in our bootstrapper WIX project, we have a lot of prerequisites, .MSI and .EXE files. Most of these will install just fine using the InstallCommand parameter in an ExePackage and the DisplayInternalUI parameter in the MsiPackage.
However, there is one program, namely Adobe iFilter, which is a .msi file, which has an installer that for some reason will NOT install with the parameter /quiet, but only /passive. The problem is, that trying to install the file using DisplayInternalUI="no" in WIX does not work, and there is no InstallCommand parameter for .msi files, so I can't silently install the program.
Is there any solution to this, as in, any way to give the .msi installer a "/passive" parameter through WIX? I didn't find anything like this in the documentation.
Thanks in advance.
On the topic of Adobe iFilter itself, interestingly enough, using /quiet DOES install the iFilter application, but DOES NOT set a link to Programs and Features, so you will not see it there or as an installed application in general. However, you can still find the installation files in its default install directory.
On installing something as quiet or passive in general, I have not found anything that allows this specifically, BUT normal Windows Installer Properties can be set using the
<MsiProperty Name="PropertyName" Value"PropertyValue"/>
tag within an MsiPackage.
See documentation here: http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/xsd/wix/msiproperty.html
This includes the "UILevel" property, which is found in every Windows Installer.
See documentation here:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa372096(v=vs.85).aspx
With this, you can set the installer to a reduced UI level, which I assume is the same as calling it with /passive.
Related
I'm looking to create a Windows Installer package that will run an exe that runs another Windows Installer.
I'm putting a package together that has to install three files, an EXE, a CONFIG and an empty TXT. In addition, we also need to run the Access Database Engine 2007 as part of this process. However, when setting custom actions to just run it (with the flag /quiet) it fails because it's attempting to run an MSI inside of an MSI.
Is there any way I could somehow have it launch right after/right before or something? I've looked into WIX but honestly I'm clueless on how it would solve the problem.
Thanks.
You should look at the WiX Burn functionality and prerequisites. Some examples are:
WiX - Install Prerequisites and 3rd party applications
http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/cb88b2/installing-prerequisites-using-wix-bootstrapper-project-and/
You could probably just run the setup from the Burn bootstrapper - it will do its own detection if it's already installed.
I'd like to create an installer package to install registration-free COM components (with manifest files included). This would be more or less a self-extracting archive to place some files in a target directory given as commandline argument, but it would also need to check or install some other redistributables like VC++ or DirectX.
The package is supposed to be used in another applications's installer as some kind of redistributable package itself. It should not be registered in the "Program and Features" dialog of Windows but has to be removed with the application. Ideally there should be no changes to the Windows registry.
So far I haven't been very successful. Can anyone please provide me with some hints regarding this use case?
You've got about a dozen different questions in that one question. Start with just creating a simple MSI that successfully installs your files and your manifest. Create a COM client to test it. You can also put AppSearch and LaunchConditions in your MSI to detect your dependencies and not allow installation if they are missing.
That's about all you should have to do for this simple question. As for the other questions.... if you are a redistributable and someone else is silently installing you then it's their job to handle the installation of the other redistributables. Also if they don't want you listed in Programs and Features they can pass the ARPSYSTEMCOMPONENT=1 to your installer and you won't be listed. If they want to uninstall you when they uninstall themselves, that's their problem not yours.
If you are really creating a redistributable to be used by other products, sometimes a merge module is the appropriate solution. They build their MSI files and include your merge module.
Otherwise, reg-free COM is in theory an easy install because you're just installing manifest files and Dlls etc. However I don't understand how that could be used by other apps because (IIRC) a client app exe needs your manifest and Dll in their install folder, so how can they do that when they are not installed yet? Or even if they are installed how can you find them? So that goes back to the merge module idea so they include your merge module and install an exe, your manifest and your Dll in the same location. When they uninstall so do your files.
I have an existing large WiX install that has already been released. I need to create a small install for just a couple of files that have changed. I have created a patch (.MSP file) in WiX for these few files using the "PatchCreation" element. When the patch is run, it presents the user with a "Reinstall/Repair/Remove" dialog. If the user selects repair, the patch does exactly what it is supposed to. My problem here is that I don't want the patch to say "repair," or to give the user these options. I just want it to install over the few files I have, more or less like a regular install. What can I do to fix this?
MSI implements patches as repairs. In WiX v3.5, the WixUI dialog library has dialogs that are displayed when installing patches.
I have found a more flexible way to work around this, thanks to some help I found here. If you start MSIExec with command-line options (for example, "msiexec /p [patch file] REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=omus"), you can get the install to start up without the "Repair" option coming up. You can also use the IExpress tool (which is shipped with Windows, and can be brought up in a command-prompt) to create a wrapper/bootstrapper that will start the MSP file from MSIExec.
Thanks very much to the answers I received. I would not have figured this out without your help.
I partially agree with Bob. Patches in WiX are applied through a repair, but Windows Installer does support a standalone patch installation. Other setup authoring tools can create them.
Regarding the WiX patch, I recommend using a custom bootstrapper which applies the patch automatically.
my application requires the microsoft visual c++ redisributable package (vcredist_x86.exe).
i have a custom action to run the vcredist_x86.exe
i want it to run only if it's not already installed. i created a registry search to check it.
the question: how do i run this action with the check? when using the InstallExecuteSequence element, as shown below, the vcredist_x86.exe crashes because you cannot run an msi while running a different msi
thanks,
Uzi
what you need is a bootstrapper that would install the VC++ redistributable before your MSI starts.
i'm using open source dotNetInstaller and it works pretty well.
Don't use the exe at all. To distribute the VC++ runtime in an msi-based install, use a merge module. No custom actions, no conditions to add, it just works.
Aaron Stebner's blog specifically talks about doing this with WiX.
http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2007/02/13/building-an-msi-using-wix-v3-0-that-includes-the-vc-8-0-runtime-merge-modules.aspx
I'm trying to find a solution for the following issue:
I have numerous programs (lets call them slaves) that all rely on a single program (master). I need to distribute an installer for each slave. This installer needs to install the master.
I want to be able to version both pieces, so multiple msi's appear to be the right solution, chained with a bootstrapper.
My problem is if a slave installer installs the same version of the master that is already installed, the .msi will run in repair/remove mode.
This is unacceptable from a user standpoint and will just cause confusion.
Is there any way to check for a version of the currently installed fiels before trying to run the msi?
I am currently using WIX's setupbld.exe as a bootstrapper.
Any other solutions greatly appreciated (I have also tried merge modules with no success, since the versioning is useless)
Instead of using setupbld.exe (which I don't really know as I can't find any documentation) you can use msbuild's generatebootstrapper task. The wix documentation already covers how to use this task to generate a bootstrapper that installs the .NET framework. See How To: Install the .NET Framework Using a Bootstrapper. This makes use of the pre-defined bootstrapper packages.
However, in this case you will also have to author your own bootstrapper packages. One way to do this is to study the existing bootstrapper packages in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\BootStrapper\Packages\ (or the ones in the Windows SDK) and read the documentation of the Bootstrapper Manifest XML format. The bootstrapper generator tool might also be helpful.
To determine whether the package needs to be installed, you can use one of the InstallChecks to set a property, and then check the property value in a InstallCondition under the Commands element.
If you're thinking that this is all harder than it should be — I agree, but it's what I've used so far. There are some alternatives which I have not tried yet:
the poorly named dotNetInstaller
which is actually a general purpose
bootstrapper generator.
the wix 3.5 burn bootstrapper which is not yet released. I'm not sure if it is in a usable state yet.