Software Deployment

If you download the Windows Installer SDK from the Microsoft website, it contains several scripts (in VBScript) to export tables from a MSI file to txt files.

Thank You. I should have mentioned that I'm using Win2k. The SDK has a bunch of scripts, but as far as I can tell, none to actually extract the tables. :(

Thanks anyway.

Have a look at Msidb.exe,
The "-e" option will:
Export selected tables from database into text archive files in folder. Table names for export are table names. Only the wildcard specification, "*", may be used. Tables may be exported from a read only database.

Thanks a lot! I'll give this a try tomorrow morning!

Hi Secondlaw,

Try this VBScript, just add your preferred table

' Export File Table from a given MSI Database to an Excel Spreadsheet

Option Explicit

Const msiOpenDatabaseModeReadOnly = 0


On Error Resume Next
Dim installer : Set installer = Nothing
Dim szMSI

szMSI = InputBox("Enter MSI File (including full path)", "Select MSI", "")
DIM folder : folder = InputBox("Enter Folder to Write Table to...", "Select Export Folder","")

Set installer = Wscript.CreateObject("WindowsInstaller.Installer") : CheckError

Dim database : Set database = installer.OpenDatabase(szMSI, msiOpenDatabaseModeReadOnly) : CheckError

Dim table, view, record

table = "File"

Set view = database.OpenView("SELECT 'Name' FROM _Tables")
view.Execute : CheckError
Do
Set record = view.Fetch : CheckError
If record Is Nothing Then Exit Do
Export table, folder : CheckError
Loop
Set view = Nothing


Export table, folder : CheckError


Wscript.Quit(0)

Sub Export(table, folder)
Dim file :file = table & ".xls"
database.Export table, folder, file
End Sub


Sub CheckError
Dim message, errRec
If Err = 0 Then Exit Sub
message = Err.Source & " " & Hex(Err) & ": " & Err.Description
If Not installer Is Nothing Then
Set errRec = installer.LastErrorRecord
If Not errRec Is Nothing Then message = message & vbNewLine & errRec.FormatText
End If
Wscript.Echo message
Wscript.Quit 2
End Sub


Hope this helps,
knight

Knight,

Thanks! That script is just about perfect. How would I configure that so I can run it from a command line...

cscript export.vbs <table> "<msipath>" "<outputfilepath>"

Hi folks,
one quick way to do this, is using ORCA. Load the MSI in ORCA, go to 'Tables' - 'Export Tables...' 'Select All'.
This is also an easy Editing method, if you have to edit tables in a vendor MSI.
Regards, Nick