This chapter is an excerpt from the training manual

"Application Packaging Using AdminStudio 2016"

For information about purchasing this training manual and to learn about
other training materials, please visit http://www.flexerasoftware.com.
3
Repackaging Process

Repackaging is the process of converting a legacy installation into a Windows Installer MSI package. In Chapter 2,
Preparing for Application Packaging, you prepared for a repackaging project by creating a standard storage
structure and preparing documentation such as the Installation Flow and Acceptance Test documents. In this chapter,
you perform a full repackaging project.

Before launching Repackager, copy the legacy installation’s files to the 1_LegacyInstallation directory of your
project’s storage structure.

Important • Do not use Repackager to customize existing MSIs except to create a virtual application.

Important • Repackager is not intended for repackaging operating system installations, service packs, or deeply
integrated operating system components such as Internet Explorer. Moreover, components such as the Microsoft .NET
Framework should be included in the clean image or installed by a setup using the vendor’s redistributable. Some of
these redistributables are described in Chapter 4, Using InstallShield Editor.

This chapter is organized in the following sections:

• Repackager Best Practices on page 98

• Repackager Interface on page 98

• Using the Installation Monitoring Method to Repackage a Legacy Application on page 100

• Using the Snapshot Method to Repackage a Legacy Application on page 110

• Repackaging Process Output Files on page 116

• Viewing Captured Data in the Repackager Interface on page 118

• Creating Repackager Reports on page 130

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Repackager Best Practices

Repackager Best Practices

To achieve the best results during the application repackaging process, follow these practices:

• Run the Repackaging Wizard remotely by creating a shortcut on the clean machine, as described in
Chapter 2, Preparing for Application Packaging (and not from the AdminStudio interface).

• Use the Repackaging Wizard on a clean image only, as defined in Chapter 2, Preparing for Application
Packaging, and not on a system that has AdminStudio installed on it.

• Do not run unnecessary applications on the clean repackaging image when performing the installation.

• Create a corporate template that includes customized Repackager settings in the Options.ini file., and other
customizations stored in an InstallShield project to apply in the Repackager at build time.

• Repackage applications on the relevant operating system (OS).

Repackager Interface
Use the Repackager interface to:

• Repackage legacy installations (with the Repackaging Wizard)

• Configure global exclusions (with the Exclusions Editor)

• Convert Novell ZENworks, Microsoft SMS, WinINSTALL, or Wise installation projects into Repackager projects

• Convert Windows installer packages into Microsoft App-V, Citrix XenApp, or VMware ThinApp applications

In addition, Repackager can upgrade Repackager 3.x output data.

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Repackager Home Page

When you first launch Repackager, the home page (shown below) provides a brief overview of Repackager
functionality and includes links to help you:

• Launch the Repackaging Wizard

• Open an existing Repackager project

• Convert a legacy setup to a Repackager project

• Convert a Windows Installer Package to an application virtualization format

• Upgrade a legacy InstallShield Repackager file

• Open a recently accessed Repackager project

Figure 3-1: Repackager Home Page

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Repackager Tools Menu

From the Repackager Tools menu, you can launch wizards and set Repackager options.

Figure 3-2: Repackager Tools Menu

The following items are available under the Repackager Tools menu.

• Repackaging Wizard—The Repackager interface provides access to the Repackaging Wizard to convert a
legacy installation into a Repackager project. Using this wizard, you can select the repackaging method (either
Snapshot or Installation Monitoring), specify the installations to repackage, and run the installations. The
Repackaging Wizard is discussed later in this chapter.

• VMware Repackaging Wizard—The Repackager interface includes integration with VMware Workstation’s
virtual-machine technology. This provides you with the ability to launch a VMware session for repackaging
purposes and run different operating systems on the same computer.

• Options—The Options dialog box presents options on three tabs:

• Colors—Configure the color of scanned items and deleted items in Repackager's exclusion views (Files, .ini
Files, Registry Data, and Shortcuts).

• Merge Modules—Specify additional directories containing custom merge modules to use during
repackaging.

• Build Options—Specify whether to list ICE validation warnings in the Repackager output window during
the Build process. On the Build Options tab, you also can enable the creation of software ID tag transforms
during import and repackaging, and specify the Tag Creator Name and Tag Creator RegID.

