VBScript Win32_Product Class

last modified April 9, 2025

The Win32_Product class in VBScript is part of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). It represents installed software products on a Windows system. This class provides detailed information about each installed application. It's commonly used for software inventory and management tasks.

Win32_Product includes properties like name, version, vendor, and installation date. It can also perform operations like installation and uninstallation. This tutorial covers Win32_Product with practical examples to demonstrate its usage.

Win32_Product Class Overview

The Win32_Product class is a WMI provider that queries installed MSI packages. It inherits from CIM_Product and provides additional Windows-specific properties. Each instance represents one installed product.

Key properties include Name, Version, and Vendor. Methods like Install and Uninstall allow package management. Understanding this class helps create robust software management scripts.

Listing All Installed Products

This example demonstrates how to query all installed products using Win32_Product. It shows basic WMI connection setup and property access. The script outputs product names, versions, and vendors.

list_products.vbs

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")
Set colProducts = objWMIService.ExecQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_Product")

For Each objProduct in colProducts
    WScript.Echo "Name: " & objProduct.Name
    WScript.Echo "Version: " & objProduct.Version
    WScript.Echo "Vendor: " & objProduct.Vendor
    WScript.Echo "--------------------------------"
Next

The script connects to WMI and queries all Win32_Product instances. It iterates through the collection and displays key properties. Note that this query might take several seconds to complete on systems with many products.

Finding Specific Product Information

This example shows how to filter Win32_Product queries to find specific applications. It demonstrates WQL (WMI Query Language) filtering. The script searches for products matching a partial name.

find_product.vbs

productName = "Microsoft Office"

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")
query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Product WHERE Name LIKE '%" & productName & "%'"
Set colProducts = objWMIService.ExecQuery(query)

If colProducts.Count = 0 Then
    WScript.Echo "No products found matching: " & productName
Else
    For Each objProduct in colProducts
        WScript.Echo "Found: " & objProduct.Name & " (" & objProduct.Version & ")"
    Next
End If

The script uses a WQL LIKE operator to find products containing "Microsoft Office". It handles cases where no matches are found. This approach is useful for verifying software installations in scripts.

Checking Product Installation Date

This example demonstrates accessing the installation date property of products. The InstallDate property returns a string in UTC format. The script converts this to a more readable format.

installation_date.vbs

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")
Set colProducts = objWMIService.ExecQuery("SELECT Name, InstallDate FROM Win32_Product")

For Each objProduct in colProducts
    If Not IsNull(objProduct.InstallDate) Then
        installDate = Mid(objProduct.InstallDate, 7, 2) & "/" & _
                     Mid(objProduct.InstallDate, 5, 2) & "/" & _
                     Left(objProduct.InstallDate, 4)
        WScript.Echo objProduct.Name & " was installed on " & installDate
    End If
Next

The script extracts year, month, and day from the UTC formatted string. It reformats this into a more familiar date display. Note that some products might not have installation date information available.

Uninstalling a Product

This example shows how to uninstall a product using the Uninstall method. It demonstrates error handling for the uninstallation process. The script attempts to uninstall a specified product.

uninstall_product.vbs

productName = "Example Application"

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")
query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Product WHERE Name = '" & productName & "'"
Set colProducts = objWMIService.ExecQuery(query)

For Each objProduct in colProducts
    WScript.Echo "Attempting to uninstall: " & objProduct.Name
    result = objProduct.Uninstall()
    
    If result = 0 Then
        WScript.Echo "Uninstallation succeeded"
    Else
        WScript.Echo "Uninstallation failed with error: " & result
    End If
Next

The script locates the product by exact name match and calls its Uninstall method. Return value 0 indicates success. Other values represent various error conditions. Administrator privileges are typically required for uninstallation.

Installing a Product

This example demonstrates installing a product using the Install method. It shows how to specify an MSI package path and installation options. The script provides basic error handling.

install_product.vbs

msiPath = "C:\Install\ExampleApp.msi"
options = "REBOOT=ReallySuppress /quiet"

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")
Set objProduct = objWMIService.Get("Win32_Product")

result = objProduct.Install(msiPath, options, True)

If result = 0 Then
    WScript.Echo "Installation succeeded"
Else
    WScript.Echo "Installation failed with error: " & result
End If

The script uses the Install method with path and options parameters. The third parameter enables installation logging. Administrator privileges are required. The options string follows standard MSI installer command-line syntax.

Source

Win32_Product Class Documentation

In this article, we have explored the Win32_Product class in VBScript, covering its usage and practical applications. From software inventory to installation management, these examples demonstrate powerful software management capabilities. With this knowledge, you can enhance your system administration scripts with robust software management features.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar and I am a passionate programmer with many years of programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. So far, I have written over 1400 articles and 8 e-books. I have over eight years of experience in teaching programming.

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