Ultimate Tutorial on Creating Strong & Safe Windows Installer Files

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What is MSI Packaging Again?

Welcome to “Advanced MSI Packaging,” the definitive guide to building robust and secure installation packages. This book builds upon the foundation laid by “MSI Packaging Essentials ” providing an in-depth exploration of the MSI packaging process and its many intricacies.

In this book, we delve into advanced topics such as custom actions, dependencies, and repackaging, providing practical insights and real-world examples to help you navigate the complexities of the MSI packaging process. With expert guidance and a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips, you’ll be well-equipped to tackle even the most challenging packaging scenarios.

To get started, download Advanced Installer’s 30-day full-featured free trial .

Designed for IT professionals and experienced packagers, “Advanced MSI Packaging” is an essential resource for anyone looking to master the art of installation package creation. Join us as we explore the full potential of MSI packaging and unlock its many secrets.

What is MSI packaging?

MSI packaging plays an essential role in the application deployment and installation process, and IT professionals must understand this technology well in order to produce reliable, fast, and scalable installation packages.

As outlined in the MSI Packaging Essentials , the process of creating an MSI package involves capturing the files, registry settings, and other components of an application and organizing them into a standardized format to be installed on target systems.

Quite often, the package may include customizations, such as configuring the application to run in a particular environment, adding features or functionality, or applying patches or updates.

However, creating a dependable and effective MSI package involves more than simply capturing the files and registry settings. IT professionals need to be knowledgeable with a variety of tools and technologies, including, but not limited to, the Windows Installer service, MSI tables, command-line switches, and scripting languages.

When developing MSI packages, IT professionals must follow best practices and industry standards, such as thoroughly testing the packages on various system configurations, using standard syntax and scripting languages, and documenting the package.

Imagine, for a second, an application packaging industry without best practices and industry regulations. What would it look like?

We’d likely see a chaotic and inefficient industry where each application packager would use different tools, methods, formats, and standards to create installation packages for Windows applications.

It would become a risky and unreliable industry where the quality and compatibility of the packages would vary widely, leading to errors, failures, conflicts, and security breaches during installation and operation.

Imagine this costly and wasteful industry where the packagers would spend more time and resources on troubleshooting, fixing, and updating the packages than on innovating and improving them.

Moreover, we’d be faced with a fragmented and isolated industry where the packagers would have no common platform or mechanism to share, learn from, or collaborate with each other or with other stakeholders in the IT ecosystem.

In short, it would be an industry that would fail to meet the needs and expectations of its customers, users, and society at large.

That is why best practices and industry regulations are essential for the application packaging industry to thrive and deliver value in the digital era.

And that’s precisely why we’re embarking on this journey once again: to gather and organize all our accumulated knowledge—both standard regulations and best practices. Our aim is to create an extensive resource that all application packagers can turn to whenever they need guidance.

Furthermore, IT professionals must stay current on the latest trends and technologies in MSI packaging, such as the use of custom actions, launch conditions, and transform files, among other things. By staying current with these technologies, IT professionals may design tailored, efficient, and reliable installation packages that can be simply delivered to target systems.

What is the structure of an MSI?

MSI (Microsoft Installer) is a Microsoft Windows software installation package format. It is intended to make installing, configuring, and removing software applications on Windows machines easier.

An MSI package is, at its core, a database that contains all of the information required to install and configure a software application. This information includes installation files, registry settings, environmental variables, and other configuration options. The Windows Installer service, which is in charge of managing software installation and removal, can read and process the MSI package thanks to its design.

The MSI database is made up of several different tables that are used to store the various package components:

• The File Table: contains information about the files that will be installed,
• The Component Table: describes the individual components of the application,
• The Feature Table: defines the features and options that will be available during the installation process.

The advantage of the MSI database format is its capacity to standardize and streamline the software installation and configuration process. Developers can ensure that their applications are installed and configured correctly across diverse Windows systems by using this common package format and structure. Additionally, the database format supports advanced features such as rollback and error handling, enhancing the smoothness of installations and facilitating the resolution of any arising issues.

What is Msiexec.exe?

Msiexec.exe, a command-line tool that the Windows Installer service uses, is a crucial part of the Windows Installer technology. This tool is used to install, configure, and uninstall software on Windows systems. It is a key component of the Windows Installer technology, which enables standardized and consistent software installation and configuration.

• When an MSI package is executed, the msiexec.exe executable file reads and interprets the information stored in the MSI database before installing or uninstalling the application.
• When you run the msiexec.exe file, it reads the package header information from the MSI database to determine the basic properties of the package, such as the product name, version number, and vendor. It then processes the database’s various tables and components to determine whether the application should be installed or removed.

The first step in the installation process is to determine which application components must be installed. This is accomplished by inspecting the MSI database’s Component table and determining which components are marked for installation. After identifying the required components, the msiexec.exe file copies the necessary files and registers any required DLLs or other system components.

During the installation process, the msiexec.exe file consults the MSI database’s various tables and components to determine the appropriate configuration options and settings for the application. This information includes registry settings, environmental variables, and other database-specified configuration options.

The msiexec.exe file can be used to remove or repair existing installations in addition to installing applications. When an MSI package is launched with the /uninstall switch, for example, the msiexec.exe file will use the information in the MSI database to remove all of the application’s components and files.

Overall, the MSI database format is a necessary part of modern Windows software installation and management. The MSI format ensures that applications are installed and configured correctly by providing a standardized and structured approach to software installation, which can help IT professionals and end users alike reduce issues and support costs.

The MSI structure is covered more in-depth in our first MSI Packaging Essentials ebook .

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