I have the following situation.
My product installs the binaries inside c:\Program Files (x86)\MyCompany\MyApp\ and a shortcut under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MyCompany.
I build the msi using this great example: https://helgeklein.com/blog/2014/09/real-world-example-wix-msi-application-installer/
I just added the following piece of code
<!-- ApplicationShortcut-->
<Directory Id="ProgramMenuFolder">
<Directory Id="ApplicationProgramsFolder" Name="!(loc.ManufacturerName)">
<Component Id="ApplicationShortcut" Guid="F4B7EAFA-FF19-41B4-8267-3AEFC12235A7">
<Shortcut Id="ApplicationStartMenuShortcut"
Name="!(loc.ApplicationName)"
Description="!(loc.ProductDescription)"
Target="[INSTALLDIR]MyApp.exe"
WorkingDirectory="INSTALLDIR"
/>
<RemoveFolder Id="RemoveApplicationProgramsFolder" Directory="ApplicationProgramsFolder" On="uninstall"/>
<RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="Software\!(loc.ManufacturerName)\!(loc.ApplicationName)" Name="installed" Type="integer" Value="1" KeyPath="yes"/>
</Component>
</Directory>
</Directory>
The problem is the following
I install the application the fist time, it will install the shortcut just fine
Now I start the app and choose Pin to taskbar, this will create a shortcut inC:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar`
If I rebuild the msi and execute the setup again, the taskbar shortcut is not clickable anymore, because the shortcut in C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar is missing
Is it possible to maintain the taskbar shortcut during an update?
I found the answer here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/33402698/98491
<InstallExecuteSequence>
<RemoveShortcuts>Installed AND NOT UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE</RemoveShortcuts>
</InstallExecuteSequence>
This prevents shortcuts from being uninstalled during an update.
As described in the comments, the disadvantage is that, after uninstall, the TaskBarShortCut remains, but that is something that a user might expect. Having to recreate a pinned taskbar shortcut everytime he updates a software is not.
Related
I have an application that will install a shortcut to Start Menu folder. It is working perfectly in Win7. But shortcut is not coming when I install the application in Windows 10 machine. The shortcut entry in my WIX file is given below.
<Component Id="cmptest" Guid="*" KeyPath="yes">
<Shortcut Id="test.exe2" Directory="StartMenuFolder"
Name="test" Target="[#test.exe]" Hotkey="0" IconIndex="0" Show="normal" />
</Component>
Before getting into too much detail:
Are you sure the shortcut really isn't there? The Windows 10 start menu is so strange that I find I have to look twice very often to find shortcuts that are actually there. Just checking.
For that matter, are you sure the install actually completes in Windows 10? Perhaps it rolls back and you didn't notice?
The Directory StartMenuFolder does not compile for my test project, until I add it as a directory under TARGETDIR myself:
<Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
<Directory Id="StartMenuFolder" />
</Directory>
I assume you already have this folder added there to make your setup compile. You could also try ProgramMenuFolder for testing and see if the shortcut shows up.
Where is the rest of your WiX source? I can't see if you actually install the file you reference: #test.exe? Does the component that hosts that file actually get installed on Windows 10?
And for some extra strangeness: I haven't seen this much, but since the problem manifests itself on Windows 10, maybe have a read of this answer and see if it rings any bells: Wix Uninstall Shortcut not working
Essentially some shortcuts are hidden auto-magically in Windows 8 and probably upwards. I don't see any reason why your shortcut should be hidden though.
I have been able to get the shortcuts for to show up using the ProgramMenuFolder suggested by Stein Asmul for testing. Below is my setup which is working, with the exception being that my icons not showing up.
<Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
<Directory Id="ProgramFilesFolder">
<Directory Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Name="Barcode Printer App" />
</Directory>
<Directory Id="ProgramMenuFolder">
<Directory Id="BarcodePrinterAppShortcuts" Name="Barcode Printer App" />
</Directory>
</Directory>
<ComponentGroup Id="ProductComponents" Directory="INSTALLFOLDER">
<Component Id="ProductComponent">
<File Id="BarcodeAppExe" Source="$(var.BarcodePrinterHelperApp.TargetPath)" >
<Shortcut Id="BarcodeAppShortcut"
Directory="BarcodePrinterAppShortcuts"
Name="Barcode Printer App"
WorkingDirectory="INSTALLFOLDER"
Advertise="yes"
Icon="icon.ico"
IconIndex="0"
>
</Shortcut>
</File>
<RemoveFolder Id="DeleteTheBarcodeAppShortcut"
Directory="BarcodePrinterAppShortcuts"
On="uninstall" />
</Component>
</ComponentGroup>
<Component Id="UninstallShortcut" Guid="*" Directory="BarcodePrinterAppShortcuts">
<Shortcut Id="UninstallThisProduct"
Name="Uninstall Barcode Printer App"
Description="Uninstalls Barcode Printer App"
Target="[System64Folder]msiexec.exe"
Arguments="/x [ProductCode]" />
<RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="Software\Powerserve\BarcodePrinterApp" Name="installed" Type="integer" Value="1" KeyPath="yes" />
</Component>
It could be permission issue. Try to run your installation As Administrator (or, open Command Prompt as Administrator) and run your installation from there. Also, you may want to check User Account Control settings and lower the slider if it's too restrictive.
