Get Details of Installed Applications: PowerShell Way

As a system admin or as an application packager we have various scenarios where we need to get the details of installed applications. We come across situations where we need to include logic in our scripts to check if certain application or a product code exists on the machine or not.

There are various ways to check this, PowerShell queries are one of those. In PowerShell, we can either use WMI Class to get the details or query the windows registry to get the required details.Below are few commands which can be used to get the details of the applications installed on the machine. These PowerShell one-liners can be used directly or along with the conditional statements like “IF”.

How to use MSI Public Property: Transform vs Command Line

What is a MSI property?

MSI properties are global variables used by Windows Installer during the installation. The value of these variables can be used by the Windows Installer to configure the software installation.
The MSI properties are of three types:

1. Private Properties - Must be included within the installer database.
2. Public Properties -  Can be included in the installer database, in transform, passed as command line or through the dialog boxes during UI install. 
3. Restricted Public Properties
   

Passing MSI Public Property via Transform vs. Command Line

Basics of MSI Rollback

What is MSI Rollback?

MSI rollback feature allows windows installer to revert the system to the original state in case the installation was unsuccessful. If the MSI installation fails or is cancelled by the user, rollback feature allows to undo the changes it made to the system. Among many advantages of using windows Installer over EXE, rollback is one of them.

How MSI Rollback is accomplished?