How to Edit an MSI File using ORCA Editor (plus alternative tool)

1. Change a property value with ORCA

For this example, we want to change the value of the property DISPLAYLANGUAGE which controls the application interface display language.

From the left pane:

1. Navigate to the Property Table.

2. Locate the DISPLAYLANGUAGE property.

3. Double click on the value.

4. Replace it with the value NL.

2. Add registry key with ORCA

For this example, we want to add a registry key that disables the auto-update function of our application.

Let’s assume that the registry key is CheckForUpdate and the value is False. It should be present in the HKLM hive under the following path Software\[Manufacturer]\[ProductName]\Settings

To achieve this, navigate to the Registry table, right-click inside the table and choose “Add Row”.

Fill in each row with the corresponding value (as seen below):

• Registry: the identification name of our registry
• Root: the hive (-1) corresponding to HKLM
• Key: the registry key itself
• Name: the name of the registry
• Value: the name's value that we want it to have
• Component: to which component we want our registry to belong (components can be displayed under the Component table).

3. Add a file with ORCA

For this example, we want to add a file containing additional application settings named settings.config.

To do this, you need to edit the following tables:

• Component;
• FeatureComponents;
  
• File, Media;
• And if the table is already present, MSIFileHas.

3.1. Component Table

Go to the Component table and add a new row. Complete the information accordingly.

Component: The identification name of the component. Must be unique

ComponentID: For this, use https://www.guidgenerator.com/ to generate a GUID

Directory_: The Directory name where the file will be located

Attributes: Enter 0. For more information, check MSI Documentation

3.2. Feature Component Table

Go to the FeatureComponent table and add a new row. It’s time to link the created component to a feature.

3.3. File Table

Go to the File table and add a new row. It’s time to associate the file to the recently created component. Complete the information accordingly.

• File: File name (Settings.config)
• Component_: The component created on the previous step (ConfigFile)
• FileName: Enter both short and long filename separate by the vertical bar char (|) Short filename can be found by opening a cmd, navigating to the folder containing the file, and typing the dir /x command
• FileSize: The file size in bytes. You can right-click on the file and type property
• Version: Only if needed
• Language: Only if needed
• Attributes: 8192 for uncompressed file. For more information, check MSI Documentation
  
• Sequence: Should have the value of the current biggest sequence number in table +1.

3.4. Media Table

Go to the Media table and add a new row. Increase the DiskId and LastSequence just like in the previous step. Search for the biggest previous value in the table and increment it by 1.

Once your modifications are done, all you need to do is save your transform file.

Coming up next, let’s see how we can edit an MSI file using Advanced Installer.

How to Edit Your MSI Package using Advanced Installer?

Let's see how we can perform quick-edits from Advanced Installer's user interface – extremely easy and intuitive.

If you are familiar with the Advanced Installer tool I would suggest you check the predefined support for editing an MSI file using our dedicated dialog: MSI Quick-Edit Mode.

Similar to Orca, to edit your MSI package, right-click it and select “Open with Advanced Installer”.

Once the MSI database has loaded in Advanced Installer, you will notice a left menu pane where you will find all the options you need to directly edit your MSI.

The changes you perform in the GUI will be automatically reflected in all the related tables from the MSI. This will save you time from manually editing each MSI table and decrease the chance of human error.

1. Change an MSI property value with Advanced Installer

1.1 From the left pane, navigate to the Property tab,

1.2. Find the property you want to modify and double click on it to edit its value.

2. Add registry key to your MSI

2.1 From the left pane, navigate to the Registry tab,

2.2 Right-click on the registry path,and choose New Value,

2.3. Fill in the Name and the Data field with the corresponding value.

Conclusion

Now you know two ways to edit your MSI packages.

Both Orca and Advanced Installer are perfectly capable of editing an MSI.

However, as you can see, editing your MSI directly through the Advanced Installer GUI saves time and prevents you from having to completely repackage your MSI - which is especially important when making quick edits to your MSI package.

We hope you try this method and let us know what you think.