Feature and Component Associations for IIS Support

The View Filter list at the top of the Internet Information Services view contains the names of all of the features and components in your project. This list lets you show and hide virtual directories, application pools, and Web service extensions that are included in specific components in your installation.

When you add a Web site, virtual directory, application pool, or Web service extension through the Internet Information Services view, InstallShield either creates a new component for it or adds it to an existing component:

If you select All Application Data or a feature in the View Filter list and then add the IIS data, InstallShield creates a new component for the IIS data. If your project contains one or more features, InstallShield associates the new component with the top-level feature in your project. If a feature does not exist, InstallShield displays the Create a New Feature dialog box, which lets you specify the name of the feature.

If you select a component in the View Filter list and then add the IIS data, InstallShield adds the IIS data to the component.

There is a one-to-many relationship between components and IIS data (that is, Web sites, virtual directories, application pools, or Web service extensions). Therefore, you can associate more than one IIS element with a single component. If a component is being installed, any Web sites, virtual directories, application pools, and Web service extensions that are associated with the component are created at run time.

If a Web site is associated with a component in an InstallScript project, any virtual directories that are added to that Web site must be associated with the same component. Therefore, if you try to change the component for a Web site that contains one or more virtual directories, InstallShield displays a message box to inform you that it will also make the same component change for all of that Web site’s virtual directories; InstallShield also displays this message box if you try to change the component for any virtual directories in a Web site. In either case, the message box enables you to proceed or cancel the component change.

Note that for Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, and Web projects, keeping a Web site in the same component as all of the Web site’s virtual directories is not required, but it is recommended.

If you are creating an application pool in an InstallScript project that you want to be associated with a virtual directory or Web site, consider creating the application pool and the virtual directory or Web site within the same component. If you do this, the application pool is created before the virtual directory or Web site is created, which is a requirement of IIS 6. This is not required for Basic MSI, InstallScript MSI, or Web projects.

At any time, you can use the Internet Information Services view to change which component contains the Web site, virtual directory, application pool, or Web service extension.

To associate a Web site, virtual directory, application pool, or Web service extension with a different component in your project:

In the View List under Server Configuration, click Internet Information Services.

In the explorer, click the virtual directory, application pool, or Web service extension that you want to associate with a component.

Click the General tab (for a Web site, a virtual directory, or an application pool) or the Web Service Extension tab (for a Web service extension).

In the Component setting, enter the name of the existing component that should contain the selected IIS data. You can click the Browse button to select an existing component or create a new one for the IIS data.

A Web site is not created on a target machine unless a virtual directory or component that is associated with it is installed.

If you delete a component in your project, any Web sites, virtual directories, application pools, and Web service extensions that are associated with the component are simultaneously removed from your project.