Quick Start Training Guide to

Creating Custom Transform Files for

the Feature Release 2 MSI Package
Citrix Systems, Inc.
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Version History

May 2002 Original

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction....................................................................................................................................................... 1

Prerequisites ...................................................................................................................................................... 1

How to Obtain the Orca Editor and the Windows Installer 2.0 Update....................................................................... 2
Orca Editor .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Windows Installer 2.0...................................................................................................................................... 4

The Orca Editor ................................................................................................................................................. 5

Modifying an MST File for a New Farm Using an Access Database...................................................................... 5
Modifying an MST File for a New Farm Using a Third Party Database.................................................................. 8

Installing Your Customized Package .................................................................................................................. 10

If Installation Fails ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Additional Information ..................................................................................................................................... 14

Citrix Resources ........................................................................................................................................... 14
Microsoft Resources...................................................................................................................................... 14
For Advanced Users .................................................................................................................................. 15

Updates to Appendix B of the MetaFrame Administrator’s Guide .......................................................................... 16

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Introduction
This document will help you create your own transform files (MST) for the MetaFrame XP 1.0, Feature Release 2 MSI
package.
An MST file is essentially an answer file for MSI packages. In this document, you will become familiar with Microsoft’s
Orca editor, distribute packages with Msiexec from a command line, and use the Windows Installer Verbose Log
Analyzer.
You will learn how to modify two of the Citrix-provided transform files to install the first server in a new farm with an
Access and SQL data store.

Prerequisites
• One workstation or member server (Windows 2000 workstation, Windows 2000 member server, or Windows XP
Pro) for editing and creating an MST file.
• One Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 2 on which to install Feature Release 2 (FR2).
• Microsoft’s Orca Editor
• Windows Installer 2.0
• Access to Feature Release 2 (either network or CD access)
• Access to Appendix B of the MetaFrame XP 1.0 Feature Release 2 Administrators Guide

NOTE: You can perform all of the steps in this exercise on the same server.

Named Pipe Communication

Managed Applications on
Farm Server1:
SQL App.
Regedt32

Citrix Farm Server1 Citrix Farm Server2

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How to Obtain the Orca Editor and
the Windows Installer 2.0 Update
Orca Editor
The Orca Editor is Microsoft’s MSI file editor. Other editors are available on the Internet but we used Orca. The Orca
Editor allows you to edit the MSI file directly, create new files, or change existing MST files. Follow these steps to
download and install the editor. For our purposes, we installed the Orca Editor on a Windows workstation.

1. Go to the MSDN Platform SDK download Web site at

http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdkupdate/ . You may be prompted to install the SDK Update
ActiveX Control. If you do, install it.

2. In the left window pane, select Windows Installer SDK.

3. In the right window pane, select Install this SDK! After you select the link, you are redirected to the Confirm
Install Selections Web page. Your server is scanned for any existing components.

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4. After your server is scanned for any existing software, a screen similar to the following appears.

5. Click the Continue button on the right side of the screen to start the download. This download will include the
following components:
• Windows Installer SDK Documentation
• Windows Installer development files (.h, .lib)
• Sample MSI files
• Sample scripts for working with MSI
• Orca Database Editing Tool
• MSIVal2 tool database validation tool
• Code samples

Before the download starts, you will be notified that the Installer has privileged access to your server and to download
the SDK only from the Microsoft Web site. If you are downloading from the Microsoft Web site, click OK (see bitmap
below).

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6. Accept the license agreement.
7. Select the directory where you want to install the program (the default is c:\Program Files\Microsoft SDK).
8. Click Install Now. The SDK components download to your server.
9. When installation is complete, close your Web browser.
10. From the directory where you installed the SDK, switch to the Bin subdirectory (for example, C:\Program
Files\Microsoft SDK\Bin).
11. Double click the Orca.msi file to install it.
12. The installation program adds an Orca entry to your Start, Programs menu.

Windows Installer 2.0

MetaFrame XP 1.0, Feature Release 2 requires Windows Installer 2.0. The update, Instmsiw.msi, is in the support\msi20
directory on the server CD. To verify which version you have installed, type msiexec at a command prompt. A dialog
box similar to the following appears.

