I've got an C# Wix Custom Action which is reponsible for setting up Datatabase.
All needed Dlls are extracted during Installation into C:\windows\installer\currentinstalldir.
So thats fine. The needed Sql Files are in the same Directory, but they have to be copied to
C:\windows\installer\currentinstalldir\sqlscripts.
I've found a way to get what i want.
This code used as PostBuild Function does what i need.
%wix%SDK\MakeSfxCA.exe “$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).CA$(TargetExt)” “%wix%SDK\x86\SfxCA.dll” “$(TargetPath)” “$(TargetDir)Microsoft.Deployment.WindowsInstaller.dll”
Found on buildmaestro
But due to a limitation of cmd.exe (max Chars) I could not add all files I need.
My Workarround ist to Install these Files as a hidden feature and pass the Directory via Install Property to my Custom Action.
Related
I am installing a package manually on my own system because I need to make some changes to it that aren't available in the basic version in my package manager. I also am trying to keep packages installed locally if possible, so I'm installing it with prefix=$HOME/.local instead of the more common prefix=/usr/local.
When I do this, I have no problem executing the program from my terminal, because I added ~/.local/bin to my PATH and the package was installed with relative paths to its shared libraries (i.e. ~/.local/lib/<package>). Executing from the command line is no problem, but I want to be able to access it from the favorites menu in gnome, and for that I need to make use of the <package>.desktop file.
I could hard-code the path to the executable in the .desktop file itself, but when I pull a later version down and re-install it, I'll have to redo those steps. I was wondering if there's a way to avoid that.
I've tried symlinking the executable to a directory where .desktop files do have included in their path, and the application is correctly treated as a GUI option, but launching the executable results in an error trying to find a shared library. I think this has to do with how cmake handles rpaths, which to my understanding is a way of relatively linking executables with their required libraries.
I think what I want to do is have PATH inside a .desktop file include ~/.local/bin, without changing the .desktop file itself. Can I alter the 'default' path used in accessing a .desktop file?
The answer to my question was found in the Archwiki:
Specifically, I needed to add ~/.local/bin to my path in ~/.xinitrc. Now my graphical programs work as expected.
I try to create a wix installer that has the need to create a file in the programme folder after Installation. For doing so, I have created a custom action, but I now have the following problem:
In order to write the file, I need to know the installation directory from session["INSTALLDIR"], which is only available if the action is executed "immediate".
However, if i run "immediate" after "install files", the target directory does not yet exist. If I run "deferred", it exists, but i cannot access session["INSTALLDIR"].
If I run "immediate" after "InstallFinalize", I can get the variable and the directory exists, but I am not elevated and hence not allowed to write the file.
What is the correct combination for writing a file to the installation directory?
You need to use CustomActionData to access property values from a deferred CA. You need something like this
or
another answer
Beyond using a built in extension for custom actions instead of writing your own, the next level would be how can I move complexity / custom actions out of the installer?
One thought is to write it to the registry instead. Another thought is for the application reading the value to be able to determine installation directory on it's own. One possibility is reflection to get the location another possibility is to query the MSI API for where the product is installed.
I am trying to use Nuget to distribute a ms build .targets file. I need to modify some elements of the file to include the installed path of a few assemblies. For that I would like to use the tools folder. I am having a hard time finding the token (if it exists) to do the replacement. Has anyone encountered this problem or know of a workaround?
http://docs.nuget.org/docs/creating-packages/configuration-file-and-source-code-transformations
You'll have to go the PowerShell route to get this done, as no transform exists AFAIK. The init.ps1 file can process some parameters provided by the NuGet VSIX.
Simply add the following to the top of the init.ps1 file and use the $installPath variable in your scripts that modify the file content.
param($installPath, $toolsPath, $package, $project)
Check here for an example usage.
I have a problem which is related to the execution of CopyFile on change/repair when using WIX to make a msi setup.
I have a feature which has a component which copies/moves a file from the source folder to a folder already present somwhere inside a users system. It is not the folder of my application. I am only moving this file and not installing it to the the target. This feature works fine if I install it using a complete setup. But when on initial install I chose not to install this feature and then try to install it during a " change " all other custom actions/components inside the feature are executed/installed except for the CopyFile component. This is critical to my setup and if it does not get copied my setup will fail.
Just wondering if anyone found a solution to a similar problem or ever came across a similar issue?
The component which contains the CopyFile operation is configured incorrectly. It should have an actual file or registry entry as a key path.
Although Windows Installer uses components to manage resources, the component key path is main factor which decides if the component is installed or not.
So a component without a resource as a key path will never be installed and the CopyFile operation it contains will never be executed.
I'm using WiX, and would like to know the .wxs necessary to take a file and install it to every available sub-directory of a particular location. This could mean 0 or more final installation locations, determined at install time based on the currently existing directory structure. For example, if I started the install with:
\target
\subdir-1
\subdir-2
Then at the end of the installation my file would be in \subdir-1 and \subdir-2. If on the other hand these directories did not exist on the system when the install was started, my file would not be installed at all and no sub directories would be created.
Afaik this is not possible with WiX (because it is basically against the nature of MSI to install a component into several locations).
You could either
create a different component for each subfolder, or
use a custom action to copy the component to all subfolders.
In the latter case you should also provide a corresponding CA for uninstallation which removes all the files from the subfolders again.
EDIT: Seems my above answer is not totally correct. MSI supports duplicating files using the DuplicateFile tables and WiX 3.0 also provides a mechanism called "smart cabbing". Both are mentioned in a blog post by Aaron Stebner.
Not without a custom action, you need to write a custom action that will do that.
The latest and greatest in custom actions is the DTF (and here) framework that comes with Wix3.
If you are targeting Vista (or Win2k8, not sure about Win2k3), you can use mklink.