CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#wixwindows-installer
Sami
Sami

Reputation: 413

How to generate msi from windows application

I have a Windows Application class where I have defined my Windows Service, and I need to generate a .msi (installer) from it. What I have done so far for this is: create a new project in Visual Studio Enterprise 2017 - the project is of type Setup Project for Wix v3 (from Wix Toolset); inside this project I have by default References and Product.wxs. From Add References, Projects, I added the Service project.

One of the sources that I found says all that's needed is to add

Source="$(var.MyApplication.TargetPath)" />

as seen here: http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/votive/authoring_first_votive_project.html

...but this doesn't work for me because:

undefined preprocessor variable $(var.MyApplication.TargetPath)

I don't know where to define this variable and what is the meaning of this path. Excerpt here:

<Fragment>
        <ComponentGroup Id="ProductComponents" Directory="INSTALLFOLDER">
            <!-- TODO: Remove the comments around this Component element and the ComponentRef below in order to add resources to this installer. -->
             <Component Id="ProductComponent"> 
                <!-- TODO: Insert files, registry keys, and other resources here. -->
         <File Source = "$(var.MyApplication.TargetPath)"/>
       </Component> 
        </ComponentGroup>

Any ideas?

Thanks. This is all autoenerated code except for the File Source line. Don't know what I should add for INSTALLFOLDER either and what the syntax should be. The purpose is to generate the .msi from my windows service

Upvotes: 2

Views: 600

Answers (1)

Dave S
Dave S

Reputation: 1502

The Wix documentation for this step is broken as of at least version 3.11.

Instead of creating two separate solutions (app and Wix) you need to add the Wix setup as a second project in your windows forms solution. In the app Solution Explorer pane right-click on the solution then choose Add > New Project. Choose a name like WixSetup.

Next, click on the WixSetup project > References and choose Add New Reference. The projects list should show your app since they are in the same solution.

Next, add the entry to the in Product.wxs but the documentation is incorrect there too, you need to wrap it in a component tab. (Replace MY-APPLICATION-NAME with the name of your windows forms app project.)

<Component Id="ProductComponent">
    <File Source="$(var.MY-APPLICATION-NAME.TargetPath)" />
</Component>

You also need to edit line 3 of the .wsx to include a non-empty company name or to remove that attribute:

<Product Id="*" Name="WixSetup" Language="1033" Version="1.0.0.0" Manufacturer="MY-COMPANY"

Finally, you must have a release build in your main application before building the Wix MSI.

Upvotes: 2

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