In some enterprises, packaging applications and administering HPCA are separate functions. You might not want to use the MSI Feature Set Editor to edit the transform (MST) files. Use the following procedure to publish the package and MST files and enable you to manage feature sets in native MSI mode.
Use the HPCA Administrator Publisher in Advanced mode to create the Administrator Control Point (ACP) and publish the Windows Installer package.
Note: Any changes to or replacement of the *.MST
file will cause HPCA to call MSIEXEC to uninstall and reinstall the application.
When the service is installed or modified, HPCA will detect the absence of the MSIFEATS object, and will use the native MSI mode, MSIEXEC. HPCA will call MSIEXEC natively with the proper location of the data source. If HPCA calls MSIEXEC and detects the presence of a single MST file, it will add the .MST
file to the command line that invokes MSIEXEC. If HPCA calls MSIEXEC and detects more than one MST file, it will run MSIEXEC only for the MSI file. The MSI native behavior will be used for update and repair.
Note: If you are using an MST file to include a new feature that is not already a feature available in the Feature Set Editor (MSIFEATS), the new feature from the MST file will be included in the MSI service. However, if there is a feature in the MST file that already exists in the MSIFEATS object, the feature state indicated in MSIFEATS will be used, and the one in the additional MST file will be disregarded. If you want to manage the MSI package using only your MST file, use the procedure described in this section.