Book Image

WiX: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML

Book Image

WiX: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML

Overview of this book

WiX is an open source project and a toolset that builds Windows installation packages from XML source code. WiX, which is used internally by Microsoft and by many companies around the World, simplifies many of the installation tasks that used to be shrouded in mystery. The tool set provides a command-line environment that you can integrate into your old-style build processes or you can use the newer technology from inside integrated development environments to build your setup packages. You'll find that you understand your installer better, can 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 for any software. This hands-on guide takes the mystery out of Windows Installer by showing how simple XML elements can be leveraged to create a sophisticated install package. By relying on Microsoft standards, you'll be able to use features like Property elements to customize your application's entry in Add/Remove Programs, the Shortcut element to create Start menu shortcuts, and other specialized elements for building upgrade and patch support and more. This book will show you the fundamental ingredients needed to build a professional-grade installer using Windows Installer XML. The initial chapters will introduce you to the set of required elements necessary to build a simple installer. We'll then explore those basic elements in more detail and see how best to use them in the real world.In the ensuing chapters, you'll move on to learn about adding conditions that alter what the user can install, then how to add actions to the install sequence and how to author a user interface. We'll move on to advanced topics such as editing data in the Windows Registry, installing a Windows service, and building your project from the command line. Finally, you'll learn to localize your package for different languages and detect older versions during upgrades. Each chapter uses to-the-point examples to illustrate the best way to use the language.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
WiX: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
Preface
4
Improving Control with Launch Conditions and Installed States
7
Using UI Controls

Custom actions


Knowing what the standard actions do and when prepares you for what's next: making your own actions, called custom actions, and scheduling them appropriately.

Any custom action that changes the system, whether it be changing files, setting up databases, or adjusting user rights, should happen during the deferred stage of the Execute sequence. Otherwise, you're free to place them where you like during either the UI or Execute sequence.

Custom actions are declared with the CustomAction element. Use its Execute attribute to define how it should run and its Return attribute to tell how its return status should be treated. For example, this would declare a custom action called MyAction that runs during the deferred stage and is checked for success upon completion.

<CustomAction Id="MyAction" Execute="deferred" 
   Return="check" ... />

That's the basics, although there are seven specific types of custom actions that each add their own necessary attributes. We'll cover each of...