How To Localize the Setup GUI and Deliver Localized Files Using a MST

You can change the natural language of the GUI of your setup and deliver the corresponding files for a certain natural language. To better understand this approach it is understood that the English language is delivered as any other language. So there is no difference in the way English, French, German, or Japanese is packaged. English is not treated differently than any other language. This approach allows to package any language after the original setup has been released or not. Also, using this approach there is no need to package all the languages at the same time.

If you do not know how to create a MST read the topic How To Create and Install A MST.

Transforms cannot modify any part of an installation package that is not in a database table, such as the summary information stream, information in substorages, or files in embedded cabinets.
But here is the Key: you can use different CABs for different languages in your setup. So all the files that are localizable are included in their corresponding CAB files (English.cab, French.cab, Spanish.cab and so on...)
So the goal of this process is to create a CAB file for each language.
In these CAB files all the localizable and localized files are compressed.
The tansform for each language will call the corresponding CAB file.
All the other files delivered with the product that do not require to be localized are listed in the Base MSI and their corresponding CAB files.
Note:
Installing the base MSI without the MST will deliver a partial installation because the localizable files are deliverd using the MST.

Work sequence to localize the delivery of a product using a MST

• Copy the MSI to a different meaningful name (MyProductinEnglishMSI.msi, MyProductinFrenchMSI.msi...)
  Edit for example the MyProductinFrenchMSI MSI with Orca (or an automated tool of your choice) and do the following steps.
• Add files in the localizable Files table, add components in the component table modify the Feature table if disabling or Enabling Feature(s) is desired, add a new shortcuts if desired or translate them.

  Example for updating the Media table:

  DiskID	LastSequence	DiskPrompt	Cabinet	Volume Label	Source
  4	70	1	French.CAB	DISK1

  Example for updating the File table: (these files are the localizable files for each language English included)

  File	Component_	FileName	FileSize	Version	Language	Attributes	Sequence
  NewRes4Transform	TransformComp	NewRes~1|NewRessource.txt	3000			16384	69
  F9_License.txt	TransformComp	License.txt	6825			16384	70

  Example for updating the Component table:

  Component	ComponentId	Directory_	Attributes	Condition	KeyPath
  TransformComp	{5B937A6A-D106-4A4D-937F-65691A7F7E5E}	INSTALL_0DIR	0	optional	NewRes4Transform

  Example for updating the FeatureComponent table:

  Feature_	Component_
  Programfiles	TransformComp

  Note:
  You will need to export, translate the strings, and re-import the following tables: Control Table, Error Table, UIText Table, ActionText Table, Shortcut Table. This process will be done once for each language.

• Create a CAB file for each language to be delivered
  MAKECAB.EXE can be used with simple DDF files to automatically create CAB files.
  Here is an example of a DDF file for a CAB file of French files:
  

  .Option EXPLICIT .Set Cabinet = off .Set Compress = off .Set MaxDiskSize = CDROM .Set ReservePerCabinetSize = 6144 .Set DiskDirectoryTemplate = "C:\MST\LocalizationMSTs\FrenchMST" .Set CompressionType = MSZIP .Set CompressionLevel = 7 .Set CompressionMemory = 21 .Set CabinetNameTemplate = "French.CAB" .Set Cabinet=on .Set Compress=on "C:\MST\LocalizationMSTs\FrenchMST\FrenchFiles2Install\NewRessource.txt" "NewRes4Transform" "C:\MST\LocalizationMSTs\FrenchMST\FrenchFiles2Install\License.txt" "F9_License.txt"

  You can see more example in the topic Create CAB Files on-the-fly using DDF files
  Once the DDF file is created use the command line:
  "MAKECAB.EXE" /f "C:\MST\LocalizationMSTs\FrenchMST\FrenchRessource.ddf"
  This command line will create the CAB file in a few seconds.

• Generate the Customization Transform
  You may generate a transform file by using MsiDatabaseGenerateTransform or the GenerateTransform
  method of the Database object. An example of this is provided in the Windows Installer SDK as the utility WiGenXfm.vbs.
  For example run the command line:
  Cscript.exe WiGenXfm.vbs MyProduct.msi MyProductinFrenchMSI.msi French.mst
  You will need to also run:
  Cscript.exe WiGenXfm.vbs MyProduct.msi MyProductinEnglishMSI.msi English.mst
  Cscript.exe WiGenXfm.vbs MyProduct.msi MyProductinSpanishMSI.msi Spanish.mst
  and so on... as needed for all the languages you want to deliver.
  Here is the Microsoft script WiGenXfm.vbs:

