Options.ini File
AdminStudio 2025 | 29.0 | Repackager
This feature is available in AdminStudio Professional and Enterprise Editions.
The Options.ini file is created by Repackager and is used during the conversion of Repackager output into an InstallShield Editor project (.ism). It includes basic project settings which are required by Repackager. Information about this file is presented in the following sections:
note
Although many of these settings have a one-to-one correspondence with settings available in the Repackager interface, some can only be accessed by editing this .ini file directly.
[MMExclusions] Section
This section lists the merge module GUIDs that should not be included in your package. This section only applies if you have selected to replace files with merge modules during conversion.
[General] Section
Following are descriptions of properties that can be set in the [General] section of the Options.ini file.
| Properties | Description |
|---|---|
| AddlMMSearchPath | Use to specify additional directories containing custom merge modules to use during repackaging. |
| ALLUSERS | If this option is set to Y and if the template file (specified using the `ProjectTemplate` option) does not contain ALLUSERS in its Property table, then a property named ALLUSERS with a value of 2 will be added to the Property table. This will cause silent installs to behave as non-silent installs do (non-silent installs rely on a custom action to set this property). This option is set to Y by default. |
| ARPPublisher | This populates the Publisher field in Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. |
| ARPPublisherURL | This populates the Publisher URL field in Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. |
| ARPSupportURL | This populates the Support URL field in Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. |
| AutoUpgrade | Upgrades the InstallShield Editor template project file (if used) if needed. This option is set to Y by default. |
| BuildCompressed | This option, set to Y by default, compresses all necessary files inside the MSI package, as opposed to storing them outside of the MSI database. |
| BuildFeatures | No longer used. |
| BuildMSI | Specifies whether or not to build the MSI package after building ISM. This option is set to Y by default. |
| BuildProduct | Identifies the InstallShield Editor Product configuration to build. |
| BuildProScannedFiles | Files identified in the Media Scan Wizard will be included in the package (unless you have manually excluded them from the project). This option is set to Y by default. |
| BuildRelease | Identifies which InstallShield Editor Release configuration to build. |
| BuildStaticScannedFiles | Any files identified when running the Setup Intent Wizard will be included in the package (unless you have manually excluded them from the project). This option is set to Y by default. |
| COMMapping | When this option is set to Y , registry data pertaining to COM information will be mapped to the appropriate MSI tables whenever possible. This reduces the number of ICE33 warnings that can occur during package validation. This option is set to Y by default. |
| CreateSetupExe | This option, which is set to N by default, allows you to automatically create a Setup\.exe file to begin the installation. |
| EnablePathVariables | Set this option to Y to use path variables. If enabled, the repackaged setup is significantly more portable between computers (with dependencies to the system where the setup was repackaged removed). This option is set to Y by default. |
| ExtraHKCRPermanent | When this option is set to Y , any changes made to existing registry data during repackaging which cannot be identified as belonging to a file installed by the setup are placed in permanent components, which are not removed by default when the repackaged setup is uninstalled. This prevents inadvertently removing registry entries required by other applications that were not originally made by the repackaged setup. By default, this option is set to Y , and it is strongly recommended that you retain this setting to prevent unexpected results when the package is uninstalled. |
| INSTALLDIR | This value will be used for INSTALLDIR (the installation directory) and can use a Windows Installer property such as [ProgramFilesFolder]\MyProgram |
| ISProSetup | If one of the original setups that was repackaged was created by InstallShield Professional 5.5 or later, this option will be set to Y . This option is set to N by default. |
| LimitedUI | Set this option to Y display only the InstallWelcome dialog box when the MSI package is run. This option is set to Y by default. |
| MultiUserShortcuts | When this option is set to Y , non-advertised shortcuts will work for all users on the target system. This will generate ICE43 warnings when validation is run. If you know the installation is for a single-user environment, change this option to N to avoid these warnings. This option is set to Y by default. |
