Development History
MSIStudio is constantly being developed and improved. This section lists the development history of the product in addition to indicating the major and minor milestone releases.
2011
Updated template setup project file to set all default release properties.
Removed dependency on MSXML 4. MSIStudio works with any available version of MSXML.
Major internal code cleanup.
MSIStudio 5.03 (5003) released.
Digital signature timestamp failure is now optional and generates a warning rather than an error when an active Internet connection is unavailable.
Automatic checking for updates enabled.
New bootstrapper dialog enabling selection from multiple embedded msi packages.
New tutorial on combining 64-bit and 32-bit installations into a single setup package.
Fixed validation bug when extracting .msi files from setup.exe.
Components 64-bit attribute determined by release setting when 'Default' selected.
Removed redundant platform attribute from project file.
MSIStudio 5.02 (5002) released.
Default an invalid path in file fields rather than presenting an error.
List the first few values in the in the items column of list box properties.
For patches, Image family now appears in the main workspace window and is opened by default when opening a patch project.
Descriptions for all patch element properties are displayed in the properties window.
Components view updated correctly after item deletion.
File System explorer supports shortcut drag and drop.
Fixed files drag and drop from Files list control after toolkit upgrade.
Feature level initialisation fixed.
Patch project opens with first level selected by default.
Feature tree now expanded by default.
Fix crash in debugger when entering watch value.
Make CAB creation and extraction code Unicode compatible.
Enable dynamic folders to work the same way as dynamic registry keys.
Clear out the properties panel when a new project opens.
Completed the remaining description field content for features.
Fix bug where control logic list controls have no enabled menu options.
Feature tree updated when creating a new feature from the feature toolbar.
Compare Files dialog defaults to the last loaded files.
Update display when deleting class from file system.
2010
MSIStudio 5.0 (5000) released.
Entire codebase now Unicode to ensure support for all languages.
Enabled the setup.exe bootstrapper to display all languages in their native script in the select language dialog.
Completed Visual Studio 2010 migration.
Descriptions added for properties of items in a patch project.
Extra icons added for patch object types.
Release flags added at component level.
Fix bug where adding an empty typelib causes an error when building.
Change the Import Registry dialogs to show Open rather than Save.
Fixed drag and drop in the Feature tree control.
Added new feature control functionality.
Added timestamp to msi file signing.
Added various description strings to properties for features.
Fix Merge Module locations search crash.
Fixed component key file functionality.
Delete sub item from component list now updates display correctly.
Moved required Windows Installer version from project properties into release properties so it can be changed per release and one project can include builds for multiple Windows Installer versions.
Added target platform to release properties. Single project can now target multiple platforms.
Updated Registry editor to support QWord registry value.
Constructed XML project file .xsd to ensure project file compatibility before attempting to load.
Fixed bug where creating a shortcut to a file creates a new component for that file.
Fixed bug where moving a component from one feature to another hides the component.
Restructued application licensing.
Removed the xt_user build warning.
Removed the context menu from the root of the comparison tree.
Fixed bug in Setup Wizard where remove files has no effect.
Project file extension changed from .mxp to .xml.
Focus is set back to the report control after deleting an item.
Fixed set component key file functionality.
Selecting an image file in the properties now brings up correct folder.
2006
MSIStudio 4.0 released
2005
MSIStudio 3.1 released.
Copy version information for setup.exe.
New graphics introduced.
Can specify output filename for all projects.
MSIStudio 3.0 released.
Setup.exe reduced in size.
License manager reimplemented by wizard.
Update.exe bootstrapper for patch projects.
Driver Exe support added.
MSI 3.1 support added.
Remove Empty Components menu option created.
Insert / Remove Extensions menu options created.
Workspace window restructured.
Option to extract COM Registry settings only when feature added.
Background Window can be created for install, with graphics, graphic layout, and background color user-definable, with gradient.
Run Executable Files added.
XMLUpdates added.
Release output folder can have date time stamp appended.
Directory properties will default component to active component.
Shortcut wizard will now select current directory as default location.
CustomSetupTips dialog added.
MSIStudio 2.5 released.
Added new ListBox, ComboBox, ListView and CheckBox screens to the UI Resources / Misc section.
Debugger and MsiLogViewer integrate with the shell.
Icon resources can be added from multiple locations where used.
TextStyles now can use default system color instead of black.
New Bootstrapper project type.
Company banner added to default install wizard dialogs.
Merge Module language moved to release property from main page. Allows multiple languages from a single project file.
Licensing simplified.
MSICompare and MSILogViewer functionality merged into MSIStudio application. Suite is now redundant. Single product called MSIStudio with separate MSIDebugger application included.
NULLs are entered correctly into msi database.
2004
Import msi file is now a wizard. (Subsequently removed)
Fixed bug where leading spaces were not conserved in property values.
Users created during install can now assign permissions to Registry Keys, Folders and Files, this replaces the functionality of the LockPermission Table completely. (Subsequently made redundant by new LockPermissionsEx table)
Fixed bug where table rows were not getting removed.
Extract COM at build time added to file properties.
Export as WiX functionality completed. (Subsequently removed)
MSICompare - Tables with slightly different column formats now are combined with yellow header to indicate differences.
Rename path variable renames all references throughout project.
Can now delete properties from list box control.
Table view grid control has been replaced. Now handles integer and binary fields.
CAB files can be generated per component. Minimizes downloads from internet.
Fixed bug in internet install where URL was not being used to install package.
MSICompare - Replaced Grid Control with standard list control.
MSICompare - Replaced MFC collection classes with STL.
MSIDebugger - Replaced Grid Control with standard list control.
MSIDebugger - Replaced MFC collection classes with STL.
Replaced cumbersome grid control with native list control in table summary view.
Added .NET service pack support.
Build option now disabled when build is running.
Added ordering functionality for Verbs.
Fixed bug where 'Sample' appeared in caption bar on startup.
Rename custom action updates DoAction control events.
Added F10 to file system context menu.
Fixed bug in Feature Conditions where new feature could not have conditions added.
New resources get next available ID instead of simple counter increment. ie. Binary1, Binary2, etc...
Internet Shortcut UI removed.
Fixed bug where validation occured on folder even if referring to property.
Fixed Self Reg and Font name bugs for file registration.
Renaming a custom action will update all references in sequence tables.
Trial Licensing updated.
Fixed bug where trial days would not get decremented.
MSILogViewer - New Refresh command.
MSILogViewer - Fixed MDI menus.
MSILogViewer - Font option for analysed view now works.
MSILogViewer - Enabled drop files from explorer into main window.
MSILogViewer - Fixed bug where debug info was getting written to hard coded path
MSILogViewer - Added load latest log file feature.
MSICompare - Missing files are removed from MRU combos.
MSICompare - Refresh is disabled when currently in progress.
MSICompare - Fixed MDI menus.
MSICompare - Added user friendly descriptions to summary properties.
MSIDebugger - Advertise sequence is now support although without any tables/properties/watches.
MSIDebugger - Removed flicker from navigation tree updates.
MSIDebugger - Fixed ui bug where dialog icons were incorrectly displayed in navigation tree.
MSIStudio 2.0 released.
MSILogViewer 2.0 released.