The
Wise KnowledgeBase at http://kb.altiris.com is
searchable by product and by keyword.
The support centre is where product updates are released and made available for
download.
The installation of Wise products includes a help directory where product
documentation is installed, both in PDF and in CHM format. Also included is the
Microsoft SDK help file, MSI.CHM, which is a vital reference resource for any
MSI packager. Place a shortcut to it in your quicklaunch
bar before you do anything else!
Wise commissioned an e-book titled " The
Definitive Guide to Windows Installer Technology" which is now available
at: http://cc.realtimepublishers.com/DGWITSA.htm
This
is also an excellent resource for explaining aspects of windows installer
technology.
Books that packagers have found useful:
" Windows Installer for VB/VBA programmers" by Mike Gunderloy
Now out of print, but the unedited proofs are available for download from:
http://www.larkware.com/
"The Definitive Guide to Windows Installer" by Phil Wilson,
publisher: Apress.
Includes .NET content
Utilities from Wise:
MSIDiff
Utilities from Microsoft:
-Driver Install Frameworks Tools:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/...install/difxtools.mspx
There is a Wise template to use with the above - see the following KB article:
http://www.wise.com/KBArticle.aspx?articleno=2162
-Microsoft Script Centre
http://www.microsoft.com/techn...ter/guide/default.mspx
-ADSI scriptomatic
http://www.microsoft.com/techn...ter/tools/admatic.mspx
-WMI scriptomatic
http://www.microsoft.com/techn...er/tools/wmimatic.mspx
-Microsoft SDK
WILogUtl.exe
– Analysis tool for MSI logfiles
Online resources:
http://www.Appdeploy.com
http://www.Installsite.org
http://www.Dawnstar.com.au
http://desktopengineer.com
http://www.ewall.org - good
resource for permissioning solutions
Online resource
library of wisescripts:
http://wisescript.dragonsoft.us
The Windows Installer team at Microsoft maintain a blog that may be of interest
to users here: http://blogs.msdn.com/windows_installer_team/
It is also available as an RSS feed:
http://blogs.msdn.com/windows_installer_team/rss.aspx
For a free RSS aggregator, try:
or
http://www.rssbandit.org/ow.asp?DownLoad
Other Windows Installer related blogs:
Windows Installer Team Blog
Aaron Ruckman's
Blog
Heath Stewart's Blog
Rob Mensching's
Blog and his old one when
setup isn't just xcopy
Before
posting please use the forum search facility to check if your question has
previously been answered. Issues such as healing and repair come up frequently
and are well covered in past postings, so a search may get you an answer in
seconds, rather than having to wait for a reply.
When posting, please remember to include the following information:
-The version of the Wise product you are using
-Operating system and service pack of development/test workstation
-Whether you have run the installation with verbose logging enabled; posting
the segment of the log that shows anything 'suspect'
-Whether there is any information in the application event log (common in
repetitive repair situations)
-As much information about the issue(s) you are experiencing as possible.
-Any background information that may help others to suggest alternative
approaches if your solution cannot be made to work.
Support Links
The Wise website has Support links for reporting bugs and requesting new
features.
This input is examined by Altiris/Wise staff and provides valuable feedback
from the user community.
Please contribute to the product development by submitting bug reports or
product feature requests, no matter how busy you are!
Don' t assume someone else will do it if you don' t!!