iexpress doesn't maintain folder structure when expanding to temp [duplicate] - iexpress

Question

This question already has an answer here:
How to create an installer of a browser-based system?
(1 answer)
Closed 7 years ago.
Environment: Windows 7 64, Visual Studio 2013
Prior to running iexpress I have a setup file that references a main msi, and a prerequisite msi (SlimDX). When the visual studio installer adds the prerequisite, it adds places the prereq msi in a subfolder next to setup.exe.
Now I'm using iexpress.exe to merge the setup.exe and 2 msi files. When iexpress extracts the 3 files to the temp folder, the redistributable is not in a subfolder despite the setup file still expecting it in a subfolder.
How can I force iexpress to maintain folder structure when extracting? Alternatively, when adding a prerequisite to a visual studio installer, how can I force it to place dependencies at the same folder level as the setup.exe?
SDE file
[Version]
Class=IEXPRESS
SEDVersion=3
[Options]
PackagePurpose=InstallApp
ShowInstallProgramWindow=0
HideExtractAnimation=0
UseLongFileName=1
InsideCompressed=0
CAB_FixedSize=0
CAB_ResvCodeSigning=0
RebootMode=I
InstallPrompt=%InstallPrompt%
DisplayLicense=%DisplayLicense%
FinishMessage=%FinishMessage%
TargetName=%TargetName%
FriendlyName=%FriendlyName%
AppLaunched=%AppLaunched%
PostInstallCmd=%PostInstallCmd%
AdminQuietInstCmd=%AdminQuietInstCmd%
UserQuietInstCmd=%UserQuietInstCmd%
SourceFiles=SourceFiles
[Strings]
InstallPrompt=
DisplayLicense=
FinishMessage=
TargetName=C:\Jobs\NME\Installer\Release\NMEInstaller.EXE
FriendlyName=NME Installer
AppLaunched=setup.exe
PostInstallCmd=<None>
AdminQuietInstCmd=
UserQuietInstCmd=
FILE0="NME Installer.msi"
FILE1="setup.exe"
FILE2="SlimDXRedistributable\SlimDX Runtime .NET 4.0 x64 (January 2012).msi"
[SourceFiles]
SourceFiles0=C:\Jobs\NME\Installer\Release\
SourceFiles1=C:\Jobs\NME\Installer\Release\SlimDXRedistributable\
[SourceFiles0]
%FILE0%=
%FILE1%=
[SourceFiles1]
%FILE2%=

Answer 1

My understanding is that MSFT no longer recommends or supports the use of IEXpress.exe as it contains a number of security vulnerabilities that were never patched. You really should consider switching over to a proper bootstrapper such as Windows Installer XML's Burn feature. It's easier to implement and far more powerful.

Answer 2

I answered a question similar to this before:
How to create an installer of a browser-based system?
Essentially you want to use a batch file (or something) to copy or move the files where you need them before executing the actual setup.exe, something like:
#echo off
mkdir SlimDXRedistributable
move /y "SlimDX Runtime .NET 4.0 x64 (January 2012).msi" SlimDXRedistributable
setup.exe
Remember if you're using a batch file to call it like:
cmd /c myscript.bat
(If you just put the batch file, it will run via the old command.com, which is suboptimal.)