Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry? And THANKS!
Good to know for future reference as I have take Blair's good advice and no longer fool with CA's to touch the registry or the event source and do those with wix elements. My only custom action left decodes a des256 string to get credentials for when I create the service and that works well. Install feels much cleaner now with the HKCU registry, and CA's for event sources and the registry stuff gone and I can live with having the user's digital detritus left behind if someone uninstalls my app ;-) There was this one caveat on the CustomAction win64 attribute -- Specifies that a script custom action targets a 64-bit platform. Valid only when used with the Script, VBScriptCall, and JScriptCall attributes Do you think it should work with a .NET assembly which has so far been pretty easy to create and use. I'll try this sometime in the near future and report on it. Rob, Thanks for yours Blair's and everyone's help. You folks are very generous with your time and knowledge for WIX! My installs/uninstalls are running well now and so it is time to get back to getting my application and 2 services enhanced having taken time to convert from the VS2008 setup projects to WIX which I am much happier with. Switching to WIX was worth is alone just to get rid of the irritating weirdness in VS2008 where my 3 setup projects kept expanding randomly in the solution folder as I opened up other projects. And there is a lot more control in WIX and it's extendable. Thanks to all! I don't see much need for a VS2008 GUI wrapper around wix projects but would love to see some more official VS2009 integration with Powershell and WIX building or other tasks such as zipping up related files when wanting a package for someone. For a full release build, I build three x64 and three x86 msi files from a Powershell script I launch from a VS2008 project that I modified from a C# project shell. Then I have another VS2008 project zip those up with some other things such as .doc and .bat files to get my user going. It works pretty well since I can have dependencies on the other projects and with PS V2 I can catch/throw and have VS2008 stop building upon problems. - Dave -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 2:11 AM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry? If you mark your custom action as a 64-bit action it should run in a 64-bit process. I haven't tried it with DTF since I write all my custom actions in C/C++. On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 7:37 PM, Dave Kolb d...@dotnetcodeslingers.comwrote: Good information Blair and thanks. I did not know about the EventSource element but should have guesses there likely was one. I will rethink what I am doing with the registry given your guidelines. Especially since I just realized that my custom action, built for Any CPU, is running against the 32 bit hive and I have to drop into Win32 Interop if I want to set registry redirection which I could but would rather not do. Not that I will necessarily pursue this same path, but for future reference, is there a way to force DTF to run a managed custom action written for Any CPU to run in 64 bit mode besides compiling the assembly for x64? - Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 7:09 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry? Back in the good-old-days we simply wrote in the registry until it looked like what this page describes: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa363661(VS.85).aspx However, the Wix Util Extension does have an EventSource element that seems to fit the billing. Does it not work for you? If you install per-user for three different users, each installation is independent from the others. Per-user installations should never install anything common unless they have some independent means of coordinating the use of the common areas. That is why the WiX implementation of the per-user/per-machine switch creates a program installation directory inside of the user profile. Per-user data (such as windows coordinates, etc.) are considered user data, not program data, and are typically left behind. Besides, if your per-machine program is used by three users, there is no safe way to clean that data from any of the users not running the installation. Today's best practice says: the installation of per-machine programs supply default configuration in HKLM and never touch HKCU. The program itself manages HKCU for each user's customizations to that configuration, and that is then considered user data. You then migrate it during first launch of your application after you upgrade, and you orphan it when you uninstall. That way there is ZERO user-profile anything in your MSI
Re: [WiX-users] String concatenation/formatting.
What variable set does #FileId come from? I don't recognize the # syntax. -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 11:31 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] String concatenation/formatting. Do something like: Value=quot;[DirName]FileName.exequot; or better: Value=quot;[#FileId]quot; -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry?
Candle doesn't like Keypath on that element: error CNDL0004: The RegistryKey element contains an unexpected attribute 'KeyPath'. -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:22 AM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry? Try adding KeyPath=yes to each of your two RegistryKey elements. -Original Message- From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 6:34 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry? During install, I am trying to add both an HKLM key and an HKCU key for my product. My wxs looks like the below. When this compiles I get the error ICE57: Component 'C_HKCU_RegistryEntries' has both per-user and per-machine data with a per-machine KeyPath . I have both components in the features element and since I have these defined are separate components I do not understand why this does not work. Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks, Dave !-- Define the directory structure. -- Directory Id=TARGETDIR Name=SourceDir !-- add our root registry entries -- Component Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx RegistryKey Root=HKLM Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall /RegistryKey /Component Component Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx RegistryKey Root=HKCU Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall /RegistryKey /Component __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4537 (20091023) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry?
Hi Blair, you probably meant adding KeyPath to a RegistryValue element.
After I did that, I got this to somewhat work but only the HKCU key gets
created and not the HKLM key. No complaints during install in the log file.
I am doing a perMachine install and it seems if anything it should do the
HKLM key and not the HKCU key. Maybe it just does the second one for some
reason?
- Thanks, Dave
Package Platform=$(var.ProcessorArchitecture)
Manufacturer=$(var.Property_Author) InstallScope=perMachine
InstallerVersion=$(var.Property_InstallerVersion)
Compressed=yes
Comments=CmdMan Manager Service/
Property Id=MYCOMPANYNAME Value=49thLatitude /
Property Id=MYPRODUCTROOT Value=CmdMan /
!-- Define the directory structure. --
Directory Id=TARGETDIR Name=SourceDir
!-- add our root registry entry --
Component Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries Guid={xxx}
RegistryKey Root=HKLM
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\CmdMan.Manager.Service
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
RegistryValue Type=integer Name=Installed Value=1
KeyPath=yes/
/RegistryKey
/Component
Component Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries Guid={zzz}
RegistryKey Root=HKCU
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\CmdMan.Manager.Service
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
RegistryValue Type=integer Name=Installed Value=1
KeyPath=yes/
/RegistryKey
/Component
Etc...
Feature Id=DefaultFeature ConfigurableDirectory=TARGETDIR
Level=1
ComponentRef Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries/
ComponentRef Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries/
Etc...
-Original Message-
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:58 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: RE: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Candle doesn't like Keypath on that element: error CNDL0004: The RegistryKey
element contains an unexpected attribute 'KeyPath'.
-Original Message-
From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:22 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Try adding KeyPath=yes to each of your two RegistryKey elements.