Using the Installation Monitoring Method to

Repackage a Legacy Application
In this section, you use the Installation Monitoring repackaging method to repackage a legacy installation. Topics
include:

• About Installation Monitoring

• Using Installation Monitoring

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About Installation Monitoring

The Installation Monitoring repackaging method watches all activities generated during a legacy installation and
then determines which files, .ini files, registry entries, and shortcuts to include in the generated Windows Installer
package.

Installation Monitoring, which is the default repackaging method, is significantly faster than the Snapshot
repackaging method, which is described later.

Figure 3-3: Installation Monitoring (Default Repackaging Method)

Excluding Processes During Installation Monitoring

If services are running on the machine that have nothing to do with the installation being repackaged, click the
Advanced Settings link on the Repackaging Wizard Method Selection panel to open the Excluded Processes
dialog box. Use this box to prevent these processes from being monitored during installation.

For example, if the installation you are capturing is from a self-extracting .exe file, add the name of that .exe file to
the list of excluded processes:

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Figure 3-4: Excluded Processes Dialog Box

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Using Installation Monitoring

If you are repackaging on the development system containing AdminStudio, you can begin the repackaging process
in AdminStudio; however, doing so is not recommended. AdminStudio is a large suite of tools that puts many files
and registry entries on a system, and this data can interfere with the repackaging process.

Instead, launch the Repackaging Wizard from a shared network folder, as described in Chapter 2, Preparing for
Application Packaging. The Repackaging Wizard executable is named Repack.exe.

Task To repackage a legacy installation using the Installation Monitoring method:

1. From a clean installation, launch the Repackaging Wizard from a shared network folder, as described in Chapter
2, Preparing for Application Packaging.

The Welcome panel opens.

2. Click Next.The Method Selection panel opens, prompting you to select a repackaging method:

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3. Select Installation Monitoring and click Next.

The Collect Product Information panel opens, prompting you to specify the legacy installation program you
want to monitor:

4. In the Program File field, browse for the legacy installation’s main executable (commonly called setup.exe).

• As described in Chapter 2, Preparing for Application Packaging, you typically copy the legacy installation to
your project’s 1_LegacyInstallation subdirectory in your storage structure.

• The directory you specify can be located on the local development system or an accessible network drive.

• You can also optionally specify command-line switches for the legacy installation executable in the
Command-line Argument(s) field.

5. In the Product Information area, enter information about the application and your company using the
guidelines in the following table.

Settings Description

Product Name Product Name becomes the name of the MSI database created, as well as the
display name for the application in the Add or Remove Programs panel.

Note • In Chapter 4, Using InstallShield Editor, you learn how to further modify Add or
Remove Programs data for the application using InstallShield Editor.

Company Name Company Name is the name of the software vendor or developer of this application.
It is written as part of the target system’s Add or Remove Programs data for the
current installation.

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Settings Description

Version Product Version is written to the target system and is visible as part of the product’s
support information in the target system’s Add or Remove Programs panel.

For the sake of possible future upgrades, as described in Chapter 11, Upgrading
Products, use a three-field version number, as in 1.2.3.

More Click the More link to open the Additional Product Information dialog box, where
you can specify a URL for the Product and Support web sites for the product:

The Product and Support URLs are written to the target system and appear in the
Support Information dialog box in the target system’s Add or Remove Programs
panel.

The default values in the Product Name, Version, and Company Name fields are obtained from the version
information in the legacy installation executable you select. These values sometimes reflect the version of the
software used to package the legacy installation and do not reflect the product information for the application
being installed. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to modify these fields before continuing.

To combine the effects of multiple legacy installations into a single repackaged project, click Edit Setup List and
browse for additional installation programs or batch files (and specify command-line arguments to pass to
them), arranging the installations in order. Use this to configure the application after the legacy installer
completes, or to apply a legacy upgrade to it.

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Important • Do NOT use this option for installing prerequisite applications.

6. Click Next.

The Set Target Project Information and Capture Settings panel opens.

