this case, the File Name property of the Product Uninstaller launcher must include an extension. For example, UninstallMyApp.exe will work; UninstallMyApp will not.
Launcher UI Display Time	This property determines for how long, in seconds, the Product Uninstaller launcher dialog box displays on the screen after the uninstallation (a Java application) starts. If you set the value to `0` (zero), then the launcher dialog box disappears as soon as the Java process starts. Setting this property to `5`, for example, allows 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 uninstaller while it searches for a JVM and/or installs a bundled one except when the uninstaller is run in silent mode.
Show Console	This property determines whether the Java console displays while the Product Uninstaller executes. Set this property to "True" to display the Java console while the uninstaller is executing, or set it to "False" to hide it. If this value is set to "False," then the end user can still trap the console output of the Java process by using the `-is:log <log file name>` command line option, which logs the output to the specified <log file name>. Or, they could use the command line option `-is:javaconsole` to override this property value and turn on the Java console.
User Interface Windows only	Indicates whether this Product Uninstaller launcher should be created as a console (Premier Only) or GUI launcher. Select either "Console" or "GUI."