Wix toolset

.wsx file and built a simple MSI.Next, we added a user interface wizard to the MSI so that users could change the install path. We also used the MSI to create shortcuts for easy access. Then, the article introduced the heat.exe tool that could harvest files in a folder. Finally, we could use the HeatDirectory task to automate the build process.After exploring all these basics to generate an MSI, we created a folder with an executable and all Python dependencies. Then, we harvested files from the folder to generate a .wxs file and added this file to a WiX setup project. Next, we built the project to create an installer that copies this folder to the users' machines, along with shortcuts to run the application. Finally, we could install the MSI to a Windows operating system.ReferenceBatchelor, D., Sharkey, K., Coulter, D. & Satran, M. (2021). Property Reference. P. F. (1995). Mythical Man-Month, The: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.Firegiant. (2023). HeatDirectory Task. A. (2021). How to Create an MSI for a Python Application. R. (2013). The auto-guid Component/@Guid are safe. (2023). Create the future with Visual Studio 2022. N. (2012). WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML. Birmingham, UK: Packt Publishing.Rossant, C. (2013). Create a standalone Windows installer for your Python application. V. (2023). What is a WiX toolset. Toolset. (2023). The Most Powerful Set of Tools Available to Create Your Windows Installation Experience. N. (2023). Creating a Python Graphical User Interface Application with Tkinter. StepsThe article covered the basics of using the WiX toolset to create an MSI file for a Python application. The WiX toolset is one of the most powerful and promising toolsets to create Windows installers. We can customize dialogs, define custom actions, select installed features, build package bundles, and roll back the installation. In addition, we can use the WiX toolset to create installers for windows services, MS SQL server databases, and IIS websites. Some other free software products, such as Inno Setup, are also available for creating Windows installers. They have many excellent features, including desktop and start menu

To market faster and deliver an engaging customer experience.FeaturesCreates Java™-based installations for multiplatform applications, including Windows® 10/11Manages rules and dependencies. Automates processes.Installs dependencies from Linux® package managersSupports the latest Microsoft® certificate requirementsInstalls web apps to Tomcat™ and WebSphere®Creates installs that connect to IBM DB2, Microsoft® SQL, MySQL™, and OracleIncludes silent, console, and GUI installationsDownloadWiX ToolsetThe most powerful set of tools available to create your Windows installation experience.The WiX Toolset integrates seamlessly into build processes to create Windows installation packages.The WiX toolset lets developers create installers for Windows Installer, the Windows installation engine.The core of WiX is a set of build tools that build Windows Installer packages using the same build concepts as the rest of your product: source code is compiled and then linked to create executables; in this case .exe setup bundles, .msi installation packages, .msm merge modules, and .msp patches. The WiX command-line build tools work with any automated build system. Also, MSBuild is supported from the command line, Visual Studio, and Team Build.Download

ProblemPython is one of the most popular programming languages and opens the door to solving many business problems. However, some end users may have difficulty running Python scripts (Marin, 2021). For example, business users who use the Windows operating system may not have Python installed or know how to run Python scripts from a command prompt. Some tools like “PyInstaller” and “Auto PY to EXE” can convert Python scripts into executables. Nevertheless, distributing these executables to users still seems to be a complicated installation process, which can be a barrier to entry for these users (Rossant, 2013). Since the Windows installer (alternatively known as Microsoft installer or MSI) enables regular Windows users to install and configure applications efficiently, we want to create an MSI installer from a Python application.SolutionWe can build an MSI installer from a Python application using Visual Studio 2022 (Microsoft, 2023) and WiX Toolset V3 (WiX, 2023). WiX (i.e., Windows Installer XML), an accessible, open-source XML markup, makes the Windows Installer technology simple (Shah, 2023). When using WiX to create an MSI, we can register the application with the “Programs and Features” tool. We can also provide users with installation instructions on wizard-style dialogs.The article describes the steps to create an MSI for a Python application. After obtaining the “WiX Toolset v3.11.2” from GitHub, we install the “WiX v3 – Visual Studio 2022 Extension” to build integration with WiX v3 in Visual Studio. We can get the extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace. We then create a simple WiX setup project for demonstration purposes, which installs several documents on a target machine. Next, we explore some WiX XML elements in the WiX source file.After successfully installing the MSI to a target machine, we improve on this simple project. We first add a user-friendly wizard. We then create shortcuts. Next, we use the heat.exe tool to harvest files. Furthermore, we show how to use the HeatDirectory to integrate the heat.exe tool into the WiX setup project.We use Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition to create WiX setup projects and build MSI files. The development environment is Windows 10