7. In the Project path to store files to: field, indicate where to store the repackaged project.

The directory you specify here becomes part of the application’s storage structure, as described in Chapter 2,
Preparing for Application Packaging. This directory can be on the local development system or an accessible
network drive.

To capture the steps of the installation of the legacy application to create a set of installation instructions, you
can use the Microsoft Problem Steps Recorder. You can do this during the prepackaging/technical discovery
process as discussed earlier or as an alternative, you can record the steps during the repackaging process by
ticking on the Run Microsoft Step Recorder box during the capture, as shown in the figure below. The recording
will automatically be stopped when all setups have been launched. The recorded steps will be stored in an .mht
file in the your equivalent to the RepackagerandSourceFiles folder. If this process has already been performed,
leave the box unchecked.

8. Optionally, click Edit to expose the Analysis Options panel shown in the following figure. Use this panel to
review or modify the data types monitored during capture. An option is included to monitor configuration files
in the .INI format but with other extensions.

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You may also change the path to the exclusions file that will be used with this project. If a shared exclusion list
exists, (isrepackager.ini, as discussed earlier in this manual, page 47) you may want to specify it here.
Optionally, you may also add or remove exclusions by clicking on Edit from inside of the Analysis Options
screen. This will take you to the same view as when launching analysisoptions.exe, also discussed earlier in this
manual.

Click OK after making any changes on the Analysis Options screen.

Note • When performing captures on 64-bit operating systems, you will see somewhat different dialog boxes than
are displayed and described in the pages of this book.

9. Click Start. The Repackaging Wizard launches the legacy application and begins monitoring its installation. If
the box was checked to launch the Problem Steps Recorder, it will be launched at the same time the legacy
installer starts to run, as in the screen shot shown here. You can stop the recording at any time, but otherwise, it
will automatically end after clicking the Done button in step 10 and the Process button. The figure below
shows a legacy installer running with the Problem Steps Recorder recording.

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Enter information and respond to the resulting dialog boxes as prompted, closely following the installation
instructions in your Installation Flow and Options document created in Chapter 2, Preparing for Application
Packaging.

After the installation, the following screen opens prompting you to click Done when you are ready to complete
the monitoring process.

10. Click Done. The following Repackaging panel appears, indicating that post-installation analysis comes next.

You can perform other system changes before Processing the capture-such as launching the installed
executable, deleting desktop shortcuts, moving Programs-menu shortcuts, and other requirements in your
installation instructions-before initiating the post-installation analysis.

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Note • At this point you should wait a few minutes before continuing. Some legacy installations launch hidden
processes to clean up temporary data, and waiting before performing the final scan ensures these temporary files
and registry data are deleted and not included in the final scan.

If you have no additional changes to make, you should always give the installer a chance to complete before
clicking the Process button.

11. Click Process to begin the post-installation analysis. to begin the post-installation analysis. (On a 64-bit o/s,
instead of Process you will see a Next button to click on to proceed.)

Important • Optional at this point: If the legacy installation prompts for a reboot, you must decide whether to
capture that reboot now or accommodate it by requiring a reboot later. The Repackaging Wizard will continue
processing after the reboot.

The Summary panel eventually appears with information about the repackaging process.

12. Click Finish.

13. Exit Repackager without making any changes to the .irp file.

14. Optionally, before reverting or reimaging the repackaging machine, copy the repack.log and
repack_username.log from this machine’s C:\Windows folder to the documentation folder in your storage
structure. You may also want to verify that the repackaged output files are stored in the storage structure where
you'll be able to access them in the future

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Using the Snapshot Method to Repackage a

Legacy Application
The other method for repackaging is to use snapshots, which compare lists of the operating system’s files, registry
data, and so forth, taken before and after running legacy installations. The before and after snapshots are compared,
and the differences are stored in an .inc file you open with Repackager and convert to an InstallShield Editor project.

There are two types of snapshot repackaging methods:

• Single Step—System status is analyzed first, then setup programs are run, after which the system is analyzed
again.

• Multiple Steps—The InstallScript installation logic is not preserved with this method. Additionally, this method
makes initial system status scan and system change analysis optional.

Both snapshot methods are discussed in the following sections.

