Start application after installation using WiX/Burn

bootstrapperburninstallationwixwix3.6

I'm aware of similar questions in WiX MSI, but I'm having issues starting an application within a bootstrapper EXE file created with Burn after the installation. My full bundle is below.

If it makes any difference to the scenario, the bootstrapper is started in passive mode, so the user shouldn't need to press anything.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi"
     xmlns:bal="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/BalExtension"
     xmlns:util="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/UtilExtension">

    <Bundle Name="My Company AutoUpdater"
            Version="1.0.11"
            Manufacturer="My Company"
            UpgradeCode="--GUID--">

        <BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.HyperlinkLicense">

            <bal:WixStandardBootstrapperApplication SuppressOptionsUI="yes"
                                                    LicenseUrl=""
                                                    LogoFile="logo.png" />
        </BootstrapperApplicationRef>

        <Chain>
            <MsiPackage SourceFile="..\App1\bin\Release\App1.msi" />
            <MsiPackage SourceFile="..\App2\bin\Release\App2.msi" />
        </Chain>
    </Bundle>

    <Fragment>
        <Property Id="WixShellExecTarget" 
                  Value="[#C:\Program Files (x86)\My Company\App1.exe]" />

        <Binary Id="MyCA"
                SourceFile="[#C:\Program Files (x86)\My Company\App1.exe]"/>

            <CustomAction Id="LaunchApplication"
                          BinaryKey="MyCA"
                          ExeCommand="-switch"
                          Execute="deferred"
                          Return="check"
                          HideTarget="no"
                          Impersonate="no" />

            <InstallExecuteSequence>
                <Custom Action="LaunchApplication" 
                        After="InstallFiles" />
            </InstallExecuteSequence>
    </Fragment>
</Wix>

Best Answer

You can add a variable to your Bundle called "LaunchTarget" with a path to the executable you want to run:

<Variable Name="LaunchTarget" Value="[InstallFolder]\path\to\file.exe"/>

After the install, the Setup Successful screen will display a "Launch" button that will start your app.

Related Solutions

Custom WiX Burn bootstrapper user interface

The key thing to know is that there is a BootstrapperCore.dll in the WiX binaries that defines a BootstrapperApplication class that handles the integration with the Burn engine. I needed to create my own derived class and override the 'Run' method to launch my custom UI.

It was also helpful to use the WixBA project that defines the UI for the WiX bootstrapper as a reference for using the BootstrapperApplication class (src\Setup\WixBA\WixBA.csproj).

The markup I used to reference my custom bootstrapper DLL file is:

<BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="ManagedBootstrapperApplicationHost" >
  <Payload SourceFile="$(var.InstallSourceResources)Bootstrapper\FusionInstallUX.dll"/>
  <Payload Id="FusionInstallUX.config"
           SourceFile="$(var.InstallSourceResources)Bootstrapper\FusionInstallUX.BootstrapperCore.config"
           Name="BootstrapperCore.config" Compressed="yes"/>
</BootstrapperApplicationRef>

The configuration file consists of:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
    <configSections>
        <sectionGroup
            name="wix.bootstrapper"
            type="Microsoft.Tools.WindowsInstallerXml.Bootstrapper.BootstrapperSectionGroup, BootstrapperCore">

            <section
                name="host"
                type="Microsoft.Tools.WindowsInstallerXml.Bootstrapper.HostSection, BootstrapperCore" />
        </sectionGroup>
    </configSections>

    <startup useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true">
        <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" />
    </startup>

    <wix.bootstrapper>
        <host assemblyName="FusionInstallUX">
            <supportedFramework version="v4\Full" />
            <supportedFramework version="v4\Client" />
        </host>
    </wix.bootstrapper>
</configuration>

I also followed other examples and appended

[assembly: BootstrapperApplication(typeof([name of class deriving from BootstrapperApplication]))]

to the AssemblyInfo.cs file.

And lastly, Stack Overflow question Specify the INSTALLLOCATION of packages in WiX inside the Burn managed bootstrapper describes how to set and use Burn variables to help drive the installation.

Armed with this information I am now prepared to wreak havoc on the world with my very own custom Bootstrapper application!

WiX Burn custom UI

If you look at the source code for the WixBA, they declare a global Threading.Dispatcher, and then in the overridden Run() method, there is the following line:

Threading.Dispatcher.Run();

I had similar issues, and similarly adding the Threading.Dispatcher to my bootstrapper application fixed them.

Also, if your Bootstrapper Application depends on any other dlls, you need to include them as a <Payload/> under your <BootstrapperApplicationRef/>.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Custom WiX Burn bootstrapper user interface

WiX Burn custom UI

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