I create a pwc package that installs correctly.

If I convert this package to an msi format some of the special Vista defined folders in my package (%Program% (x64) etc are not correctly being converted to msi format (using windows installer 3.1).

Shortcuts in particular are not working.

Never had this problem with Prism Suite 7.1.1.

Has anyone else reported this issue?

Do I have to use the paths command and start changing things all back to standard xp folder syntax?

I hope not - that would be a nightmare!

If you are using the MSI conversion tool in Prism's Package Editor, it is recommended that you continue to use version 7 rather than version 8. This is because Prism's MSI conversion tool was not updated to support many of the new Special or "Known" folders in the version 8 Package Editor. Here's an excerpt from our documentation:

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The MSI conversion tool attempts to convert Prism’s special folder variables (for example, Program Files, Program Data) to variables in the MSI package. Some of Prism special folder variables are supported and converted correctly, but many are not. These instances produce conversion error 4087: “Found variable "<variable>": not supported by current version of MSI generator.”

Even when errors are reported in the Windows Installer Conversion Results window, a Windows Installer MSI file is created by the conversion tool. If the MSI file is installed as is, the settings within the unconverted special folders will not be installed, even though no errors are displayed during installation. Therefore, files that had conversion errors should not be used as is. Either find a remedy for the errors (perhaps by using Prism’s Paths Editor to change special folder variables to hard-coded locations) and recreate the Windows Installer file, or use a third-party MSI editor to modify the Windows Installer file before using it.

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You may be able to work around the issue in Prism 8 by using Prism's Paths Editor to convert variable paths to hard-coded paths prior to building the MSI. For example, change "Computer\Program Files (x86)" to "Computer\C:\Program Files".

I did this before creating the msi package and it worked like a charm - not a huge amount of extra work but something to think about for the next release or update.

I like using Prism Suite to create pwc packages and msi packages because the interface is so much easier to work with than InstallShield or Wise Studio.

Thanks again for the workaround.