Note • To convert an InstallScript MSI package to a Basic MSI that preserves the InstallScript installation logic, select the
Installation Monitoring method or the Single Step snapshot method.

Note • An advantage to using the Multiple Steps snapshot method is that you do not need to launch an installation;
you can launch one or more batch files, or duplicate manual steps required by a printed installation procedure.

Single Step Snapshot

With the Single Step snapshot, Repackager takes the initial operating system snapshot, launches the legacy
installations you specify, and then takes the final system snapshot.

Task To repackage a legacy installation using the Single-Step snapshot method:

1. From a clean installation, launch the Repackaging Wizard from a shared network folder, as described in Chapter
2, Preparing for Application Packaging.

The Welcome panel opens.

2. Click Next.

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The Method Selection panel opens, prompting you to select a repackaging method:

3. Select Snapshot and click Next. The Snapshot Method panel opens:

4. Select Single Step.

Also select the Prompt before running the setup programs option if you want Repackager to display a
message before running legacy installations. This lets you perform any required pre-installation configuration
before taking the initial operating system snapshot.

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5. Click Next.

The Collect Product Information panel opens. Here you specify the legacy installation program to monitor:

6. Repeat Step 4 through Step 12 of the procedure Using Installation Monitoring on page 103.

Multiple Steps Snapshot

If you select the Multiple Steps snapshot option (shown below), Repackager takes an initial system snapshot first.
Then you launch legacy installations and make system changes manually. Finally, you launch Repackager again to
take the final system snapshot and generate a comparison between the two snapshots.

Figure 3-5: Multiple Steps Snapshot Method

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Step 1: Create the Initial Snapshot

First, in the Repackaging Wizard, with the Snapshot Method panel open, create a system snapshot.

Task To create the initial system snapshot:

1. Select Multiple Steps and Analyze the initial system status on the Snapshot Method panel.

2. Click Next. The Repackaging panel opens and displays progress of the initial system status capture.

When Repackager finishes, the Summary panel opens, prompting you to install the application you want to
repackage:

3. Click Finish to close the Repackaging Wizard and continue with the next section.

Step 2: Install and Make Manual System Changes

Next, you manually launch the installation for the application you are repackaging. Then you make manual changes
to the system that you want captured in the Windows Installer package.

Task To install and make manual system changes:

1. Launch the installation program for the application you are repackaging, if you have one.

2. Follow the prompts until the installation is complete.

3. Make additional changes to the system (such as deleting files and shortcuts) that you want recorded in the
repackaged installation.

Note • When the legacy installation is complete, wait a few minutes before starting the post-installation system
snapshot. Some legacy installations launch hidden processes to clean up temporary data, and waiting before
performing the final scan ensures these temporary files and registry data are deleted and not included in the final
scan.

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4. Launch the Repackaging Wizard again.

The Welcome panel opens.

5. Click Next.

The Method Selection panel opens.

6. Select Snapshot and click Next.

The Snapshot Method panel opens with Multiple Steps selected, and with the Analyze system status changes
option enabled and selected.

7. Click Next.

The Collect Product Information panel opens. Here you specify the legacy installation program to monitor.
Continue with the next section.

Step 3: Enter Product Information

Next, you enter product information on the Collect Product Information panel for the application you just installed.
This part of the procedure is identical to a portion of the Installation Monitoring method described earlier.

Therefore, repeat Step 5 through Step 6 of the procedure Using Installation Monitoring on page 103.

Note • Because you are now performing the second step of a multiple-step Snapshot, the Setup Programs area is
disabled, since you have already installed the application you are repackaging.

Step 4: Set Target Project Information and Capture Settings

Next, enter your information in the Set Target Project Information and Capture Settings panel. This part of the
procedure is identical to a portion of the Installation Monitoring method described earlier.

Therefore, repeat Step 7 through Step 9 of the procedure Using Installation Monitoring on page 103.

Step 5: Run the Repackaging Process

Next, when the Repackaging Wizard finishes analyzing the system state changes and creating the Repackager
project, the Summary panel opens and confirms that the repackaging was successful, and lists the location of your
new Repackager project.

Click Finish to close the Repackaging Wizard. When the Smart Scan Wizard opens, click Cancel. The new
Repackager project file (.irp,) opens in the Repackager interface. Exit Repackager without making any changes to the
.irp file.

