2.2.8 File Installation and Version Checking Functions

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.