Double-click the MSI package to install it on the server where you will install FR2.
NOTE: Make sure you install the MSI package before you contine.

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The Orca Editor
Regardless of which database you use for your data store, Citrix recommends that you do the Access exercise to become
familiar with the new tools and processes.

Modifying an MST File for a New Farm

Using an Access Database
The Orca Editor is Microsoft’s editing tool for MSI packages and MST files. When you install the editor on your system,
you will see an entry in your Start, Programs menu that looks like this:

Double-click the new entry to start the editor. When you start the editor, the following dialog box appears:

The Orca Editor is very similar in look and usage to the Registry Editor. When you open an MSI file, the “keys” are
opened in the left window pane and the properties and values are listed in the right window pane. To change a value,
double-click a property and type a new value.

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For the first exercise, we will modify an MST file (localdb_access_create.mst) that ships with FR2. This file will install
the first server in a new farm using an Access database.
To get started, open Orca Editor. Select File, Open from the pull down menu (or the Open Folder shortcut) and select the
Mfxp01 MSI file. This file is in the MetaFrame directory on the CD. When you select the FR2 MSI package, the
following dialog box appears:

Note that the left pane is populated with the various data tables that make up the MSI package. Next we want to apply an
existing transform file to the MSI package and modify it for our needs. To do this, select Apply Transform from the
Transform pull-down menu. You need to select a transform that you want to apply to the MSI file. Select the
localdb_access_create.mst file from the Support\Install directory on your FR2 server CD. Once you do this, scroll down
through the left window pane to the Property table. Note the colored vertical bar next to Property.

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This marker informs you that this is the table you need to change to create a custom transform file. Double click
Property. The following dialog box appears:

The right window pane is now populated with properties and values. Notice that some of the values have a colored
outline. The Citrix sample MST files do this to show you which properties need to be changed. These properties and
acceptable values are described in Appendix B of the Feature Release 2 Administrators Guide. Take time to review
Appendix B and familiarize yourself with the available properties, their definitions, and acceptable values.
Now that you have reviewed Appendix B, you need to change the required entries for creating a new farm with an
Access database. To change the values, double-click the existing value and enter the appropriate new value.
The values to change for the first server in a farm using an Access database are listed below.
CTX_MF_NEW_FARM_NAME – Specify the name of your new farm here.
CTX_MF_USER_NAME – This is the user name for the initial Citrix administrator credentials.
CTX_MF_DOMAIN_NAME – This is the machine or domain name for the above entry.
CTX_MF_SERVER_TYPE – Specify the version of MetaFrame to install: XPs, XPa, or XPe.
CTX_MF_PRODUCT_CODE – Add the appropriate product code for the CTX_MF_SERVER_TYPE selection.

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CTX_MF_CLIENT_CD_PATH – The location of your FR2 Client CD or image. You can use a UNC path to point to the
FR2 clients.
CTX_MF_LAUNCH_CLIENT_CD_WIZARD – Determines whether or not to launch the Client wizard. By default, this
setting is Yes.
Review all your changed entries for any errors. You can edit the transform file later if there is an error but it is easier to
check now.
After you verify all of the information, save the modified transform file. From the the Transform pull-down menu,
select Generate Transform. Citrix recommends that you give your modified transform file a new name so that you do
not overwrite the original file. After you save your transform file, close the Orca Editor.
To install your FR2 package with your new transform file, see “Installing Your Customized Package” later in this
document.

Modifying an MST File for a New Farm

Using a Third Party Database
For this example, we will modify a sample MST file, thirdpartydb_create_direct.mst, to create a new farm using SQL as
the data store. The process is essentially the same as described above for the Access database; however, there are a few
extra steps.
First, you need to create a database on your SQL server as outlined in Chapter 4 of the MetaFrame XP Feature Release 2
Administrator’s Guide.
Manually create a DSN file on the server where you will install MetaFrame FR2 to allow connectivity between the FR2
server and the SQL server. To do this, follow the steps below.
13. From the Windows toolbar, click Start, Administrative Tools, Data Source (ODBC).
14. From the File DSN tab, click the Add button.
15. Scroll through the list to SQL Server, select it, and click Next.
16. Give your DSN file a name (for example FR2Server), click Next, and then click Finish.