Learn how to install a SQL Server Management Studio add-in via the WiX toolkit in Visual Studio 2013 So now you've built a useful SQL Server Management Studio add-in from freely-available boilerplate code, tweaked it and tested it until it solves just the problem you were having, even configured it to compile for multiple versions of SSMS, and now you want to share it with the world. Just one problem -- the installers in the add-in examples relied on vdproj (Visual Studio Installer Project) files, which are no longer supported in Visual Studio 2012 or 2013. You could install the backwards-compatibility plug-in, but Microsoft has made clear that the .vdproj format is dead and the WiX Toolkit is its successor. This same process applies equally well to creating a WinForms or WPF application installer using WiX -- just skip anything referencing .Addin files and imagine the DLL files are EXEs instead. Afterwards, see the WiX documentation for how to create a start menu shortcut or uninstall shortcut, and check this post on Stack Overflow for two ways to create a desktop shortcut. Contents Install WiX Toolset Add a Setup Project Set Build Order Set Build Profile Basic Configuration Specify Files Supporting Both 32-Bit and 64-Bit Systems Requiring .NET 4.5 Select UI Type Custom End-User License Agreement Custom Completion Text Custom Images Even More Install WiX Toolset Head over to and download the latest version of the WiX Toolset. In this tutorial we'll be using WiX version 3.10. (Note: Version 3.9R2 is the latest stable release as of this writing, but version 3.10 or later is required to be able to enforce the presence of .NET 4.5 on the destination system. Also note that version 4.0 may introduce syntax changes, though the bulk of this tutorial will still apply. Development releases can be downloaded from the Weekly Releases page.) Launch the oh-so-stylish setup program and click on the Install tile in the middle. Add a Setup Project Open your solution in Visual Studio, then navigate to File->Add->New Project.... You should see a new project category in the list titled "Windows Installer XML". Click on that, then on Setup Project in the list of project types. Name your installer, then click OK. Visual Studio will work in the background a bit, then add the installer project to your Solution Explorer list and open up Product.wxs in the code editor. Set Build Order One step that is really important is to make sure that the installer project builds after all your other projects build. If the installer builds beforehand, it'll package up old code and spread confusion all around. To change the build order, open the Project menu and click on the Project

(same as the example above):%programfiles(x86)%\VersionSQL\VersionSQL11.dllFor 32-bit systems:%programfiles%\VersionSQL\VersionSQL11.dllNow there are two .AddIn files (for each version of SSMS), how does WiX know which to use? Turns out, you can tell it with a Condition: In the example above, I've named both the 64-bit and 32-bit versions of VersionSQL's .AddIn files the same and put them in separate subdirectories. I could have just as easily keep both in the same directory and named them VersionSQL64.Addin and VersionSQL32.Addin.Requiring .NET 4.5VersionSQL takes advantage of some of the new features in .NET 4.5, particularly async. To ensure that the user isn't greeted with an error dialog upon first run, the installer should detect if their system has the .NET 4.5 framework installed. WiX can handle this, with the WixNetFx extension. (Note: checking for .NET 4.5 requires WiX 3.10 or later)First, add a reference to the WixNetFxExtension DLL. Right-click on the installer project's References folder and select Add Reference...:Next browse to the WiX bin folder, C:\Program Files (x86)\WiX Toolset v3.10\bin by default, and add WixNetFxExtension.dll:Then, in Product.wxs, add this code below the MediaTemplate tag: Anyone attempting to run this version of the VersionSQL installer for SQL Server Management Studio 2012 and 2014 on a computer without the .NET 4.5 framework installed will be greeted with the following message:If your add-in uses a different version of the .NET other than 4.5, replace WIX_IS_NETFRAMEWORK_45_OR_LATER_INSTALLED with the appropriate keyword:NETFRAMEWORK11 NETFRAMEWORK20 NETFRAMEWORK30 NETFRAMEWORK35 NETFRAMEWORK40FULL NETFRAMEWORK40CLIENT WIX_IS_NETFRAMEWORK_40_OR_LATER_INSTALLED WIX_IS_NETFRAMEWORK_451_OR_LATER_INSTALLED WIX_IS_NETFRAMEWORK_452_OR_LATER_INSTALLED WIX_IS_NETFRAMEWORK_46_OR_LATER_INSTALLED Full listConceivably, these condition keywords could be used in the same way the VersionNT64 keyword was used in the previous section to install different DLLs depending on which version of the .NET framework is present, for maximum compatibility.Select UI TypeThe most basic installer that WiX generates by default installs everything as soon as it is run -- no prompting. That can be surprising to the user, since most applications guide them through the process even if it is short. WiX comes with a number of other dialog sets, and even supports custom XAML "bootstrapper" interfaces. For a basic SQL Server Management Studio add-in, a couple buttons and a progress bar will suffice.First, add a reference to the WixUIExtension DLL. Right-click on the installer project's References folder and select Add Reference...:Next browse to the WiX bin folder, C:\Program Files (x86)\WiX Toolset v3.10\bin by default, and add WixUIExtension.dll:Then, in Product.wxs, add this line below the MediaTemplate tag to reference the Minimal dialog set:This will add a welcome / license agreement page to the installer, making it a little more interactive.Custom End-User License AgreementRead through the default EULA; if it works for you, great! Otherwise, here's how to replace it.First, obtain agreement text for your desired license. Depending on your situation, this could be