Windows Installer Team Blog
Developing for Windows 7
I recently came across several resources that are available from Microsoft to help developers get...
Date: 09/11/2009
Windows 7 Taskbar support with the MsiShortcutProperty table
Starting with Windows 7, Windows Installer enables native support for setting properties on...
Date: 09/02/2009
Authoring a single package for Per-User or Per-Machine Installation context in Windows 7
Prior to the introduction of UAC in Windows Vista, setup authors were able to create a single...
Date: 09/02/2009
Latest SDK for Windows Installer 5.0
The RTM release of the Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is now available for...
Date: 08/12/2009
MSI 4.5 natively included with SP2 for Windows Vista & Server 2008
As you may already know that Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista (SP2) is...
Date: 08/12/2009
Windows 7 released to manufacturing
As some of you may have already heard, Windows 7 has now been released to manufacturing! Read the...
Date: 07/31/2009
Adopting Windows Installer 4.5
It's been a few months now since the Windows Installer 4.5 redistributable was released [link]. Over...
Date: 03/05/2009
Enhanced Permissions Setting with Windows Installer 5.0
Setting appropriate permissions for an object is one of the core operations in creating an...
Date: 03/05/2009
Enhanced Service Configuration with Windows Installer 5.0
In Windows 7, Windows Installer provides enhanced native support for setup authors to configure...
Date: 03/05/2009
MSI 5.0 in Windows 7 Beta
Windows Installer version 5.0 is included in Windows 7 Beta. The MSDN documentation section "What's...
Date: 02/10/2009
Update to MSI 4.5 (KB958655)
Hello everyone, We wanted to let you know that a non-security QFE was released recently for MSI 4.5...
Date: 12/05/2008
Take the Windows Application Platform Team survey
Hey all, The Windows engineering teams are putting together plans for how application installation...
Date: 11/20/2008
Did you miss PDC 2008?
Hey everyone -- In case you missed my presentation at PDC 2008 in Los Angeles last weekend, the...
Date: 11/05/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 versions
As you all may already know the final release of the Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable and SDK...
Date: 06/06/2008
Introduction for Zainab Hakim - An update
Hi all, It was recently pointed out to me that I had not yet updated my introduction post. So I...
Date: 06/06/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 is now available!
I am pleased to announce that the final release of the Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable and SDK...
Date: 06/03/2008
Join us at TechEd 2008! (part 2)
Members of the Windows Installer team will be at both the TechEd Developers (June 3-6) and TechEd IT...
Date: 05/29/2008
What changed in Windows Installer 4.5?
Apart from the feature work that we did in Windows Installer 4.5, we made a few changes to Windows...
Date: 05/01/2008
What changed in Windows Installer (MSI) in Windows Vista Service Pack 1?
Stefan Krueger met with us a few weeks ago for the Microsoft MVP Global Summit. Among the many...
Date: 04/29/2008
We're Hiring!
The Windows Installer (MSI) team is part of the rapidly-growing Windows Application Platform (WAP)...
Date: 04/26/2008
Join us at TechEd 2008!
Hello Everyone -- The schedules for Microsoft TechEd 2008 in sunny Orlando, Florida have recently...
Date: 04/25/2008
Issues with Patchwiz.dll v4.0
Issue Description Performing any of the following operations using patchwiz.dll v4.0 could result in...
Date: 04/21/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 Multi Package Transaction and UAC
What does this blog cover? With Windows Installer 4.5 support for multi package transaction, the...
Date: 04/03/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 Transaction Enhancements: Multi Package Transaction
Why Multi Package Transaction? Application vendors who compose their applications from multiple MSI...
Date: 04/03/2008
Windows Installer (MSI) 4.5 Technical Chat
Windows Installer 4.5 chat is due in another two days. The MSDN Technical Chat is scheduled on April...
Date: 04/01/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 UI Enhancements: Embedded UI
Why Embedded UI? Windows Installer’s existing internal UI does not provide the flexibility necessary...