You now have the Properties wizard for your DSN file to specify the appropriate properties. These are the same dialog
boxes that appear during a manual installation of MetaFrame XP. Fill in the appropriate information and finish creating
the file.
NOTE: Click the Test Data Source button to verify the setting before you complete the DSN wizard.
Now you are ready to open the Orca Editor to create your custom transform file.

1. Open Orca Editor.

2. Click File, Open from the pull-down menu (or use the Open Folder shortcut) and select the Mfxp001 MSI file. By
default, this file is in the MetaFrame directory on the CD.

3. Now you want to apply an existing transform file to the MSI package and modify it for your needs. To do this, from
the Transform pull-down menu, select Apply Transform.

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4. Select a transform that you want to apply to the MSI file. For this portion of the exercise, select the
thirdpartydb_create_direct.mst file from the Support\Install directory on your FR2 server CD.

5. Scroll to the Properties table entry in the left window pane. As in the Access exercise, there is a colored vertical bar
next to the Property entry.

6. Double-click the Property table. The fields you need to change are outlined in bold. Those entries are:

CTX_MF_NEW_FARM_NAME – Specify the name of your new farm here.

CTX_MF_CREATE_FARM_DB_CHOICE – The default is Third-Party. This does not need to be changed.
CTX_MF_USER_NAME – This is the user name for the initial Citrix administrator credentials.
CTX_MF_DOMAIN_NAME – This is the machine or domain name for the above entry.
CTX_MF_ODBC_USER_NAME – This is the name you specified when creating your database on the SQL server.
NOTE: The template supplied with FR2 uses the SQL sa account. If you want to use Windows NT authentication,
supply the user name and the domain name, <domainname>\<username>.
CTX_MF_ODBC_PASSWORD − This is the password you specified when creating your database on the SQL
server.
CTX_MF_ODBC_RE_ENTERED_PASSWORD – This verifies that you entered the same password as the first
time.
CTX_MF_SERVER_TYPE – Specify the server you will be installing: XPs, XPa, or Xpe-based.
CTX_MF_PRODUCT_CODE – Add the appropriate product code for the CTX_MF_SERVER_TYPE selection.
CTX_MF_CLIENT_CD_PATH – The location of your FR2 Client CD or image.
NOTE: You can use a UNC path to point to the FR2 client. Make sure the server and the client device are in the
same domain.
CTX_MF_LAUNCH_CLIENT_CD_WIZARD – Determines whether or not to launch the Client wizard. By default,
this setting is Yes.
CTX_MF_SILENT_DSNFILE – This is the location of the DSN file that you created on your target server at the
beginning of this exercise.

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Installing Your Customized Package
Now you want to install the new transform. There are three ways to install an MSI file with a transform. You can use
Installation Manager, you can use Msiexec (the Windows Installer) from a command line, or use a policy in Active
Directory or SMS. For this exercise, we used msiexec.
A benefit of using Msiexec.exe is that you can specify a log file to record everything that occurs during installation,
including any errors that may occur. Verify that you have Windows Installer 2.0 installed by typing msiexec at a
command prompt.
To install FR2 with your modified MST file, type the following at a command prompt:
msiexec /i <path>\mfxp001.msi TRANSFORMS=<path>\YourRenamedMSTFile.mst /l*v c:\install.log
The /i variable tells Msiexec that you want to install a package. Adding TRANSFORMS indicates that you have a
transform file. Adding the /l*v denotes that you want verbose logging activated. This log file, in addition to Event
Viewer entries, will help you determine where a problem exists if the installation fails.
NOTE: Using the syntax above, as it is documented in the Feature Release 2 Administrator’s Guide, still prompts you
with UI panels that you must click through. The MST file inputs its answers in the UI, but you must still click past them.
To avoid this, add one of the following undocumented switches:
For Add
NO UI /q
BASIC UI /qb
BASIC UI NO MODAL /qb-
BASIC UI MODAL /qb+
REDUCED UI /qr
To have a truly silent install, add /q after the name of the FR2 package. For example,
msiexec /i <path>\mfxp001.msi /q TRANSFORMS=<path>\YourRenamedMSTFile.mst /l*v c:\install.log
NOTE: Even though the /q parameter is specified for NO UI, the Client CD Install UI panel still appears. It does not
require any interaction and you can ignore it.
After entering the appropriate syntax, press Enter. Installation starts. If you select the NO UI installation option, you will
know that your installation is successful when the system reboots itself. If there is a problem, the install stops and the
system does not reboot. Check the Event Viewer for any errors and make modifications to your MST file as warranted. If
no useful entries exist, check through the log file for any failures.

