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Frequently Asked Questions About Microsoft Windows Installer
Windows Installer Editor Reference
How is Windows Installer different from Windows Installer Editor?
Microsoft Windows Installer is a Microsoft technology for writing, managing, and
installing applications. The Microsoft Windows Installer service, which resides
permanently on the destination computer as part of the operating system, includes a
Windows Installer executable named msiexec.exe. The executable runs installation files,
called Windows Installer database files (.MSI files), that are written especially for
Windows Installer.
Windows Installer Editor is an installation authoring application for creating and editing
Windows Installer database files. When you build an installation in Windows Installer
Editor, you populate tables within a Windows Installer database file. The Windows
Installer Editor user interface exposes the functionality offered by Windows Installer.
How are files stored on the destination computer?
When an application is installed on the destination computer, Windows Installer stores
copies of .MSI files in a hidden directory named Installer, which is in the Windows or
Winnt directory. These copies are used if the end user tries to remove, repair, or reinstall
the application from the Add/Remove Programs dialog box. However, these .MSI files do
not necessarily store application files, so if the end user tries a repair or reinstall,
Windows Installer might prompt the end user for the original installation source (shared
network directory or CD).
If you output an.MSI file compressed in an .EXE file, Windows Installer uncompresses a
copy of the .MSI into \Program Files\Common Files\Wise Installation Wizard\ on the
destination computer. These .MSI files do not have to be left on the destination
computer, but if they are, the end user does not need the source media to repair or
reinstall an installation.
What if your end users don't have Windows Installer?
Because the Windows Installer runtime might not be installed on some computers,
Windows Installer Editor lets you create an .EXE file that installs the Windows Installer
runtime before beginning the application installation.
See
Setting Build Options for a Release
Release
on page 221.
What is advertisement?
Advertisement is a way to deploy applications in large organizations. It is available with
Windows Installer, but only for supported platforms. (See Platform Support of
Advertisement in the Windows Installer SDK Help.) During installation development, you
can set features or entire applications to be advertised. End users invoke advertised
items by running a shortcut, opening a file with an advertised file extension, or by
accessing any other entry point.
If a feature or application is advertised, only the entry points to the feature or
application are installed. Example: If the application Microsoft Word is advertised to
destination computers, the end users still see the Microsoft Word icons in their Start
menu and Desktop, and the file extension .doc is registered, but none of the files that
make up Microsoft Word are actually installed.
Windows Installer and .NET Technologies
on page 216 and
Adding Prerequisites to a
546
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Troubleshooting