Cleaning Up after Repackaging

A drawback with using any repackaging method is the possibility of capturing unintended system changes. This
happens when other processes are inadvertently launched during the capture, or from other unintended activities
on the repackaging machine. For this reason, you must always:

• Review the captured output before building the InstallShield Editor project (.ism) or Windows Installer package
(.msi)

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• Ensure that no irrelevant registry data or files are included in the repackaged installation

These steps are in addition to the usual repackaging testing tasks, such as correcting errors and warnings that occur
when building and validating the Windows Installer package.

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Repackaging Process Output Files

The following files are the combined output from the repackaging process.

Figure 3-6: Repackaging output files

These files are text files and can be viewed and modified using Notepad or any plain-text editor.

Table 3-1 • Repackager Output Files

File Description

ProductName.irp The Repackager project file. This is the main file for each repackaged or converted
installation.

ProductName.inc Contains information about files, shortcuts, and .ini file data detected during repackaging.
Also contains links to the captured registry data files described below.

Updated.isr Describes registry data detected during repackaging using the Installation Monitoring
method.

Deleted.isr Contains information about deleted registry data detected during repackaging (if your
analysis options indicate deletions should be detected).

Standard.nir Describes registry data detected during repackaging using either of the two snapshot
methods.

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Table 3-1 • Repackager Output Files

File Description

Options.ini Repackager creates this file at the beginning of the capture by copying it from the master
location into the designated repackaging folder for this application. The master location is
the same place that REPACK.EXE (the Repackaging Wizard) runs from.

If corporate templates are used, every packager should use the same version of
Options.ini for repackaging.

Repack.log Repackager creates this log file and outputs it to the WindowsFolder.

.mht If the Problem Steps Recorder is launched during the capture, output will be in an .mht file
in the same folder with the rest of the repackaged output files.

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Viewing Captured Data in the Repackager

Interface
The full Repackager interface includes multiple views for examining the captured data you use to create an
InstallShield Editor project (.ism file) and ultimately a Windows Installer package (.msi file). Depending on the
presence or absence of certain data types, some views may not display.

Captured Installation View

Use the Captured Installation view as a top-level summary of the installation information captured by the
Repackaging Wizard. This includes the operating system (including service pack) where the capture was performed,
the number of files captured, the number of INI file changes made, the number of registry entries captured, and the
number of shortcuts captured. This view also displays files or registry entries deleted by the legacy installation.:

Figure 3-7: Captured Installation view

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Files and Folders View

Use the Files and Folders view to see information about each captured file, to selectively exclude files or directories
from the package you are creating, or to re-include files you previously excluded. You may also add a selected file to
the global exclusions list at the same time by clicking on Add to Exclusions. The Add to Exclusions option is also
available in the Registry, Shortcuts and INI views.

Figure 3-8: Files and Folders view

Note • The original repackaged output data is not affected if you exclude data in these views; the excluded information
is stored in the Repackager project (.irp) file.

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Registry Entries View

Use the Registry Entries view to review information about each captured registry entry, to selectively exclude registry
values or registry keys from the package you are creating, or to re-include registry values you previously excluded:

Figure 3-9: Registry Entries view

As with files captured in a repackaged project, the main purpose of inspecting registry data is to ensure no irrelevant
data is included with the repackaged project. To exclude registry information, right-click its icon and select Exclude
from the pop-up menu. Excluded entries appear in red in the view. Included entries appear in black.

Some general rules for working with registry data:

• Data located in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT should be left in the project.

• Data located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VendorName\ProductName is part of the product.

• Data located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM should be present only if the application installs a Windows
service or modifies hardware information.

• Data located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft

should be reviewed for relevance to the application being repackaged.

• Changes under HKEY_USERS\.Default should mirror data in HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

• Registry keys or entries referencing ProgID strings or GUIDs should be left in the project as long as the
referenced string or GUID can be located in the registry data of another component or under a different key of
the same component. The search should be performed through the entire Direct Editor view, as described in
Chapter 6, Advanced InstallShield Editor Topics.

