The System Search view in InstallShield provides the Windows Installer capability to search for a particular file, folder, registry key, .ini file value, or .xml file value on a user's system prior to an installation. This feature enables you to perform application, version, and configuration data searches.

Windows Installer uses records in the AppSearch, Signature, and Locator tables for instructions to search for files (including .xml files) on the target system. The Signature table contains information that uniquely identifies a file signature to be located, and the AppSearch table contains properties needed to search for a file having a particular file signature. The AppSearch table can also be used to set a property to the existing value of a registry or .ini file entry. There are four "Locator" tables in which you can specify where Windows Installer should begin searching for the file: CompLocator, RegLocator, IniLocator, and DrLocator. Refer to the Windows Installer Help Library for more specific information on these tables.

In the System Search view, you can add, modify, and delete searches by right-clicking an item and selecting the appropriate option. When you add a new search, this will activate the System Search Wizard. In the wizard, you will be able to choose various search options and set them in your installation project.

Remember to right-click the grid area in the System Search view in order to add, modify, or delete a search.

A setup prerequisite is a base application or component that must be installed on the target machine—if it is not already present—before your application can be installed. To add setup prerequisites to your Basic MSI installation, open the Redistributables view and select the appropriate prerequisite. To set installation conditions for installing a setup prerequisite, use the Setup Prerequisite Editor.