I have a project that I am creating an installer for. I have the msi created that will do the install but I also need to install some pre-reqs (.NET 4.0 and VSTO client tools or whatever they are called)
From what I can tell I need to use a bootstrapper and while it seems to work I really don't want the default dialogs that make me approve the license. I would like to skip that completely. (If I could hide the bootstrapper that would be fine but just having an "Install" button without the EULA would be ok).
Here is the xml I am currently using.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<WixVariable Id="WixStdbaLogo" Value="logo.png" />
<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.RtfLicense">
</BootstrapperApplicationRef>
<Chain>
<!-- TODO: Define the list of chained packages. -->
<PackageGroupRef Id="NetFx40Web"/>
<MsiPackage SourceFile="TestRibbonLocationInstaller.msi" DisplayInternalUI="yes" />
</Chain>
</Bundle>
So from what I can tell I need to basically create a custom bootstrap application for this that I then reference as the bootstrapperapplication. By doing this I will be able to better control the UI (Basically hide it).
Is this thought process correct?
Related
I am using WixStandardBootstrapperApplication in bundle
It will install .NET 4.8 and one MSI package, Can find code below,
<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.HyperlinkLicense">
<bal:WixStandardBootstrapperApplication
ThemeFile="theme.xml"
SuppressOptionsUI="yes"
LicenseUrl=""/>
</BootstrapperApplicationRef>
<Chain DisableRollback="yes">
<PackageGroupRef Id="NetFx48Web"/>
<MsiPackage Id="myMBS"
SourceFile="$(var.Mbs.Updater.TargetPath)"
DisplayInternalUI="yes"/>
</Chain>
Inside that MSI package we have Custom Action to LaunchApplication after InstallFinalize
<InstallExecuteSequence>
<Custom Action="LaunchApplication" After="InstallFinalize" />
</InstallExecuteSequence>
So we don't need to StdBAs bundle to show Success Dialog, How to skip that
I have researched but didint find any workable solution
The WixInternalUIBootstrapperApplication was added in v4.0-preview.1 for this scenario where the bundle has 0-n prerequisites and one main MSI. If the prereqs don't need to be installed then only the splash screen and MSI UI will be shown. Otherwise, the prereq BA shows its UI while installing the prereqs and then closes before showing the MSI UI.
I conclude it is not possible in StdBA
The default UI dialog will come throughout the installation process in StdBA. So skipping the page is not possible yet. Still if needed means then custom BA will help achieve that. I am not tried it yet
Supporting link
https://stackoverflow.com/a/43522884/7013033
More common would be to provide the user an option wether to start the application or not after successful installation of all packages. This could be done by the WixStandardBootstrapperApplication build in property LaunchTarget. Then you could also remove the custom action from the msi installer.
<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.HyperlinkLicense">
<bal:WixStandardBootstrapperApplication
ThemeFile="theme.xml"
SuppressOptionsUI="yes"
LicenseUrl=""
LaunchTarget="{YOURAPPLICATIONPATH}"/>
</BootstrapperApplicationRef>
<Chain DisableRollback="yes">
<PackageGroupRef Id="NetFx48Web"/>
<MsiPackage Id="myMBS"
SourceFile="$(var.Mbs.Updater.TargetPath)"
DisplayInternalUI="yes"/>
</Chain>
Documentation https://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/xsd/bal/wixstandardbootstrapperapplication.html
I am creating a Bundle installer, using WiX standard bootstrapper in order to install .NET Framework 4.5 (if not yet installed) and my application in the user's computer. The bundle installer also allows the user to set the installation path for the application, and uses WiX standard bootstrapper's UI only (no other installers' interfaces are shown to the user).
Right now I'm struggling to allow the user to launch my application at the end of the installation.
Closest related anwers I could find use a variable named LaunchTarget, which causes WiX standard bootstrapper to display a "Launch" button in the end of the installation.
Given solutions and why I wasn't able to use them follow:
Answer "A" suggests setting the LaunchTarget variable to the exact folder inside "Program Files" folder where the application should be installed. This doesn't work for me, because I want to allow the user to specify the target installation folder (application can be installed outside of the "Program Files" folder).
Answer "B" suggests setting the LaunchTarget variable by using the InstallFolder variable to determine where the user configured the standard bootstrapper to install the software to. This seemed perfect for my case, but after setting the LaunchTarget value simply to "[InstallFolder]" I verified that pressing the "Launch" button in the standard bootstrapper's UI actually opens the folder where the installer is running, and not the folder where the user chose to install the software, as I expected. (is that a bug?)
Question is: how can I correctly set the LaunchTarget variable to the right path, considering that the user can modify the installation folder through WiX standard bootstrapper's UI?
