Symantec WINDOWS INSTALLER EDITOR 7.0 SP2 - REFERENCE FOR WISE INSTALLATION STUDIO V1.0 Installation Manual page 231

Organizing Your Installation Into Releases
runtimes, is downloaded whether or not it is needed on the destination computer. The
resulting download can take a long time and tie up bandwidth.
Note
You cannot use WebDeploy to run patches (.MSP) or transforms (.MST). To distribute
updates with WebDeploy, format the installation as an upgrade using the Upgrades
page.
For information on using WebDeploy with WiseUpdate, see WiseUpdate Tips on
page 327.
You can use WebDeploy in several ways, depending on how you set the WebDeploy
options:
Create an .EXE that contains the .MSI
Windows Installer and .NET runtimes, and prerequisite files, if any, are external to the
.EXE. When an end user runs the .EXE from the Web, it runs the .MSI from the Web. The
runtime and prerequisite files are downloaded only if they are needed on the destination
computer.
See The WebDeploy Process on page 232.
Prerequisite and runtime files that you add on the Prerequisites page are always
included in the .EXE.
This is the best method to use when distributing installations over the Internet because,
if a self-repair is needed, the .MSI is cached locally and no further downloads are ever
required.
Create an .EXE that runs an external .MSI
Windows Installer and .NET runtimes, and prerequisite files, if any, are external to the
.EXE. The resulting .EXE is very small. When an end user runs the .EXE, it connects to
the Web location of the .MSI and runs the .MSI. The runtime and prerequisite files are
downloaded only if they are needed on the destination computer.
Prerequisite and runtime files that you add on the Prerequisites page are always
included in the .EXE.
This method is best used over a corporate intranet. Because the .MSI is run directly
from the Web, if a self-repair or install-on-demand is needed, the end user must have
immediate access to the original Web location of the .MSI.
Create an .EXE that runs an external .MSI, and an external .INI that
contains download and installation information
Use this method to change the download information dynamically, perhaps as a result of
end user input. You compile to an .EXE and .INI and then distribute the .EXE on a CD or
other media along with an Autoplay program.
Example:
You want to let the end user select from multiple download sites. You write an Autoplay
program that presents download site options to the end user. When the end user selects
a site, the Autoplay program copies the .EXE and .INI to a temporary directory, then
edits the .INI file, adding the URL of the selected download site. The Autoplay program
then runs the .EXE, which connects to the appropriate Web site based on the updated
information in the .INI file, and runs the .MSI file it finds there.
Windows Installer Editor Reference 231