-Original Message-
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 6:34 PM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
During install, I am trying to add both an HKLM key and an HKCU key for my
product. My wxs looks like the below. When this compiles I get the error
ICE57: Component 'C_HKCU_RegistryEntries' has both per-user
and per-machine data with a per-machine KeyPath .
I have both components in the features element and since I have these
defined are separate components I do not understand why this does not work.
Any suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks, Dave
!-- Define the directory structure. --
Directory Id=TARGETDIR Name=SourceDir
!-- add our root registry entries --
Component Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx
RegistryKey Root=HKLM
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
/RegistryKey
/Component
Component Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx
RegistryKey Root=HKCU
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
/RegistryKey
/Component
__ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature
database 4537 (20091023) __
The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
http://www.eset.com
--
Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA
is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your
developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay
ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now!
http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference
___
WiX-users mailing list
WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
--
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is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your
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WiX-users
Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry?
Well I flipped the order of the components in the directory node and the
feature node and still only the HKCU key got installed.
I think I will just have a custom action update/delete the registry for me
since I have to do that with event logs anyway.
- Dave
-Original Message-
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 3:50 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: RE: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Hi Blair, you probably meant adding KeyPath to a RegistryValue element.
After I did that, I got this to somewhat work but only the HKCU key gets
created and not the HKLM key. No complaints during install in the log file.
I am doing a perMachine install and it seems if anything it should do the
HKLM key and not the HKCU key. Maybe it just does the second one for some
reason?
- Thanks, Dave
Package Platform=$(var.ProcessorArchitecture)
Manufacturer=$(var.Property_Author) InstallScope=perMachine
InstallerVersion=$(var.Property_InstallerVersion)
Compressed=yes
Comments=CmdMan Manager Service/
Property Id=MYCOMPANYNAME Value=49thLatitude /
Property Id=MYPRODUCTROOT Value=CmdMan /
!-- Define the directory structure. --
Directory Id=TARGETDIR Name=SourceDir
!-- add our root registry entry --
Component Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries Guid={xxx}
RegistryKey Root=HKLM
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\CmdMan.Manager.Service
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
RegistryValue Type=integer Name=Installed Value=1
KeyPath=yes/
/RegistryKey
/Component
Component Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries Guid={zzz}
RegistryKey Root=HKCU
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\CmdMan.Manager.Service
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
RegistryValue Type=integer Name=Installed Value=1
KeyPath=yes/
/RegistryKey
/Component
Etc...
Feature Id=DefaultFeature ConfigurableDirectory=TARGETDIR
Level=1
ComponentRef Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries/
ComponentRef Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries/
Etc...
-Original Message-
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:58 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: RE: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Candle doesn't like Keypath on that element: error CNDL0004: The RegistryKey
element contains an unexpected attribute 'KeyPath'.
-Original Message-
From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:22 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Try adding KeyPath=yes to each of your two RegistryKey elements.
-Original Message-
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 6:34 PM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
During install, I am trying to add both an HKLM key and an HKCU key for my
product. My wxs looks like the below. When this compiles I get the error
ICE57: Component 'C_HKCU_RegistryEntries' has both per-user
and per-machine data with a per-machine KeyPath .
I have both components in the features element and since I have these
defined are separate components I do not understand why this does not work.
Any suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks, Dave
!-- Define the directory structure. --
Directory Id=TARGETDIR Name=SourceDir
!-- add our root registry entries --
Component Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx
RegistryKey Root=HKLM
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
/RegistryKey
/Component
Component Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx
RegistryKey Root=HKCU
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
/RegistryKey
/Component
__ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature
database 4537 (20091023) __
The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
http://www.eset.com
--
Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA
is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your
developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay
ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now!
http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference
___
WiX-users mailing list
WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net
Re: [WiX-users] Can I set the Directory name attribute with a custom property value?
Thanks! -Original Message- From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com] Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 5:20 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Can I set the Directory name attribute with a custom property value? That's a direct assignment of the Directory name. So I expect you'll get [MYCOMPANYNAME] as your directory name. Same as if you did Property Id=X Value=[MYCOMPANYNAME]/ you'd get [MYCOMPANYNAME]. To have the value evaluated then assigned you need to use a custom action. In this case, a simple SetProperty Id=DirectoryId Value=[ProgramFilesFolder]\[MYCOMPANYNAME] After=CostInitialize/ should work. Or you could be more efficient and use a preprocessor variable to define both the Property and the Directory with the same value and reduce the complexity of your install. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry?
I need a custom action to create the event source as otherwise when my 2
services and app try to write to the event log they fail. If the
services/app tries to create the event source, if it does not exist, there
is a supposed delay and the event log cannot be written to and this indeed
seems to be the case when I have debugged this.
I'm fine with installing app per machine and the only reason I want to do
anything with HKCU is to make sure I clear out registry entries per user
when the product is uninstalled. Maybe my app is NEVER supposed to write to
HKCU if installed for all users. Is that true? Ideally I want to
install/uninstall for all users but allow each actual user to have their own
window coordinates and other persisted user only data. Not sure if this is
allowed for.
Question: If an application is installed per user for 3 users for a total of
3 installs, is there some sort of reference count kept for the # of users
that installed the app such that the app is really uninstalled after the
last user uninstalls it? I know Win7 and Server 2008 are different so let's
not consider those in regards to this question as they seem to actually
install in a user program files folder rather than the common folder.
Thanks for all your help Blair!
- Dave
-Original Message-
From: Rob Mensching [mailto:r...@robmensching.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 5:23 PM
To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Why do you need a custom action for event logs?
Also, writing/deleting per-user content via installation packages rarely
works out as well as people hope because you can't modify all the user
profiles. Only the current user. In general, HKCU stuff should be managed by
the application.
Finally, a verbose log file should explain why a Component is not being
installed. The behavior you are describing so far is not expected. There is
something else.
On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 1:33 AM, Dave Kolb
d...@dotnetcodeslingers.comwrote:
Well I flipped the order of the components in the directory node and the
feature node and still only the HKCU key got installed.
I think I will just have a custom action update/delete the registry for me
since I have to do that with event logs anyway.
- Dave
-Original Message-
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 3:50 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: RE: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Hi Blair, you probably meant adding KeyPath to a RegistryValue element.
After I did that, I got this to somewhat work but only the HKCU key gets
created and not the HKLM key. No complaints during install in the log
file.
I am doing a perMachine install and it seems if anything it should do the
HKLM key and not the HKCU key. Maybe it just does the second one for some
reason?
