Validation
About MSI validation
Windows Installer validation consists of running tests, known as ICEs (Internal Consistency Evaluators) which enforce certain rules on your setup project. The ICEs, usually designed by Microsoft, ensure that your installation performs all of its actions appropriately and provides a valid database to the Windows Installer service.
To make sure that your software complies with the Microsoft Designed for Windows logo standards, you need to validate your installations using one of the Windows 2000 Logo or Windows XP Logo validation suites included with Wise Installation Studio.
Validation can only be run on installation packages. A special validation suite called Merge Module Validation allows you to validate merge module projects as well. All other project types cannot be validated.
Validating Wise Installation Studio projects
To validate a project in Wise Installation Studio, follow these steps:
- Open the project and make sure the project is built.
- Go to the Tools menu.
- Choose Validate from the popup menu.
- From the submenu, choose the type of validation you wish to run. You can also browse for a .cub file (a custom validation suite) by choosing Custom Validation.
Validation Options
| Validation | Suite Description |
|---|---|
| Full MSI Validation | Runs all the standard validation tests available to Windows Installer. |
| Windows 2000 | Logo Runs full MSI validation as well as specialized tests to make sure your installation complies with the Windows 2000 Logo standards. |
| Windows XP Logo | Runs full MSI validation as well as specialized tests to make sure your installation complies with the Windows XP Logo standards. |
| Merge Module Validation | Runs all the standard validation tests that can be performed on a merge module. This only works for merge module projects. |
| Custom Validation | Allows you to browse for a .cub file to use as the validation suite. |
When you run a validation suite, the built .msi or .msm file is compared against the ICE rules. The results of the validation are shown in the Output Window (located at the bottom of the Wise Installation Studio main window). All warnings, errors, and failures are displayed, listing the violated ICE rule as well as the aspect of your setup that broke this rule. The errors and warnings generated by validation are also shown in the Task List window (next to the Output Window). Double-click an item in the Task List window to view the documentation for that particular ICE rule. For a general reference regarding the ICE tests, click here.
Validation messages
There are three types of validation messages:
- Errors: Describe critical problems that should be addressed immediately, such as more than 800 components in a feature.
- Warnings: Describe non-critical problems in your database that may cause errors in certain circumstances.
- Information: Shows what ICE test is running, and other status information.
Creating custom validation suites
In Wise Installation Studio, there is a project type (ICE Database) that allows you to create your own validation suite. See Working With Projects for more information.