Assemblies - Not installing

[Linuxman]

I am trying to install and register some assemblies I need to install to the GAC, when I try add assemblies from the assembly/GAC directory the software does not add the files. The software acts like it is doing something disappears and returns to the add window not adding anything.

[sinan]

Can you describe in more detail how you are attempting this?
The software attempts to read information from the assemblies and then adds that information to the appropriate view.

[Linuxman]

I am just going to the assemblies window, clicking add, then browse to the assembly/Gac folder and trying to add the file. The one is question is something like MSDATA...I can't remember the remainder without looking. However, then I tried any of the files and none of them worked. Then when I click open the screen flickers, like it is doing something and then nothing happens. If I close this window, nothing was added.

[sinan]

Can you try using the Install Assembly command in the script and see if it works that way, as an aid to figuring what might be going wrong?

[Linuxman]

Can you try using the Install Assembly command in the script and see if it works that way, as an aid to figuring what might be going wrong?

I can, but I am not sure if I know how, can you give me a quick how-to.

[sinan]

You need to switch to the script view, and insert the command.

[christal]

I am currently assessing InstallAware as a means to get away from the dreaded InstallShield. For the time being I am using a hybrid methodology, calling an InstallAware single exe from InstallShield 10.5 InstallScript project to get some files into the GAC. I have Added the files in the Assemblies area. They do not exist in my Files area. Do they need to be in both for InstallAware to install the dlls to the GAC? I tried including them as support files, thinking that might get them into the GAC (InstallAware finding them there to install to the GAC and then deleting them), but that did not work either. Oddly enough, the fist time I built the project, I had not checked off the Single Exe checkbox and my older multi-file install was still out there, though unused at that point...or so I thought. Somehow, the single file Exe was still grabbing the multi-file stuff and using that do the install and was getting the files into the GAC, but also copying them into the TARGETFOLDER (which is how the multi-file install was setup). When I realized that older versions of the files were still getting placed in the TARGETFOLDER, I deleted the Uncompressed folder (which contained the older InstallAware output) and rebuilt my single EXE, which still runs but now installs nothing to the GAC. Opens, flashes the InstallAware screen, closes, done. Nothing was installed. Sorry for being so long winded...two questions. Is the single file EXE a completely self-contained install? Why are my dlls listed in Assemblies not installing to the GAC?

[Gizm0]

Are your assemblies strong named?If not, this is why they don't get installed into GAC.

[christal]

Thanks for responding! Yes, they are. In fact, at one point one of them was not and InstallAware would not accept the file for an Assembly. It gave me an error message that file was not strong named and therefore could not go into the GAC. Which I thought was pretty slick...letting me know ahead of time. I can see the place in the script where InstallAssemblies is getting called. As a test, I have just tossed in a Message Box before that code. OK. No message box came up, so somehow I have changed something and now the install is never getting to that point for some reason, though it must have earlier. That is right in the main install part of the script, which from my current use is really the only part of the script that I want to have run. I have disabled all of the dialog boxes and there is no user interface or even any prereqs. I just want the assemblies installed and for the installer to exit. So far, I find the scripting to be kind of confusing and I have not found a lot of documentation on it. I would love to see more concrete examples of scripts out in these forums. I see lots of advice, but very few actual script examples. Or, am I just looking in the wrong places?

[Gizm0]

Do you mind attaching the script file (.mia) so i can get a look into it?

[christal]

I have done some more testing (the messagebox not coming up was because I had the install in SILENT mode...duh!).

Anyway, I think I have found the problem. I am having InstallShield call LaunchAppAndWait on the single file release exe created with InstallAware. As a test, I moved the single file release exe to another folder and tried to run it and it fails. Seems it needs the mia.dll, the .res file and the data folder.

Why does the "single" file release exe require the other files to be present? I thought the "single file" was supposed to be the encapsulated release. When I build a Package file in InstallShield my whole release is in a single file and I thought that this was the equivalent option in InstallAware. Am I just choosing the wrong setup options?

The script is in the .mia file, right?

File Attached:

AddressStandardGAC.mia

[christal]

By George, I think I've got it! Here is what happened.

First idiot move on my part...the build was set for Debug mode, so that is why there were multiple files. Though, it does build the "Debug" files into the "Release" directory, so maybe that's my semantics getting in the way, as I tend to think of "Release" as the opposite of "Debug" (have I been Microsoft -ied...-ized...). Anyway, for my InstallShield build, I was only grabbing the EXE and then of course it failed without it's support files.

Second idiot move...when the single EXE was not placing things in the GAC, I thought that copying the DLLs in as Support Files (Creatives) might fix the GAC install problem. Well apparently, it did not like that at all.

So, uncheck the Debug build box and remove the dlls from Creatives and now the Assemblies are showing up in the GAC.....again.

Thanks for responding and trying to help! The main problem seems to be me.....hunting and pecking my way through the application.