Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
I've seen people pushing MSI building packages which have buttons on UI pages to launch stuff like .NET Framework installers, XNA etc. during the InstallUISequence to bypass this issue. Personally I'd never do this as when a sys admin pushes your package out across their domain your app could install completely fine without those pre-requisites in place but then when their users try to use your app at best it'll fail to run due to missing dependencies (at worst it launches but works in a flawed manner). I'd rather we not have to deal with the support queries which would ensue from that type of situation. Lisa I'd recommend using something like dotnetinstaller to install your pre-req's before your MSI. It appears to fit your requirements from what you've posted earlier but other bootstrapper packages with similar feature sets may be available (or you could roll your own). See http://dotnetinstaller.codeplex.com/ Palbinder Sandher Software Deployment IT Administrator T: +44 (0) 141 945 8500 F: +44 (0) 141 945 8501 http://www.iesve.com **Design, Simulate + Innovate with the Virtual Environment** Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited. Registered in Scotland No. SC151456 Registered Office - Helix Building, West Of Scotland Science Park, Glasgow G20 0SP Email Disclaimer -Original Message- From: Michael Urman [mailto:mur...@gmail.com] Sent: 03 March 2010 13:20 To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites The biggest problem with installing dependencies from your UI sequence is that they do not get called if your MSI is run with silent or basic UI. And then, since your MSI can't show any UI, it's harder for it to explain the failure. One hopes that if a person runs the MSI silently, they know how to capture and interpret a log, however. On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 01:05, Lisa Gracias lisathelugubri...@gmail.com wrote: Would it be alright to call an msi/exe from the UI sequence of another msi, i.e., before the execute sequence of the parent msi even begins? I've tried this out and it seems to work. I was wondering if there are any hidden side effects. On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 3:37 AM, Sascha Beaumont sascha.beaum...@gmail.comwrote: Unfortunately no. The EXE may contain a compressed MSI anyway :) -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
Thanks for the inputs, everyone. Pally I'll take a look at dotnetinstaller. On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 5:34 PM, Pally Sandher pally.sand...@iesve.comwrote: I've seen people pushing MSI building packages which have buttons on UI pages to launch stuff like .NET Framework installers, XNA etc. during the InstallUISequence to bypass this issue. Personally I'd never do this as when a sys admin pushes your package out across their domain your app could install completely fine without those pre-requisites in place but then when their users try to use your app at best it'll fail to run due to missing dependencies (at worst it launches but works in a flawed manner). I'd rather we not have to deal with the support queries which would ensue from that type of situation. Lisa I'd recommend using something like dotnetinstaller to install your pre-req's before your MSI. It appears to fit your requirements from what you've posted earlier but other bootstrapper packages with similar feature sets may be available (or you could roll your own). See http://dotnetinstaller.codeplex.com/ Palbinder Sandher Software Deployment IT Administrator T: +44 (0) 141 945 8500 F: +44 (0) 141 945 8501 http://www.iesve.com **Design, Simulate + Innovate with the Virtual Environment** Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited. Registered in Scotland No. SC151456 Registered Office - Helix Building, West Of Scotland Science Park, Glasgow G20 0SP Email Disclaimer -Original Message- From: Michael Urman [mailto:mur...@gmail.com] Sent: 03 March 2010 13:20 To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites The biggest problem with installing dependencies from your UI sequence is that they do not get called if your MSI is run with silent or basic UI. And then, since your MSI can't show any UI, it's harder for it to explain the failure. One hopes that if a person runs the MSI silently, they know how to capture and interpret a log, however. On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 01:05, Lisa Gracias lisathelugubri...@gmail.com wrote: Would it be alright to call an msi/exe from the UI sequence of another msi, i.e., before the execute sequence of the parent msi even begins? I've tried this out and it seems to work. I was wondering if there are any hidden side effects. On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 3:37 AM, Sascha Beaumont sascha.beaum...@gmail.comwrote: Unfortunately no. The EXE may contain a compressed MSI anyway :) -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
The biggest problem with installing dependencies from your UI sequence is that they do not get called if your MSI is run with silent or basic UI. And then, since your MSI can't show any UI, it's harder for it to explain the failure. One hopes that if a person runs the MSI silently, they know how to capture and interpret a log, however. On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 01:05, Lisa Gracias lisathelugubri...@gmail.com wrote: Would it be alright to call an msi/exe from the UI sequence of another msi, i.e., before the execute sequence of the parent msi even begins? I've tried this out and it seems to work. I was wondering if there are any hidden side effects. On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 3:37 AM, Sascha Beaumont sascha.beaum...@gmail.comwrote: Unfortunately no. The EXE may contain a compressed MSI anyway :) -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
Would it be alright to call an msi/exe from the UI sequence of another msi, i.e., before the execute sequence of the parent msi even begins? I've tried this out and it seems to work. I was wondering if there are any hidden side effects. On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 3:37 AM, Sascha Beaumont sascha.beaum...@gmail.comwrote: Unfortunately no. The EXE may contain a compressed MSI anyway :) Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, etc. don't use the internal Windows Installer UI - the UI is handled externally by the bootstrapper which means you can drive installation of multiple MSI's.. If you take a look at the Office DVD you'll see that there are loads of MSI files... the bootstrapper does all the UI work and the fact that multiple MSIs are being installed is all transparent to the user. Sascha On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 1:30 AM, Lisa Gracias lisathelugubri...@gmail.com wrote: So there's no way for me to nest an installation inside my msi, even if the installer I'm calling is an exe not an msi? The problem is the license agreement and application feature selection screen must be shown before the prerequisite installation starts. On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 6:49 PM, Bob Arnson b...@joyofsetup.com wrote: On 2/24/2010 3:44 AM, Lisa Gracias wrote: I've tried the GenerateBootstrapper task in MSBuild but since it bootstraps all the prerequisites before calling the msi, it doesn't serve my purpose. You can't install multiple .msis from within another .msi -- that's not supported by the MSI engine. That's why bootstrappers are standalone .exes. Most (like Visual Studio's) do all their UI in the .exe code, not the .msi. -- sig://boB http://joyofsetup.com/ -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
