I have an assembly and its dependencies in a folder. I want to create a wixlib (with the binaries baked in) that will contain a ComponentGroup that has all of the files in it. In another wix project, I want to reference that wixlib and say where the files should go (they all should sit next to each other).
Currently, I can use heat.exe to generate a wxs file, which I can run through candle and lit to generate a wixlib. The problem is, heat.exe puts the components into a directory. I can use an XSLT to change the wxs file but I am unable to figure out any way to have the wixlib not have a hardcoded directory reference.
My goal is to make the wixlib not require tribal knowledge in order for someone to use it. They should be able to just reference the wixlib and do something like this in their wxs:
<ComponentGroupRef Id="MyWixLib" Directory="TheirDirectoryRefOfChoice" />
Possibly the best answer is to require tribal knowledge of the directory name but make sure it is unique so the user can alias it as mentioned here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/592177/879046
Related
In my Visual Studio 2017 solution, I have a WiX 3 setup project that pulls in the output several other projects (libraries, executables, assets, content). Under the directory structure for the solution but not added to the solution as a project, I have a project that compiles some browser extensions using webpack. This webpack project outputs to an artifacts folder with subdirectories for each browser. Inside each subdirectory is the compiled extension with the version number included in the file name like:
artifacts
Chrome
myextension-0.1.0.0.zip
myextension-0.1.0.1.zip
myextension-0.1.0.2.zip
At compile time, ultimately I want to include the files matching the version number i.e. myextension-\$(var.VERSION).zip into the MSI package so it can then be placed into the application folder during installation. Even when I hard-code the version number i.e. myextension-0.1.0.2.zip into the component, I get an error from light:
LGHT0001: The system cannot find the path specified. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070003)
I'm getting the directory with a define like this:
<?define ChromeTargetDir=$(var.SolutionDir)Extensions\artifacts\chrome\?>
And then my component looks like this:
<Component Id="ChromeExt"
Location="local"
Guid="GUID_HERE">
<CreateFolder/>
<File Id="ChromeExtension"
Name="myextension-0.1.0.2.zip"
Source="$(var.ChromeTargetDir)myextension-0.1.0.2.zip"
KeyPath="yes"/>
</Component>
When I look in the wixobj created by candle, I see the full correct path replaced for the file where it resides on my system:
<field>C:\Users\me\source\repos\mysolution\Extensions\artifacts\chrome\myextension-0.1.0.2.zip</field>
So my question is, what is the correct way to include "arbitrary" files in my WiX project?
1) Solution vs Project Dir: The first thing I would try would be to replace $(var.SolutionDir) with $(var.ProjectDir) and try a recompile. I'll follow up if the problem is something else. Let's just rule that out first.
2) Quotes: I also use quotes around my paths:
<?define ChromeTargetDir="C:\Sources\Packages\MyChromeExtension\Files\" ?>
3) Project Variables: And finally you need a reference added to your project for project references and variables to work: WiX: How to use relative path to SolutionDir.
Maybe add: %ProgramFiles (x86)%\WiX Toolset v3.11\bin\WixUIExtension.dll
WiX Documentation: Using Project References and Variables
Obscure: More obscure causes could be lacking access rights (file not seen by the build process and light.exe - running impersonated?). Corrupted file or folder? (try to replace). And whatever else might conspire against you. Locked files?
and i need to register a dll . Right now am registering the dll as below
<CustomAction Id='comReg' Directory='INSTALLLOCATION' Impersonate='no' Execute='deferred'
ExeCommand='"[NETFRAMEWORK40CLIENTINSTALLROOTDIR]regasm.exe" "[INSTALLLOCATION]myProduct.dll" /codebase' Return='check' />
but all are suggesting to use HEAT.exe in internet wherever and whenever i surf . I even have gone through this link. But there they have only the syntax etc. I really dont know how to work with it just by knowing those syntax.
I need some step by step procedure or some good blog which elaborately tell how how to harvest a dll and how to impllement it in to wix code and how the registry will be done , so that i can register my dll based on conditions also.Even i tried this link alse
Regards
Registering a COM component is done through standard Windows Installer actions and tables. Numerous table entries are required so WiX provides heat.exe to harvest COM files. It works by inspecting a file for type libraries and, if the DllRegisterServer entry point is present, running it in a Registry sandbox where changes are intercepted and captured. (In the era of Windows Installer [1999-present], DllRegisterServer is effectively deprecated for any other purpose.)
As you may know, a Feature is the smallest user-selectable unit of installation. A Component is a member of one or Features in one or more Products. Heat creates a component for each file it harvests and a ComponenentGroup for each harvest run. So, you have to pick a ComponentGroup Id and reference it in one or more Features. You also have to pick a Directory Id for the destination of the ComponentGroup.
Now, it is simply a matter of editing your project file to harvest the file. To edit a project file you could use a text editor but Visual Studio is all set up for it. See How to: Edit Project Files.
Add a HarvestFile element to a new or existing ItemGroup, entering the desired ComponentGroup Id and Directory Id
<ItemGroup>
<HarvestFile Include="comserver.dll">
<ComponentGroupName>COM</ComponentGroupName>
<DirectoryRefId>ServerDir</DirectoryRefId>
</HarvestFile>
</ItemGroup>
In your Product.wxs or elsewhere, add a ComponentGroupRef to one or more Features.
My installer has to copy files into installdir... My application has around 2000 files and it is not possible for me to write the script to add each and every file to the installer.
Is there any option in wix so that I can add all the files or the entire folder consisting the files at once? I am new to wix and i didnt find any option in any tutorial for this... Please do assist me and thanks in advance.....
