Msi To Wsi Conversion; Converting An .Msi To A .Wsi File - Symantec WINDOWS INSTALLER EDITOR 8.0 Reference

MSI to WSI Conversion

Converting an .MSI to a .WSI File

Windows Installer Editor Reference
Use MSI to WSI Conversion to convert existing .MSI files to Windows Installer project
files (.WSI). An .MSI is a distributable installation. Because an .MSI typically
encapsulates all the files in the installation, it is larger and takes longer to save. A
project file (.WSI) compiles to an .MSI. Instead of compressed files, a .WSI contains
paths to source files. A .WSI file is smaller and you can set multiple options for the
output of the .MSI. For information on the differences between project files and
installation database files, see
If you have an installation .MSI, you can open and edit it in Windows Installer Editor.
However, to take advantage of some Windows Installer Editor features, you can convert
the .MSI to a project file.
See:
Converting an .MSI to a .WSI File
Specifying Merge Module Source Directories
Specifying File Source Directories
By default, MSI to WSI Conversion extracts files and merge modules from an .MSI to a
directory you select. It then creates a project file (.WSI) that references those files and
merge modules. The project file, in turn, can be edited in Windows Installer Editor, and
then compiled to a new .MSI file. Alternately, instead of extracting files from the .MSI
and creating the new .WSI to point to them, you can redefine source paths so they point
to source files already on your computer. In this case, the files from the .MSI are not
extracted, but are substituted by files on your computer.
A .WSI file records the files and merge modules that should be compiled into the .MSI by
storing source paths. (To see the source path for a file in the installation, display its File
Details dialog box.) When you open a .WSI and compile, Windows Installer Editor reads
the source paths, and then compiles them into the .MSI.
Running MSI to WSI Conversion involves redefining source paths, either by extracting
files and merge modules from the .MSI itself, or by redefining the source paths to point
to files and merge modules that already exist on your computer.
To convert an .MSI to a .WSI
1. Open an .MSI.
If a message appears asking you to convert this Windows Installer database to a
Wise project file, click Yes. Otherwise, select Tools menu > MSI to WSI Conversion.
The Welcome page appears.
2. In New Source Directory, specify the directory to which all files and merge
modules in the .MSI will be extracted. In the converted .WSI file, all source paths
will point to the files and merge modules located in this directory. You can override
this directory for individual files and merge modules later in this wizard.
If the .MSI contains any merge modules, the Merge Module Sources page appears;
otherwise, the File Sources page appears.
Project Files and Database Files
on page 356
on page 357
on page 358
Tools
on page 61.
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