I have set up a wix set up project that produces my application's msi installer. I have created a desktop shortcut and a program menu shortcut. In order to have the program menu shortcut, I have to specify a RemoveFolder element in the shortcut component which essentially creates an uninstall shortcut with it.
My question is, is there a way to create the program menu shortcut without having the uninstall shortcut? I would like the user to uninstall from going to the add/remove programs in the Control Panel.
I can simply not add the programmenu shortcut, but then the only way to use my application is via the desktop shortcut. It would not be a good user experience if they cannot find the application through the start/program menu. Thus I want to have a program menu shortcut but without the uninstall shortcut.
Any help would be appreciated.
I realise that this was a very stupid question to ask in the first place. All I had to do was remove one line of code.
<!-- Start Menu Shortcut-->
<DirectoryRef Id="ApplicationProgramsFolder">
<Component Id="ApplicationShortcut" Guid="PUT-GUID-HERE">
<Shortcut Id="ApplicationStartMenuShortcut" Name="devapp" Description="My Application" Target="[#devapp.exe]" WorkingDirectory="APPLICATIONROOTDIRECTORY" />
<!-- Uncomment the line below to have an uninstall shortcut in the program menu. -->
<!--<Shortcut Id="UninstallProduct" Name="Uninstall devapp" Description="Uninstalls devapp" Target="[System64Folder]msiexec.exe" Arguments="/x [ProductCode]" />-->
<RemoveFolder Id="CleanUpShortCut" Directory="ApplicationProgramsFolder" On="uninstall" />
<RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="Software\CompanyName\ApplicationName" Name="installed" Type="integer" Value="1" KeyPath="yes" />
</Component>
</DirectoryRef>
I have a similar problem like forki23 by bring Wix to not overwrite a configuration file during upgrade. I have a config file that should not be overwritten during upgrade, but it should be removed during uninstall. However every solution I find, breaks something else.
If I set NoOverwrite=yes and move the RemoveExistingProducts to InstallFinalize the config file is handled as I wished. However, in this case the shortcut is removed during upgrade for some reason. If I leave RemoveExistingProducts at InstallInitialize, the config file is actually removed during upgrade, however the shortcuts are present.
Why is this happening and is there are way to fix it?
<InstallExecuteSequence>
<RemoveExistingProducts After="InstallInitialize" />
<!-- InstallInitialize causes config-file to disappear during upgrade -->
<!-- InstallFinalize causes shortcuts to disappear during upgrade -->
...
<Property Id="DISABLEADVTSHORTCUTS" Value="1" />
...
<Directory Id="INSTALLLOCATION" Name="MyApp">
<Component Id="MYAPP.EXE" DiskId="1" Guid="...">
<File Id="MYAPP.EXE" Name="MyApp.exe" Source="..." Vital="yes" KeyPath="yes">
<Shortcut Id="startmenuShortcut"
Directory="ProgramMenuDir"
Name="!(loc.ProductName)"
WorkingDirectory='INSTALLLOCATION'
Icon="Icon.ico"
IconIndex="0"
Advertise="yes" />
</File>
<RegistryValue Root="HKLM"
Name="InstallLocation"
Key="$(var.InstallLocationRegistryKey)"
Type="string"
Value="[INSTALLLOCATION]">
</RegistryValue>
</Component>
<Component Id="MYAPP.EXE.CONFIG" DiskId="1" Guid="..." NeverOverwrite="yes">
<File Id="MYAPP.EXE.CONFIG"
Name="MyApp.exe.config"
Source="..."
KeyPath="yes" />
</Component>
...
</Directory>
...
<Directory Id="ProgramMenuFolder">
<Directory Id="ProgramMenuDir" Name="!(loc.ProductPrefix)">
<Component Id="ProgramMenuDir" Guid="...">
<RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="SOFTWARE\MyApp"
Type="string" Value="[INSTALLLOCATION]" KeyPath="yes" />
<RemoveFolder Id="ProgramMenuDir" On="uninstall"/>
</Component>
</Directory>
</Directory>
Note A: The config-file is a machine-wide configuration and should apply for all users.
Note B: I'm using WiX 3.7 and the target plattform is Windows 7 and 8.
Theoretically "NoOverwrite=yes and move the RemoveExistingProducts to InstallFinalize" should work, but it s clear we are losing something from the big picture. The best method to see why Windows Installer removes the shortcuts is to create a verbose log when launching the upgrade setup. You can do that in a cmd.exe with this command: msiexec /i [msi path] /L*V debug.log
The post the a download link for the log and the GUIDs of the components hosting the shortcuts so we can see if the log helps us understand what happens.
Windows installer works very exact in those things, and if anything gets removed in the After="InstallFinalize" case, this means, that a component has been removed, MSI has thought is not needed, because not contained in your new version of the msi file. Be very sure the GUID of the component containing MYAPP.exe and the shortcut has not changed in your new version. (Compare with a tool like Orce or Insted). It seems it has!
