Microsoft KB Archive/271957

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HOWTO: Determine the Differences Between Two Windows Installer .msi Packages

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Q271957

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows Installer, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2

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SUMMARY
This article provides information on how to determine the differences between two Windows Installer (MSI) packages.

MORE INFORMATION
You can determine the differences between two Windows Installer packages by creating a transform (.mst) file. A transform file provides a method of recording changes to a package without having to make any alterations to the original packages. Once you have created the transform file, you can then display its contents to determine the differences.

In order to generate the transform file, use MsiDatabaseGenerateTransform and MsiCreateTransformSummaryInfo or the GenerateTransform and CreateTransformSummaryInfo methods. For a description of how to use these methods, see the Windows Installer SDK Help file. For an example of how to use these methods you can refer to one of several sample code files that are located in the Samples\Scripts folder of the Windows Installer SDK.

Samples:


 * WiGenXfm.vbs - This Microsoft Visual Basic Script demonstrates how to generate a transform file from the two databases that you specify. This code does not display the transform file after creation.
 * WinDiffDb.vbs - This Visual Basic Script generates a temporary transform file between two databases that you specify and then proceeds to displays the resulting transform file.
 * MsiTran.cpp - This Microsoft Visual C++ code is a sample transform creation and application tool.
 * WiLstXfm.vbs - This Visual Basic Script provides information on displaying the contents of a transform file.