Installation Context
Windows Installer can install a package on a computer into two installation contexts: per-machine and per-user. A per-machine installation of the package is required to enable all users of the computer to access and use the application. Because a per-machine installation makes changes to the system that affect all users, standard users having limited privileges may be prevented from installing a package into the per-machine context without first obtaining permission.
You can specify installation context by authoring the package for per-user or per-machine installation and using the ALLUSERS and MSIINSTALLPERUSER properties. Based on these properties, Windows Installer automatically redirects the values of folder properties and registrations to locations for the per-user or per-machine context.
Note
The MSIINSTALLPERUSER property, available beginning with Windows Installer 5.0 and Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, can facilitate the development of a single package capable of being installed in either the per-machine or per-user context. For information about developing a dual-purpose package that gives the user the capability to choose the installation context at installation time, see Single Package Authoring. Windows Installer ignores the MSIINSTALLPERUSER property if the value of ALLUSERS is not 2. Windows Installer always resets the value of ALLUSERS to 1 when it installs in the per-machine context and resets the value of ALLUSERS to an empty string ("") when it installs in the per-user context.
Shortcut Redirection
The following table compares the locations of shortcuts for per-machine and per-user installation contexts.
| Per-Machine Installation Context (ALLUSERS=1) | Per-User Installation Context (ALLUSERS="") |
|---|---|
| Applications appear under Add/Remove Programs on Control Panel for all users of the computer. |
Applications appear only under Add/Remove Programs on Control Panel for users that have installed the applications. |
| Shortcuts are installed to the All Users profile. |
Shortcuts are installed only to that user's profile. |
| Icons and transforms are stored in %WINDOWS%\Installer\{ProductCode}. |
Icons and transforms are stored in %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Installer\{ProductCode GUID} |
Registry Redirection
The following table compares the locations of registry entries for the per-machine and per-user installation contexts.
| Per-Machine Installation Context (ALLUSERS=1) | Per-User Installation Context (ALLUSERS="") |
|---|---|
| Windows Installer writes or removes registry values entered in the Registry table and RemoveRegistry table, with the value -1 in the Root column, under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. |
Windows Installer writes or removes registry values entered in the Registry table and RemoveRegistry table, with the value -1 in the Root column, under HKEY_CURRENT_USER. |
| Windows Installer writes or removes registry values entered in the Registry table and RemoveRegistry table, with the value msidbRegistryRootClassesRoot (0) in the Root column, under HKLM\Software\Classes. |
Windows Installer writes or removes registry values entered in the Registry table and RemoveRegistry table, with the value msidbRegistryRootClassesRoot (0) in the Root column, under HKCU\Software\Classes. |
| COM registration is written to HKLM\Software\Classes. |
COM registration is written to HKCU\Software\Classes. |
Folder Redirection
Windows Installer sets the values of the folder properties to the full path of the respective folder for the installation context.
Note
Folders are identified by their KNOWNFOLDERID and CSIDL constants. Beginning with Windows Vista, applications should use the SHGetKnownFolderPath function and the KNOWNFOLDERID to determine the full path to the special folders. Existing applications that use the SHGetFolderPath function and constant special item IDs (CSIDL) will continue to work.
The following table compares the locations of folders that are used when Windows Installer installs the package in the per-machine or per-user installation contexts.
