Unwanted shortcut

[codemonkey999]

I'm new to InstallAware and I am using Express CodeGear special edition v 7 r 2.

I am creating a fairly simple set up but I have a problem with shortcuts. IA creates a shortcut to my application on the Windows start menu which is what I asked for, but it also creates a shortcut to the installation folder as well which I don't want and which I did not ask for. How can I get rid of the unwanted shortcut?

Advice on how to solve this would be greatly appreciated.

[mills]

So, in your design view, there is only the one shortcut listed under the shortcuts?

Do you happen to have the "Filter Shortcuts by Feature" option at the top checked off? If it is, unchecking it may reveal the "missing" shortcut...

[codemonkey999]

There is definitely only one shortcut listed in Shortcuts:

$TARGETDIR$\MyApp.exe in link location $STARTMENU$ - for manual start from Windows start menu

In the project properties, Target folder is $ALLPROGRAMS$\EvoStorage and the shortcut folder is $ALLPROGRAMS$

[codemonkey999]

I have now wasted days on this problem just going round in circles with no help from you. So it's back to InstallShield for me as I have no confidence in InstallAware if I cannot make even the most basic things work properly.

This is my assessment of InstallAware based on my experience so far:
- The product seems to be full of bugs.
- Technical support is abysmal.
- There is no documentation of any technical depth whatsoever that explains what IA does or tries to do.
- On-screen documentation assumes the user has prior in-depth of knowledge about both MSI and the internals of IA.
- There are errors in the on-screen documentation that are misleading.
- Error messages are meaningless or a best confusing as again they assume the user has in-depth knowledge of IA.
- Many user errors are left unchecked so that installations can fail for obscure reasons.

The only good thing I can say is that the compression in the generated setup files is excellent.

As a professional software developer and technical writer for many years, I would be ashamed to release software that is still at a such a primitive stage of software development and documentation and would certainly not recommend InstallAware to others.

[bokkie]

I'm sorry to read that you feel that way but as a user of IA myself it's important to appreciate (and I'm sure you do) that this is a public forum. Anything that people bring to it or take from it is down to open participation and free contribution. As I understand it and I might be wrong, nobody who works for IA is obliged to take part in these forums. Some users nip in with a thread or two and then move on having achieved their objectives perhaps never to be heard from again. Others, like myself, tend to stick around. I like to think I can help in proportion to how others have helped me.

So, I'll tell you what I'm happy to do: If you are prepared to attach the project you're having a problem with I'll have a look and see if there's anything I can see or suggest changing. Sometimes we need to see the actual project to see the macroscopic perspective. I don't have version 7 as I recently upgraded from 9 to 10 and I don't know if version 10 will behave differently. I can only try it for you.

I'm sure many of us have had the frustration where we hear a rattle in a car and describe it to the dealer we got the car from. It's only when we take the car to the dealer that a mechanic has the chance to take it for a drive and hopefully listen for it and make a repair. If you want to drive-by and drop your project off, I'll take it into my workshop and see what I can find - no fee involved.

[mills]

I would be happy to look at your project if you post it here or send it to [email protected].