Optional User's Desktop shortcut issue

Question

(Using VS 2010 with a Visual Studio Installer project.)

I have added a 'Checkboxes(A)' dialog to the 'User Interface' under the 'Start | Welcome' dialog and set a checkbox with the property set to "DESKTOPICON". The option is being displayed.

In the 'File System' the 'User's Desktop' has the condition property set to DESKTOPICON=1.

When I run the install on my VM the option appears to be ignored and the desktop shortcut under the User's Desktop list is always installed.

I looked at these similar posts but it does not seem to work for the desktop icon?

How do I specify Visual Studion Installer Conditions?

Visual Studio Deployment Project Optional Desktop Shortcut

Is it normal for the User's Desktop to ignore it's condition property or am I doing something wrong?

Answer 1

After another 2 1/2 years in VS2019: The problem remains that the shortcut created in the "User's Desktop" folder can not handle the condition imposed by the checkbox. Thus a somewhat simpler (but also not "clean") solution would be not to duplicate the exe (e.g. myApp.exe) like in Skippers solution (it did not work for me), but to create an additional myApp.bat file doing nothing but starting the myApp.exe. The simplification consists in the fact that only a condition on the myApp.bat file is necessary, and no one on the myApp.exe file. The following steps worked here:

1. Create a myApp.bat file doing nothing but starting myApp.exe, i.e. containing the single line "myApp.exe" (without the quotes). Of course, commandline parameters would be possible if necessary.
2. Put myApp.bat into the "Application Folder" of your installer project.
3. Set the condition on myApp.bat to CHECKBOXA1=1, meaning it is created only in case of the CHECKBOXA1 having been set.
4. In the "User's Desktop" folder of the installer project, create a shortcut to myApp.bat (Context menu "Create new shortcut"), give it the icon of your app ("Icon" property). Do not specify a condition. Here in my case (VS2019 on Win10) this resulted in a NOP action when the myApp.bat was not created (checkbox unchecked), and properly created the link on the desktop when myApp.bat was present (checkbox checked).
5. For this shortcut, you might wish to set the "ShowCmd" property to vsdscMinimized, to avoid the large command line window of the bat file.

Answer 2

Well, I know it's been a long time but today I faced exactly the same issue as mentioned. I wanted to try creating a windows installer in VS 2013 using "Installer Projects" extension thing and wanted to make a checkbox with condition whether create a desktop shortcut or not.

Like above, shortcut under User's Desktop was always installed.

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After wasting almost 3 hours I found a workaround on the old Microsoft Connect feedback post: (which apparently was already dead for some time)

Ok I got this to work by adding the main file twice to the folder (the file you are creating your shortcut to). I tie the shortcut to one of the files and on that file I set the condition to CHECKBOXA1=1 so it will only create that file and the shortcut if they check the the "Create Shortcut" box. For the other file I set the condition to CHECKBOXA1<>1 so it will create it when the check box is anything but 1 (not checked).

originally posted by Chancea on 7/1/2010

I tried to do it that way - it works as intended. Not really convenient whatsoever (can mix up the same looking names etc). For a really, really simple installer thing (which I needed) with an only additional feature, adding shortcut to desktop, it might be fine however.

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Nevertheless I still think it only proves that this is just a port of an Installer Project from earlier versions of Visual Studio, now added by an extension.

The idea may be good and useful I think, but I wish they fixed just some of the Windows Installer project in VS issues and lack of features.

Like I said, it would be great option for people (... like me) who want to publish some pretty small and lightweight apps, and needs only some basic features from the installer like (optional desktop shortcut, adding to startup, installing some additional files etc etc).

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Well, I guess the conclusion is that I'd just have to start learning WiX or try out the InstallShield

Answer 3

Visual Studio setup projects create only shortcuts to installed files. This type of shortcuts are linked to their target and share the same component.

Since in Windows Installer you can condition only components and features, you cannot condition a shortcut directly.

A common approach is to write a custom action which removes the shortcut. You can then condition the action instead of the actual shortcut or its folder.