Understanding Settings and Properties

Article
07/25/2008

Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) displays the properties and settings of a selected component or package in the Properties pane. The component settings available to edit for each configuration pass can be managed and viewed in the Properties pane. You can also view properties and IDs where applicable. In the case of packages, editable Windows feature selections are displayed. Settings that are not available for each component or package appear grayed out. Settings that have been edited appear in bold.

What are Component Settings?

Component settings are the configurable aspects of each component in a Windows Vista installation for unattended setup. For example, the Internet Explorer component setting Home_Page can be configured to open to a particular URL by configuring the default value of the setting in the Properties pane of Windows SIM.

What are Component Properties?

The component properties are non-configurable attributes of the component. Component properties display differently when the component is added to the currently open answer file. The following table lists component properties for components that have been added to an answer file.

Property	Description
AppliedConfigurationPass	The configuration pass that all child settings are applied to.
Component	The root ComponentSetting object that this setting override belongs to.
Path	The path to the setting from the component. The path appears in the following format: SettingName1/SettingName2/...
Enabled	Indicates whether the component has been installed. A setting of `True` means the component is installed. A setting of `False` means the component is not installed, which means that the setting is ignored and the correct Windows Features in the foundation package containing the component are enabled.

What are Component IDs?

The component ID uniquely identifies the component of the operating system to which the settings belong. The ID contains the name, version, architecture, etc., for the component selected in the Windows Image pane or Answer File pane.

ID	Description
Language	Specifies the language code. For more information, see the Language Codes in the MSDN Library.
Name	Specifies the long name of the component or package.
ProcessorArchitecture	Specifies the processor architecture of the component or package. Some valid values include `x86`, `ia64`, `amd64`, `wow64`, and `msil`.
PublicKeyToken	Specifies the public key token of the component or package. This is a string of 16 hexadecimal digits. Hash value of MS public key. The value is unique for MS and prevents ID collision.
Version	Specifies the version of the Windows component or package.
VersionScope	Specifies the version scope of the Windows component or package. The possible values are `SxS` and `nonSxS`.

What are Package Properties?

The package properties are non-configurable attributes of the package. Package properties appear when you highlight a package in the Windows Image pane or Answer File pane.

Package Property	Description
CompanyName	Specifies the name of the company that created the package.
Copyright	Specifies the copyright disclaimer of the package.
Description	Specifies the description of the package.
Id	Specifies the identifier for the package. The format is: ProcessorArchitecture_Version_Language_PublicKeyToken_VersionScope
Keyword	Specifies the keyword of the package.
Path	Specifies the file system path of the package file. This is blank if the package is from a Windows image.
ProductName	Specifies the product name that this package applies to.
ProductVersion	Specifies the product version that this package applies to.
ReleaseType	Specifies the PackageReleaseType of this package. PackageReleaseType is an enumeration that is documented in the *Component Platform Interface (CPI) Reference*.
SupportInformation	Specifies the support information for the package. This can contain contact information about the package author.

What are Package Settings?

Package settings are the configurable attributes of the package selected in the Answer File pane. Package settings appear only when the package is selected in the Answer File pane because that is when you can edit them.

Setting Name	Available Settings
Action	The action to be performed on the package within the answer file. Possible actions are Install, Configure, Remove, or Stage.
PermanenceType	Removable, permanent. Permanence types are members of the PackageActionType and must be documented in the *Component Platform Interface (CPI) Reference*.
PrimarySourcePath	The primary file system path that is the source of the package file. If the package is from a Windows image, this will be blank.

The following menu options are available by right-clicking a setting in the Properties pane.

revert change

Reverts to the previous state or setting. This option removes the entry for the setting from the answer file. The setting remains unchanged after the Unattend.xml answer file has been applied.

write empty string

Writes the XML equivalent of an empty string for the setting in the answer file.

By default, if no value is specified, the setting will be omitted from the answer file. However, you can specifically write an empty value for a string type in an answer file by using this option.

This option applies to string types only.

Important
Not all component string settings support empty values. For more information, refer to the *Unattended Windows Setup Reference*.

write image value

Creates an entry for the setting in the answer file with the value of the setting currently in the Windows image.

What are .NET types in Windows System Image Manager?

.NET types appear at the bottom of the Properties pane. Component settings have a type that describes the kind of data that is valid for that setting. These types are mapped to their equivalent .NET types in Windows SIM. This section lists the possible types that can be associated with component settings.

.NET Type	Parameters	Description
System.Byte	0 to 255	Unsigned 8-bit integer
System.SByte	-128 to 127	Signed 8-bit integer
System.UInt16	0 to 65,535	Unsigned 16-bit integer
System.Int16	-32,768 to 32,767	Signed 16-bit integer
System.UInt32	0 to 4,294,967,295	Unsigned 32-bit integer
System.Int32	-2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647	Signed 32-bit integer
System.UInt64	0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,615	Unsigned 64-bit integer
System.Int64	–9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807	Signed 64-bit integer
System.Boolean	true \| false	Boolean data
System.String	Represents text as a series of Unicode characters	String data

What are Array Types?

Some component settings require arrays of data. These arrays are mapped to their equivalent .NET array types in Windows SIM. This section lists the possible array types associated with component settings.

Type	Description
System.String[]	Array of System.String
System.Byte[]	Array of System.Byte
System.SByte[]	Array of System.SByte

What are List Items?

Settings are sometimes organized into groups called list items. List items specify one or more values for a list item type. A list item type may include one or more component settings. For example, you can create multiple favorites links by using the FavoriteItem setting for Internet Explorer.

You add a list item by right-clicking the setting for a container. For example, you can add a FavoriteItem list item by right-clicking the FavoritesList container in the Answer File pane. For more information, see Customize a Setting in an Answer File.

Key Settings for List Items

Each list item must have a unique identifier, which is known as the key for that specific list item. When you modify the key setting for the list item, the key identifier appears in brackets ([]) next to the list item in the Answer File pane.

List Item Actions

The following describes actions available for list items when you use Windows SIM.

Add a New List Item

Windows SIM enables you to add a number of list items to the currently open answer file. On the Setting Action drop-down list, select the AddListItem option. You must also add a unique key setting to the list item. The unique key setting appears in brackets ([]) next to the list item in the tree view of the Answer File pane. A plus sign (+) appears, indicating the list item is added to the Windows image when the unattended answer file is run.

Delete a List Item

Windows SIM enables you to delete a list item defined in a Windows image file. On the Setting Action drop-down list, select the RemoveListItem option. A minus sign (-) appears, indicating that the list item is deleted from the image when the unattended answer file is run.

Modify a List Item

Windows SIM enables you to modify a list item defined in a Windows image (.wim) file. To change the default value for an existing list item, select Modify in the Properties pane and enter the updated information under settings. The updated list item setting is added to the answer file.

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