Custom Installation Wizard

Article
02/20/2014

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Overview of the Custom Installation Wizard

The Custom Installation Wizard enables you to record changes to the master installation in a Microsoft® Windows® Installer transform (MST file) without altering the original package (MSI file). Because the original package is never altered, you can create a different transform for every installation scenario you need. When you run Setup with both the package and the transform, Windows Installer applies the transform to the original package, and Setup uses your altered configuration to perform the installation.

You can also use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a transform that runs additional Setup programs, such as the Profile Wizard, at the end of the Microsoft Project 2002 installation. If you run the Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit from within the Custom Installation Wizard, you can customize the way Microsoft Project installs Internet Explorer 5.01.

Deploying a Custom Installation Throughout Your Organization

If you are deploying Microsoft Project 2002 throughout a large organization, it is probably most efficient to first install Microsoft Project on a network server and then have users run Setup from your administrative installation point.

After you create an administrative installation point, you will have many options for managing the deployment of Microsoft Project. By using the Custom Installation Wizard, you can modify the administrative installation point to control how all the users in your organization install Microsoft Project on their computers.

You can use the Custom Installation Wizard to do the following:

Define the path where Microsoft Project is installed on users' computers

Define the default installation state for all features of Microsoft Project

Add your own files and registry entries to Setup so that they are installed along with Microsoft Project

Modify Microsoft Project shortcuts, specifying where they are installed and customizing their properties

Define a list of network servers for Microsoft Project to use if the primary server is unavailable

Create a transform that runs additional Setup programs, such as the Profile Wizard, at the end of Microsoft Project installation

Configure Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 the way that you want

For Microsoft Project 2002, the Custom Installation Wizard has been updated to include the following features:

An improved user interface and enhancements to the Help system

New installation states (Not Available, Hidden, Locked)

The ability to add and remove files with a transform

Enhanced security customization, including the ability to choose whether or not to install Visual Basic® for Applications

After you use the Custom Installation Wizard to fine-tune available options, your modifications become the default settings for anyone who runs Setup from your administrative installation point. You can even have users run Setup in quiet mode (with no user interaction) so that your modifications define precisely how Microsoft Project is installed — no questions asked.

Transforming a Standard Installation

When you select modifications in the Custom Installation Wizard, the wizard alters the behavior of Microsoft Project Setup to install Microsoft Project the way that you choose. The wizard can do this because Setup uses the new Windows Installer to install and manage Microsoft Project components.

The Windows Installer uses two types of files to install Microsoft Project:

Installer package (MSI file) The package, or MSI file, contains a database that describes Microsoft Project files and configuration information, plus instructions that determine how Setup installs the files.

Installer transform (MST file) The transform, or MST file, contains modifications to be applied to the package as Setup installs Microsoft Project.

The Custom Installation Wizard creates a new installer transform (MST file) based on your customizations. Setup reads the information in the installer package (MSI file), applies the changes specified in the installer transform, and installs Microsoft Project by using the combined set of instructions. The original installer package is never altered. This arrangement allows you to create any number of installer transforms; so you can design any number of Setup scenarios by using the wizard, all from the same administrative installation point.

For example, you can use the Custom Installation Wizard to create unique transforms for your accounting, engineering, and human resources departments. You can install a customized set of features and settings for each department. Your settings become the default when users install Microsoft Project by using the transform that's customized for their departments.

Using the Windows Installer Package

The Windows Installer package is a relational database that contains all the information necessary to install Microsoft Project. The package associates product components with features and contains information about the installation process itself, such as installation sequence, destination folder paths, system dependencies, and installation options. The Windows Installer package also contains a number of properties that control the installation process.

After installation, the Installer will still use the package to add or remove components and replace missing or damaged files. When you set Microsoft Project features to be installed on first use, the Installer uses the package to copy the files the first time the user activates the features.

