Exporting Programs and Updates

With Remote Installer, you can easily export the list of installed programs and updates together with the comparison results to a CSV file for future analysis or processing by an automated tool. To execute such an export, click the Export button in the toolbar of either the Software Inventory view or the details part of the Inventory Snapshots view. Alternatively, you can use the Export button from the Organize Ribbon group on the Program page, as well as the items available in the pop-up menu. You are proposed to choose between exporting the selected entries and all the entries.

If you wish to export all programs or updates from a specific snapshot, you can select this snapshot in the Inventory Snapshots view and press the Export button.

The corresponding wizard will appear on the screen and guide you through the export process. Let us take a closer look at the export process on the example of the programs export Pic 1.

The Export ProgramsWizard welcome page

Pic 1. The Export Programs Wizard welcome page

The first page of the Export Programs Wizard is the welcome page used to introduce you to the feature the wizard is supposed to help you with. After reading the welcome information, press Next to continue with export.

On the next page of the Export Programs Wizard, you are offered to choose the file you are going to save the programs to and the CSV format options. The file path should be provided to the Export To field Pic 2. You can choose the encoding to be used for saving the data as well as the field delimiter and the text qualifier. While performing export, you may also define if you would like the column header to be present in the resulting file, which would make it easier for you to identify each column – this feature can be enabled using the Include column header option.

Configuring the export options

Pic 2. Configuring the export options

After you are ready with configuring the export options, press Finish to proceed with export. The file containing the exported programs will be created in the path specified.

The CSV file with exported programs or programs comparison results consists of twenty-two columns, which are the following:

Column Index	Header	Description
1	Type	The entry type. It has the value of 'Program'. For comparison results export, the comparison status is also included.
2	Machine	The name of the Machine the program is installed on.
3	Name	The program name.
4	Publisher	The program publisher.
5	Installed On	The installation date.
6	Size	The program size.
7	Version	The program version.
8	Platform	The platform the program is targeted at: x64 or x86.
9	Installer	The installer used for deploying the program.
10	Comment	The program comment.
11	Contact	The program vendor contact.
12	Help Link	The help link for the program.
13	Readme	The location of the program readme file.
14	Registered Company	The company the program is registered to.
15	Registered Owner	The person the program is registered to.
16	Source	The location of the installation package used for deploying the program.
17	Support Link	The program support web-site link.
18	Support Telephone	The program support telephone.
19	Update Info Link	The location of the program update info.
20	Allow Modify	The sign showing that the program can be modified using the Programs and Features section of the Control Panel.
21	Allow Repair	The sign showing that the program can be repaired using the Programs and Features section of the Control Panel.
22	Allow Remove	The sign showing that the program can be removed using the Programs and Features section of the Control Panel.

Sample exported programs in the CSV format

"Type","Machine","Name","Publisher","Installed On","Size","Version","Bitness","Installer","Comment","Contact","Help Link","Readme","Registered Company","Registered Owner","Source","Location","Support Link","Support Telephone","Update Info Link","Allow Modify","Allow Repair","Allow Remove" "Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2","Microsoft Corporation","2011-10-28 00:00:00","361.64 MB","2.2.30729","64-bit","MSI","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98073",,,,"d:\71a340210b69ab373465\dotnetfx20\","","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98074","yes","yes","yes" "Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 00:00:00","388.54 MB","3.2.30729","64-bit","MSI","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98075",,,,"d:\71a340210b69ab373465\dotnetfx30\","","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98076","yes","yes","yes" "Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 19:35:39","38.80 MB","4.0.30319","64-bit","EXE",,,,,,,,"C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Client","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164164",,"http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164165","yes","yes","yes" "Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Extended","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 19:43:24","51.99 MB","4.0.30319","64-bit","EXE",,,,,,,,"C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Extended","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164164",,"http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164165","yes","yes","yes"

"Type","Machine","Name","Publisher","Installed On","Size","Version","Bitness","Installer","Comment","Contact","Help Link","Readme","Registered Company","Registered Owner","Source","Location","Support Link","Support Telephone","Update Info Link","Allow Modify","Allow Repair","Allow Remove"

"Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2","Microsoft Corporation","2011-10-28 00:00:00","361.64 MB","2.2.30729","64-bit","MSI","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98073",,,,"d:\71a340210b69ab373465\dotnetfx20\","","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98074","yes","yes","yes"

"Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 00:00:00","388.54 MB","3.2.30729","64-bit","MSI","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98075",,,,"d:\71a340210b69ab373465\dotnetfx30\","","","","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98076","yes","yes","yes"

"Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 19:35:39","38.80 MB","4.0.30319","64-bit","EXE",,,,,,,,"C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Client","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164164",,"http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164165","yes","yes","yes"

"Program","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Extended","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 19:43:24","51.99 MB","4.0.30319","64-bit","EXE",,,,,,,,"C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Extended","http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164164",,"http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164165","yes","yes","yes"

The following twenty-five columns are available in the CSV file with the exported program updates:

Column Index	Header	Description
1	Type	The entry type. It has the value of 'Update'. For comparison results export the comparison status is also included.
2	Machine	The name of the Machine the update is installed on.
3	Program	The program the update is for.
4	Name	The update name.
5	Publisher	The update publisher.
6	Installed On	The installation date.
7	Size	The update size.
8	Version	The update version.
9	Platform	The platform the update is targeted at: x64 or x86.
10	Installer	The installer used for deploying the update.
11	Comment	The update comment.
12	Contact	The update vendor contact.
13	Help Link	The help link for the update.
14	Readme	The location of the update readme file.
15	Registered Company	The company the update is registered to.
16	Registered Owner	The person the update is registered to.
17	Source	The location of the installation package used for deploying the update.
18	Support Link	The update support web-site link.
19	Support Telephone	The update support telephone.
20	Update Info Link	The location of the update info.
21	Allow Modify	The sign showing that the update can be modified using the Programs and Features section of the Control Panel.
22	Allow Repair	The sign showing that the update can be repaired using the Programs and Features section of the Control Panel.
23	Allow Remove	The sign showing that the update can be removed using the Programs and Features section of the Control Panel.
24	Update ID	The unique identifier for the update.
25	Release Notes	The release notes available for the update.

Sample exported program updates in the CSV format

"Type","Machine","Program","Name","Publisher","Installed On","Size","Version","Bitness","Installer","Comment","Contact","Help Link","Readme","Registered Company","Registered Owner","Source","Location","Support Link","Support Telephone","Update Info Link","Allow Modify","Allow Repair","Allow Remove","Update ID","Release Notes" "Update","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2",".NET Framework 2",,"2010-10-05 00:00:00","",,"64-bit","MSI",,,"http://www.microsoft.com",,,,,,,,,"no","no","no","{2F3AB6ED-951C-4CE7-8AC9-8546FDCF1F5A}", "Update","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1","Hotfix for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (KB953595)","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 17:37:26","","1","32-bit","EXE","This hotfix is for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. If you later install a more recent service pack, this hotfix will be uninstalled automatically. "Update","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile","Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2478663)","Microsoft Corporation","2011-10-28 11:42:06","","1","32-bit","EXE","This security update is for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile. If you later install a more recent service pack, this security update will be uninstalled automatically.

"Type","Machine","Program","Name","Publisher","Installed On","Size","Version","Bitness","Installer","Comment","Contact","Help Link","Readme","Registered Company","Registered Owner","Source","Location","Support Link","Support Telephone","Update Info Link","Allow Modify","Allow Repair","Allow Remove","Update ID","Release Notes"

"Update","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2",".NET Framework 2",,"2010-10-05 00:00:00","",,"64-bit","MSI",,,"http://www.microsoft.com",,,,,,,,,"no","no","no","{2F3AB6ED-951C-4CE7-8AC9-8546FDCF1F5A}",

"Update","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1","Hotfix for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (KB953595)","Microsoft Corporation","2010-10-05 17:37:26","","1","32-bit","EXE","This hotfix is for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

If you later install a more recent service pack, this hotfix will be uninstalled automatically.

"Update","Avalon-PDC","Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile","Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2478663)","Microsoft Corporation","2011-10-28 11:42:06","","1","32-bit","EXE","This security update is for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile.

If you later install a more recent service pack, this security update will be uninstalled automatically.

Now you are fully introduced to the function of exporting programs and updates to an external file and can use this feature in your everyday work, e.g. for generating software inventory reports.