File versioning question

[Petr]

Hello Gape,

what versioning do you recommend to use when referencing to file version numbers?

There are two, sometimes different.

1. Binary version, part of VS_FIXEDFILEINFO structure.

It is used by getver and by Windows XP for example.

2. Text version, part of StrinFileInfo structure.

For comparison, these are "Binary" and "Text" versions for the same fils:

all Win98 files are referenced 4.10.0.2222 (binary) and 4.10.2222 (text)

Sometimes the version is just different:

CRYPTDLG.DLL 5.0.1558.6072 (binary) and 5.00.1555.1 (text)

Sometimes it gives additional information:

SCHANNEL.DLL (40-bit) 5.00.1880.14 (binary) and 4.86.1964.1880 (text)

SCHANNEL.DLL (128-bit) 5.00.1880.14 (binary) and 4.87.1964.1880 (text)

Sometimes the text information is very long:

hhctrlui.dll 5.2.3790.1830 5.2.3790.1830 (srv03_sp1_rtm.050324-1447)

It should be also noted that getver used on Windows XP system gives incorrect version numbers for the following files:

COMCTL32.DLL 5.82.2900.2180 instead of 5.81.4916.400

GDI32.DLL 5.1.2600.2180 instead of 4.10.0.2225

RPCRT4.DLL 5.1.2600.2180 instead of 4.71.3336.0

USER32.DLL 5.1.2600.2180 instead of 4.10.0.2231

And LE files (mostly VXD) does not show the version information at all.

It is good to know for those who prepare the W98 updates on Windows XP system.

Regards,

Petr

[Petr]

I've found very nice plugin for Total Commander, showing both binary and string file version infomation, as well as many other useful things - e.g. DLL dependency.

http://physio-a.univ-tours.fr/tcplugins/FILEINFO.htm