User Guide

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About Merge Modules
•Module Type
Select the module type. This defaults to the Default Application Type that is
specified in Wise Options. See Setting .NET Assembly Options on page 45.
Note
The ability to create .NET installations is supported only by Windows Installer 2.0 or
later.
# Win 32 (non .NET)
A standard Win32 merge module without .NET assemblies.
# .NET Application
A .NET merge module with only .NET elements.
# Mixed (.NET and Win32)
A merge module that contains both Win32 and .NET elements. When this
option is selected, the Generate COM interop registry keys for .NET
Assembly checkbox on the Self-registration tab of the File Details dialog is
marked by default for all .NET assemblies you add to this merge module.
The assemblies will be registered so that they can be called as though they
were COM elements.
When the .NET Application or Mixed option is selected, entries are created in
the MsiAssembly and MsiAssemblyName tables for each assembly you add to the
merge module. Also, the Global Assembly Cache appears on the Files page.
Setting Dependencies for a Merge Module
" Available in merge module files (.WSM, .MSM) only.
The Dependencies page lets you add, edit, and remove the dependencies for a merge
module.
A dependency is a merge module that is required for the current merge module to work.
Dependencies can have their own dependencies, which means that the module you
designate as a dependency could itself have a dependency on another module, and so
on. Use dependencies to compartmentalize different components of software. When you
compile an installation that contains a merge module that has a dependency, both the
original merge module and all its dependencies are merged into the installation.
Example:
Suppose you have a merge module that consists of a library of database drivers, but for
those drivers to work, MDAC must also be installed. You designate the MDAC merge
module as a dependency to the database driver module. Then, whenever you add the
database driver module to an installation, Wise for Windows Installer attempts to add
the dependency merge module, MDAC.
Wise for Windows Installer looks for dependency merge modules in the default merge
module directory specified in Wise Options, and also looks at the list of previously added
merge modules. If Wise for Windows Installer does not find the dependent module in
either of these places, it prompts you to add the dependency merge module yourself.
To add a dependency to a merge module:
1. Select Installation Expert > Dependencies page.
If there is no Dependencies page, you are not in a merge module file.