InstallScript Language Reference

InstallShield DevStudio

InstallShield DevStudio makes designing your installation easy with InstallScript, a simple but powerful programming language. InstallScript is similar to the C language. It has a defined format and regulated syntax. It uses certain data types, each with specific properties. It also allows you to create custom functions.

InstallScript, however, does not provide the full range of programming functionality that C does. InstallScript was designed to do one thing—create installations. And it does so better than any programming language in the world. Regardless of your programming background, you can quickly learn to build an installation with InstallScript.

Some InstallScript functions, events, and variables are available only for InstallScript-based installation projects—InstallScript projects and/or InstallScript MSI projects. These project-specific topics are denoted by the project icons: (InstallScript project) and (InstallScript MSI project). The appropriate icons appear immediately to the right of the topic title.

InstallScript Language Reference Sections
	InstallScript Compiler General information about the InstallScript integrated compiler.
	Data Types Learn about the data types supported in InstallScript.
	Event Handlers InstallScript project installation programs are driven by the InstallScript engine, which generates a series of events in a specific order.
	Flow Control Contains information on how to control the flow of execution within scripts.
	Functions InstallScript comes with over 250 built-in functions that do most of the work for you. Each of those functions is described fully in this reference, along with examples.
	Operators Contains information about supported operators in InstallScript.
	Reserved Words Reserved words and characters have special meaning in InstallScript and cannot be used except for their intended purposes.
	Setup Scripts Setup scripts are collections of event handlers, functions called by those event handlers, and data used by the event handlers and functions.
	Error Information Reference information for warnings, syntax errors, fatal errors, and internal errors.

• Some of the functions that were available in InstallShield Professional are deprecated in InstallShield DevStudio. To view a list of the functions, see Unsupported Functions.
• Because this documentation is designed to interact with the product, it is recommended that you open the help from the InstallShield DevStudio IDE. Copying the help files to another folder or system causes many of its features to work incorrectly.