The Export Wizard in the Custom Updates Publishing Tool can be opened from any node or custom update in the Custom Updates Publishing Tool console. This wizard provides the ability to export specified custom updates to a cabinet file (CAB) that can be imported by other publishing tools or to export a test catalog Extensible Markup Language (XML) file for testing.

Export Custom Updates to CAB File

When the Export a cabinet file that can be imported by other publishing tools option is selected in the Export Wizard, all custom updates in the highlighted node and all sub nodes, or individual custom updates selected in the list view pane, are exported to a CAB file when the wizard successfully completes. The catalog is exported to the location specified in the wizard.

The CAB file can be imported from another location by selecting the Import option in the Custom Updates Publishing Tool. If the custom updates contained in the imported catalog are already present in the database, a message appears asking if the current update should be replaced with the new one.

Export Custom Updates to an XML File for Testing

When the Export a test catalog XML file and supporting scan files for testing option is selected in the Export Wizard, the wizard creates a folder in the specified location with the scan tool, schema files, custom updates test catalog, and a script with the appropriate command-line parameters. The files in the export for test folder provide the ability to test a catalog without synchronizing the catalog to an SMS 2003 site server.

Export for Testing Process

After the Export Wizard completes, the following steps are performed by the wizard:

  1. The wizard retrieves the custom updates from the database, creates a temporary test catalog file in the user %temp% folder, renames the test catalog file to TestCatalog.xml, copies the file to the destination folder specified above, and deletes the temporary test catalog from %temp%. If a TestCatalog.xml file already exists in the destination folder, it is deleted.

  2. The following export for test files are copied from the Custom Updates Publishing Tool installation folder to the location specified above:

    • RunScan.cmd: The tool used to scan the client for the updates defined in the catalog.

    • CSTScan.exe: The Inventory Tool for Custom Updates scan engine.

    • ScanReport.xsl: The XML stylesheet, which formats the scan results into a report.

    • ExecuteOnExport.cmd: An optional file that is copied from the Custom Updates Publishing Tool installation folder if it exists.

    • \Data folder: Contains the XSD files used to validate the schema of the TestCatalog.xml when starting the scan. These files are copied from the Data folder located under the Custom Updates Publishing Tool installation folder.

    • \Logs folder: Contains the LOG files created during a client scan. The log files are named CSTScan_<computername>.log and contain detailed scan information for the client.

When the RunScan.cmd file is run, the client is scanned for applicable custom updates and the results are appended to the TestResults.xml file. Local and remote clients can run the test scan to determine whether the custom update definitions created in the Custom Updates Publishing Tool provide the expected scan results. For more information, see How to Use the Export for Test Catalog.

See Also