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Saving an Installation as XML
Windows Installer Editor Reference
4.
Scroll through tables on the Tables tab, looking for the symbols for changed tables.
Click on changed tables to view differences in rows, which are indicated by symbols
and colors.
As you work in the installation file, the symbols indicating changed items are
updated dynamically. The compare stays on until you end it.
5.
To end the compare, select Tools menu > Visual MSIDiff > End Current Compare.
(In Visual Studio: Project menu > Visual MSIDiff > End Current Compare.) This
turns off compare symbols and closes the comparison file.
You can also start Windows Installer Editor in the Visual MSIDiff mode from a command
line.
See
Command Line Options For WFWI.EXE
See also:
Tables Tab
on page 373
You can save a copy of an installation (.WSI, .MSI, WSM, or .MSM) in XML format. This
lets you check the XML version of the installation into a text-based source code control
system (SCCS), use text-based file comparison tools to find changes, or perform
analyses with XML reporting tools.
You can set a global option in Wise Options to create an XML copy every time you save
an installation file, or you can export to an XML file on an as-needed basis. Depending
on the size of the installation file, creating an XML copy can take several minutes.
You cannot open an XML-format file in Windows Installer Editor.
To create an XML file during saves
Use this method when you plan to check the XML file into an SCCS from Windows
Installer Editor. This ensures that the XML copy is always synchronized with the original
installation file.
1.
Select Tools menu > Options and click the General tab.
In Visual Studio: Tools > Options > Wise Options > General.
2.
Mark the Create XML copy during save check box.
This global option causes an XML copy to be created every time you save an installation
file. The copy has the same name as the installation file with the extension .XML
appended, and it is saved in the same directory. (Example: If the current file name is
Application.wsi, the XML copy is named Application.wsi.xml.)
To export an XML file as needed
Use this method when you do not have an integrated SCCS, or to compare the version
of the installation you're working in to the version that you checked out of your SCCS.
1.
Select File menu > Export to XML.
In Visual Studio: Project > Export to XML.
2.
In the Save As dialog box that appears, specify a file name with the extension .XML
and click Save.
Working With Wise Installation Files
on page 231.
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Troubleshooting
