tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9537945.post-870992252209998692007-11-30T05:38:00.000-06:002007-11-30T05:38:00.000-06:00Hi Christoper,<BR/>Carl here<BR/><BR/>Reasons for disliking InstallScript:<BR/>Until InstallShield 12 the engine simply did not work. About 1% of all installs failed. The same problem has dogged every version since 3. It hung, crashed or refused to work. I make no distinction between the InstallScript MSI and an MSI with InstallScript CAs because they both fail unexpectedly.<BR/><BR/>As Rob Mensching explained, http://robmensching.com/blog/archive/2007/08/17/Zataoca-Custom-actions-are-generally-an-admission-of-failure.aspx most people use it through ignorance. They don't know how to do something through the tables so they script it. People read the help file and see that wonderful collection of InstallScript functions and have no idea that they are doing it wrong. They fall into the traps of not catering for silent installs or worrying what will happen when the package repairs and all the other goodness that the MSI engine provides because they never need to learn about the engine.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure your InstallScript CAs are fabulous because you do know where to use them appropriately. Unfortunately you are on your own there.<BR/><BR/>as for your other points:<BR/>InstallShield 7 introduced the abomination that is the InstallScript MSI project ... your point is what exactly?<BR/><BR/>The great thing about MSIs are that they are an open format database. When your corporate customers use them they open them up to see what they do and change them to fit their standards and needs (e.g. no shortcuts on the desktop). They are open, transparent and easy to understand. <B>exactly the same can be said of VBScript Custom Actions</B>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com