How to debug InstallAnywhere when installing Connect Java based products

Answer

This article contains information on debugging for all supported InstallAnywhere Platforms.

You can get debug output for both InstallAnywhere itself, and for installers built with InstallAnywhere. This lets you debug during both the build and the execution of your installers.

Debugging a Win32 installer

To view or capture the debug output from an installer, you need to hold down the <CTRL> key immediately after launching the installer and until a console window appears. Before you exit the installer, copy the console output to a text file for later review.

If you have problems capturing the console output, you will need to try a slightly more convoluted method.
1. Launch the installer and allow it to extract the necessary files.
2. Once it reaches the "Preparing to Install..." window where it gives you the opportunity to choose a language, go to your windows "temp" directory.
3. Here you will find a temp folder named with several numeric digits. To make sure you have the most recent directory, sort the directories by "last modified". Open the directory.
4. You should see a file called "sea_loc". Delete it.
5. Go back to the installer, click "OK"
6. At the first opportunity, click "exit".

7. Go back to the directory inside the temp directory, where you deleted the "sea_loc" file.
8. You should find another directory called "Windows". Open it.
9. Here you should find an .exe file (most likely "install.exe"). You should then find another file with the same name except it will have a .lax extension. Open it with a plain text editor and edit the lines:

  lax.stderr.redirect=
- AND -
  lax.stdout.redirect=

to be:
  lax.stderr.redirect=output.txt
- AND -
  lax.stdout.redirect=output.txt

10. Save the file.
11. Launch the .exe.
12. When the installation is complete you should end up with an output.txt file in the same directory as the .lax file. The output.txt file should contain the same information as that generated in the console.

Debugging a Unix installer

To capture the debug output from the UNIX command line, enter one of the following (based on what shell you are using) at the command line prior to executing the installer:

  export LAX_DEBUG=true
- or -
  setenv LAX_DEBUG true
- or -
  LAX_DEBUG=true
  set LAX_DEBUG
- or -
whatever would be appropriate for your shell.

Then run the installer. The output that is produced should help you debug the installer.

If you would like to redirect output to a file:
1. Set LAX_DEBUG=file as per the instruction above.
2. Run your installer.
3. Once the install is complete a file labeled jx.log will be generated in the same directory as your installer. This file will contain the entire debug output generated by the install.

If you are capturing this information in order to send it to Flexera, please include both debug output formats above in their entirety.

Debugging a Pure Java installer

To capture the debug output from the pure Java (or "Others") installer, place a file (doesn't matter what type of file, any file will suffice) called "ia_debug" in the same directory as the installer and run the installer as normal. The presence of this file should cause the generation of debug output in the console window.