- Thanks, Dave
Package Platform=$(var.ProcessorArchitecture)
Manufacturer=$(var.Property_Author) InstallScope=perMachine
InstallerVersion=$(var.Property_InstallerVersion)
Compressed=yes
Comments=CmdMan Manager Service/
Property Id=MYCOMPANYNAME Value=49thLatitude /
Property Id=MYPRODUCTROOT Value=CmdMan /
!-- Define the directory structure. --
Directory Id=TARGETDIR Name=SourceDir
!-- add our root registry entry --
Component Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries Guid={xxx}
RegistryKey Root=HKLM
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\CmdMan.Manager.Service
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
RegistryValue Type=integer Name=Installed Value=1
KeyPath=yes/
/RegistryKey
/Component
Component Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries Guid={zzz}
RegistryKey Root=HKCU
Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\CmdMan.Manager.Service
Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall
RegistryValue Type=integer Name=Installed Value=1
KeyPath=yes/
/RegistryKey
/Component
Etc...
Feature Id=DefaultFeature ConfigurableDirectory=TARGETDIR
Level=1
ComponentRef Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries/
ComponentRef Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries/
Etc...
-Original Message-
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:58 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: RE: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Candle doesn't like Keypath on that element: error CNDL0004: The
RegistryKey
element contains an unexpected attribute 'KeyPath'.
-Original Message-
From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:22 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the
registry?
Try adding KeyPath=yes to each of your two
Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry?
Good information Blair and thanks. I did not know about the EventSource element but should have guesses there likely was one. I will rethink what I am doing with the registry given your guidelines. Especially since I just realized that my custom action, built for Any CPU, is running against the 32 bit hive and I have to drop into Win32 Interop if I want to set registry redirection which I could but would rather not do. Not that I will necessarily pursue this same path, but for future reference, is there a way to force DTF to run a managed custom action written for Any CPU to run in 64 bit mode besides compiling the assembly for x64? - Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 7:09 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry? Back in the good-old-days we simply wrote in the registry until it looked like what this page describes: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa363661(VS.85).aspx However, the Wix Util Extension does have an EventSource element that seems to fit the billing. Does it not work for you? If you install per-user for three different users, each installation is independent from the others. Per-user installations should never install anything common unless they have some independent means of coordinating the use of the common areas. That is why the WiX implementation of the per-user/per-machine switch creates a program installation directory inside of the user profile. Per-user data (such as windows coordinates, etc.) are considered user data, not program data, and are typically left behind. Besides, if your per-machine program is used by three users, there is no safe way to clean that data from any of the users not running the installation. Today's best practice says: the installation of per-machine programs supply default configuration in HKLM and never touch HKCU. The program itself manages HKCU for each user's customizations to that configuration, and that is then considered user data. You then migrate it during first launch of your application after you upgrade, and you orphan it when you uninstall. That way there is ZERO user-profile anything in your MSI. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry?
Thanks John! -Original Message- From: John H. Bergman (XPedient Technologies) [mailto:john.berg...@xpedienttechnologies.com] Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 11:39 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry? We do this and it works for us (Same situation). Add a reference to the util extension, and add it to your namespace definitions Wix xmlns=http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi; xmlns:iis=http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/IIsExtension; xmlns:util=http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/UtilExtension; then in the appropriate component util:EventSource Name='AppName' Log='AppName' EventMessageFile='[WindowsFolder]Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\EventLog Messages.dll' SupportsErrors='yes' SupportsWarnings='yes' SupportsInformationals='yes'/ -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] How do I add both a HKLM and a HKCU key to the registry?
During install, I am trying to add both an HKLM key and an HKCU key for my product. My wxs looks like the below. When this compiles I get the error ICE57: Component 'C_HKCU_RegistryEntries' has both per-user and per-machine data with a per-machine KeyPath . I have both components in the features element and since I have these defined are separate components I do not understand why this does not work. Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks, Dave !-- Define the directory structure. -- Directory Id=TARGETDIR Name=SourceDir !-- add our root registry entries -- Component Id=C_HKLM_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx RegistryKey Root=HKLM Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall /RegistryKey /Component Component Id=C_HKCU_RegistryEntries Guid=xxx RegistryKey Root=HKCU Key=Software\[MYCOMPANYNAME]\[MYPRODUCTROOT]\Manager Action=createAndRemoveOnUninstall /RegistryKey /Component __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4537 (20091023) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] Can I set the Directory name attribute with a custom property value?
Should this work? I am getting the literal strings as the directory name. Is the directory name attribute not formattable? Where is it documented what is formatted or not as I have not been able to find that information. Thanks, Dave Property Id=MYCOMPANYNAME Value=49thLatitude / Property Id=MYPRODUCTROOT Value=CmdMan / Directory Id=CompanyRoot Name=[MYCOMPANYNAME] Directory Id=CmdManRoot Name=[MYPRODUCTROOT] -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Issue in installing in 64 Bit OS
You can test like this if you really need to ?if $(var.ProcessorArchitecture)=x64 ? but there is no such thing as a folder called Program Files (x64) only Program Files (x86). And the right thing should just happen if you set the architecture when building. - Dave -Original Message- From: Natarajan, Thangaraj (MLITS) [mailto:thangaraj_natara...@ml.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 10:17 AM To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [WiX-users] Issue in installing in 64 Bit OS Hi All, I need some help on identifying whether the OS is 64 Bit Version. Incase if is 64 bit I need to install the files in Program Files (x64) and incase of 32bit I need to install it in Program Files Folder. Can anyone let me know how to do this? It would be helpful. Thanks, Thangaraj Natarajan Associate Consultant.GWMT (TASCS) Merrill Lynch India Tech Service Pvt Ltd., -- This message w/attachments (message) may be privileged, confidential or proprietary, and if you are not an intended recipient, please notify the sender, do not use or share it and delete it. The information contained in this e-mail was obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, the accuracy or completeness of this information is not guaranteed. Unless specifically indicated, this message is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of any investment products or other financial product or service, an official confirmation of any transaction, or an official statement of Merrill Lynch. Subject to applicable law, Merrill Lynch may monitor, review and retain e-communications (EC) traveling through its networks/systems. The laws of the country of each sender/recipient may impact the handling of EC, and EC may be archived, supervised and produced in countries other than the country in which you are located. This message cannot be guaran teed to be secure or error-free. References to Merrill Lynch are references to any company in the Merrill Lynch Co., Inc. group of companies, which are wholly-owned by Bank of America Corporation. Securities and Insurance Products: * Are Not FDIC Insured * Are Not Bank Guaranteed * May Lose Value * Are Not a Bank Deposit * Are Not a Condition to Any Banking Service or Activity * Are Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Attachments that are part of this E-communication may have additional important disclosures and disclaimers, which you should read. This message is subject to terms available at the following link: http://www.ml.com/e-communications_terms/. By messaging with Merrill Lynch you consent to the foregoing. -- -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Any way to control the # of service start attempts on ServiceControl?
