[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]
The material in this section is intended for developers who are writing their own setup programs and developers who want to learn more about the Microsoft® Windows® installer database tables. For general information on the installer, see About Windows Installer.
You can use the installer access functions to access the database and the installation process. These functions should only be used by custom installation actions and authoring tools. Some of the installer access functions require SQL query strings for querying the database. Queries must adhere to the installer SQL syntax.
This topic lists the installer database access functions by category.
You can use the following general access functions in your application:
You can use the following access functions to manage the database:
You can use the following functions to process database records:
You can use the following functions with the summary information properties:
MsiSummaryInfoGetPropertyCount
You can use the following functions to change or monitor the installer state:
You can use the following functions to access the installer actions:
You can use the following functions to access the installer folder location:
You can use the following functions to access the installer selection state:
You can use the following functions to preview user interface dialog boxes:
All functions support both ANSI and Unicode calls. To use these functions, include MsiQuery.h and link with Msi.lib.
In addition to the database access functions listed above, you create an installation package for an application by using the installer functions listed in the Installer Function Reference section.