I can't really answer intelligently to question #1, as to question #2, I'll do my best.
Heat is really built for initial import functionality, not continual maintenance. You do not want your GUIDs changing on your components with each build, it will turn upgrades into a nightmare, and will make patching just about impossible, IMO. The "suggested" method, is to use heat.exe to build your .wxs up front, then manually maintain the .wxs file as part of your development process from there on out. If someone adds an artifact to a project in a future version, they need to add it to the installer definition as well. If you have the ability to go pure Wix with your installers, then you can break this into manageable chunks using a .wixlib project for each major subsystem, and having one parent .msi project link them all together. This is similar, but superior, to building .msm files and importing those in. If your "parent" project is not Wix, then you're stuck in the same boat I am, building .msm's. Either way you're stuck making manual changes to the .wxs files to keep them in sync with your project's outputs and required support files. I *really* wish this wasn't the case, as the whole point of using an IDE (for me) is to manage all the grunt work like that, but there are some pretty substantial complexities making it a pretty large undertaking that the team just hasn't gotten to yet. Chris On Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 7:53 PM, James Minnis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm working on a fairly large installer. It contains roughly 7000 files in > 165 folders and a total of 670 MB of uncompressed data. Needless to say, > I'm generating the files, components, and directories using Heat. > > Right now, I'm generating a merge module WXS file using Heat and then using > the Merge and MergeRef elements in my main installer. This is all working > correctly. I have several questions related to this: > > 1) I want to create shortcuts to several of the files in the merge module. > I'm doing this currently in a start menu shortcuts component in the main > installer. However, I cannot figure out how to reference the directories > in > the merge module in the main project (I get an empty string when I try to > reference them like I do the directories in the main installer project). > How do I reference the directories? Or is there a better way to do this? > > 2) The components in the merge module are generated with GUIDs. If I > regenerate the merge module WXS file using Heat (e.g. if I add files), > those > GUIDs change. How will this affect patches? Will the patch recognize the > files as being the same, or will it consider all of the files changed and > overwrite everything? Will I need to add files manually to the merge > module > WXS file to make patching work correctly? > > -Jamey > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's > challenge > Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great > prizes > Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world > http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ > _______________________________________________ > WiX-users mailing list > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