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Shortcuts View
Use the Shortcuts view to review information about each captured shortcut, to selectively exclude shortcuts from the
package you are creating, or to re-include shortcuts you previously excluded.:

Figure 3-10: Shortcuts view

INI Files View

Use the INI Files view to review information about each captured .ini file, to selectively exclude .ini files or .ini file
sections from the package you are creating, or to re-include .ini files or sections you previously excluded:

Figure 3-11: INI Files view

Deleted Files View

Use the Deleted Files view to examine information about each file deleted during repackaging, to selectively exclude
files or directories from the package you are creating, or to re-include previously excluded files.

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Deleted Registry Entries View

Use the Deleted Registry Entries view to review information about each captured registry entry, to selectively
exclude registry values or registry keys from the package you are creating, or to re-include registry values that you
previously excluded.

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Repackaged Output View

Use the Repackaged Output view to configure build options for the project, including whether to build an MSI
package automatically following conversion.

Figure 3-12: Repackaged Output view

With this view you can configure the following package build options:

• Windows Installer package—Builds a Windows Installer package following conversion. If you select this
option, you can also specify the type of Windows Installer package to build.

• Isolated Version of Windows Installer package—Creates an isolated version of the Windows Installer
package.

• Run PackageExpert automated tests—Runs PackageExpert tests on the newly built Windows Installer
package to see if it is built to Windows Installer standards and if it complies with the installation requirements of
Windows Vista and Windows 7.

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• Create a virtual application for the Repackager project—Creates a Microsoft App-V, VMware ThinApp, and/
or Citrix virtual application based on the contents of the Repackager project. After the Editor project is created,
you can further customize from within InstallShield Editor.

The Repackaged Output view provides the following configuration settings.

Table 3-2 • Repackaged Output view configuration settings

Option Description

Editor Project Use to provide the name and location of the InstallShield project (.ism) file. The
default is to store the .ism in a folder called MSI_Package under the designated
Repackager output folder.

Windows Installer Used to indicate the name and location of the Windows Installer package (.msi)
Package once it is built by the Repackager. If a Windows Installer package has not yet been
built from this Repackager project, (not built) displays instead.

Create Microsoft If this option is selected, after creating the InstallShield project file (.ism), a
Windows Installer Windows Installer (.msi) file is built based on that project file and stored in the
Package Editor Project folder location.

Windows Installer If you selected Create a Windows Installer package after creating the Editor project
Package Options option, select one of the following options:

• Single Compressed .MSI File—Compresses necessary files inside the .msi

package, instead of storing them outside the .msi database.

• Single Compressed Setup.exe File—Compress all files inside a setup.exe

file, including the .msi file and all other necessary files.

• .MSI File With External .CAB File—Creates an .msi file and compresses the
rest of the necessary files in an external .cab file.

• .MSI File With External .CAB File and Setup.exe—Creates an .msi file and a
setup.exe file, and compresses the other necessary files in an external .cab
file.

• Uncompressed .MSI File—Creates an uncompressed .msi file. The other

necessary files, in uncompressed format, should be shipped with the .msi file.

• Uncompressed .MSI File With Setup.exe—Creates an uncompressed .msi

file and a setup.exe file. The other necessary files, in uncompressed format,
should be shipped with the .msi and setup.exe files.

Create Isolated Version of Creates a second, isolated version of the Windows Installer package when the
the Package Windows Installer package is built. Isolation reduces versioning conflicts by
modifying an application so it loads the versions of components—such as DLLs—
that it was originally developed and tested with.

The additional Windows Installer package is created in the same directory as the
.ism file and the other .msi file, with the following naming convention:

appname.isolated.msi

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Table 3-2 • Repackaged Output view configuration settings (cont.)

Option Description

Run Automated Tests on Select this option to automatically run best practice tests against the newly built
the Package Windows Installer package to determine if it is built according to Windows Installer
standards, and if it is in compliance with the installation requirements of the
Windows operating system.

Note • This option is only enabled when the Create Microsoft Windows Installer
Package option is selected and any of the values except for Single Compressed
Setup.exe File is chosen.

Create Microsoft App-V Creates a Microsoft App-V application when building a Windows Installer (.msi)
Package file. App-V applications can also be created in InstallShield Editor. This allows more
specific customizations to the Repackager results.

