Wix installer

ProblemPython is one of the most popular programming languages and opens the door to solving many business problems. However, some end users may have difficulty running Python scripts (Marin, 2021). For example, business users who use the Windows operating system may not have Python installed or know how to run Python scripts from a command prompt. Some tools like “PyInstaller” and “Auto PY to EXE” can convert Python scripts into executables. Nevertheless, distributing these executables to users still seems to be a complicated installation process, which can be a barrier to entry for these users (Rossant, 2013). Since the Windows installer (alternatively known as Microsoft installer or MSI) enables regular Windows users to install and configure applications efficiently, we want to create an MSI installer from a Python application.SolutionWe can build an MSI installer from a Python application using Visual Studio 2022 (Microsoft, 2023) and WiX Toolset V3 (WiX, 2023). WiX (i.e., Windows Installer XML), an accessible, open-source XML markup, makes the Windows Installer technology simple (Shah, 2023). When using WiX to create an MSI, we can register the application with the “Programs and Features” tool. We can also provide users with installation instructions on wizard-style dialogs.The article describes the steps to create an MSI for a Python application. After obtaining the “WiX Toolset v3.11.2” from GitHub, we install the “WiX v3 – Visual Studio 2022 Extension” to build integration with WiX v3 in Visual Studio. We can get the extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace. We then create a simple WiX setup project for demonstration purposes, which installs several documents on a target machine. Next, we explore some WiX XML elements in the WiX source file.After successfully installing the MSI to a target machine, we improve on this simple project. We first add a user-friendly wizard. We then create shortcuts. Next, we use the heat.exe tool to harvest files. Furthermore, we show how to use the HeatDirectory to integrate the heat.exe tool into the WiX setup project.We use Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition to create WiX setup projects and build MSI files. The development environment is Windows 10

Pro 10.0 . When creating WiX elements, we used the Online GUID/UUID Generator( to generate GUIDs. After building an MSI, we installed the installer on Windows 10 home .Click here to download the complete source code.1 – Creating a Simple MSIWe produce a simple MSI to demonstrate creating and building a WiX setup project in Visual Studio 2022. First, we make up an application containing seven PDF files, three in a subfolder. Figure 1 illustrates the application folder structure. The MSI should be able to install these files to a target machine. The folder on the target machine should have the same structure as the one shown in this figure. Figure 1 The Application Folder Structure1.1 Setting Up the Development EnvironmentWhen landing on the web page we can find installers for WiX Toolset build tools (WiX v3.11.2) and the WiX v3 – Visual Studio 2022 Extension, as shown in Figure 2. If the development environment does not have these WiX tools installed, we should download and install these packages. Figure 2 The Web Page for Downloading the WiX ToolsThe tool “Orca.exe” is a database table editor for creating and editing Windows Installer packages. This tool is found in the Windows SDK Components for Windows Installer Developers, available at After installing the Windows SDK, we locate the installer at “C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\bin\10.0.22000.0\x86\Orca-x86_en-us.msi” in our development environment. Next, we double-click the MSI file to install Orca.exe. After the successful installation, we can see the “Edit with Orca” in the context menu, as shown in Figure 3, when right-clicking any MSI file. Figure 3 The “Edit with Orca” Menu Item in the Context Menu1.2 Creating a Setup Project for WiX v3We place all source documents into the “C:\temp” folder. We want to pack all documents in the “C:\temp\MSSQLTips.com” folder into an MSI file. First, open Visual Studio 2022 and select “Create a new project” in the startup screen. Next, select the “Setup Project for WiX v3” template from the project template list. We name the project “MSSQLTips_Document” and click on the “Create” button to create the project. This procedure creates a WiX

Learn how to install a SQL Server Management Studio add-in via the WiX toolkit in Visual Studio 2013 So now you've built a useful SQL Server Management Studio add-in from freely-available boilerplate code, tweaked it and tested it until it solves just the problem you were having, even configured it to compile for multiple versions of SSMS, and now you want to share it with the world. Just one problem -- the installers in the add-in examples relied on vdproj (Visual Studio Installer Project) files, which are no longer supported in Visual Studio 2012 or 2013. You could install the backwards-compatibility plug-in, but Microsoft has made clear that the .vdproj format is dead and the WiX Toolkit is its successor. This same process applies equally well to creating a WinForms or WPF application installer using WiX -- just skip anything referencing .Addin files and imagine the DLL files are EXEs instead. Afterwards, see the WiX documentation for how to create a start menu shortcut or uninstall shortcut, and check this post on Stack Overflow for two ways to create a desktop shortcut. Contents Install WiX Toolset Add a Setup Project Set Build Order Set Build Profile Basic Configuration Specify Files Supporting Both 32-Bit and 64-Bit Systems Requiring .NET 4.5 Select UI Type Custom End-User License Agreement Custom Completion Text Custom Images Even More Install WiX Toolset Head over to and download the latest version of the WiX Toolset. In this tutorial we'll be using WiX version 3.10. (Note: Version 3.9R2 is the latest stable release as of this writing, but version 3.10 or later is required to be able to enforce the presence of .NET 4.5 on the destination system. Also note that version 4.0 may introduce syntax changes, though the bulk of this tutorial will still apply. Development releases can be downloaded from the Weekly Releases page.) Launch the oh-so-stylish setup program and click on the Install tile in the middle. Add a Setup Project Open your solution in Visual Studio, then navigate to File->Add->New Project.... You should see a new project category in the list titled "Windows Installer XML". Click on that, then on Setup Project in the list of project types. Name your installer, then click OK. Visual Studio will work in the background a bit, then add the installer project to your Solution Explorer list and open up Product.wxs in the code editor. Set Build Order One step that is really important is to make sure that the installer project builds after all your other projects build. If the installer builds beforehand, it'll package up old code and spread confusion all around. To change the build order, open the Project menu and click on the Project