Heat is the WiX harvest tool. You can run it on a directory to generate the necessary WiX source code.
EDIT:
If you want to run heat before your VS project builds, add it to your project prebuild events as seen in the screenshot below (this is how I have my project setup to dynamically generate WiX source for our ever changing help content):
Note the -var wix.HelpSource switch that I have. The WiX source files generated by heat will set the location of the source files to that variable instead of hard-coding it. So the generated source will have components that look something like this:
<Component Id="Welcome.htm" Directory="Content" Guid="INSERT-GUID-HERE">
<File Id="Welcome.htm" KeyPath="yes" Source="!(wix.HelpSource)\Content\Welcome.htm" />
</Component>
And in my particular case, I define that variable on the Tool Settings screen of my WiX VS project to the relative directory ..\..\Help\Output as seen below:
NOTE: Harvesting files in this manner will cause the GUIDs of the components harvested to change every time you build. If you don't want your GUIDs to change, you may have to write some wrapper that calls heat to harvest the files, then updates your original WiX source, leaving all the GUIDs alone.
I am in the process of migrating all my projects one by one from Installshield to Wix and I would like to find out the best way to deal with env specific files.
Our current process is:
Using Installshield we create a base MSI and a Transform file which would install the base MSI and a directory structure with files present in the current directory. Ofcourse in my source control, I have separate config files for different environments and my Deployment script picks up the right set of files and puts them in a staging location.
For example, Current dir looks like as follows:
sample.msi
sample.mst
test\apps\docs\global.config
test\files\docs\global.config
sample.msi gets installed and the above directory structure gets copied to the target location.
During Uninstall the directory structure gets removed as well.
I tried to recreate this behavior using CopyFile element but during uninstall the copied files stay and do not get removed. Is there another way to achieve this?
I understand the way we do our packaging might not be the best way to get around our requirements. If someone has a better way to do this, please let me know.
I am still very new to Wix and I haven't looked at any of the wix extensions so wouldn't know what else is out there.
As always, any help is greatly appreciated.
Do these files really have to be seperate from the msi?
Using wix you could put them all into the msi and install them based on certain conditions like settings properties or using a custom action. Doing it that way should make it rather easy to let the msi create the directories and copy the files, and also remove them when uninstalling.
Conditions would work like this:
<Component Id='MyComponent' Guid='PUT-GUID-HERE'>
<Condition><![CDATA[YOUR-PROPERTY = "SOME_STRING"]]></Condition>
<File Id='readme' Name='readme.txt' DiskId='1' Source='readme.txt' />
</Component>
A CustomAction in Wix can be a .net dll, the manual explains how this is done here:
Adding Custom Actions
IF you have the WIX Toolkit installed you just need to create a Custom Action Project.
I'm using Visual Studio to build my wix file. So far I have one file Product.wxs and it's working for a simple install.
Now I want to add some custom dialogs. I think from the two articles below, I understand how to do it - after I get my environment set up:
http://blog.torresdal.net/2008/10/24/WiXAndDTFUsingACustomActionToListAvailableWebSitesOnIIS.aspx
and
http://www.merlinia.com/mdt/WiXTutorial2.msl
I downloaded the source, and I see 35 *.wxs file in this directory
wix35-sources.zip\src\ext\UIExtension\wixlib
This is where I'm starting to get lost.
Do I need to copy some (only the ones I want to change) or all these files to my Visual Studio Project. Until now, I have been running with none of these source files.
How does my Product.wxs know to use these files? Does it look at local directory first? Or do I have to rebuild some C# modules?
I included these lines in my Product.wxs, and it gave me the user interface at execution time:
<UIRef Id="WixUI_Mondo" />
<UIRef Id="WixUI_ErrorProgressText" />
Thanks,
Neal
Do I need to copy some (only the ones I want to change) or all these files to
my VisualStudio Project. Until now, I have been running with none of these source files.
Since you are already using WixUI_Mondo, I assume you want to customize that UI. Locate WixUI_Mondo.wxs in the wix sources, and copy that to your visual studio project. Rename the file to WixUI_MyCustomUI.wxs and change the UI Id attribute inside the file to Id="WixUI_MyCustomUI". You don't need to copy any other files yet; the dialogs referenced in the copied UI sequence are compiled into the wix tools as resources, so wix "knows" these dialogs by name.
In your product.wxs file, change the UI reference to <UIRef Id="WixUI_MyCustomUI" />. If you now rebuild your setup, the UI should still look exactly as WixUI_Mondo as we haven't customized anything yet.
If that worked, you'll probably want to customize or add a dialog. Again, you can start from an existing dialog by copying it from the wix sources. You'll also have to edit the WixUI_MyCustomUI.wxs file so that it uses your new dialog. Take a look at this other answer I wrote for an example.
How does my Product.wxs know to use
these files? Does it look at local
directory first? Or do I have to
rebuild some C# modules?
You do not have rebuild any C# modules. The only reason you downloaded the wix sources is because the existing UI sequences and dialogs are good examples to start from. In principle you could also ignore the wix sources and write these wxs files for the UI sequence and dialog definitions from scratch.
When you use the command line tools, you combine multiple wxs files by simply passing multiple file arguments and they will be compiled and linked together. If you use wix with visual studio, you just have to add the wxs file to the project. A non-trivial wix setup will typically be defined by many wxs files.
The content of a wxs file can container references to elements in other wxs files through elements such as UIRef, ComponentRef, ComponentGroupRef, DirectoryRef etcetera.