Book Image

WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML

Book Image

WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML

Overview of this book

The cryptic science of Windows Installer can seem far off from the practical task of simply getting something installed. Luckily, we have WiX to simplify the matter. WiX is an XML markup, distributed with an open-source compiler and linker, used to produce a Windows Installer package. It is used by Microsoft and by countless other companies around the world to simplify deployments. "WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML" promises a friendly welcome into the world of Windows Installer. Starting off with a simple, practical example and continuing on with increasingly advanced scenarios, the reader will have a well-rounded education by book's end. With the help of this book, you'll understand your installer better, create it in less time, and save money in the process. No one really wants to devote a lifetime to understanding how to create a hassle-free installer. Learn to build a sophisticated deployment solution targeting the Windows platform in no time with this hands-on practical guide. Here we speed you through the basics and zoom right into the advanced. You'll get comfortable with components, features, conditions and actions. By the end, you'll be boasting your latest deployment victories at the local pub. Once you've finished "WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML", you'll realize just how powerful and awesome an installer can really be.
Table of Contents (23 chapters)
WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Localizing the UI


As you've seen, you can use localization files and variables to handle most of the text in your installer, whether that be labels on controls, the names of directories, or the titles and descriptions of your features. So what's left? In the next few sections we'll expand our scope to include the error messages that are baked into Windows Installer, the status messages that are shown over a progress bar, the end-user license agreement, and the size of user interface controls.

Error messages

Windows Installer responds to certain errors by displaying a message box with text about what went wrong. You can see a list of these errors at:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372835(VS.85).aspx

Unfortunately, they're always in English. You can see an example of this by triggering the Source not found error. Follow these steps:

  1. Create a simple .wxs file, but set the EmbedCab attribute on the MediaTemplate element to no. This means that the installer won't embed the CAB file in...