| Per-Machine Installation Context (ALLUSERS=1) | Per-User Installation Context (ALLUSERS="") |
|---|---|
| DesktopFolderThe full path of the Desktop folder for all users. FOLDERID_PublicDesktop (CSIDL_COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY) |
DesktopFolderThe full path of the Desktop folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Desktop (CSIDL_DESKTOP, CSIDL_DESKTOPDIRECTORY) |
| ProgramMenuFolderThe full path of the Program Menu folder for all users. FOLDERID_CommonPrograms (CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS) |
ProgramMenuFolderThe full path of the Program Menu folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Programs (CSIDL_PROGRAMS) |
| StartMenuFolderThe full path of the Start Menu folder for the all users. FOLDERID_CommonStartMenu (CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU) |
StartMenuFolderThe full path of the Start Menu folder for the current user. FOLDERID_StartMenu (CSIDL_STARTMENU) |
| StartUpFolderThe full path of the Start Up folder for all users. FOLDERID_CommonStartup (CSIDL_COMMON_STARTUP) |
StartUpFolderThe full path of the Start Up folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Startup (CSIDL_STARTUP) |
| TemplateFolderThe full path of the Templates folder for all users. FOLDERID_CommonTemplates (CSIDL_COMMON_TEMPLATES) |
TemplateFolderThe full path of the Templates folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Templates (CSIDL_TEMPLATES) |
| AdminToolsFolderThe full path of the Admin Tools folder for all users. FOLDERID_CommonAdminTools (CSIDL_COMMON_ADMINTOOLS) |
AdminToolsFolderThe full path of the Admin Tools folder for the current user. FOLDERID_AdminTools (CSIDL_ADMINTOOLS) |
| AppDataFolderThe full path of the Program Menu folder. Windows Vista and later: The full path of the Roaming folder. FOLDERID_RoamingAppData (CSIDL_APPDATA) |
AppDataFolderThe full path of the Program Menu folder. Windows Vista and later: The full path of the Roaming folder. FOLDERID_RoamingAppData (CSIDL_APPDATA) |
| CommonAppDataFolderThe full path of the folder that contains application data for all users. FOLDERID_ProgramData (CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA) |
CommonAppDataFolderThe full path of the folder that contains application data for all users. FOLDERID_ProgramData (CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA) |
| FavoritesFolderThe full path of the Favorites folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Favorites (CSIDL_FAVORITES) |
FavoritesFolderThe full path of the Favorites folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Favorites (CSIDL_FAVORITES) |
| PersonalFolderThe full path of the My Documents folder or Personal folder for the current user. Windows Vista and later: The full path of the Documents folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Documents (CSIDL_PERSONAL) |
PersonalFolderThe full path of the My Documents folder or Personal folder for the current user. Windows Vista and later: The full path of the Documents folder for the current user. FOLDERID_Documents (CSIDL_PERSONAL) |
| SendToFolderThe full path of the SendTo folder. FOLDERID_SendTo (CSIDL_SENDTO) |
SendToFolderThe full path of the SendTo folder. FOLDERID_SendTo (CSIDL_SENDTO) |
| FontsFolderThe full path of the System Fonts folder. FOLDERID_Fonts (CSIDL_FONTS) |
FontsFolderThe full path of the System Fonts folder. FOLDERID_Fonts (CSIDL_FONTS) |
| ProgramFilesFolder32-bit version of Windows: The property value is the full path to the Program Files folder for all users (for example, %ProgramFiles%.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_ProgramFiles (CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES.) The identifiers FOLDERID_ProgramFiles and FOLDERID_ProgramFilesX86 represent the same folder. Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. 64-bit version of Windows: The property value is the full path to the Program Files (x86) folder for all users (for example, %ProgramFiles(x86)%.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_ProgramFilesX86 (CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILESX86.) Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
ProgramFilesFolderWindows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7: The property value is the full path of the Programs folder for the current user (for example, %LocalAppData%\Programs.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_UserProgramFiles on 32-bit and 64-bit systems. There is no equivalent CSIDL identifier for FOLDERID_UserProgramFiles. Files in this folder can be accessed only by the user that installed this folder. Windows Server 2008 and earlier, and Windows Vista and earlier: No per-user capable folder is available. The path is the same as for the per-machine context (for example, %ProgramFiles% or %ProgramFiles(x86)%.) Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