This worked quite well to start my service instead of using ServiceControl and in my case, and lets my service install even if it does not start after trying only once which is what I wanted. I do use ServiceControl for uninstall though! Thanks for all the help that is given in this list! - Dave CustomAction Id=QtExecStartService_Cmd Property=QtExecStartService Value='sc start [APPLICATIONNAME]' Execute=immediate/ CustomAction Id=QtExecStartService BinaryKey=WixCA DllEntry=CAQuietExec Execute=deferred Return=check Impersonate=no/ InstallExecuteSequence Custom Action=QtExecStartService_Cmd After=CostFinalize Overridable=yesNOT Installed/Custom Custom Action=QtExecStartService After=StartServices Overridable=yesNOT Installed/Custom /InstallExecuteSequence -Original Message- From: Bob Arnson [mailto:b...@joyofsetup.com] Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:11 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Any way to control the # of service start attempts on ServiceControl? Dave Kolb wrote: Is there any way to control the # of service start attempts on ServiceControl or elsewhere in the .msi file? No, MSI doesn't offer that configurability. -- sig://boB http://joyofsetup.com/ -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] Any way to control the # of service start attempts on ServiceControl?
Is there any way to control the # of service start attempts on ServiceControl or elsewhere in the .msi file? MSI seems to try 7 times to start my service before declaring an install failure. The service is not starting due to no fault of wix or MSI and so I am not asking about that. I just want to try to start the service once not 7 times before declaring a failure. Thanks, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] When to change Product/@Id (ProductCode)? - two editions of the same product.
I understand Product/@Id is an XPath fragment but where is such syntax used in conjunction with wix? I could find no such usage in any wix or project files that I am using. Just trying to understand what you are talking about. Thanks, Dave snip Currently for our main product I'm using two Product/@Id with each release - one for x86 and one for x64. However I'm using the *same* Product/@Id and Upgrade/@Id for the 6 different languages we ship. snip -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] When to change Product/@Id (ProductCode)? - two editions of the same product.
Hi Sascha, I also do that same exact thing since I use the same .wxs file for x64 and x86 and define unique product codes for each but was wondering where exactly you were using/seeing that xpath syntax fragment of Product/@Id which is different than the 3rd line of what you just listed which is the syntax I would expect in an .xls file. - Dave -Original Message- From: Sascha Beaumont [mailto:sascha.beaum...@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 11:56 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] When to change Product/@Id (ProductCode)? - two editions of the same product. Hi Dave, http://wix.sourceforge.net/manual-wix3/wix_xsd_product.htm The Id attribute of the Product element... It's the third line in every single one of my WiX projects :) ?xml version=1.0 encoding=utf-8? Wix xmlns=http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi; Product Id=$(var.Property_ProductCode) Sascha On Fri, Oct 16, 2009 at 2:38 PM, Dave Kolb d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com wrote: I understand Product/@Id is an XPath fragment but where is such syntax used in conjunction with wix? I could find no such usage in any wix or project files that I am using. Just trying to understand what you are talking about. Thanks, Dave snip Currently for our main product I'm using two Product/@Id with each release - one for x86 and one for x64. However I'm using the *same* Product/@Id and Upgrade/@Id for the 6 different languages we ship. snip -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] When to change Product/@Id (ProductCode)? - two editions of the same product.
Yes thanks! I had seen a couple such references before and did not realize you all were talking like an xpath compiler J Kind of like talking like a pirate. Arrgh! Sorry I can't help with your actual question.Dave -Original Message- From: Sascha Beaumont [mailto:sascha.beaum...@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 12:55 AM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] When to change Product/@Id (ProductCode)? - two editions of the same product. Hi Dave, I'm not using the fragment *in* my WiX sources, I'm using it for clarification in referring *to* my WiX sources... does that make sense? Sascha -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Before= and After= vs. CustomAction Execute=
Thanks Sebastian. This one is good too http://blogs.technet.com/alexshev/pages/from-msi-to-wix.aspx I have some reading to do! - Dave -Original Message- From: Sebastian Brand (Instyler Software) [mailto:wix+us...@instyler.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 1:04 AM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Custom Before= and After= vs. CustomAction Execute= I'd also like to point out to http://www.tramontana.co.hu/wix/lesson3.php , a detailed tutorial about custom actions... Best regards, Sebastian Brand -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] Fetching APPLICATIONFOLDER from CA fails with IndexOutOfRangeException
The following code get the following exception. Can I not fetch this
property from my immediate custom action? Unfortunatley the session object
has an indexer that cannot be enumerated so I'm at a loss as to what can be
indexed from the sessin object! - Thanks, Dave
public static ActionResult GetServiceLogon(Session session)
{
try
{
// get the name of the application folder
string lServiceName = session[APPLICATIONFOLDER];
*** Error: CmdMan GetServiceLogon custom action got exception
'System.IndexOutOfRangeException: Index was outside the bounds of the array.
at _CustomActions.CustomActions.GetServiceLogon(Session session)'
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[WiX-users] Types of variables question
I understand these variable types from the wix doc: $(env._NtPostBld) Gets the environment variable %_NtPostBld% $(sys.CURRENTDIR) Gets the system variable for the current directory $(var.A) Gets the variable A that was defined in this xml But what are these that I have seen in an example??? Is there doc on ALL the types of variables that can be used in a .wxs file? § Product/@Version=!(bind.FileVersion.FileId) ---à two unknown types - the @ syntax and the ! syntax with 2 levels § $(fileVersion.ProductName($(var.MyApp.TargetPath))) ---à what is fileVersion and what's the deal with the 2 levels of var. syntax - Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] How does a votive project pass variables to candle?
I tried looking at the wix.targets but do not understand msbuild adequately. Are the many var.Projectname.xxx and var.Solutionxxx variables passed in on the command line with -d or are they written to a .wxi file or does candle take special input for variable somehow besides the -d option? Seems unlikely a command line could be built with all those -d variables without exceeding the allowed length. The reason I ask is that I have a Powershell script that I am using to build all my .msi files for all my modules for both x86 and x64 and would like to simulate passing in the project variables. It runs candle via cmd.exe so I think I would be subject to a command line length limitation. Thanks, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] How does a votive project pass variables to candle?
