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

Installing 64-bit files


Let's say that you have a .NET assembly that's targeting the x64 platform and you want the installer for it to place that file into the 64-bit Program Files folder (available on 64-bit Windows operating systems). For the uninitiated: you can set the platform for the assembly using Visual Studio's Configuration Manager, as shown in the following screenshot:

The first thing to do is to open Properties for the WiX project and, on the Tools Settings tab, add –arch x64 to the Compiler parameters, as shown in the following screenshot:

Next, change the Directory element that is referencing ProgramFilesFolder to instead reference ProgramFiles64Folder, given as follows:

<Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
  <Directory Id="ProgramFiles64Folder">
    <Directory Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Name="My Software" />
  </Directory>
</Directory>

Now your 64-bit assembly can be put into this directory. WiX detects the architecture of the .NET assemblies for...