I am still looking for a solution or at least some guidance, even though I agree that this is outside of normal good practices. – jJack 1 hour ago I don’t have access to my deployment tools, but I will try to provide a perspective. Since I don’t fully grasp all aspects of what you … Read more
To create a shortcut to the application, give the shortCutName and shortcutDir options to the Executable. The shortcutDir can name any of the System Folder Properties (thanks Aaron). For example: from cx_Freeze import * setup( executables = [ Executable( “MyApp.py”, shortcutName=”DTI Playlist”, shortcutDir=”DesktopFolder”, ) ] ) You can also add items to the MSI Shortcut … Read more
MSI Customization: Customization of MSI files for installation is a built-in feature of the technology. there are two primary ways to customize the installation: Light Weight: You can set PUBLIC properties on the command line as a light weight form of customization, sample here and here, or… msiexec.exe /i setup.msi ADDLOCAL=”Core,Spell” SERIALKEY=”1234-1234″ /qn Heavy Weight: … Read more
It’s not just a Visual Studio problem. Windows Installer doesn’t allow the installation context (user/machine) to change durin an upgrade. You have to perform logon as the user profile(s) that did the installation(s) and remove them before installing the new per-machine install.
UPDATE: Deployment Technolgies & Windows Installer Benefits (just a cross-reference). ClickOnce: I am not aware of any standard Microsoft features to auto-update MSI installations. The alternative (and pretty much obsolete) deployment technology ClickOnce had some auto-update functionality. I never used this technology for much of anything. I think PhilDW has used it though. MSI SDK: … Read more
Old Classic: Virtualize, seriously. Package Code: A package code must be unique per MSI file. “I want to install multiple instances of a software. I have multiple msi of different versions. However, the Package Code of those msi are the same.“ This is an error. A package code is a unique identifier for an MSI … Read more
To replicate this update behavior you need two things: An updater application which checks for updates regularly. If an update is found it should install it automatically. Most commercial setup authoring tools include good updater applications. You can try writing an updater yourself, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Per-user installations for each … Read more
Maybe check this first: Installshield Custom Dialogue Installer It seems you can submit files for malware analysis by Microsoft now. Try it out – it seems this yields “trust” – though I am unsure of any costs involved. UPDATE: Also check this answer: How to avoid the “Windows Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from … Read more
One Line Logging How-to: Install Your.msi and create a verbose log file. More below. msiexec.exe /i C:\Path\Your.msi /L*v C:\Your.log From the MSI SDK: “You can enable verbose logging on the user’s computer by using Command Line Options, the MsiLogging property, Logging policy, MsiEnableLog, and EnableLog method“. Short Answer: So add the property MsiLogging property to … Read more