InstallShield Reponse File missing a response

Question

I am trying to automate the install of a few setup files (.exe). I managed to get one working without any issue but am having difficulty with the second.

I created response files by using the following in command prompt:

MyProgram.exe -r

This generated a "setup.exe" file in C:\Windows as I would expect it to. Here is an example of what the file looks like in notepad:

[{PRODUCT_GUID}-DlgOrder]
Dlg0={PRODUCT_GUID}-SdWelcome-0
Count=5
Dlg1={PRODUCT_GUID}-SdLicense-0
Dlg2={PRODUCT_GUID}-SdAskDestPath-0
Dlg3={PRODUCT_GUID}-SdSelectFolder-0
Dlg4={PRODUCT_GUID}-SdStartCopy-0

[{PRODUCT_GUID}-SdWelcome-0]
Result=1
[{PRODUCT_GUID}-SdLicense-0]
Result=1
[{PRODUCT_GUID}-SdAskDestPath-0]
szDir=C:\Example\
Result=1
[{PRODUCT_GUID}-SdSelectFolder-0]
szFolder=Example\Folder
Result=1
[{PRODUCT_GUID}-SdStartCopy-0]
Result=1

I run the install with the setup.iss (response file) using the command:

program.exe /S /f1.\setup.iss

All response files seem to work except for one. The program opens a dialog asking me to select from a pair of radio buttons to select what language manual I want it to install. I want it to default to hit the "Next" button but there's obviously nothing recorded in the .iss file to do so.

What do I have to manually add to the .iss file in order to complete this prompt? Why doesn't my recording put this in?

Additional information:

• If I manually hit "Next" at this step, the program completes install as expected.

• The program successfully installs when I install everything manually.

Answer 1

It sounds like this installation includes a custom dialog that doesn't properly handle either MODE SILENTMODE or RECORDMODE. For silent installations to work properly, it needs to call SilentWriteData and SilentReadData when appropriate.

If you are the author of this installation (whether original or inherited), you should handle this case. If you are not the author and are trying to install this installation silently, you should contact the vendor, or (as Glytzhkof suggests) ask on a more relevant site for workarounds.

Answer 2

I think the response file will only contain the actual answers that were input during the original response file creation session. Did this missing dialog show up during the original setup run? Reboot dialogs and rare to display dialogs are often missing from the response file.

It could also be that the missing dialog is a custom made dialog and not a built-in Installshield dialog. I suppose this could mean it doesn't behave in the standard way.

How complex is this setup? How many systems are you deploying to? To reliably deploy files like these it is common to use "setup capture" and repackage as MSI files - so called application repackaging.

Depending on how many setups you have, how important they are and how many machines they need to reliably work on it might be worth capturing them. This is a highly complex task at times, but yield more reliable deployment once done right. Personally I find the biggest benefit of repackaging is the availability of a reliable uninstall - provided you have cleaned up the capture properly. Otherwise you have to create response files for the uninstall too. Very clunky and error prone - even when done well.

You might want to take this discussion to serverfault.com - the system administrator equivalent to stackoverflow.com. You can also have a look here: http://unattended.sourceforge.net/installers.php