Create VMware ThinApp Creates a VMware ThinApp application when building a Windows Installer (.msi)
Package file. ThinApp applications can also be created in InstallShield Editor. This allows
more specific customizations to the Repackager results.

Note • To successfully build a ThinApp application, a licensed or demo version of the

VMware ThinApp Suite must be installed on the machine.

Create Citrix XenApp Creates a Citrix profile compatible with Citrix XenApp when building a Windows
Profile Installer (.msi) file. Citrix profiles can also be created from in InstallShield Editor.
This allows more specific customizations to the Repackager results.

Use the default Editor Uses the default InstallShield Editor template when building an InstallShield Editor
template project. A project template contains all default settings and design elements to use
as a starting point when creating an installation project.

Use a customized Uses a customized InstallShield Editor Project Template when building an
template InstallShield Editor project.

For example, if you want all InstallShield Editor projects to have a special custom
dialog, a set of required redistributables, and a specific SQL script, you could create
a project template that has all of those settings. Then, when you want to create a
project, you can base it off of your custom template. This way you avoid re-creating
the custom dialog, re-adding the redistributables, and re-adding the SQL script
every time you create an InstallShield Editor project.

Build Click to initiate the build process to build a Windows Installer package.

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Table 3-2 • Repackaged Output view configuration settings (cont.)

Option Description

Repackaged Output Tasks After an InstallShield Editor project and a Windows Installer package is built, use
these links to perform the following tasks:

• Modify the Editor Project—Open this Repackager project's associated

InstallShield project in InstallShield Editor.

• Modify the Windows Installer package with Editor—Open this Repackager

project's associated Windows Installer package in InstallShield Editor.

Package Information View

Use the Package Information view to specify information about the Windows Installer package you are building.

Figure 3-13: Package Information view

Typically this information is pre-populated with information supplied by the Repackaging Wizard. This information is
overwritten if you use a customized template in the Repackager Output options.

Software Identification Tag View

AdminStudio includes ISO/IEC 19770-2 software tagging support. ISO/IEC 19770-2 is an international standard for
creating software identification tags. A software identification tag is a small XML-based file containing descriptive
information about the software such as the product name, version, and so on. Software management tools collect
the data provided in the tags for identifying software installed in an enterprise.

When you use Repackager to convert a legacy package to a Windows Installer package, by default a tag file is
generated for each package when the Windows Installer package is built. Use the Software Identification Tag view to
edit this tag information:

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Figure 3-14: Software ID Tag View

The Software ID Tag view provides the following configuration settings.

Table 3-3 • Software ID Tag view settings

Option Description

Generate Tag Answer Yes to include an ISO/IEC 19770-2 software identification tag to your
installation. The default value is Yes.

Require Software Specify whether you want to require your product to have a corresponding
Entitlement software entitlement in order for software reconciliation to be considered
successful. In general, if the software must be purchase, select Yes; if the software is
free, No should be selected.

Product Name Shows the name of the product, read from the Product Name property of the
Windows Installer package.

Product Version Shows the version of the product, read from the Product Version property of the
Windows Installer package.

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Table 3-3 • Software ID Tag view settings (cont.)

Option Description

Unique ID Uniquely identifies the package by combining the Product Name, Version, and
GUID values from the Windows Installer package, joining them with the underline
character:

ProductName_ProductVersion_GUID

For example:

Adobe Reader 8_8.0.0_AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A80000000002

Tag Creator Enter a name to identify the creator of this tag file. The default value is:

Flexera Software LLC

Tag Creator RegID Enter a RegID to identify the creator of this tag file, using the following format:

regid.YYYY-MM.ReversedDomainName,optional_division

For example:

regid.2009-06.com.yourcompany,GlobalProductDivision

Software Creator Name Optional: Enter a name to identify the creator of this package. By default, the value
is Unknown. If the value of this field is left as Unknown, that string appears in the tag
file to indicate that it is not possible to determine the value for this field.

Software Creator RegID Optional: Enter a RegID to identify the creator of this package. By default, the value
is Unknown. If the value of this field is left as Unknown, that string appears in the tag
file to indicate that it is not possible to determine the value for this field.