Using the Windows Installer Transform

You can use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a Windows Installer transform that describes how to transform the package so that Setup installs Microsoft Project the way you want. Like the package, the transform is a relational database with information about components, features, and Setup properties. However, the transform contains only the changes that you want to apply to the package.

When you run Setup using both the package and the transform, the Windows Installer applies the transform to the original package, and Setup uses your altered configuration to perform the installation. The Installer does not change the package itself, but only temporarily applies the changes in memory before carrying out the package instructions.

Creating Multiple Custom Installations of Microsoft Project

To customize the Microsoft Project installation, you use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a new transform that contains all of the changes you want to make to the Microsoft Project installation. You then run Setup using both the package and the transform.

Because the transform is typically much smaller than the package, you can easily create multiple custom installations by creating multiple transforms to use with the default package. In each transform, you can select a different set of installation options, add custom files or registry entries, and customize Setup properties.

For example, you can use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a separate transform for three departments: accounting, engineering, and services. In the accounting department transform, you can specify that Microsoft Project is to be installed on the user's computer and that Microsoft Project Help is to be available on the network. In the engineering department transform, you can choose to install the PERT Analysis add-ins to run on the user's computer. In the services department transform, you can add a set of Microsoft Project templates that are used to create corporate projects. When users in the accounting department run Setup, they use their department's transform, and Setup installs their customized version of Microsoft Project. Users in the engineering and services departments install different customized versions of Microsoft Project by using the transforms created for their departments.

Setting Options in the Custom Installation Wizard

When you run the Custom Installation Wizard, you first identify the Windows Installer package you want to customize. You can then either open an existing Windows Installer transform (to work with a custom transform as a starting point) or create a new transform.

Specifying Installer Packages and Transforms

In the Custom Installation Wizard, you can proceed as follows:

Open the Installer package Enter the name and path of the Microsoft Project installer package (Install.msi) which is located in the root folder of the administrative installation point.

Open the transform To create a new transform, select Do not open an existing MST file. To modify an existing transform, select Open an existing MST file and enter the name and path of the MST file.

Select the transform you want to save Specify a file name for the MST file in which to save your customizations. You can save your changes in the same file you opened, or in a new MST file.

Specifying Setup Options

After specifying the MSI and MST files, the Custom Installation Wizard guides you through the installation customization options that will be recorded in the MST file.

You can also set default application settings by using the Profile Wizard and the Custom Installation Wizard together. For example, you can set the default view that is displayed when users start Microsoft Project.

First, you customize settings in Microsoft Project and use the Profile Wizard to record them in a profile settings file (OPS file). You then use the Custom Installation Wizard to copy the OPS file into the MST file. Setup uses the OPS file to preset the default options on users' computers.

You can use the Custom Installation Wizard to specify that Setup runs the Profile Wizard separately, after installation is completed, to restore the settings in the OPS file.

Combining the Custom Installation Wizard with Other Setup Methods

Many of the customizations you can make by using the Custom Installation Wizard can also be done in other ways. This increases your flexibility for creating custom installations.

Often, the installation scenarios you create for various departments will differ only slightly. To make several department transforms that are almost identical, use the Custom Installation Wizard to create the first transform by specifying options that apply to all departments, and save these options in a new MST file. You can then adapt this MST file for each individual department by using a different customization method.

For example, suppose that the only difference between the accounting department's and the engineering department's installation configuration is the organization name. You can use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a single MST file and then use a different Setup command line option to set the COMPANYNAME property for each department.

For a complete list of Setup command line options you can use when you run Setup with a custom MST file, click Help on the last page of the Custom Installation Wizard. The wizard's Help also describes the format of the Setup settings file, which you can use to specify Setup properties or define the level of user interaction during Setup.

Recording Changes in a Transform

After setting the options you want and clicking Finish on the last page, the Custom Installation Wizard records all changes you made in the transform. The original Installer package is never altered. If needed, you can always go back to using the standard Microsoft Project Setup program.