| CommonFilesFolder32-bit version of Windows: The property value is the full path to the Common Files folder for all users (for example, %ProgramFiles%\Common Files.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommon (CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMON.) The identifiers FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommon and FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommonX86 represent the same folder. Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. 64-bit version of Windows: The property value is the full path to the Common Files folder for all users (for example, %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommonX86 (CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMONX86.) Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
CommonFilesFolderWindows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7: The property value is the full path of the Common folder for the current user (for example, %LocalAppData%\Programs\Common.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_UserProgramFilesCommon on 32-bit and 64-bit systems. There is no equivalent CSIDL identifier for FOLDERID_UserProgramFilesCommon. Files in this folder can be accessed only by the user that installed this folder. Windows Server 2008 and earlier, and Windows Vista and earlier: No per-user capable folder is available. The path is the same as in the per-machine context (for example, %ProgramFiles%\Common Files or %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files.) Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
| ProgramFiles64FolderThe property value is the full path to the Program Files folder for all users (for example, %ProgramFiles%.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_ProgramFilesX64. There is no equivalent CSIDL identifier to FOLDERID_ProgramFilesX64. This is the pre-defined folder for 64-bit components and applies to 64-bit systems. Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
ProgramFiles64FolderWindows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7: The property value is the full path of the Programs folder for the current user (for example, %LocalAppData%\Programs.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_UserProgramFiles. There is no equivalent CSIDL identifier for FOLDERID_UserProgramFiles. Files in this folder can be accessed only by the user that installed this folder. Windows Server 2008 and earlier, and Windows Vista and earlier: No per-user capable folder is available. The path is the same as for the per-machine context (for example, %ProgramFiles%.) Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
| CommonFiles64FolderThe property value is the full path to the Common Files folder for all users (for example, %ProgramFiles%\Common Files.) This is the pre-defined folder for 64-bit components and applies to 64-bit systems. The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommonX64. There is no equivalent CSIDL identifier to FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommonX64. Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
CommonFiles64FolderWindows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7: The property value is the full path of the Common folder for the current user (for example, %LocalAppData%\Programs\Common.) The identifier for this folder is FOLDERID_UserProgramFilesCommon. There is no equivalent CSIDL identifier for FOLDERID_UserProgramFilesCommon. Files in this folder can be accessed only by the user that installed this folder. Windows Server 2008 and earlier, and Windows Vista and earlier: No per-user capable folder is available. The path is the same as for the per-machine context (for example, %ProgramFiles%\Common Files.) Files in this folder can be accessed by all users. |
| WindowsFolderThe full path of the Windows folder. FOLDERID_Windows (CSIDL_WINDOWS) |
WindowsFolderThe full path of the Windows folder. FOLDERID_Windows (CSIDL_WINDOWS) |
| SystemFolderThe full path of the System folder. FOLDERID_SystemX86 (CSIDL_SYSTEMX86) |
SystemFolderThe full path of the System folder. FOLDERID_SystemX86 (CSIDL_SYSTEMX86) |
| LocalAppDataFolderThe full path of the folder that contains local (nonroaming) applications. FOLDERID_LocalAppData (CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA) |
LocalAppDataFolderThe full path of the folder that contains local (nonroaming) applications. FOLDERID_LocalAppData (CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA) |
| MyPicturesFolderThe full path of the Pictures or My Pictures folder. FOLDERID_Pictures (CSIDL_MYPICTURES) |
MyPicturesFolderThe full path of the Pictures or My Pictures folder. FOLDERID_Pictures (CSIDL_MYPICTURES) |
| PrintHoodFolderThe full path of the PrintHood folder. FOLDERID_PrintHood (CSIDL_PRINTHOOD) |
PrintHoodFolderThe full path of the PrintHood folder. FOLDERID_PrintHood (CSIDL_PRINTHOOD) |
| NetHoodFolderThe full path of the NetHood folder. FOLDERID_NetHood (CSIDL_NETHOOD) |
NetHoodFolderThe full path of the NetHood folder. FOLDERID_NetHood (CSIDL_NETHOOD) |
| RecentFolderThe full path of the Recent folder. FOLDERID_Recent (CSIDL_RECENT) |
RecentFolderThe full path of the Recent folder. FOLDERID_Recent (CSIDL_RECENT) |
Note
An application can call the MsiEnumProducts or MsiEnumProductsEx functions to enumerate all the products installed on the system. The application can then retrieve information about the installation context of these products by calling the MsiGetProductInfoEx or MsiGetProductInfo functions. For information see Determining Installation Context.