Software Licensor Optional: Enter a name to identify the licensor of this package. By default, the value
is Unknown. If the value of this field is left as Unknown, that string appears in the tag
file to indicate that it is not possible to determine the value for this field.

Software Licensor RegID Optional: Enter a RegID to identify the licensor of this package. By default, the value
is Unknown. If the value of this field is left as Unknown, that string appears in the tag
file to indicate that it is not possible to determine the value for this field.

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Advanced Package Settings View

Use the Advanced Package Settings view to configure additional settings that apply to your repackaged installation.
These settings are controlled by the settings contained in the copy of the Options.ini file that was copied into the
Repackager output folder when the capture was launched.

Figure 3-15: Advanced Package Settings View

The following settings are available on the Advanced Package Settings view.

Table 3-4 • Advanced Package Settings Options

Setting Description

Use Editor path When storing files in the Editor project (.ism file), the wizard uses path variable
variables instead of locations when possible. Path variables define commonly used paths in a central
physical source paths location so you do not need to change every source file’s path if you move the project
or change the directory structure.

Display only the Only the Welcome dialog box appears when the Windows Installer package runs on
Welcome dialog the target machine. If this option is cleared, the default Editor UI sequence appears
during installation when the installation runs.

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Table 3-4 • Advanced Package Settings Options

Setting Description

Replace files with Following best practice rules, AdminStudio replaces components with comparable
merge modules merge modules when possible.
wherever possible

Use the language When this option is selected, the language that Repackager detects during the
captured by repackaging process becomes the target package’s language. This is shown in the
Repackager as the Captured Installation view.
language of the setup

Mark components Components installed to the system folder (SystemFolder) are marked as Permanent
destined for the and the component’s files are not uninstalled when the application is uninstalled from
System folder as the target system. This eliminates ICE09 validation errors. (Validation errors are
permanent described in Chapter 4, Using InstallShield Editor.)

Mark components Components installed to the CommonFilesFolder (or a subfolder of the

destined for the CommonFilesFolder) are marked as Shared files. This ensures that these components
CommonFiles folder as can coexist with DLLs installed by previous installations.
shared

Map registry data to Select this option to reduce the number of ICE33 warnings that might occur during
the appropriate COM package validation (resulting from data not being mapped to the relevant Windows
tables Installer tables).

Map registry data to Select this option to map ODBC-related registry data to the ODBC tables instead of
the appropriate ODBC the Registry table. This data functions correctly only if Windows Installer supports the
tables ODBC resource being mapped. Do not enable this option if you are unsure whether
the ODBC resources are supported correctly by Windows Installer.

Map NT Service events Select this option to map NT Service–related registry data to the ServiceControl table
to the ServiceControl instead of the Registry table.
table

Include files from Files identified in the SmartScan are included in the package (unless you manually
InstallShield legacy excluded them from the project).
media scan

Exactly match legacy When selected, the generated component conditions include the specified operating
setup’s Operating system. By default, option is not selected, and component conditions contain
System requirements operating system groups (VersionNT vs. Version9X).

Creating Repackager Reports

After reviewing captured data, use the Create Set Up Capture Report function to create reports that indicate
excluded items, which are highlighted for easy identification. Repackager reports can be output in HTML or text
format. HTML-formatted reports show excluded items in red by default.

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Task To create a Repackager report:

1. From the Repackager Project menu, select Create Report or press Ctrl+R.

The Create Report dialog box opens:

2. Specify the Report Options, whether to indicate excluded items, and the report file format (HTML or text).

3. Click Create. The Save As dialog box opens:

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4. Specify the name and location for your report, then click Save to create the report.

The Repackager Setup Capture Report screen opens:

Figure 3-16: Repackager Setup Capture Report output in HTML format

You can store these Repackager Setup Capture Reports in the Application Catalog database along with the
applications you capture. More information about Application Manager and the Application Catalog is provided in
Chapter 9, Managing Applications and Application Catalog Databases.

Course Exercises
To see the course exercises that accompany this chapter, see Chapter 3: Repackaging Process on page 440 of
Appendix F, AdminStudio Course Exercises.

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