MSI removes only full components, not only shortcuts. Really! Maybe you have an update problem of shortcuts in Windows. Sometimes such things happen. Try to reboot to be sure, that this happens, what you think. Maybe there is an error in your test procedure (or it's the above mentioned GUID problem). There are not many other possibilities, if you have not custom actions which remove shortcuts or you try to add shortcuts as files or such dangerous stuff.
Putting a shortcut in the same component as the .exe is common, but not optimal in my eyes! I recommend to separate resources as much as possible, so put it in an own component. This has advantages, if you later want to rename the shortcut. Then you can just change the GUID of this component and the important .exe file is not touched.
There is a small disadvantage of that, loosing the direct connection to the file version of MYAPP.exe in overinstall scenarios, so if MYAPP.exe is a shared file between several different setups, this is not recommended. Perfect solutions for this are possible, but are not in the focus here.
Workaround: If you are still able to change the old (first) msi setup, just mark the component MYAPP.EXE.CONFIG as permanent. Then it will not be uninstalled during Major Upgrade (but not uninstalled at all, what has advantages and disadvantages, in other words, it is mostly acceptable for .config files).
If version 1 of your setup is already shipped, then you could do the same with some tricks too.
I created an installer using WIX. As part of the installation, two shortcuts (launch and uninstall) are added to "ProgramMenu->MyCompany->MyProductName".
After I install two versions of the same application side by side. I tried to use the uninstall shortcut to uninstall one version.
The uninstall removes all the files and folders for the version. But failed to remove the shortcuts. And when I click on uninstall again. The following error shows:
"This action is only valid for products that are currently installed"
Then I run the uninstall for the other version, this time both shortcuts for THAT version are removed successfully. But leave the shortcuts for the failed version stuck in "ProgramMenu->MyCompany->MyProductName" forever. I had to manually delete them.
Here is the code I use to create the shortcuts. Anything I did wrong?
<Directory Id="ProgramMenuFolder">
<Directory Id="MyCompanyShortcutDir" Name="MyCompany">
<Directory Id="MyProductShortcutDir" Name="MyProduct">
<Component Id="cmpMyProductShortcut" Guid="*">
<Shortcut Id="MyAppShortcut" Name="My App" Description="My Application" Target="[INSTALLFOLDER]MyApp.exe" />
<RemoveFolder Id="RemoveMyCompanyShortcutDir" On="uninstall" Directory="MyCompanyShortcutDir" />
<RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="Software\My Company\My Product\" Name="Installed" Type="integer" Value="1" KeyPath="yes" />
</Component>
<Component Id="cmpUninstall" Guid="*">
<Shortcut Id="UninstallShortcut" Name="Uninstall" Description="Uninstall My App"
Target="[System64Folder]msiexec.exe" Arguments="/x [ProductCode] /Lv d:\uninstall.log " Directory="MyProductShortcutDir" />
<RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="[Software\My Company\My Product\" Name="Uninstall" Type="integer" Value="1" KeyPath="yes" />
<RemoveFolder Id="removeShortcut" On="uninstall"/>
</Component>
</Directory>
</Directory>
</Directory>
I solved this issue myself, basically two things needed:
Change the ProductCode to *, this allows side-by-side install of two versions.
Make sure the Component Guid for Shortcut to be * as well
I am trying to create a Start Menu shortcut. This is the code I'm using:
<Fragment>
<SetProperty Id="MIFOLDER" Value="[INSTALLFOLDER]\MI" Before="CostFinalize"></SetProperty>
<!-- Start menu -->
<Icon Id="iconCMD" SourceFile="$(var.SharedComponents.ProjectDir)Images\Icons\cmd.ico" />
<DirectoryRef Id="STARTMENUFOLDER">
<Component Id="cmp211060161C737F50377C120FF39D7623" Guid="{E7B9FB15-4A1D-4E3E-BCDE-EB2E5638C452}" Win64="yes">
<Shortcut Id="shrtct211060161C737F50377C120FF39D7623" Name="Management Interface (MI)"
Target="[System64Folder]\cmd.exe" Icon="iconCMD" Arguments='/k "title Managment Command Line Interface (MI)"' WorkingDirectory="MIFOLDER" />
<RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="Software\$(var.Manufacturer)\VB\Installer\$(var.ProductName)\MI"
Name="MI" Type="string" Value="$(var.VersionNumber)" KeyPath="yes" />
<RemoveFolder Id="rem211060161C737F50377C120FF39D7623" On="uninstall"/>
</Component>
</DirectoryRef>
</Fragment>
I want this shortcut to run Command Line Interface and start it in installation folder.
When running the setup normally, it indeed works fine and all well.
When I'm installing with /q (unattended), and after installation I click the shortcut, and it leads to Windows\system32 directory and not working directory. When I look at shortcut properties, I see that it set to start at \MI as SetProperty action doesn't take place.
Any help and ideas why?
InstallUISequence will be skipped in silent installation. Use Sequenceattribute to run the SetProperty action as per your requirement(both or first).