Sorry - I'm a total newbie with InstallShield. I've inherited an InstallShield 2013 project that presents the user with a dialog that let's the user select a SQL Server and based on their selection sets a value in a config file. That's not working, so I opened the project in IS and looked in the Text File Changes under System Configuration and there's nothing there that would do this. So how do I figure out where this is happening (or not happening in my case), and then how do I get it to work? I need to set both data source and initial catalog in a file called server.config.
So how do I determine what the user selected and then save that in this file? It looks like I can set up a Text File Change, but how do I access the values selected by the user? And how can I figure out where the "code" is that is supposed to be doing this?
Thanks, Ben
I would try to track this from the dialog and controls in question, or by following the value through a verbose log. Since you say it doesn't work today, there will probably be an interruption in the flow I describe below, and since you don't know the full state of the installation project, it may be hard to identify. So search from what you know.
Top down: what gets configured
First, find the dialog that you fill out as a user making the selection. Then figure out the property that the particular control is associated with. Now you've got a thread; pull on it.
Search in the direct editor for references to the property. If the property is named MYCONFIG search for just that: MYCONFIG. You'll probably find some sort of use that looks like [MYCONFIG] instead, which is typically a format string specifying to use the value of MYCONFIG. You may also have to search all the files related to your project, as Custom Action implementations can be code stored outside of your InstallShield project.
The use may be in a ControlEvent, CustomAction, or some other table. If it's in a ControlEvent, it may be used to set another property. Ditto if it's in a CustomAction that sets properties (type 51) which may be easier to understand in the Custom Actions and Sequences view. In that case, also search for the property that gets set.
If you find it in a table like ISSearchReplace* or ISXml*, or IniFile, it's probably part of the Text Files Changes, XML File Changes, or INI File Changes, and that view should make it easier to understand.
Maybe that thread dead-ends somewhere. A property gets set, but never referenced. So try to search from the other end.
Bottom up: what gets written
If there are text file changes, xml file changes, ini file changes, or custom actions that reference the file you need updated, see where they get their information. Try to follow it back. If they're well written, you should be able to identify the property (noting that one called CustomActionData comes from a property matching the name of the custom action it's used in), and then trace that further back using the same ideas as above, but in the other direction.
Where's the problem?
If the threads don't connect, that's probably the problem. It's also possible that a custom action lacks permissions but doesn't reports a failure, or that the file name or path got misconfigured somewhere along the way. Look for small things like that if things look like they should work but don't.