wix
I'm using WiX to create an installer, and in order to uninstall my application from the command line (using MsiExec.exe /X{...}) I need to know the ProductCode for my .msi file.
When I install my application, I can see that the ProductCode is listed in the installation log file. However, the GUID shown does not feature anywhere in my WiX files. It also seems to change between builds of my installer.
Can I specify the ProductCode somewhere in my WiX .wsx file? If so, where?
Use RemoveFile element with On="uninstall". Here's an example:
<Directory Id="CommonAppDataFolder" Name="CommonAppDataFolder">
<Directory Id="MyAppFolder" Name="My">
<Component Id="MyAppFolder" Guid="*">
<CreateFolder />
<RemoveFile Id="PurgeAppFolder" Name="*.*" On="uninstall" />
</Component>
</Directory>
</Directory>
Update
It didn't work 100%. It removed the files, however none of the additional directories - the ones created after the installation - were removed. Any thoughts on that? – pribeiro
Unfortunately Windows Installer doesn't support deleting directories with subdirectories. In this case you have to resort to custom action. Or, if you know what subfolders are, create a bunch of RemoveFolder and RemoveFile elements.
EDIT: Perhaps look at the answer currently immediately below.
This topic has been a headache for long time. I finally figured it out. There are some solutions online, but none of them really works. And of course there is no documentation. So in the chart below there are several properties that are suggested to use and the values they have for various installation scenarios:
So in my case I wanted a CA that will run only on uninstalls - not upgrades, not repairs or modifies. According to the table above I had to use
<Custom Action='CA_ID' Before='other_CA_ID'>
(NOT UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE) AND (REMOVE="ALL")</Custom>
And it worked!
Best Answer
The product code is the Id of the Product element.
Specifying a guid
Specifying a '*' makes the GUID auto generate every time
Or you can store the product code as a variable in a config.wxi file and reference it like so