Software Deployment

I dont think so.
You would have to use a wrapper with the command line for the msi and mst.

you could do a couple of things..

have a look at secure custom transforms in the sdk. It allows you to embed the Transform within the MSI. Then you could potentially hard code the transform property.

you could try a launch condition of TRANSFORMS

a CA which enums the value of TRANSFORMS and runs a type 19 CA if not found.

Im sure its possible i have never tried it tho.

ORIGINAL: jmcfadyen
you could try a launch condition of TRANSFORMS
a CA which enums the value of TRANSFORMS and runs a type 19 CA if not found.



Except, most likely the reason you have a transform is that it is a vendor MSI, and the first rule of Fight club is dont edit the vendor MSI.

reds4eva is right...... Editing the vendor msi hamper the functionality of the application.

We all know about the rules, how to bend them and break them [;)]

However I don't see anywhere that Johni refer to a vendor MSI. This could be a general question too as the OP is "fairly new to MSI development". This could also be an in-house MSI with transforms for different subsidiary, sites or simething else.

Embedding a transform into the _Storage table shouldn't break any future updates from the vendor, nor would a correct conditioned CA.

Johni,

Don't forgett the "S" at the end (TRANSFORMS) even for a single transform.

ORIGINAL: prashanth
reds4eva is right...... Editing the vendor msi hamper the functionality of the application.Nonsense. It *might* but it's not an absolute truth. If you know what you're doing, there's no problem. The general consensus, though, is that editing vendor MSIs is A Bad Thing and to always use transforms.

Thanks guys for providing such valuable info, I really appreciate it.
Actually it is a vendor MSI (and I should have mentioned it in my initial thread...apologize for that).
So what I got from this thread is:

• If it is a vendor MSI then don't modify it
  
• If it is not then there is a way (as mentioned by jmcfadyen)

Thanks again

I never said you cant do it, just you shouldnt if at all possible. Occasionaly you have no choice but to edit the msi, and if your going to do that, then listen to Mr McFadyen's, Angel and vbscabs advice.
But, in this case, I wouldnt do it just for the sake of embedding an MST. There are other ways to stop people running MSI's.

Found this -

http://juice.altiris.com/headsup/2993/embedded-transforms

Just stumbled across this post. You could put an entry in your main MSI, in the LaunchCondition table like this:

Condition
TRANSFORMPRESENT="true"
Description
Sorry, you need to use a transform.

and then in your transform, add a property called 'TRANSFORMPRESENT' and give it a value of 'true' (Use whatever property name you want, it doesn't have to be TRANSFORMPRESENT).

It doesn't specifically provide the exact logic that you required, but could be a way of 'fudging' the same sort of behaviour you're after. It works because the LaunchCondition evaluation cannot find the property until the transform is applied.