Date: 04/01/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 Servicing Enhancements: Shared Components and Patch Uninstall
Why do I care about shared component patch uninstalls? There has been an ask from Windows Installer...
Date: 03/29/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 Servicing Enhancements: Patch Uninstall Custom Actions
In this blog post, I will provide an overview on what you can do with the new patch uninstall custom...
Date: 03/25/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 2 Now Available!
Hello everyone -- I am pleased to announce that Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 2 is now available from...
Date: 03/21/2008
Windows Installer 4.5 beta 2 - coming soon (and a chat too!)
Hello everyone! First off, I wanted to let you know that I have re-joined the Windows Installer...
Date: 03/07/2008
Growing Windows Installer Experts through Troubleshooting
Windows Installer expert Dennis Bareis responded to a previous post, Request for suggestions for...
Date: 01/19/2008
Request for suggestions for updating the 1603 KB article?
Feedback on our existing Knowledge Base article for the error 1603 is that 'it is not very useful.'...
Date: 01/18/2008
Tips to find Windows Installer specific product support
Customers have mentioned having trouble finding Windows Installer support when they try to navigate...
Date: 01/03/2008
Release date for MSI 4.5 now looks like Q2-ish
Back on September 1st, I answered the question When will Windows Installer 4.5 be RTM-ed? with Q1 of...
Date: 12/10/2007
What is the protocol for releasing beta software that depends on Windows Installer 4.5 beta?
A question been raised in a couple of contexts is the protocol for shipping a beta on beta software....
Date: 10/04/2007
What happened to Windows Installer 4.1?
For a time, there was a release named Windows Installer 4.1 on the MSDN topic Released Versions of...
Date: 10/01/2007
Speaking at Packaging Event 2007 in Amsterdam on October 11th
The Packaging Event 2007 in Amsterdam has kindly invited the Windows Installer team to speak on...
Date: 10/01/2007
Will there be an updated ICE and _Validation table that supports the schema changes?
Our friends with WiX (principally blogger Rob Mensching) had some questions about the schema...
Date: 09/16/2007
Did you really mean to build a patching feature that we can't patch to because of a schema change?
Our friends with WiX (principally bloggers Rob Mensching and Heath Stewart) had some questions about...
Date: 09/16/2007
MSDN posted Windows Installer 4.5 Beta documentation
Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) now contains the Windows Installer 4.5 beta documentation. From...
Date: 09/16/2007
Where is good, comprehensive training covering the Windows Installer?
Our friend and blogger Aaron Stebner asked on behalf of his readers whether the Windows Installer...
Date: 09/08/2007
A starting point for Windows Installer 4.5 embedded UI?
A few questions have come in asking for a starting point for building a Windows Installer 4.5...
Date: 09/08/2007
What Windows platforms will Windows Installer 4.5 ship in?
Our friends at InstallShield had some questions about schedule and platforms. One of those questions...
Date: 09/01/2007
When will Windows Installer 4.5 be RTM-ed?
Our friends at InstallShield had some questions about schedule and platforms. One of those questions...
Date: 09/01/2007
Do the new API's Msi(Begin/Join/End)Transaction work with external UI as well as the new internal UI?
Our friends at InstallAware had some questions on issues we have yet to answer in the beta MSI.CHM....
Date: 08/25/2007
Is it possible to silently run the Vista installation package for MSI 4.5?
Our friends at InstallAware had some questions on issues we have yet to answer in the beta MSI.CHM....
Date: 08/25/2007
Can I talk about the Windows Installer 4.5 Beta now? Yes, please
A number of Windows Installer enthusiasts have asked whether they can talk about the Windows...
Date: 08/25/2007
Windows Installer 4.5 Beta is Now Posted
The Windows Installer 4.5 Beta binaries, CHM, headers, and libs are all now accessible at...
Date: 08/25/2007
Walkthrough for Signing up for Windows Installer 4.5 Beta
Here's a walkthrough of the process I've used to signup for the Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 1) go to...
Date: 08/21/2007