Releases
Building your setup is the culmination of all the work that you have put into your project. This includes all the coding and planning that was done before you ever thought about building a setup. In order to provide the functionality and flexibility that you may need, InstallShield offers you many different ways to build your setups.
The Release Wizard
The Release wizard provides you with a graphical, wizard-driven interface that prompts you for information in order to build your release. This wizard will turn your setup project into a shippable Windows Installer setup package. You can validate your project with the Validate Project wizard. Before you attempt to build your release in the Release wizard, you should make sure that your project is complete. This means that all of your components, features, shortcuts, and registry entries are in place and finalized. Once this is done you can launch the Release wizard.
To launch the Release wizard, navigate to the Release view and right-click on the Release Wizard icon in the tree. Alternatively, you can launch the Release wizard by clicking on the Release Wizard button 
on the toolbar. For more information, see Using the Release Wizard.
Building from the Command Line
Building a release from the command line can be useful if you are trying to build from a batch file. InstallShield offers the ability to build a release silently, specify a release type, release configuration, and release location, all from a DOS prompt. For a more detailed description of building a release from a DOS prompt, see Building a Setup from the Command Line.
Rebuilding a Release
You can rebuild a release at any time using the default entries that you have already specified in the Release wizard. To rebuild a release, do one of the following:
- Click the Build Release button
on the toolbar.
- Select Build Release from the Release menu.
- Right-click a release name in the tree control in the Release view and select Build.
You can also run the Release wizard again, changing any settings you wish, to rebuild your release. As long as you give each release a distinct name, they will appear in the Disk Images folder in the Release view. If you would like to replace an existing release simply give your new release the same name as the release you would like to replace.
Install the Windows Installer Service
If you are unsure whether your end users will have the Windows Installer service already installed, you should include a copy of Windows Installer in your setup. Although Windows 2000 and Windows Me ship with the installer service, other platforms such as Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 will only be able to interact with your .msi package if you first install the installer service. With InstallShield you have the option of installing the Windows Installer service by creating a file called Setup.exe that contains the installer service and your Windows Installer setup. Setup.exe is a traditional InstallShield setup executable that will install the Windows Installer service. Once that is done, your .msi package can be installed. This feature is turned on by default. You will also need to include Setup.exe in order to show the Language dialog. If you will only be installing to Windows 2000 machines, or if you are positive that your end users will have the Windows Installer service already installed, then you can turn this feature off.
To turn off the Setup.exe setting for your current project, select Options from the Tools menu and uncheck the Create Setup.exe check box. You can turn this option on and off for a specific release in the Release wizard, as well as choose which platform you would like the Setup.exe to run on.