Nevermind on this question. I created a dummy project and looked at the output window and saw that they really are all -d options: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Installer XML v3\bin\candle.exe -dabc=xyz -dhello=456 -dDevEnvDir=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\\ -dSolutionDir=C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\CmdMan\\ -dSolutionExt=.sln -dSolutionFileName=CmdMan.sln -dSolutionName=CmdMan -dSolutionPath=C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\CmdMan\CmdMan.sln -dConfiguration=Release -dOutDir=bin\Release\ -dPlatform=x86 -dProjectDir=C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\CmdMan\XTestWixProject\\ -dProjectExt=.wixproj -dProjectFileName=XTestWixProject.wixproj -dProjectName=XTestWixProject -dProjectPath=C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\CmdMan\XTestWixProject\XTestWixProject.wixproj -dTargetDir=C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\CmdMan\XTestWixProject\bin\Release\\ -dTargetExt=.msi -dTargetFileName=XTestWixProject.msi -dTargetName=XTestWixProject -dTargetPath=C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\CmdMan\XTestWixProject\bin\Release\XTestWixProject.msi -out obj\Release\Product.wixobj -arch x86 Product.wxs From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 4:04 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: How does a votive project pass variables to candle? I tried looking at the wix.targets but do not understand msbuild adequately. Are the many var.Projectname.xxx and var.Solutionxxx variables passed in on the command line with -d or are they written to a .wxi file or does candle take special input for variable somehow besides the -d option? Seems unlikely a command line could be built with all those -d variables without exceeding the allowed length. The reason I ask is that I have a Powershell script that I am using to build all my .msi files for all my modules for both x86 and x64 and would like to simulate passing in the project variables. It runs candle via cmd.exe so I think I would be subject to a command line length limitation. Thanks, Dave __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4507 (20091014) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Fetching APPLICATIONFOLDER from CA fails with IndexOutOfRangeException
Sorry, this was my bug. APPLICATIONFOLDER is there just fine!
From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 3:05 PM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: Fetching APPLICATIONFOLDER from CA fails with
IndexOutOfRangeException
The following code get the following exception. Can I not fetch this
property from my immediate custom action? Unfortunatley the session object
has an indexer that cannot be enumerated so I'm at a loss as to what can be
indexed from the sessin object! - Thanks, Dave
public static ActionResult GetServiceLogon(Session session)
{
try
{
// get the name of the application folder
string lServiceName = session[APPLICATIONFOLDER];
*** Error: CmdMan GetServiceLogon custom action got exception
'System.IndexOutOfRangeException: Index was outside the bounds of the array.
at _CustomActions.CustomActions.GetServiceLogon(Session session)'
__ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature
database 4507 (20091014) __
The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
http://www.eset.com
--
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Re: [WiX-users] Types of variables question
Thanks so much Blair. You are absolutely a fountain of knowledge and it is so wonderful you generously share it. Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 4:59 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Types of variables question In WiX v3 in candle there are four built-in that start with $( (specifically: env, sys, var, fun). Any preprocessor extension on the commandline to candle can add others as well. ... -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] ServiceInstall and ServiceControl question
I use ServiceInstall and ServiceControl and noticed that if my service failed to start [a bug in my code], then the install failed. Is there a means to try to start the service and have it install even if it fails to start? P.S. Also, fwiw, I noticed that if I used two ServiceControl elements, one for install and one for uninstall, I got complaints about the files in use when trying to uninstall. The below works for uninstall. Thanks, Dave ServiceInstall Id=CmdMan.Agent.Service.Install Name=CmdMan.Agent.Service DisplayName=CmdMan Agent Service Type=ownProcess Start=auto ErrorControl=normal Description=CmdMan Agent Service Account=[Property_CmdMan_Account] Password=[Property_CmdMan_Password] / ServiceControl Id=CmdMan.Agent.Service.Start.Control Name=CmdMan.Agent.Service Start=install Stop=uninstall Remove=uninstall Wait=yes / -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore?
Blair thanks but I have to confess to not understanding that explanation at all. What would be such a case that an XP or Vista user saw a short name instead of the NTFS name? - Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:22 AM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore? Shortcut names are exposed to users on XP systems and may be exposed to them on Vista systems, depending on whether they have had a native resource dll string table entry assigned to them. The windows shell which is responsible for showing the start menu is either all or mostly native code, the .net version doesn't matter (just the underlying platform). The disk format doesn't matter either. -Original Message- From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 9:15 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore? I don't use any shortcut names in my install and notice they are generated for me with some seemingly random letters. Are actual shortcut names even useful on any .NET 3.5 system which is the requirement for my application? I'm also OK with requiring an NTFS [non FAT32] disk though I'm not sure on how one would test for that. Thanks, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] ServiceInstall and ServiceControl question
Thanks Blair. In that case, I think I will start the service with a CA. What would be the proper sequence point to do this? Thanks, Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:27 AM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] ServiceInstall and ServiceControl question To reduce reboot prompts many of us set @Stop to both. Windows Installer assumes that if you want the service started during the installation, it is a failure if it doesn't. It uses the built-in action StartServices, which can't be redefined to ignore (all you can do is condition it, which isn't what you are asking). -Original Message- From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 11:32 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: [WiX-users] ServiceInstall and ServiceControl question I use ServiceInstall and ServiceControl and noticed that if my service failed to start [a bug in my code], then the install failed. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore?
Thanks Chad as I did not notice I said that. I definitely mean a short name or 8.3 name. I would just as soon not clutter my .wxs file with them if I don't need them and so am wondering on XP forward in what cases a user would see one of the auto generated short names if I did not specify them and so whether I really needed to specify them. Thanks for pointing that out. - Dave -Original Message- From: Chad Petersen [mailto:chad.peter...@harlandfs.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 12:22 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore? Be careful there. A short name (8.3 convention) is different than a Shortcut, which is what your subject line implies. -Original Message- From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 8:56 AM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore? Blair thanks but I have to confess to not understanding that explanation at all. What would be such a case that an XP or Vista user saw a short name instead of the NTFS name? - Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:22 AM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore? Shortcut names are exposed to users on XP systems and may be exposed to them on Vista systems, depending on whether they have had a native resource dll string table entry assigned to them. The windows shell which is responsible for showing the start menu is either all or mostly native code, the .net version doesn't matter (just the underlying platform). The disk format doesn't matter either. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] Are we supposed to register products ourselves or should WIX/MSI do it automagically?
