Summary

This article discusses how to create a new directory structure for use in component destinations, custom actions, registry settings, and so on.

Synopsis

This article discusses how to create a new directory structure for use in component destinations, custom actions, registry settings, and so on. The article applies to Basic MSI Project Type.

Discussion

You can use the Directory table to create folders on the target system. You can access the Directory table in the "Direct Editor" view in the InstallShield IDE.

The Directory table consists of the following columns:

Here's an example directory table along with the resulting source and target directory structures:

Source Structure

Disk1\WinRoot
Disk1\RootSub
Disk1\program files
Disk1\program files\MyCompanyName
Disk1\program files\MyCompanyName\MyApplicationName
Disk1\program files\MyCompanyName\MyApplicationName\DifferentSource
Disk1\program files\MyCompanyName\MyApplicationName\Notepad

Target Structure (C is the Windows volume.)

C:\RootSub
C:\Program Files
C:\Program Files\MyCompanyName
C:\ProgramFiles\MyCompanyName\MyApplicationName
C:\ProgramFiles\MyCompanyName\MyApplicationName\Calc
C:\ProgramFiles\MyCompanyName\MyApplicationName\Notepad

Using the Directory Table Entries

If you wanted your some files to go to C:\[ProgramFiles]\MyCompanyName\MyApplicationName\Notepad, then you would set the components' destinations to <NOTEPADFOLDER>.

If you wanted to use the same directory in a registry entry, you would enter it as [NotepadFolder].

Additional Information

For more information on the Directory table, see the MSI Help Library topic "Directory Table."