The new multi-package transaction introduced in Windows Installer 4.5 enables creating a single Windows Installer transaction from separate packages.
As a result, developers can now divide their products into multiple packages that can be composed and retain the robustness of the Windows Installer transaction.
A common example of this delivering language specific products in two packages, one language neutral World Wide package and one language specific package.
Support for Multi-Package Transaction is provided via new APIs MsiBeginTransaction, MsiEndTransaction, and MsiJoinTransaction.
In creating this multi-package transaction support, Windows Installer is further formalizing the role of a chainer in the application installation and servicing stack.
Windows Installer 4.5 adds the new MsiEmbeddedUI and MsiEmbeddedChainer tables to support embedding the binaries that were previously required to be external to the MSI.
Through these embedding features, what was previously just external code can now be invoked at the Windows integration points designed to just call a single Windows Installer package.
With Microsoft Windows Installer the developers will be able to easily create products that are made of several separate packages.
What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]
· Patch sequencer performance improvement pass
· MsiLogging and MsiLogFileLocation properties supported down level
· Application settings migration support via MSIARPSETTINGSIDENTIFIER
· Updated Automation Support with Installer.ProductCode, Installer.CreateAdvertiseScript, Installer.AdvertiseScript, Installer.ProductInfoFromScript, Installer.ProductElevated, and Installer.ProvideAssembly
· RemoveExistingProducts now pass UILevel property
· Message type INSTALLMESSAGE_FILESINUSE now passes window titles
· Windows Installer use of the %temp% folder should work if %temp% folder is encrypted.
· Enable browse button in SelectionTree control only if the feature has a public property in Directory_ column
· Enable basic UI to show text for language neutral packages
· Hidden/disabled cancel button does not allow users to cancel a dialog for authored UI
· Billboards are only displayed during script execution, no longer during script generation
· The Edit and PathEdit controls now respond to the Reset control event
· Credential Free Patching under XP LUA constraint to media lifted to be equivalent to Vista UAC constraints
· Ability to disable 64 bit registry reflection at the component level via msidbComponentAttributesDisableRegistryReflection
· Schema.msi has been updated with the new tables
