This is not defined anywhere in an MSI. A property is simply a named value. You can define and set a value for any property you want on the command line or within an MSI. It's like a variable in a script or in code. The existence of a property is pretty meaningless unless the MSI actually uses it somewhere else - once again same as code. Correct, there is no way to know what's valid without documentation because this is defined by whoever creates the MSI. This is just like any exe - it's up to the creator to define and communicate to the user via documentation.
J From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of ccollins9 Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2015 10:14 AM To: mssms Subject: Re: [mssms] MSI properties I'm not expecting anything. I simply am asking if there is an easy way to find out all the properties the MSI will take in the install command line. In the example I gave, there is no way to know if a company decides to use the SERIALNUMBER= property or the LICENSE_KEY= property, or etc. It seems like there is no way to tell other than having documentation from a company. I only asked about Orca because I know it can be used to read an MSI database and I thought maybe there was a section I didn't know about where a company lists the valid properties that can be used at install. Thanks for trying to help, I appreciate it. On Thu, Mar 26, 2015 at 11:04 AM, Jason Sandys <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: If it's not in the property table in the MSI, that simply means the MSI doesn't supply a default value which makes perfect sense for a property that is used to set the serial number. The MSI isn't anything written to though, it's simply used to drive the installation so not sure why you're expecting it to be be in the MSI. J From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of ccollins9 Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2015 9:22 AM To: mssms Subject: Re: [mssms] MSI properties Well, no not really, which is why I posted the question. I have an MSI where I know that SERIALNUMBER= is a property used at install to pass the license file. Before I emailed my question to everyone, I opened Orca and looked at the Property section of the MSI and do not see SERIALNUMBER listed. So it must be a property only used at install and doesn't store the serial number in the registry, which is probably pretty common for license keys. On Thu, Mar 26, 2015 at 10:07 AM, Paul Winstanley <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: You've answered your own question. Use Orca. Here's some details http://www.itninja.com/blog/view/the-complete-guide-to-msi-switches-for-silent-software-installation On Thu, Mar 26, 2015 at 2:03 PM, ccollins9 <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Is there a way to view all the available install properties on an MSI file using an editor like Orca or InstEd? For example, when installing something silently and wanting to pass through the license key, I've seen some MSI files want LICENSE_KEY= or SERIALNUMBER= etc. Just trying to figure out an easy way to find this info since many companies don't bother publishing it. Thanks!
