CODEWITHSUNDEEP
wixwindows-installer
mcy
mcy

Reputation: 1268

WiX Selective Installation (full and portable)

Is it possible to create a wix installer (msi) that offers the user the choice of installing the target product as either full or portable (i.e. non-installed, running from a thumb drive, for example) using the predefined wix controls? As far as I searched, the feature property (minimal, typical, full...etc.) is irrelevant in this context. The only solution I can think of is adding a custom UI form element that displays the choice of full & portable installation as radio buttons. Based on the choice of the user, with the help of "if clause", the msi package will either perform a full installation with shortcuts and registry entries, or it will simply copy the source files to the destination directory. Note after edit: As a third option, is it a better (or more common) alternative to supply a simple zip file for portable installation and a proper msi file for full installation?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1312

Answers (1)

Tom Blodget
Tom Blodget

Reputation: 20812

Your third option (a zip file) is good. A similar option would be to package with a PortableApps.com installer.

It is not possible to use Windows Installer to "simply copy the source files to the destination directory." Windows Installer manages installations and provides repair and uninstall support--those features are not optional (though you could hack around them). A successful installation would do more than copy files and a proper failed installation would undo everything it had done.

Upvotes: 2

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