The code for the Bunde follows.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi"
xmlns:bal="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/BalExtension">
<Bundle Name="My Game Trainer" Manufacturer="MY_MANUFACTURER_ID_HERE" UpgradeCode="MY_GUID_HERE" Version="!(bind.packageVersion.TrainerMsiPackage)" DisableModify="yes">
<Variable Name="LaunchTarget" Value="[InstallFolder]" />
<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.RtfLargeLicense">
<bal:WixStandardBootstrapperApplication ShowVersion="yes" LicenseFile="PATH_TO_MY_LICENSE.rtf" />
</BootstrapperApplicationRef>
<Chain>
<PackageGroupRef Id="NetFx45Web"/>
<MsiPackage Id="TrainerMsiPackage" SourceFile="$(var.SetupMSI.TargetPath)" DisplayInternalUI="no">
<MsiProperty Name="TRAINER_INSTALL_DIR" Value="[InstallFolder]"/>
</MsiPackage>
</Chain>
</Bundle>
</Wix>
Using WiX Toolset v3.11.1 (+Visual Studio 2017 Extension).
I'm tring to generate EXE file from MSI in Wix installer, I added a new project (Bootstrapper) but I can specifying the path of my MSI file
<Bundle Name="Bootstrapper" Version="1.0.0.0" Manufacturer="" UpgradeCode="e45fdbb6-192c-46f7-b4db-d04af69edada">
<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.RtfLicense" />
<Chain>
<!-- TODO: Define the list of chained packages. -->
<MsiPackage SourceFile="WixSetup.msi" />
</Chain>
</Bundle>
Can you help ?
Thanks in advance
Abdulsalam
Add a reference of your msi's wixproj to your bootstrapper application.
You can now reference the msi file like this
<MsiPackage SourceFile="$(var.WixProjName.TargetPath)" />
This will automatically point to the debug location or release location depending on your build mode.
You can see a list of well-defined vars passed to candle.exe in the output when building. You'll see a bunch of defines like "-dWixProjName.Property=Value" and then you can use those values in your bundle xml like so $(var.WixProjName.Property) which will get replaced by the Value before compiling.
You can see a list of the defined properties when you reference another project here: http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/votive/votive_project_references.html
I have added custom dialog in msi that allows to uninstall user's files. If I install msi everything works perfect when uninstalling and i can see my custom dialog window. But if i install my app through bundle.exe (bundle installs framework if needed and msi itself), during uninstalling it makes silent uninstall (just drop files) and no dialog window I can see. What problem can it be and how to solve it? It is really important for me, because end user will use bundle. Waiting for your answer...
Here is bundle
<Bundle Name="$(var.ProductName)" Version="$(var.ProductVersion)" Manufacturer="$(var.Manufacturer)" UpgradeCode="$(var.UpgradeCode)">
<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.RtfLicense">
<bal:WixStandardBootstrapperApplication LicenseFile="License.rtf"/>
</BootstrapperApplicationRef>
<Chain>
<!-- TODO: Define the list of chained packages. -->
<PackageGroupRef Id="NetFx40Redist"/>
<MsiPackage Id="Synchronizer" SourceFile="$(var.Installer.TargetPath)" DisplayInternalUI="yes" After="NetFx40Redist" />
</Chain>
I'm using an rtflicence standard bootstrapper to install dotnet before my poject msi in a chain.
I noticed that there's an 'options' button which displays an install location dialog and allows the user to change the default installation directory.
I need to either:
Prevent this options button from being displayed, or
Populate the install location with a default path, and pass this back to the installer should the user change it.
I read that it's possible to pass Burn variables to msipackages from bootstrapper but I haven't found any further details and would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
Thanks
To go with option 1, you'd have to roll your own BootstrapperApplication and remove the options button from the menu.
Option two is significantly easier to implement. The bootstrapper uses a special Burn variable called InstallFolder to get and set what is in the text block on that view, which you can assign inside the Bundle element.
<Variable Name="InstallFolder" Type="string" Value="[ProgramFilesFolder]"/>
The constant ProgramFilesFolder will set the value of that text block when the program starts, and if the user browses to a different directory, it will be stored in that same variable. To pass it to the MSI, in your chain, you pass the InstallFolder using the MsiProperty tag (INSTALLLOCATION is the name of the property in your WiX project).
<MsiPackage Vital="yes" DisplayName="Your Name" Id="MsiId" SourceFile="path/to/file.msi">
<MsiProperty Name="INSTALLLOCATION" Value="[InstallFolder]" />
</MsiPackage>
I just discovered the SuppressOptionsUI option that addresses your Option 1 without rolling your own BootstrapperApplication:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi"
xmlns:bal="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/BalExtension">
<Bundle>
<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.RtfLicense">
<bal:WixStandardBootstrapperApplication LicenseFile="..\eula.rtf" SuppressOptionsUI="yes"/>
</BootstrapperApplicationRef>
<Chain>
</Chain>
</Bundle>
</Wix>
I think you can try removing the options button by creating a theme. I haven't had to use themes myself but here are two related SO links that may get you pointed in that direction:
WiX bootstrapper theme file?
Theme for my WiX Installer