The file installation and version checking functions enable applications to install files based on version information and to examine currently installed files. The functions let applications examine a new version-information resource, created using the VERSIONINFO statement, to determine version information about a Windows executable file. Installation programs use this resource to determine whether existing executable files should be updated.
Following are the new file installation and version checking functions:
| Function | Description |
| GetFileResource | Extracts the resource located by the GetFileResourceSize function. |
| GetFileResourceSize | Determines whether a file contains a resource of a specified type and identifier. |
| GetFileVersionInfo | Returns a structure with file version information from the specified version information resource. |
| GetFileVersionInfoSize | Determines whether file version information is available and the size of a buffer to hold the information. |
| GetSystemDir | Returns the name of the current system directory. |
| GetWindowsDir | Returns the name of the current Windows directory. |
| VerFindFile | Determines where to install a file, based on whether it locates another version of the file. |
| VerInstallFile | Installs the file (requires information from the VerFindFile function). |
| VerLanguageName | Returns a text representation of a binary Microsoft language identifier. |
| VerQueryValue | Returns version information from the specified version information resource. |
File installation and version checking depend on the dynamic-link library VER.DLL. This is a redistributable library.
These functions can also be used in Microsoft MS-DOS applications by linking with the run-time library VER.LIB. The GetWindowsDir and GetSystemDir functions exist only in the run-time version of this library; Windows has its own versions of these functions.