About File Installation

The functions included in the file installation library determine where a file should be installed, identify conflicts with currently installed files, and perform the installation process. These functions enable installation programs to avoid the following problems:

The file installation library also includes functions that enable applications to query a version resource for file information and present the information in a clear format. This information includes the file's purpose, author, version number, and so on.

Version information can be added to any file that can have Windows resources, such as a dynamic-link library (DLL), an executable file, or a font file. To add the information, a developer must create a version resource and add the resource to the file by using a resource compiler and specifying VS_FILE_INFO as the resource type.