msiexec does not pass parameters to custom action - properties

Question

I have a custom action inside an MSI installer that makes some changes to some configuration file. my requirement is to run the installation in silent mode so I am using msiexec.
Here is the command:
msiexec /i myInstaller.msi /l* out.txt myContextParameter=value1
myContextParameter is never passed to the custom action so when I do
context.Parameters["myContextParameter"] I get a null value.
When I run my MSI in UI mode the parameter is passed correctly. I also made sure the name of the property is correctly set in the CustomActionData.

Answer 1

I've been beating my head against the wall on this one, so here's what I found out:
You have to set your parameters on the commandline, as well as on the "CustomActionData" property on each of your Custom Actions (whatever you have under Install, Commit, etc)
Your commandline will look something like this:
msiexec /i myInstaller.msi MYFIRSTPARAM=VALUE1 MYSECONDPARAM=VALUE2
Then, your CustomActionData should look like this:
/myfirstparam=[MYFIRSTPARAM] /mysecondparam=[MYSECONDPARAM]
Now, here's a bunch of special cases:
It looks like #Klaus is right, you need to use ALLCAPS in your parameter names.
if your values contain spaces, you'll need quotes around them in both the commandline and your CustomActionData properties, as in:
msiexec /i myInstaller.msi MYFIRSTPARAM="VALUE1" MYSECONDPARAM="VALUE2"
/myfirstparam="[MYFIRSTPARAM]" /mysecondparam="[MYSECONDPARAM]"
if your values end with a slash, like most file paths do, you'll have a weird problem: when the msiexec builds your customactiondata, it'll create this string:
/myfirstparam="C:\myfile\" /mysecondparam="C:\myfile\"
it doesn't matter if you use quotes on the commandline or not, if that slash is the last character on your value, it will effectively be read as an escape character, and will escape the quote in your customactiondata property. This causes havoc. The solution is to either 1) add a space between your parameter and the last quote, and then remember to trim() it in your code somewhere, or 2) add and extra slash between your parameter and quote, in order to escape the escape character. See both methods below:
/myfirstparam="[MYFIRSTPARAM] " /mysecondparam="[MYSECONDPARAM]\"
Hope that helps.

Answer 2

MixedCase properties are "private" and will not be passed in from the command line.
ALLCAPS properties are "public" and can be passed in on the command line.
However only secure public properties are passed through to the 'server' (i.e. retained during UAC elevation). See the SecureCustomProperties property documentation.
Assuming you're trying to access this property in a deferred CA, this is happening on the server side so you need to use a public property (all caps) that is also marked as secure.
Here's an example using WiX:
<Property Id="MYPUBLICPROPERTY" Secure="yes" Value="{}">

Answer 3

If you want to be able to pass parameters from the outside you need to use ALLCAPS in your parameter names. I know it sounds weird, but try it! :-)

Answer 4

I know this is an old thread, but I tried a variety of things here and it seemed that I was at a loss. I then found the following thread on msdn:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/8dd009ce-52d5-4737-98c8-89d9831ab60b/unable-to-pass-parameters-to-msi-thro-msiexec-via-command-prompt?forum=winformssetup&prof=required
Viewing the MSI in ORCA, you can see a few entries under "CustomAction." These Entries will basically override the values passed in from the command prompt. If you simply delete the entries in the CustomAction Table like: "CustomTextA_SetProperty_EDIT1" and then save the MSI (Save AS has a different behavior in ORCA). You can then pass the Property Values from the command line to the MSI. This will allow me to install remotely using msiexec and I am now be able to pass the parameters to the install via the command line. I imagine this happens because the logic for the CustomAction values is executed after having populated the property values from the command line which means that the CustomAction values overwrite the command line populated values.
There is also a link at the bottom of the thread to do some manipulation in VS as opposed to ORCA.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/alipka/archive/2007/04/20/how-to-use-custom-actions-in-visual-studio-setup-project-msi-from-command-line.aspx