What are good options for migrating a basic MSI to support Response files during installation?

Question

I inherited a Basic MSI InstallShield ISM to install an application that has a mixture of .Net and COM dll's. The existing ISM currently uses a number of custom dialogs to run the setup workflow.

A new requirement we have is support for response files for silent installation. From what I understand this isn't possible with Basic MSI.

One option I've considered is to convert this to Install Script and re-build the installer UI. I'm exploring the difficulty of that now. Is this a good approach?

What other options are available?

Answer 1

Instead of a response file why not use a response transform. The MSI UI settings usually translate to some properties being set to a certain value. You can add those properties to a transform and use it during the silent installation for configuration.

Here you can find an example. It is not exactly what you need, but it is a starting point:

Answer 2

Response files is the technique associated with InstallScript projects. It has no place in an MSI silent installation story. The MSI equivilant of a response file is an advertised installation and then run the installer from the advertisement. But that's seldom used in the real world.