When a product is installed, are we supposed to have our .wxs file register an entry into HKLM\Software\[Company]\[Product] ourselves or is this something the .msi installer is supposed to do for us somehow? I looked at my old .msi files build with VS2008 before wix and did not see any special registry entries for that so think .msi did it for me. I see no comparable registry entry after my WIX install however and am wondering if I need to explicitly register one for my application. I'm not talking about the HKCU values but rather an HKLM value that shows the product was installed. Also, my old .msi file had all of these ARP properties defined: ARPHELPLINK, ARPCONTACT, ARPHELPTELEPHONE, ARPCOMMENTS, ARPURLINFOABOUT. If I define these properties, do I need to do anything special for them to take effect under WIX? Thanks from a WIX newbie, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Are we supposed to register products ourselves or should WIX/MSI do it automagically?
Nevermind on the ARP stuff. I defined the values and they just work! Am still wondering what is the proper thing to do in regards to registering the install of the product though. Thanks, Dave From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 1:24 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Are we supposed to register products ourselves or should WIX/MSI do it automagically? When a product is installed, are we supposed to have our .wxs file register an entry into HKLM\Software\[Company]\[Product] ourselves or is this something the .msi installer is supposed to do for us somehow? I looked at my old .msi files build with VS2008 before wix and did not see any special registry entries for that so think .msi did it for me. I see no comparable registry entry after my WIX install however and am wondering if I need to explicitly register one for my application. I'm not talking about the HKCU values but rather an HKLM value that shows the product was installed. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Are short names even useful anymore?
Thanks Chad. In spite of calling it a shortcut, I know what a SFN is since working on PCs from the very first version of DOS 1.0, but am wondering why I might want to have anything meaningful for a short name nowadays. Since these names would be for my program files I'd really rather not any legacy program showed anything meaningful to the user though I can't even think of what such a program would even be. Is there anything in XP forward in the OS itself that is important in practice that would attempt to show a short name to the user? I can't think of anything so am inclined to not specify any short names that would clutter up my .wxs files. Thanks, Dave -Original Message- From: Chad Petersen [mailto:chad.peter...@harlandfs.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 1:44 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore? An 8.3 filename (also called a short filename or SFN) is a filename convention used by old versions of DOS and versions of Microsoft Windows prior to Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51. It is also used in modern Microsoft operating systems as an alternate filename to the long filename for compatibility with legacy programs. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Are short names even useful anymore?
Brant, Know anyway for wix to check that I am installing on NTFS and not a FAT system? I have no desire whatsoever of perpetuating anything in regards to FAT...Thanks, Dave -Original Message- From: Brant Gurganus [mailto:br...@gurganus.name] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 3:00 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Are short names even useful anymore? There are still filesystems that Windows can use that are short name only. Brant Gurganus http://gurganus.name/brant -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Are short names even useful anymore?
Interesting. I still think I will not specify short names so as to let them auto generate and see if I ever run into problems. Thanks, Dave -Original Message- From: Brant Gurganus [mailto:br...@gurganus.name] Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 4:23 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Are short names even useful anymore? Long file names can be turned off on NTFS so you have to worry about it there as well. See http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/01/27/362049.aspx Brant Gurganus http://gurganus.name/brant -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] Custom Before= and After= vs. CustomAction Execute=
Is there somewhere written up an overview of the flow of the installer in general and how sequencing actions work? I would like to better understand how to sequence actions and am confused about CustomActions Execute=Immediate|Deferred|etc. vs. Custom Action Before= and After= and how they work together in the grand scheme of things and what is the scope of the script. Thanks, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Custom Before= and After= vs. CustomAction Execute=
I found this by John McFadyen - http://johnmcfadyen.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!9DD01136FC094724!167.entry which helps a lot to understand the grand scheme of things and clears up some things I was confused about. Any other big picture references appreciated. From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:31 AM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Custom Before= and After= vs. CustomAction Execute= Is there somewhere written up an overview of the flow of the installer in general and how sequencing actions work? I would like to better understand how to sequence actions and am confused about CustomActions Execute=Immediate|Deferred|etc. vs. Custom Action Before= and After= and how they work together in the grand scheme of things and what is the scope of the script. Thanks, Dave __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4504 (20091013) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] Are shortcut names even useful anymore?
I don't use any shortcut names in my install and notice they are generated for me with some seemingly random letters. Are actual shortcut names even useful on any .NET 3.5 system which is the requirement for my application? I'm also OK with requiring an NTFS [non FAT32] disk though I'm not sure on how one would test for that. Thanks, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] How do you copy a set of files to multiple places using Wix?
Repeat the component and file elements for each directory. -Original Message- From: Keith Nicholas [mailto:keith.nicho...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 10:49 PM To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [WiX-users] How do you copy a set of files to multiple places using Wix? I'm trying to make an install that puts a copy of the same files in multiple places... is there a simple way to do this? eg. if I wanted to put a.txt b.txt c.txt into all of the following directories :- .\Blah\ .\Txts\ .\Examples\ Regards, Keith -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
I got my 64 bit C# Custom Action running just fine and it can set some properties that I can use to set my account and password on my ServiceInstall element. Thanks to everyone. Wix is pretty cool! I have two other questions though: 1. When my CA sets properties they print in the log How can I suppress this as I don't want to expose the password. 2. When I try to reference a property that my CA sets, I have to use [Property_XXX_Password] because !(var.Property_XXX_Password) does not work! I was expecting to be able to reference with a !(var.Property_XXX_Password) syntax. What is the difference between these references? P.S. I used the following sequence to call my action. !-- Set the sequence -- InstallExecuteSequence Custom Action=GetServiceLogon After=CostFinalize Overridable=yesNOT Installed/Custom /InstallExecuteSequence Thanks, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
To report what I found on my questions: 1. I guess the !(var.Property_XXX_Password) syntax is a pre-processor variable and not a property! 2. Property Id=Property_XXX_Password Hidden=yes/ --- this worked to hide the password was replaced with *'s! - Dave -Original Message- From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2009 2:48 AM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: RE: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best? I got my 64 bit C# Custom Action running just fine and it can set some properties that I can use to set my account and password on my ServiceInstall element. Thanks to everyone. Wix is pretty cool! I have two other questions though: 1. When my CA sets properties they print in the log How can I suppress this as I don't want to expose the password. 2. When I try to reference a property that my CA sets, I have to use [Property_XXX_Password] because !(var.Property_XXX_Password) does not work! I was expecting to be able to reference with a !(var.Property_XXX_Password) syntax. What is the difference between these references? P.S. I used the following sequence to call my action. !-- Set the sequence -- InstallExecuteSequence Custom Action=GetServiceLogon After=CostFinalize Overridable=yesNOT Installed/Custom /InstallExecuteSequence Thanks, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
Good information thanks!