| MMPathVersion | When including merge modules, if this option is set to Y , compare path and version information. This option is set to Y by default. |
| NewInstallDir | Value for INSTALLDIR variable. |
| ODBCMapping | If selected, ODBC-related registry data is mapped to ODBC tables instead of the Registry table. This data will only function correctly if Windows Installer supports the ODBC resource being mapped; it is recommended that you do not enable this option if you are unsure whether the ODBC resources are supported correctly by Windows Installer. This option is set to N by default. |
| OSGranular | For ProLogged Projects: If this is set to Y, component conditions will store specific operating system information. For example, if the filter is NT4, the condition will be (VersionNT=4). If this is set to N, component conditions will store a grouping of the operating system. For example, if the filter is NT4, the condition will be (VersionNT). This is set to N by default. |
| OtherComponentFileExtensions | Specify additional extensions to use when defining components. MSI has rules governing component creation for file types. For example, portable executable (PE) files must have separate components. Therefore, certain extensions have been defined (EXE, DLL, etc.). Additional extensions can be defined in the options.ini file in the format of: Type1:Extension1\ |
| OtherFilesNewComponents | When this option is set to Y, one component will be created for every file in your setup. Otherwise, new components will only be created for each portable executable file. This option is set to N by default. |
| PermanentSystemFiles | Set this option to Y to mark portable executable files installed to a system folder (System32Folder) as Permanent files (will not be uninstalled). This option is set to Y by default. |
| PermanentSystemFilesSubfolders | Set this option to Y to mark files installed to a subfolder of a system folder as Permanent files (will not be uninstalled). This option is set to N by default. |
| ProductName | The name of the product. You must provide a value for this option either in this file or in Repackager. |
| ProductVersion | The version of the product. You must provide a value for this option either in this file or in Repackager. |
| Project | Name of InstallShield Editor project file. |
| ProjectTemplate | The name and location of the default InstallShield Editor project template ( \.ism ) used in the conversion process. |
| ServiceControlEvents | When this option is set to Y, the ServiceControl table will be populated for NT Services. This option is set to N by default. |
| SharedCommonFiles | Set this option to Y to mark portable executable files installed to the CommonFilesFolder (or subfolder) as Shared files. This option is set to Y by default. |
| SISAuthor | This option populates the Author field of the Summary Information Stream (accessible from the package's properties). This option is set to Repackager by default. |
| SISSubject | This option populates the Subject field of the Summary Information Stream (accessible from the package's properties). |
| SkipMMIfShortcut | Merge Modules that have files pointed to by shortcuts should be skipped even if they are not in the exclusion list. This option is set to Y by default. |
| UseAdvertisedShortcuts | Create advertised shortcuts where applicable. This option is set to Y by default. |
| UseHKCUProxy | Set this option to Y to copy all registry entries in HKEY_CURRENT_USER to HKEY_USERS\.default. This option is set to N by default. |
| UseLanguage | When selected, the target package's language will be the language detected by Repackager (as displayed in the Captured Installation view). This option is set to N by default. |
| UseMergeModules | Set this option to Y to replace files with merge modules whenever possible during conversion. Exceptions are listed under the [MMExclusions] section. This option is set to Y by default. |
| UseSrcFolder | Set this option to Y to make the InstallShield Editor project ( \.ism ) folder default to the Repackager output project ( \.inc ) folder. This option is set to Y by default. |
[IgnoreShortcuts] Section
Shortcuts that refer to executables listed in this section will be ignored during conversion.
Options.ini File Defaults
This section lists the default settings in the Options.ini file that is shipped with Repackager:
[MMExclusions]
[General]
UseSrcFolder=Y
EnablePathVariables=Y
UseHKCUProxy=N
LimitedUI=Y
SISAuthor=InstallShield Repackager
OtherFilesNewComponents=N
UseMergeModules=Y
SharedCommonFiles=Y
PermanentSystemFiles=Y
PermanentSystemFilesSubfolders=N
ExtraHKCRPermanent=Y
COMMapping=Y
ODBCMapping=N
ServiceControlEvents=N
ALLUSERS=Y
ProjectTemplate=
BuildCompressed=Y
CreateSetupExe=N
MultiUserShortcuts=Y
ISProSetup=N
BuildFeatures=Y
OtherComponentFileExtensions=1:QTX|1:AX
OSGranular=N
MMPathVersion=N
[IgnoreShortcuts]
TargetExe1=isuninst.exe
TargetExe2=uninst.exe
TargetExe3=setup.exe
TargetExe4=uninst.dll
TargetExe5=rnuninst.exe