MSI Factory

MSI Factory supports opening MSI Factory project files (*.msifact) as well as Setup Factory for Windows Installer project files (*.sufproj).

Opening Setup Factory for Window Installer projects

Setup Factory for Windows Installer project files (*.sufproj) can be opened in two ways:

1) Opening the MSI Factory Design Environment, or Choosing File > New Project...

When you open the MSI Factory design environment, or choose File > New Project from the menu, you are presented with the Start a New Project dialog. If you select "Open an existing project" and click the Browse button, an "Open" dialog is shown where you can select your project file. Before browsing for your project file, choose "Setup Factory Projects (*.sufproj)" from the "Files of type" combo box  to filter the desired file type. Once you've selected the file, click the "Open" button.

2) Selecting File > Open...

When you select File > Open from the menu, the "Open" dialog is shown where you can select your project file. Before browsing for your project file, choose "Setup Factory Projects (*.sufproj)" from the "Files of type" combo box  to filter the desired file type. Once you've selected the file, click the "Open" button.

After you've selected your Setup Factory for Windows Installer project file, a notification dialog is shown explaining that a copy of the project must be saved with the MSI Factory extension (*.msifact). If you click the "OK" button, a "Save As" dialog is shown where you can specify the project name and location. To abort the process, you can click the "Cancel" button. After choosing the location to save the new project, a notification dialog is presented describing possible changes that may be required. Clicking the "OK" button opens this help topic, while clicking "Cancel" continues opening the project file in MSI Factory.

Possible Changes Required for Setup Factory for Windows Installer Projects in MSI Factory

Setup Factory for Windows Installer project files (*.sufproj) are generally fully supported by MSI Factory once their file extensions have been changed. However, if your project was initially created using a version previous to 1.1.1017.0, there are some areas that may need modifying to function correctly in MSI Factory.

Previous to 1.1.1017.0, references to resources from Setup Factory's installation folder were provided using their absolute paths. In Setup Factory 1.1.1017.0, this was changed to use the global build variable "SetupFactoryFolder," or as seen in edit fields, $(var.SetupFactoryFolder). MSI Factory supports the "SetupFactoryFolder" build variable by expanding it to MSI Factory's installation folder, just like its own build variable "MSIFactoryFolder."

To ensure your project will use the latest resources included in MSI Factory, you should examine your project to make sure there are no absolute paths referencing locations to the Setup Factory for Windows Installer installation folder.

Here are some common areas that may contain these types of references:

Build > Settings > Setup File tab - "Working folder"

This folder is normally configured to be the product's "Output" folder located in My Documents. You will want to change this value from:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\My Documents\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\Output

To:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\My Documents\MSI Factory\Output

Build > Settings > Setup File tab - "Output folder"

This folder is normally configured to be the product's "Output" folder located in My Documents. You will want to change this value from:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\My Documents\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\Output

To:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\My Documents\MSI Factory\Output

Build > Settings > Fragments tab

There are normally default fragments included in your project file that are referenced from the product's installation folder. For example, you may see something like the following:

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\Common.wxs

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\ErrorText.wxs

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\ProgressText.wxs

To reference the copies from MSI Factory's installation folder using build variables, these should be changed to:

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\Common.wxs

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\ErrorText.wxs

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\ProgressText.wxs

Note: If the paths contain the "SetupFactoryFolder" build variable, a change is not required.

Project > Styles - Binary Resources

There are normally default binary resources included in your project file that are referenced from the product's installation folder. For example, you may see something like the following:

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\info.ico

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\dlgbmp.bmp

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\bannrbmp.bmp

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\Up.ico

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\New.ico

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\exclamic.ico

To reference the copies from MSI Factory's installation folder using build variables, these should be changed to:

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\info.ico

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\dlgbmp.bmp

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\bannrbmp.bmp

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\Up.ico

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\New.ico

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\exclamic.ico

Note: If the paths contain the "SetupFactoryFolder" build variable, a change is not required.

Project > Languages > Language Properties - "Automatically synchronize with language file" value

The language file path may look something like the following:

C:\Program Files\Setup Factory for Windows Installer\UI\Default\Language_en-us.lang

To reference the file from MSI Factory's installation folder using build variables, this should be changed to:

$(var.MSIFactoryFolder)\UI\Default\Language_en-us.lang

Note: If the paths contain the "SetupFactoryFolder" build variable, a change is not required.

Other Locations

The above locations are common examples of absolute references to files that may exist, however there may be other places within your project with these types of references, for example in the bootstrapper. You may want to take a moment to inspect your project file further to avoid these types of issues that may result in either build errors, or unexpected files from being included in your setup.

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