  ' WiGenXfm.vbs: Windows Installer utility to generate a transform from two databases ' For use with Windows Scripting Host, CScript.exe or WScript.exe ' Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. ' Demonstrates use of Database.GenerateTransform and MsiDatabaseGenerateTransform ' Option Explicit Const msiOpenDatabaseModeReadOnly = 0 Const msiOpenDatabaseModeTransact = 1 Const msiOpenDatabaseModeCreate = 3 If Wscript.Arguments.Count < 2 Then Wscript.Echo "Windows Installer database tranform generation utility" &_ vbNewLine & " 1st argument is the path to the original installer database" &_ vbNewLine & " 2nd argument is the path to the updated installer database" &_ vbNewLine & " 3rd argument is the path to the transform file to generate" &_ vbNewLine & " If the 3rd argument is omitted, the databases are only compared" &_ vbNewLine &_ vbNewLine & "Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved." Wscript.Quit 1 End If ' Connect to Windows Installer object On Error Resume Next Dim installer : Set installer = Nothing Set installer = Wscript.CreateObject("WindowsInstaller.Installer") : CheckError ' Open databases and generate transform Dim database1 : Set database1 = installer.OpenDatabase(Wscript.Arguments(0), msiOpenDatabaseModeReadOnly) : CheckError Dim database2 : Set database2 = installer.OpenDatabase(Wscript.Arguments(1), msiOpenDatabaseModeReadOnly) : CheckError Dim transform:transform = "" 'Simply compare if no output transform file supplied If Wscript.Arguments.Count >= 3 Then transform = Wscript.Arguments(2) Dim different:different = Database2.GenerateTransform(Database1, transform) : CheckError If Not different Then Wscript.Echo "Databases are identical" Else If transform = Empty Then Wscript.Echo "Databases are different" Sub CheckError Dim message, errRec If Err = 0 Then Exit Sub message = Err.Source & " " & Hex(Err) & ": " & Err.Description If Not installer Is Nothing Then Set errRec = installer.LastErrorRecord If Not errRec Is Nothing Then message = message & vbNewLine & errRec.FormatText End If Wscript.Echo message Wscript.Quit 2 End Sub

• Adding Summary Information to Customization Transform
  To apply the customization transform during an installation of the product, you must add a Summary Information Stream to the transform file TheTransForm.mst generated in Generating a Customization Transform. You may generate summary information for a transform using MsiCreateTransformSummaryInfo or the CreateTransformSummaryInfo Method. The following Microsoft snippet, WiSumInf.vbs (Sum.vbs), illustrates the CreateTransformSummaryInfo Method and is for use with Windows Script Host.
  Run the command line:
  Cscript.exe ADDSUMINFO4MST.vbs "MyProduct.msi" "MyProductinFrenchMSI.msi" French.mst
  Cscript.exe ADDSUMINFO4MST.vbs "MyProduct.msi" "MyProductinEnglishMSI.msi" English.mst
  and so on...
  Here is the Microsoft script Sum.vbs:
  
  'Sum.vbs. Argument(0) is the original database. Argument(1) is the ' customized database. Argument(2) is the transform file. Option Explicit ' Check arguments If WScript.Arguments.Count < 2 Then WScript.Echo "Usage is sum.vbs [original database] [customized database] [transform]" WScript.Quit(1) End If ' Connect to Windows Installer object On Error Resume Next Dim installer : Set installer = Nothing Set installer = Wscript.CreateObject("WindowsInstaller.Installer") ' Open databases and transform Dim database1 : Set database1 = installer.OpenDatabase(Wscript.Arguments(0), 0) Dim database2 : Set database2 = installer.OpenDatabase(Wscript.Arguments(1), 0) Dim transform : transform = Wscript.Arguments(2) ' Create and add Summary Information Dim transinfo : transinfo = Database2.CreateTransformSummaryInfo(Database1, transform,0,0)
• 5) Installing the Product:
  You can install the product in the language you want:
  msiexec /i "MyProduct.msi" TRANSFORMS=French.mst
  msiexec /i "MyProduct.msi" TRANSFORMS=English.mst
  msiexec /i "MyProduct.msi" TRANSFORMS=Spanish.mst
  and so on...

List of Free Microsoft VB Scripts delivered in the MSI SDK:

WiSubStg.vbs - adds a transform or nested MSI as a substorage
WiGenXfm.vbs - generates a transform from two databases, or compares them
WiUseXfm.vbs - applies a transform to an MSI database
WiLstXfm.vbs - lists an MSI transform file (CSCRIPT only)