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How to Create Rules in Updates Publisher

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Several rules are available with Updates Publisher, but new rules will ultimately need to be created to meet your needs. Rules are categorized as Basic or MSI rules, and there are over 20 rule types. Rules can be saved so that they can be reused when creating or modifying software updates definitions. Updates Publisher rules can be created in the Manage Rules dialog box, Create Update Wizard, or Modify Update Wizard.

The following procedures provide the steps to create a new rule from the Manage Rules dialog box, and from the Create Update Wizard or Modify Update Wizard.

To create a new rule from the Manage Rules dialog box

  1. Right-click any Updates Publisher console tree node item, and then click Manage Rules to open the Manage Rules dialog box.

  2. Click Create to open the Create Rule dialog box.

  3. Configure the new rule by using the following options:

    • Select from the following rule categories:

      Create Basic rule: Checks for a specific file, file version, registry key, and so on. There are over 20 rule types available for basic rules. For more information, see Basic Rules.

      Create MSI rule: Checks for a specific software update, product, component, or feature. For more information, see MSI Rules.

      Use existing rule: Uses a previously created rule. The properties for the rule can be modified if required.

    • Choose the Rule Type from the drop-down list. The rule types for the specified rule category are listed. For more information, see Not Rules.

    • Specify whether the rule is a Not rule. When a Not rule is evaluated, the logical result is reversed.

    • Configure the properties for the specified rule type.

    • Specify a name for the rule in the Save your rule as text box to reuse the rule.

  4. Click OK to exit the Create Rule dialog box.

To create a new rule from the Create Update Wizard

  1. Right-click any console tree node item, and then click Create Update in the Updates Publisher console to start the Create Update Wizard.

  2. Go to the Define Prerequisite Rules, Define Applicability Rules, or Define Installed Rules page of the wizard where the Expression Builder is located. The following briefly describes each rule category:

    • Prerequisite Rules: Higher-level rules used as an initial check to verify that the software update is needed on a computer. For example, the rule might define a specific operating system; however, if the scanned computer has a different operating system installed, the software update is not needed on that computer.

    • Applicability Rules: Rules used to determine whether the software update is applicable to a specific computer. For example, the rule might define a specific file with a file version less than a specific value. If the scanned computer has the file with a version less than the specified value, the software update is applicable.

      Important

      Software updates created without applicability rules and published to the update source will never be applicable to clients and therefore will never be installed. You should always create software updates with at least one applicability rule.

    • Installed Rules: Rules used to determine whether the software update is already installed on the computer. For example, the rule might define a specific file with a specific file version. If the scanned computer has the file with the specified version, the software update is already installed on the computer and is no longer needed.

  3. Click the Add Rule icon, and in the Add Rule dialog box, configure the new rule by performing the following steps:

    • Select from the following rule categories:

      Create Basic rule: Basic rules check for a specific file, file version, registry key, and so on. There are over 20 rule types available for basic rules. For more information, see Basic Rules.

      Create MSI rule: This category is used most often for prerequisite verification because MSI-based (Windows Installer) updates auto-populate applicability and installed rules for verification. Windows Installer rules check for a specific software update, product, component, or feature. For more information, see MSI Rules.

      Use existing rule: This category uses a previously created rule. The properties for the rule can be modified if required.

    • Choose the Rule Type from the drop-down list. The rule types for the specified rule category are listed.

    • Specify whether the rule is a Not rule. When a Not rule is evaluated, the logical result is reversed. See Not Rules for more information.

    • Configure the properties for the specified rule type. Information about each rule type is available in the Updates Publisher Rules section.

    • Specify a name for the rule in the Save your rule as text box to reuse the rule.

  4. Repeat step 3 to create multiple rules. From the Expression Builder, rules can be moved up or down in the list, deleted, or logically grouped. Each group has the And or Or operator. For more information about using the Expression Builder, see How to Use the Expression Builder.

See Also

Tasks

How to Use the Expression Builder

Reference

Create Rule Dialog Box

Concepts

About the Create Update Wizard and Modify Update Wizard
Manage Rules Dialog Box
Not Rules

Other Resources

Basic Rules
Managing Rules in Updates Publisher
MSI Rules
Updates Publisher Rules