Hi, Download the tool BMG (Bootstapper manifest generator). Give your .msi and select the pre requisite from list. If not in list download from net. Hope it solves your problem Thanks, Rahul. From: Lisa Gracias [mailto:lisathelugubri...@gmail.com] Sent: Wed 2/24/2010 3:44 AM To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites I'm using Wix 3.0 to create an msi for an application that has a couple of prerequisites, such as the .NET Framework and Silverlight. According to the specs I have, there must be a dialog during the UI sequence which displays a list of prerequisites (the list depends on which features the user selected) and a progress bar to show that the prerequisites are being downloaded and installed (similar to Windows Update). In the background, I need to create a bootstrapper that downloads the prerequisites from the web and silently installs them. I've tried the GenerateBootstrapper task in MSBuild but since it bootstraps all the prerequisites before calling the msi, it doesn't serve my purpose. I've also looked at the custom actions which call an exe, but I need to bootstrap the prerequisites from the web so I don't know if I can use them. What would be the best thing for me to do? Also, I know nested installations have been deprecated, but is that only for msi's or also for exe's? Would I be able to call the .NET installer exe from my msi? How does Visual Studio manage to nest prerequisite installation inside the installer? -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
On 2/24/2010 3:44 AM, Lisa Gracias wrote: I've tried the GenerateBootstrapper task in MSBuild but since it bootstraps all the prerequisites before calling the msi, it doesn't serve my purpose. You can't install multiple .msis from within another .msi -- that's not supported by the MSI engine. That's why bootstrappers are standalone .exes. Most (like Visual Studio's) do all their UI in the .exe code, not the .msi. -- sig://boB http://joyofsetup.com/ -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
So there's no way for me to nest an installation inside my msi, even if the installer I'm calling is an exe not an msi? The problem is the license agreement and application feature selection screen must be shown before the prerequisite installation starts. On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 6:49 PM, Bob Arnson b...@joyofsetup.com wrote: On 2/24/2010 3:44 AM, Lisa Gracias wrote: I've tried the GenerateBootstrapper task in MSBuild but since it bootstraps all the prerequisites before calling the msi, it doesn't serve my purpose. You can't install multiple .msis from within another .msi -- that's not supported by the MSI engine. That's why bootstrappers are standalone .exes. Most (like Visual Studio's) do all their UI in the .exe code, not the .msi. -- sig://boB http://joyofsetup.com/ -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
Unfortunately no. The EXE may contain a compressed MSI anyway :) Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, etc. don't use the internal Windows Installer UI - the UI is handled externally by the bootstrapper which means you can drive installation of multiple MSI's.. If you take a look at the Office DVD you'll see that there are loads of MSI files... the bootstrapper does all the UI work and the fact that multiple MSIs are being installed is all transparent to the user. Sascha On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 1:30 AM, Lisa Gracias lisathelugubri...@gmail.com wrote: So there's no way for me to nest an installation inside my msi, even if the installer I'm calling is an exe not an msi? The problem is the license agreement and application feature selection screen must be shown before the prerequisite installation starts. On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 6:49 PM, Bob Arnson b...@joyofsetup.com wrote: On 2/24/2010 3:44 AM, Lisa Gracias wrote: I've tried the GenerateBootstrapper task in MSBuild but since it bootstraps all the prerequisites before calling the msi, it doesn't serve my purpose. You can't install multiple .msis from within another .msi -- that's not supported by the MSI engine. That's why bootstrappers are standalone .exes. Most (like Visual Studio's) do all their UI in the .exe code, not the .msi. -- sig://boB http://joyofsetup.com/ -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Nested installation of downloaded prerequisites
Darn. I'll have to try some other route then. Thanks a lot for the help. On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 3:37 AM, Sascha Beaumont sascha.beaum...@gmail.comwrote: Unfortunately no. The EXE may contain a compressed MSI anyway :) Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, etc. don't use the internal Windows Installer UI - the UI is handled externally by the bootstrapper which means you can drive installation of multiple MSI's.. If you take a look at the Office DVD you'll see that there are loads of MSI files... the bootstrapper does all the UI work and the fact that multiple MSIs are being installed is all transparent to the user. Sascha On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 1:30 AM, Lisa Gracias lisathelugubri...@gmail.com wrote: So there's no way for me to nest an installation inside my msi, even if the installer I'm calling is an exe not an msi? The problem is the license agreement and application feature selection screen must be shown before the prerequisite installation starts. On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 6:49 PM, Bob Arnson b...@joyofsetup.com wrote: On 2/24/2010 3:44 AM, Lisa Gracias wrote: I've tried the GenerateBootstrapper task in MSBuild but since it bootstraps all the prerequisites before calling the msi, it doesn't serve my purpose. You can't install multiple .msis from within another .msi -- that's not supported by the MSI engine. That's why bootstrappers are standalone .exes. Most (like Visual Studio's) do all their UI in the .exe code, not the .msi. -- sig://boB http://joyofsetup.com/ -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Download Intel#174; Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
