There are several functions an application must call to request features. Before requesting a feature, the application must ensure that the feature is installed. If the application calls MsiUseFeature before the application accesses a feature, the application can use the information returned to maintain usage metrics.

To request a feature

1. Call the MsiEnumFeatures or the MsiQueryFeatureState function if you want to determine the availability of a feature without incrementing the usage count.
2. Indicate your application's intent to use a feature by calling the MsiUseFeature function.
3. Determine file locations by calling the MsiGetComponentPath function.
4. Configure the feature by calling the MsiConfigureFeature function.
5. Obtain usage metrics that your application can use by calling the MsiGetFeatureUsage function.

The following diagram illustrates the feature request model.

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Build date: 8/13/2009