-Original Message-
From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2009 3:01 AM
To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.'
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
1. There are several issues that are resolved by using DTF to run managed
code custom actions, among which is a problem whereby if a custom action
instance of msiexec loads the managed runtime and is reused for a different
action, it can't load a different version of the runtime (if needed). By
calling out to an out-of-process and using a pipe to provide all the
advantages of in-process you prevent that problem while also preventing the
issues with out-of-process (aka EXE) CAs. It is the current recommended best
practice.
2. Yes, you should put your CA in the binary table. Using assemblies you
install leads to several of the evils of self-registration. If you use DTF,
you can package multiple assemblies in the same CA DLL, so you should be
able to design a system whereby you don't have to ever depend on anything
except the .NET framework you built against.
3. See the DTF.chm file in your WiX installation's doc folder.
[CustomAction]
public static ActionResult SampleCustomAction1(Session session)
{
session.Log(Hello from SampleCA1);
session[PROPERTYINEED] = My property's value;
if(1 == 1)
{
return ActionResult.Success;
}
else
return ActionResult.Failure;
}
--
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[WiX-users] Thanks!
Thanks to everyone who builds WIX and helps support it, this mailing list and the documentation and examples! Got my 64 and 32 bit installs running with CA's that dynamically set the ServiceInstall account and password tags and create registry sources for my application and two services! Great stuff this WIX is! - Dave Kolb -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Thanks!
I installed the service with WIX using the ServiceInstall element. What snippet are you looking for? - Dave -Original Message- From: Jahanzeb Khan [mailto:jk...@commondesk.com] Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2009 9:03 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Thanks! were you able to get this to work completely through CA or did u install the service through WIX?can u share snipet of code if u were able to do this in WIX; thnx -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
[WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
I see at least 4 ways my windows service could be installed. My goal is to be able to call some custom code so that I can set the username and password for the service by looking up and decrypting a value from the registry. Therefore I do not think that ServiceInstall is an option. The remaining ways I see to do this are the following and would like any suggestions on what is best and can fully support install, uninstall, rollback and commit. Thanks, Dave 1. Run an imbedded installutil.dll like my original MSI file did and is suggested here http://avinashkt.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-create-installer-using-wix-whic h.html - this seems complete but if possible I would like to not carry the baggage of the extra dll in my msi file. Also it seems there are some typos in the later actions in regards to $TheService2 rather than =2 but maybe this is correct? 2. Run installutil.exe from the .net directory as suggested here: http://www.dalun.com/wix/12.07.2006.htm but I am concerned about having to worry about that program actually being there and wonder if this method supports uninstall, commit or rollback. 3. Ideally I would like to sort of self install by calling a class method in my service assembly to instantiate the ProjectInstaller class that is already defined and based on System.Configuration.Install.Installer that was inserted into my VS service project and references the System.ServiceProcess assembly. My understanding is this SHOULD be everything I need to install my service if I can somehow call the code from WIX. I think this is possible and wonder if this would be the best way to go as long as I could have actions for supporting install, uninstall, rollback and commit which I don't understand how WIX supports all that. 4. Possibly use ServiceInstall something like this http://avinashkt.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-install-windows-service-using.h tml if I could earlier run a custom action that looks up a registry entry and decrypts it for the account and password and then set properties that would be used by the ServiceInstall element account and password tags. This CA would have to access my .NET code. And here also, I'm unclear about how or if WIX supports the additional service actions of uninstall, rollback and commit as they are not in this example but do seem to be in this one http://blog.vagmim.com/2004/09/installing-windows-services-created.html which seems much more confusing to me but is old so maybe wix3 does all that automagically now. I like idea #3 best only because there is some compatibility with the VS service project as well as installutil and I already have the code there but I don't know if that choice is possible or best practice. Thanks for any suggestions and guidance to a WIX newbie, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
I would love to but the information I need to look up is actually the service account and password that goes onto the ServiceInstall element. Once the service is installed I think it is too late to change this information. At least I don't know where Windows keeps it, or the format it is stored in but I suspect in the SAM or whatever it is on a non domain machine. What I want to do is run some code before serviceInstall happens so it can use those two properties my code set somehow or use the traditional VS2008 way using the generated Installer, ServiceProcessInstaller and ServiceInstaller classes, and look up the username/password in my ProjectInstaller class based on System.Configuration.Install.Installer that is called during install which can then set the class' ServiceProcess.Username and ServiceProcess.Password properties during the install. Dave -Original Message- From: Dominique Louis [mailto:dominique.lo...@amxeurope.com] Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2009 9:24 AM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.; wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best? Why no use ServiceInstall etc to install the service, but then change the appropriate user info via the WiX registry calls? That way MSI is in charge of correctly uninstalling and removing the appropriate registry settings. Dominique. -Original Message- From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Sat 10/10/2009 8:57 AM To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best? I see at least 4 ways my windows service could be installed. My goal is to be able to call some custom code so that I can set the username and password for the service by looking up and decrypting a value from the registry. Therefore I do not think that ServiceInstall is an option. The remaining ways I see to do this are the following and would like any suggestions on what is best and can fully support install, uninstall, rollback and commit. Thanks, Dave 1. Run an imbedded installutil.dll like my original MSI file did and is suggested here http://avinashkt.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-create-installer-using-wix-whic h.html - this seems complete but if possible I would like to not carry the baggage of the extra dll in my msi file. Also it seems there are some typos in the later actions in regards to $TheService2 rather than =2 but maybe this is correct? 2. Run installutil.exe from the .net directory as suggested here: http://www.dalun.com/wix/12.07.2006.htm but I am concerned about having to worry about that program actually being there and wonder if this method supports uninstall, commit or rollback. 3. Ideally I would like to sort of self install by calling a class method in my service assembly to instantiate the ProjectInstaller class that is already defined and based on System.Configuration.Install.Installer that was inserted into my VS service project and references the System.ServiceProcess assembly. My understanding is this SHOULD be everything I need to install my service if I can somehow call the code from WIX. I think this is possible and wonder if this would be the best way to go as long as I could have actions for supporting install, uninstall, rollback and commit which I don't understand how WIX supports all that. 4. Possibly use ServiceInstall something like this http://avinashkt.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-install-windows-service-using.h tml if I could earlier run a custom action that looks up a registry entry and decrypts it for the account and password and then set properties that would be used by the ServiceInstall element account and password tags. This CA would have to access my .NET code. And here also, I'm unclear about how or if WIX supports the additional service actions of uninstall, rollback and commit as they are not in this example but do seem to be in this one http://blog.vagmim.com/2004/09/installing-windows-services-created.html which seems much more confusing to me but is old so maybe wix3 does all that automagically now. I like idea #3 best only because there is some compatibility with the VS service project as well as installutil and I already have the code there but I don't know if that choice is possible or best practice. Thanks for any suggestions and guidance to a WIX newbie, Dave -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users AMX
Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
Guten Tag Thorsten and thanks. I have not built a custom action yet but will look at that approach iff my custom action can set WIX properties that another custom action or wix element can use afterwards. If I can run my CA before the ServiceInstall element then it could just refer to the properties my CA just set for account and password. I have not fooled with CA's or sequencing yet but I think this is what I would need to do. Is this possible? Do I need to use sequencing? A-run my custom action that sets account and password properties. B-run ServiceInstall that uses those properties. C-run a CA to start the service Or if I cannot run a CA before the ServiceInstall then A-run ServiceInstall B-run my custom action that sets account and password properties. C-run a CA to execute the sc config command to set the account and password D-run a CA to start the service Also, I read something about two passes through custom actions. Is that an issue? Will a log of the install show the ServiceInstall output in clear text and thus show my password as well? If logging in clear text is an issue, it would be nice if ServiceInstall could call a custom action directly passing ServiceProcessInstaller object so that it could be modified at install time. Any links to building and sequencing a custom action before and after ServiceInstall would be much appreciated. Thanks, Dave -Original Message- From: Thorsten Schöning [mailto:tschoen...@am-soft.de] Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2009 1:55 PM To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best? Guten Tag Dave Kolb, am Samstag, 10. Oktober 2009 um 19:24 schrieben Sie: I would love to but the information I need to look up is actually the service account and password that goes onto the ServiceInstall element. Once the service is installed I think it is too late to change this information. At least I don't know where Windows keeps it, or the format it is stored in but I suspect in the SAM or whatever it is on a non domain machine. The username to start the service with is saved under HKLM\CurrentControlSet\Services\xy\ObjectName. Don't know where the password is saved, would agree to SAM, but maybe you don't need to change anything manually: How about sc config with parameters obj and password as a custom action? It's designed to change services after installation in a proper way and you could depend the custom action on features or something like that. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Thorsten Schöning -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
Thanks Blair. I will have a go at using ServiceInstall and running a prior CA to set properties for it and will avoid any evil self install patterns. I am confused on how DTF fits into the picture though. 1. Is DTF necessary to run a custom action built with C# managed code? 2. Must I supply my CA with the binary element since you suggest I should not depend on any files installed yet or can I use one of the assemblies being installed? 3. Any example of using DTF to build a managed code CA setting a property that can be used by an element? I've been searching and will continue to do so but have not really found anything yet. Thanks again, neat stuff! Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2009 5:46 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best? If I were you I would use option 4. I would write an immediate CA that retrieves and decrypts the account and password that I would schedule in InstallExecuteSequence running sometime before the InstallServices action (I would probably sequence it before CostInitialize, but that is just me). That CA you write you should write using DTF if you need to use managed code. Don't depend on a file you are installing being present in that CA and don't depend on anything you will be adding to the GAC, which means you may need to copy your code OR add assemblies to your CA to be used locally as described in the DTF documentation for creating custom actions. Each of your other options (including the second part of option 4) are all forms of self-registration which are considered evil when it comes to reliably being able to perform upgrades, repairs, rollbacks, removals, etc. Please don't do them: self-registration is probably the MOST frequent cause of MSI errors globally. Professional deployment engineers tend to hate the VS-supplied deployment solutions because they produce fragile installation packages that cause more maintenance headaches than the generally solve. They are NOT a good example to follow. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best?
I did find this http://blog.torresdal.net/2008/10/24/WiXAndDTFUsingACustomActionToListAvaila bleWebSitesOnIIS.aspx so think that will suffice for an example to get started. Any others appreciated though. Apparently DTF supplies the conventional .dll wrapper msi needs to call managed code. Needs to talk to out of process .NET through a pipe though huh? Interesting! - Dave -Original Message- From: Dave Kolb [mailto:d...@dotnetcodeslingers.com] Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2009 6:35 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: RE: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best? Thanks Blair. I will have a go at using ServiceInstall and running a prior CA to set properties for it and will avoid any evil self install patterns. I am confused on how DTF fits into the picture though. 1. Is DTF necessary to run a custom action built with C# managed code? 2. Must I supply my CA with the binary element since you suggest I should not depend on any files installed yet or can I use one of the assemblies being installed? 3. Any example of using DTF to build a managed code CA setting a property that can be used by an element? I've been searching and will continue to do so but have not really found anything yet. Thanks again, neat stuff! Dave -Original Message- From: Blair [mailto:os...@live.com] Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2009 5:46 PM To: 'General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset.' Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Which way to install a Windows service is best? If I were you I would use option 4. I would write an immediate CA that retrieves and decrypts the account and password that I would schedule in InstallExecuteSequence running sometime before the InstallServices action (I would probably sequence it before CostInitialize, but that is just me). That CA you write you should write using DTF if you need to use managed code. Don't depend on a file you are installing being present in that CA and don't depend on anything you will be adding to the GAC, which means you may need to copy your code OR add assemblies to your CA to be used locally as described in the DTF documentation for creating custom actions. Each of your other options (including the second part of option 4) are all forms of self-registration which are considered evil when it comes to reliably being able to perform upgrades, repairs, rollbacks, removals, etc. Please don't do them: self-registration is probably the MOST frequent cause of MSI errors globally. Professional deployment engineers tend to hate the VS-supplied deployment solutions because they produce fragile installation packages that cause more maintenance headaches than the generally solve. They are NOT a good example to follow. -- Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference ___ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
