Summary

Symptoms

A compile error similar to the following occurs:

<PATH to setup.rul>(line number): error C8014: 'FILETIME': identifier already defined.

Cause

If an element is redefined that is defined in winapi.h or winsub.h, a redefinition error occurs during compilation. In the example below, InstallShield already defines FILETIME, and therefore, the following code causes a compilation error.

typedef FILETIME
begin
     int dwLowDateTime;
     int dwHighDateTime;
end;
FILETIME ft;
FILETIME pointer pftValue;

Resolution

To resolve this behavior, comment out the redefinition. This reduces the amount of scripting needed as InstallShield defines this, and other common Win32 structures, in the winapi.h file.

If this redefinition must exist, and commenting out the code is not an option, modify the code as follows:

#ifdef FILETIME
#undef FILETIME
typedef FILETIME
begin
     int dwLowDateTime;
     int dwHighDateTime;
end;
#endif 

This code detects if 'FILETIME' is already defined and, if so, undefines it and redefines it according to your specifications. Using this method allows you to redefine this as needed, while avoiding any errors or warnings during compilation.

Additional Information

For additional information on undefining and redefining structures using the #ifdef and #undef statements, see the InstallShield Help Library topics #ifdef and #ifndef and #undef.

For more information on data structures and the typedef keyword, see the InstallShield Help Library topic Data Structures.