Windows Installer Standard Actions

A Windows Installer installation process is run as a sequence of events, called Standard Actions. In between them, you can schedule your own custom actions.

The Installation Sequences used by Advanced Installer can displayed by Groups, Sequences or in a Compact mode using Tree Layout button on the toolbar of the "Custom Actions" page.

For more related information you can follow Windows Installer Custom Actions.

Wizard Dialogs Stage

Searches

Standard Action	Description
PrepareDlg	"PrepareDlg" dialog is showed
AppSearch	performs the searches from the Search page
FindRelatedProducts	older or newer versions of the package are searched. If an older version is found, its Product Code is placed in the "OLDPRODUCTS" property
LaunchConditions	evaluates the launch conditions
CCPSearch	validates that qualifying products are installed on a system before an upgrade is performed
RMCCPSearch	validates that qualifying products are installed on a system before an upgrade is performed

Paths Resolution

CostInitialize	determines the disk space required by the install process
FileCost	determines the disk space required by each file in the Files and Folders page
CostFinalize	ends the disk space costing and resolves the folders in the project
MigrateFeatureStates	during an upgrade it reads the feature states in the old version and then sets these feature states in the new version.

User Selection

WelcomeDlg	"WelcomDlg" dialog is showed
ResumeDlg	"ResumeDlg" dialog is showed
MaintenanceWelcomeDlg	"MaintenanceWelcomeDlg" dialog is showed
PatchWelcomeDlg	"PatchWelcomeDlg" dialog is showed
ProgressDlg	"ProgressDlg" dialog is showed

Install Execution Stage

Searches

Standard Action	Description
AppSearch	performs the searches from the Search page
FindRelatedProducts	older or newer versions of the package are searched. If an older version is found, its Product Code is placed in the "OLDPRODUCTS" property
LaunchConditions	evaluates the launch conditions
CCPSearch	validates that qualifying products are installed on a system before an upgrade is performed
RMCCPSearch	validates that qualifying products are installed on a system before an upgrade is performed
ValidateProductID	sets the ProductID property to the full product identifier

Paths Resolution

CostInitialize	determines the disk space required by the install process
FileCost	determines the disk space required by each file in the Files and Folders page.
IsolateComponents	installs a copy of a component (commonly a shared DLL) into a private location for use by a specific application (typically an .exe). This isolates the application from other copies of the component that may be installed to a shared location on the computer
CostFinalize	ends the disk space costing and resolves the folders in the project
SetODBCFolders	checks for existing ODBC drivers on the system and sets the target directory of each new driver to the location of an existing driver
MigrateFeatureStates	during an upgrade it reads the feature states in the old version and then sets these feature states in the new version

Preparing

InstallValidate	verifies that all volumes to which cost has been attributed have sufficient space for the installation. It also notifies the user if one or more files to be overwritten or removed are currently in use by an active process
RemoveExistingProducts	upgrades an older version of the package if one is found
InstallInitialize	marks the beginning of the sequence of actions which change the system
AllocateRegistrySpace	ensures that an appropriate amount of free registry space exists in the registry.
ProcessComponents	registers and unregisters components, their key paths and the component clients

Remove Resources

MsiUnpublishAssemblies	unpublish the assemblies installed by the package. Runs only during an uninstall
UnpublishComponents	removes information about components published by the package. Runs only during an uninstall
UnpublishFeatures	removes selection-state and feature-component mapping information from the system registry. Runs only during an uninstall
StopServices	stops services which use "Stop" control operations in the package
DeleteServices	removes services which use "Delete" control operations in the package.
UnregisterComPlus	removes COM+ applications from the registry. Runs only during an uninstall
SelfUnregModules	unregisters all modules which used self registration during install. Runs only during an uninstall
UnregisterTypeLibraries	unregisters type libraries from the system. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveODBC	removes the ODBC data sources, translators and drivers. Runs only during an uninstall
UnregisterFonts	removes registration information about installed fonts from the system. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveRegistryValues	removes registry entries created in the Registry page. Runs only during an uninstall
UnregisterClassInfo	manages the removal of COM class information from the system registry. Runs only during an uninstall
UnregisterExtensionInfo	manages the removal of extension-related information from the system registry. Runs only during an uninstall
UnregisterProgIdInfo	manages the unregistration of OLE ProgId information with the system. Runs only during an uninstall
UnregisterMIMEInfo	unregisters MIME-related registry information from the system. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveINIValues	removes INI files or entries created in the Files and Folders page. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveShortcuts	removes the shortcuts created in the Files and Folders page. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveEnvironmentStrings	modifies or removes the environment variables created in the Environment page. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveDuplicateFiles	removes files created by File Duplication operations. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveFiles	removes the files created in the Files and Folders page. Runs only during an uninstall
RemoveFolders	removes the folders created in the Files and Folders page. Runs only during an uninstall

Add Resources

CreateFolders	creates the folders specified in the Files and Folders page.
MoveFiles	moves or copies files which use File Move operations
InstallFiles	installs the files specified in the Files and Folders page
PatchFiles	patches the files included in the patch package. Runs only during a patch installation
DuplicateFiles	duplicates the files which use File Duplication operations
BindImage	binds each executable or DLL that must be bound to the DLLs imported by it. This is not used by packages created with Advanced Installer
CreateShortcuts	creates the shortcuts specified in the Files and Folders page
RegisterClassInfo	manages the registration of COM class information with the system
RegisterExtensionInfo	manages the registration of extension related information with the system.
RegisterProgIdInfo	manages the registration of OLE ProgId information with the system
RegisterMIMEInfo	registers MIME-related registry information with the system
WriteRegistryValues	creates the registry values specified in the Registry page
WriteINIValues	creates INI files or entries specified in the Files and Folders page
WriteEnvironmentStrings	creates or modifies the environment variables created in the Environment page
RegisterFonts	registers fonts marked for registration
InstallODBC	installs ODBC drivers, translators and data sources
RegisterTypeLibraries	registers type libraries with the system
SelfRegModules	registers the modules which use self registration
RegisterComPlus	registers COM+ applications
InstallServices	installs services specified in the Services page
MsiConfigureServices	configures the services to be ready to start
StartServices	starts services which use "Start" control operations in the package
RegisterUser	registers the user information with the installer to identify the user of a product
RegisterProduct	registers the product information with the installer and with Programs and Features. Also, it caches the MSI package
PublishComponents	manages components which need to be published
MsiPublishAssemblies	publishes the assemblies installed by the package
PublishFeatures	writes each feature's state into the system registry
PublishProduct	manages the advertisement of the product information with the system. This action publishes the product if the product is in advertise mode or if any feature is being installed or reinstalled

Finish Execution

InstallExecute	runs a script containing all operations in the action sequence since either the start of the installation or the last InstallExecute action
InstallFinalize	runs a script that contains all operations spooled since the installation started. Also, it marks the end of the Execute sequence

Topics

Custom Actions
The Windows Installer Custom Actions.