Property Reference


MsiLogging Property

The MsiLogging property sets the default logging mode for the Windows Installer package. If this optional property is present in the Property table, the installer generates a log file named MSI*.LOG. The full path to the log file is given by the value of the MsiLogFileLocation property.

Value

The value of this property should be a string of the following characters that specify the default logging mode.

ValueMeaning
I

Status messages.

w

Nonfatal warnings.

e

All error messages.

a

Start up of actions.

r

Action-specific records.

u

User requests.

c

Initial UI parameters.

m

Out-of-memory or fatal exit information.

o

Out-of-disk-space messages.

p

Terminal properties.

v

Verbose output.

x

Extra debugging information. Only available on Windows Server 2003.

!

Flush each line to the log.

 

Remarks

This property is available starting with Windows Installer 4.0.

You cannot use the "+" and "*" values of the /L option in the value of the MsiLogging property.

The logging mode can be set using policy, a command-line option, or programmatically. This overrides the default logging mode. For more information about all the methods that are available for setting the logging mode, see Normal Logging in the Windows Installer Logging section.

If the MsiLogging property is present in the Property table, the default logging mode of the package can be modified by changing the value of this property using a database transform. The default logging mode cannot be changed using a Patch Package (a .msp file.)

If the MsiLogging property has been set in the Property table, the default logging mode for all users of the computer can be specified by setting both the DisableLoggingFromPackage policy and Logging policy. Setting both the DisableLoggingFromPackage policy and Logging policy will override the MsiLogging property for all packages.

Requirements

VersionWindows Installer 5.0 on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7. Windows Installer 4.0 or Windows Installer 4.5 on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista. Windows Installer 4.5 on Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP. See the Windows Installer Run-Time Requirements for information about the minimum Windows service pack that is required by a Windows Installer version.

See Also

Properties
Not Supported in Windows Installer 3.1 and earlier versions

Send comments about this topic to Microsoft

Build date: 11/12/2009

Tags :


Community Content

HookEm
Warning: Use 'v', 'x', '!' flags with caution...

Specifying the 'v', 'x', and '!' logging flags in the value assigned to the MsiLogging property can significantly increase the amount of time it takes for a maintenance mode installation process (modify, repair, uninstall, upgrade) to run for packages that require administrative privileges or have numerous/complicated custom actions.

Including the Visual Studio 2005 SP1 merge modules for the Visual C++ 8 Runtime in your installation package causes two Microsoft custom actions to be included in your installation package (SxsInstallCA and SxsUninstallCA). These custom actions contain additional logging and debugging logic that gets run automatically when the MsiLogging property value contains the "v" and "x" switches and can add SIGNIFICANT time to the install/uninstall process!

Since the MsiLogging property is ignored on systems with MSI 3.1 or lower (such as XP), this problem is further compounded if an installation package containing the MsiLogging property value [with the "v", "x", and/or "!" switches specified] has already been installed and the system is then updated to use MSI 4.5. In that scenario, the uninstallation time will suddenly be significantly increased for no apparent reason.

If that happens, the only options are to add the DisableLoggingFromPackage system policy setting in the registry and set the Logging policy in the registry (or on the command line) to a value that does not contain any of the Windows Installer logging switches listed above. See Microsoft Support Knowledge Base Article 97113.


Page view tracker