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If Installation Fails
If installation fails, look in the Event Viewer for any entries. In most cases, issues where access is denied or incorrect
credentials are specified are in the Event Viewer.
If there is no information in the Event Viewer, use the Windows Installer Verbose Log Analyzer (Wilogutl.exe).
Wilogutl.exe assists in the analysis of log files from a Windows Installer installation and it displays suggested solutions
to errors found in the log file. For more details about this utility, read the information located at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/msi/app_3w11.asp.
The Windows Installer Verbose Log Analyzer is available as part of the Platform SDK that you downloaded at the
beginning of this exercise. Go to the \Program Files\Microsoft SDK\Bin directory on your local drive. Click the
Wilogutl.exe file. When the program starts, you will see a dialog box that looks similar to the following:

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Click the Browse button (button with three dots) and select the log file that was created during the failed installation.
Information appears from your log file.

When the file is loaded, click the Analyze button. This causes the utility to search for any errors in the file and
recommend potential solutions.

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As you can see, the utility shows you how many errors were found along with the section of text in the log file. You can
easily scroll through the errors and review them. In the example above, you can see that the install tried using a SQL
database that was already in use. This points you back to the information specified in the MST file. The incorrect
database was specified.

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In addition, the Event Viewer would show the following entry:

Additional Information
Citrix Resources
• “Installing MetaFrame XP,” Chapter 4 of the MetaFrame Feature Release 2 Administrator’s Guide
• “Deploying Feature Release 2 and Service Pack 2,” Chapter 5 of the MetaFrame Feature Release 2 Administrator’s
Guide

Microsoft Resources
• TechNet Article Q223300, “How to Enable Windows Installer Logging”
• TechNet Article Q227091, “Command-Line Switches for the Microsoft Windows Installer Tool”
NOTE: This information is available on the MSDN Web site with a bit more detail at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/msi/app_73eb.asp.)

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For Advanced Users
• TechNet Article Q257718, “HOW TO: Create Third-Party Microsoft Installer Package (MSI)”

• Microsoft White Paper, “Software Installation and Maintenance.” Download Siamwp.doc from
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/management/siamwp.asp.

This paper presents background and architectural information about the IntelliMirror Software Installation and
Maintenance feature. It is intended for Information Technology planners and administrators who want to understand
how their organizations can benefit from using this feature.
This paper does not provide information about how to use Software Installation and Maintenance. For information
about how to use the feature, see the Windows 2000 Server online Help and the Software Installation and
Maintenance Walkthrough, both of which are available from the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Web site.

• TechNet Article Q271957, “HOW TO: Determine the Differences Between Two Windows Installer .msi Packages”

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Updates to Appendix B of the
MetaFrame Administrator’s Guide
The following is a list of corrected entries and values for Appendix B of the MetaFrame Administrator’s Guide. Only
changed items are listed; make sure you review Appendix B for a full listing of properties.

CTX_MF_ODBC_PASSWORD
Definition: Password for a third-party database
Possible values: User defined
Default value: “Password”
Update – The default value in the MSI package and MST files is citrix in lower case letters.

CTX_MF_SILENT_DSNFILE
Definition: DSN file for the silent install to be used for the data store
Possible values: Complete path to the DSN file
Default value: “” (null)
Update – The default value in the MSI package and MST files is C:\testsql.dsn.

CTX_MF_LAUNCH_CLIENT_CD_WIZARD
Definition: Specifies whether or not to launch the ICA Client Distribution wizard (to update the ICA Clients on the
MetaFrame server)
Possible values: Yes = launch wizard or No = do not launch wizard; that is, do not update clients
Default value: No
Update – The default value in the MSI package and MST files is Yes.

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