WiX installer msi not installing the Winform app created with Visual Studio 2017

WiX Resources: A couple of links first:

• WiX quick start resources.

• Hello WiX C# Custom Actions.

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“Hello WiX” (transparent aluminum please)

I think what you need is the “Hello World” of WiX from CodeProject. This is quite old now, but still good at showing you the very basics of getting a working MSI compiled.

UPDATE: Below I have added a step-by-step description of how to compile an MSI from a fresh WiX 3 Visual Studio project.

Here is another answer from way back with some context information for what WiX really is: MSI vs nuget packages: which are is better for continuous delivery?. You will find the link to “hello world” here as well, but also several other links.

In summary: check the first link to get the “hello world” of WiX. Then update your source with a couple of test components and recompile. You should get hold of Orca (SDK tool) to be able to view the compiled MSI files. Since you have Visual Studio installed, try searching for Orca-x86_en-us.msi and install it (this is Microsoft’s own, official MSI viewer and editor). Then find Orca in the start menu. Technically Orca is installed as part of Windows SDK (not Visual Studio), but Windows SDK is bundled with the Visual Studio install. Once you have a compiled MSI file, just right click it and select Edit with Orca.

Some experience will be needed before such a file really makes sense. In essence it is a primitive MS SQL database stored in a COM structured storage file (OLE). Essentially a file system in a file with streams for different content (such as files, and datatables, etc…). Just think of it as a database with normal referential integrity and focus on the core tables such as File and Component at first.

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Minimal WiX MSI Compile – Step-By-Step

Let me try a step-by-step description of what you can do in a freshly made WiX 3 project to make it compile with a default WiX GUI. You can see these changes “merged” into a complete sample in the last section of the answer, but do read this step-by-step so it makes sense.

1. Create a new WiX3 project. You know how to do that, I won’t waste time with the details.

2. Set the Manufacturer attribute to your company name. Now set a new name of your choosing to the Name attribute. In this sample it is set to MinimalTester – use something else please.

3. Change <MediaTemplate /> to <MediaTemplate EmbedCab="yes" /> to use embedded cab files in the MSI. This way only the MSI is created and there is no additional, external CAB file.

4. Directly after the MediaTemplate element, add this: <UIRef Id="WixUI_Mondo" />. This will add a default WiX dialog set to your MSI so it has the basics of what is needed to be more generically useful. You can now run repair, and modify and you get a wizard for the original install along the lines of what most MSI files provide from Installshield or Advanced Installer or other professional tools. And crucially: your administrative installation will have a dialog where you can specify where files should be extracted to.

5. We will add our own License Agreement to the WiX setup (or else you will get an mumbling default one). Directly following <UIRef Id="WixUI_Mondo" /> add this element: <WixVariable Id="WixUILicenseRtf" Value="TestLicenseAgreement.rtf" />. Now create the file TestLicenseAgreement.rtf and place it in the same folder as your main WiX source file (quick way: in Visual Studio, right click project and “Open Folder in File Explorer”, now create the RTF file with right click => New => RTF file
   . And maybe open the RTF and enter some test text). Further customization of the dialogs (bitmaps and more).

6. The WiX dialog set is defined in a dll, we need to reference it. In your Visual Studio WiX project: Right click References => Add Reference... => Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\WiX Toolset v3.11\bin\. Double click WixUIExtension.dll and finally click OK.

7. Now add the absolute minimal component possible in WiX with an absolute path specified as source. This is to be sure you can compile the MSI. Afterwards you can make the path relative or a variable (just add this directly under the INSTALLFOLDER directory element for now):

  <Component Feature="ProductFeature">
    <File Source="C:\Users\someone\SourceControl\MyProject\CoreApp.exe" />
  </Component>

8. Finally right click the WiX project in your solution and select Build. And you can quickly test run the MSI by right clicking the WiX project and clicking Open Folder in File Explorer. Now double click on bin and then Debug (or Release if you switched to a release build – not sure what “default differences” are between the two configurations). You should see your own license agreement in the second dialog in the dialog sequence.

The later WiX versions have great defaults for attributes that are almost always set to “template values” or where two attributes essentially are redundant. Just leave them out of your source and let the WiX compiler add them with default values. Much less fuss.

As an example: The above element lacks a Component Id. During compilation it defaults to the Id of the File element it contains. The File element Id in turn, is also missing and will default to the file name specified by the Source attribute (which is a mandatory attribute).

Maybe look at this answer for a longer description and a concrete example towards the bottom: Syntax for guids in WIX? See how simple your WiX source files can be once you eliminate all the redundancy and duplication of certain attributes? Less text, less bugs.

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Sample Minimal WiX Source – Inline Comments

In the below sample the component has been moved into the default ComponentGroup – hence there is no need to specify what feature it belongs to (unlike above).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi">
  <!--CHANGE 0: Set Manufacturer attribute to something, you must also specify a full GUID for UpgradeCode -->
  <Product Id="*" Name="MinimalTester" Language="1033" Version="1.0.0.0" Manufacturer="My Company" UpgradeCode="PUT-GUID-HERE">
    <Package InstallerVersion="200" Compressed="yes" InstallScope="perMachine" />

    <MajorUpgrade DowngradeErrorMessage="A newer version of [ProductName] is already installed." />
    
    <!--Standard: <MediaTemplate />-->
    <!--CHANGE #1: Enable embedded cab files, so there is only one file generated, the MSI file -->
    <MediaTemplate EmbedCab="yes" /> 
    
    <!--CHANGE #2: Add the following elements to link one of the default WiX GUI sequences and show the specified license agreement. The RTF file must be created and placed next to your WiX source file -->
    <UIRef Id="WixUI_Mondo" /> 
    <WixVariable Id="WixUILicenseRtf" Value="TestLicenseAgreement.rtf" />        

    <!--CHANGE #3: Add WiX dll reference. In Visual Studio WiX project: Right click References => Add Reference... => Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\WiX Toolset v3.11\bin\. Double click WixUIExtension.dll. Click OK -->

    <Feature Id="ProductFeature" Title="MinimalTester" Level="1">
      <ComponentGroupRef Id="ProductComponents" />
    </Feature>
  </Product>

  <Fragment>
    <Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
      <Directory Id="ProgramFilesFolder">
        <Directory Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Name="MinimalTester" />
      </Directory>
    </Directory>
  </Fragment>

  <Fragment>
    <ComponentGroup Id="ProductComponents" Directory="INSTALLFOLDER">
      
      <!--CHANGE #4: Remove TODO elements, add the most basic component possible as illustrated below -->
      <Component>
        <File Source="C:\Users\someone\SourceControl\MyProject\CoreApp.exe" />
      </Component>

    </ComponentGroup>
  </Fragment>
</Wix>

Try to compile and test install. Should install to C:\Program Files (x86)\MinimalTester on a normal system.

Maybe see further links for WiX tutorials here: WIX Installer not displaying the custom image of WixUI Dialog correctly.