[wix-users] Simple exe wrapper for msi

[Don Caton]

The point of this exercise is to get rid of the 10 year old version of
InstallShield once and for all.

Also, I needed to add a checkbox to the Verify Ready dialog, a
straightforward process with a bit of XML. If I use burn, I don't see that
checkbox in its UI, so I have to set DisplayInternalUI="yes", and I end up
with a pointless UI from burn that just invokes the UI in the msi.

In order to eliminate the superfluous UI I'd have to figure out how to add
that checkbox to the burn UI (with no documentation to help) and in the end
I'd end up with a UI in burn equivalent to the UI I already customized in
the msi with relative ease. A lot of work with no real benefit, far as I
can see.

Now if burn's UI could be declared via XML (as opposed to just "theming"
the hard-coded definition) then that would be a different story.

I really don't see that this is a unusual scenario.  Not every install
needs a complex bootstrapper, prerequisites or a complex, custom UI.


On Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 3:47 PM Hoover, Jacob <Jacob.Hoover at greenheck.com>
wrote:

> Could use a WiX built MSI with the ancient InstallShield Exe packager?
>
> Expecting WiX to fill that void is a bit strange, we don't see a need for
> it so we haven't developed it.  If you think there is value in doing so,
> write a WIP and contribute to the toolset, but I honestly don't know if a
> feature like that would make it in.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wix-users [mailto:wix-users-bounces at lists.wixtoolset.org] On Behalf
> Of Don Caton
> Sent: Monday, July 31, 2017 2:42 PM
> To: WiX Toolset Users Mailing List <wix-users at lists.wixtoolset.org>
> Subject: Re: [wix-users] Simple exe wrapper for msi
>
> The point of Wix is to replace a 10 year old version of InstallShield with
> something better to build the product installer.  InstallShield could
> create a raw msi or an exe that contained the msi and which called msiexec
> with the appropriate parameters.  Both msi and exe variants are required
> for different customers.
>
> Yes, I know there are other ways of running msiexec.  Doesn't matter;
> that's what the powers that be want.  Resistance is futile.
>
> On Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 3:21 PM <robert_yang at agilent.com> wrote:
>
> > "what I want (1. extract the msi to a temp folder, 2. run msiexec, 3.
> > delete temp folder)."
> >
> >
> > Sorry, the point of using Wix for that exercise is lost on me.  You
> > could easily write a batch file to do the above tasks.
> >
> > Running msiexec is something that would happen if the user
> > double-clicked on the MSI, or right-clicked on it and selected
> > "Install".  I'm not clear on why an EXE wrapper which adds no effective
> value is needed.
> >
> > -Rob
> >
> >
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