InstallShield Block installing same MSI twice from command line

0
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I have setup created with InstallShield 2015 Basic MSI.
Let’s say in this setup user can choose if he want to install Client or Server, for each setup type ( Client or Server ) there are several features he can choose to install.
Now user choose to install Client setup and included 2 features under it, If he run the setup again with UI he will enter the maintenance mode enable him to add more feature belong to Client.

My problem is that he can also run same setup again from command line (msiexec /I) and try to install the Server setup type, currently setup doesn’t block or prevent it and this may cause corruption of Client setup he already have installed.

So, I guess I should write a CA that will check if current setup is installed and check what action user is trying to run from command line and if it’s not uninstall block it ( still need to support running uninstall from command line ).

Is this logic correct? How can I know what is the command user run from command line? meaning that he run msiexec /I and not trying to uninstall from command line.

I wonder if there an InstallShield\MSI build in way \ property to prevent installing same MSI twice from command line ?

1
installationwindows-installerinstallshield
Are you saying you want the server and client features to be mutually exclusive from both the UI and Command Line? – Christopher Painter
Correct, user can install Client or Server, from UI I can prevent installing both but not from command line, I don't know how to check which action user is running from command line, is it uninstall\repair which are allowed or Install which is not. – Epligam
I would write a Type 19 error custom action that blocks the installation if the user is requesting a two conflicting features to be installed or the user is requesting one feature to be installed that conflicts with another feature that is installed. Use the feature request and installed state operators in your conditional expressions and schedule it after CostFinalize. – Christopher Painter

1 Answers

0
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I'm having a hard time understanding you. I hope my answer is aligned with your needs.

When you first run the MSI it's in installation mode. When you run it again it's a maintenance mode. Depending on how you authored your installer, you should get a dialog with Repair, Change or Remove buttons. The Change button can be used to allow the user to add additional features or remove features. This can all be done from the command line as well using the ADDLOCAL and REMOVE properties. There properties take a , delimited list of feature names.

One place people make a mistake is using the conditions Not Installed | REMOVE="ALL" on their custom actions. This doesn't take into consideration the fact that you might have multiple features and come back during maintenance mode and reconfigure the application. MSI has feature and component installation and action state evaluators that can be used in conditions that are better suited for this job.

Update:

I would write a Type 19 error custom action that blocks the installation if the user is requesting a two conflicting features to be installed or the user is requesting one feature to be installed that conflicts with another feature that is installed. Use the feature request and installed state operators in your conditional expressions and schedule it after CostFinalize.