UAC Questions...

[Steve]

I have a couple of UAC questions that I have been wondering about for some time, but still cause me confusion each time I look at the InstallAware UI. When I read the IA Help documentation, it unfortunately is ambiguous enough about this topic that it sometimes almost seems contradictory.
Perhaps you can provide some clarification and/or additional details?

Source of my confusion:
In the 'Summary and UAC' section there is 'Requested User Elevation' selection option for 'User Account Control'
AND
there is also a 'Vista User Account Control Elevation' option in the 'Application Requirements' section.

My questions center around these two UAC related options:
With regard to the 'Vista User Account Control Elevation' option, the IA documentation says

To check whether setup has full administrator rights on a Vista or newer operating system with UAC enabled, check the Vista User Account Control Elevation check-box.

This would lead the reader to believe that enabling this option is essentially a more limited function (OS wise) that was already present in the exsiting 'Administrator Priviledges' option.
1) So what is the difference then between 'Vista User Account Control Elevation' and the 'Administrator Priviledges' options?
2) Since the 'Vista option' only applies to Vista and higher OS's, but the Administrator Priviledges' option applies to all OS's why would anyone want or need the Vista option?.

With regard to the 'Requested User Elevation' selection option selection option for 'User Account Control' section, the IA documentation says

Select your desired UAC elevation level using this combo-box. The default setting is highestAvailable.

3) If you have this newer 'Requested User Elevation' selection option why would anyone ever want or need the aforementioned 'Vista Option'?
4) Does the 'Vista option' therefore really only remain in IA for backwards compatibility reasons?
5) If someone enabled the 'Vista option' does it really just enable the default 'Requested User Elevation' option which is 'Elevate Administrators only (highestAvailable)'?
6) Lastly, with regard to the 'Requested User Elevation' option, why is 'Elevate Administrators only (highestAvailable)' the default? (I would have thought that best selection to choose would always be 'Always Elevate (requireAdministrator)' since that option will always ensure that the installer will be granted optimum security permissions to all folders for better chance of a successful installation).

Thanks in advance!
Steve

[giaviv]

1) 'Vista User Account Control Elevation' means is UAC enabled on the machine. 'Administrator Privileges' means is the installer running with admin privileges.
2) See 1)
3) This can actually elevate the MSI, whereas 'Vista User Account Control Elevation' only checks if UAC is enabled on the machine.
4) Again, see 1)
5) No, it will just check whether UAC is turned on.
6) This is because requireAdministrator requires an administrator to run the setup, whereas highestAvailable will try to elevate to the highest set of privileges possible.

[Steve]

Thanks Aviv,
I appreciate the your taking the time to answer my questions. It is very helpful. Thank you!

So, based on what you have told me, I am surmising that the 'Vista User Account Control Elevation' option is essentially a redundant and seemingly pointless option to have enabled IF I also have 'Administrator Privileges' AND 'Always Elevate (requireAdministrator)' (or 'Elevate Administrators only (highestAvailable)) enabled in a project.

My line of thinking is that the only thing that 'Vista User Account Control Elevation' will do is to just simply tell me that UAC is enabled, and unfortunately also cause older OS's to terminate the install... whoopie.... that seems a little problematic in the real world.
HOWEVER, as we all know, Win 7 and higher OS's require Admin rights (often just to deal with the UAC restrictions) in order to perform pretty much any install these days and thus it is almost a universal assumption that installs must be run as an Administrator in order to be successful.
Knowing that is the reality of today's Windows security features means that I will require an Administrator in order to elevate the UAC to the highest set of privileges possible. Since this would be the case for all but the most simplistic of install projects, the act of enabling 'Administrator Privileges' and 'Always Elevate (requireAdministrator)' options should insure that every installation will have a 'fighting chance' to properly deal with Windows UAC in order to run successfully.

Am I missing some fundamental concept or is my thinking actually fairly accurate in this case?
Thanks!
Steve

[giaviv]

Steve,

I agree with what you are saying. That being said, keep in mind that it is sometimes necessary to find out whether UAC is enabled or not.

[Steve]

Thanks Aviv,
As always, I appreciate your feedback. It really helps greatly to have you confirm that my understanding is correct.
Thanks again
Steve