User Guide

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Features Page
The drop-down list options are a subset of the options available in the Feature Details
dialog, which you access by clicking the Details button at the right of the Features page.
Note
The first 4 options in the feature’s drop-down list set the default only; the end user can
change the default during installation. To prevent the end user from being able to change the
defaults you set here, you can turn off the Select Feature dialog on the Dialogs page, use the
Feature Details dialog to set features to be required, or set features to be hidden from the end
user.
To set options for a feature:
Click the feature’s icon and select an option. You can select only one of the first 4
options, but you can set the fifth option, Hidden from user, in combination with any of
the first 4 options.
! Will be installed on local hard drive
Make the feature default to being installed on the local hard drive. (This option
corresponds to setting Favor Local in the Attributes drop-down list on the Feature
Details dialog.)
! Will be installed to run from source
Make the feature default to being run from source. (This option corresponds to
setting Favor Source in the Attributes drop-down list on the Feature Details
dialog.)
If a feature is installed to run from source, it is available to the application and visible
to the end user, but is not actually installed on the local hard drive. When the feature
is invoked, your application must call Windows Installer functions, such as
MsiGetComponentPath, to locate and read the necessary files from the installation
source, which might be a CD-ROM or shared network directory. Example: Use this
option to specify a clip art library to run from the source. Then you must code your
application to attempt to read from the installation source when the end user tries to
use the clip art library.
! Feature will be installed when required
Make the feature default to being advertised. (This option corresponds to setting
Favor Advertising in the Advertising drop-down list on the Feature Details
dialog.)
If a feature is advertised, it is available to the application and visible to the end user,
but is not actually installed on the hard drive. If the installation source, such as a CD-
ROM or shared network directory, is available to the destination computer, the
feature is installed when the end user invokes the feature. If the installation source is
not available, the end user is prompted for the installation source.
! Entire feature will be unavailable
Prevent the feature from appearing during installation and from being installed. (This
option corresponds to setting Never Install This Feature on the Level drop-down
list on the Feature Details dialog.)
! Hidden from user
Prevent the feature from appearing to the end user in the installation’s Select
Features dialog. You can set this option in combination with any one of the other
options above. (This option corresponds to setting Hidden in the Display drop-down
list on the Feature Details dialog.)