Call a dll function from InstallAware or InstallShield

Question

Does any body know how can i call a dll function from InstallShield or InstallAware.

Answer 1

The user guide: http://kb.flexerasoftware.com/doc/DocumentRepository/Installation/InstallShield/InstallShield%202011%20Professional/01_Public/Product_Manual/InstallShield2011UserGuide.pdf

Has a section with examples from page 694 onwards.

Answer 2

One must first know more about the DLL. Is it a WinPE ( native ) dll with exported functions? Is it a COM server? Or perhaps it is a .NET assembly with or without ComVisible types.

A better answer can be provided if there is more information.

For InstallShield:

One way to consume a .NET ComVisible class is to write an InstallScript custom action and use the DotNetCoCreateObject() function.

Another approach would be to define a managed custom action. Here is an tutorial.

But my favorite approach is to write a DTF custom action to encapsulate your assembly.