Wix msi

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

Input/confirmation during installation, e.g. pressing the “Next” button.--helpNoDisplays the help text.--ISOLinkNoURL to a Drive Eraser image.--languageYesThe language to be used in the generated MSI installer.--launchPreInstallNoRun PreInstall once the MSI installation completes.--preInstallDirNoThe root directory of the PreInstall package. This argument is only necessary when running the PreInstallPackageGenerator.exe from anywhere else other than the PreInstall package root directory (where the PreInstallPackageGenerator.exe is located by default).--restoreBootOrderNoRestore the boot order (i.e. undo any boot changes done by previous PreInstall runs).--wixDirYesThe location of the Wix installation.Example use cases:Use caseCommandManually install PreInstall without running itPreInstallPackageGenerator.exe --architecture win32 --language en --wixDir "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\WixEdit\\wix-3.0.5419.0"Automatically install PreInstall PreInstallPackageGenerator.exe --architecture win32 --autoXML --language en --wixDir "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\WixEdit\\wix-3.0.5419.0"Automatically run and install PreInstall PreInstallPackageGenerator.exe --architecture win32 --autoXML --language en --wixDir "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\WixEdit\\wix-3.0.5419.0" --launchPreInstall --additionalArguments "--extract_wireless_settings --force --reboot "Note: Running a 64 bit version of PreInstall from an MSI package isn’t currently supported.Note: Multiple runs of the PreInstallPackageGenerator.exe in the same PreInstall package is not supported. To generate another MSI package, take the original unmodified PreInstall package and generate the new MSI package in there. Don’t run PreInstallPackageGenerator.exe multiple times in the same PreInstall package.

.wsx file and built a simple MSI.Next, we added a user interface wizard to the MSI so that users could change the install path. We also used the MSI to create shortcuts for easy access. Then, the article introduced the heat.exe tool that could harvest files in a folder. Finally, we could use the HeatDirectory task to automate the build process.After exploring all these basics to generate an MSI, we created a folder with an executable and all Python dependencies. Then, we harvested files from the folder to generate a .wxs file and added this file to a WiX setup project. Next, we built the project to create an installer that copies this folder to the users' machines, along with shortcuts to run the application. Finally, we could install the MSI to a Windows operating system.ReferenceBatchelor, D., Sharkey, K., Coulter, D. & Satran, M. (2021). Property Reference. P. F. (1995). Mythical Man-Month, The: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.Firegiant. (2023). HeatDirectory Task. A. (2021). How to Create an MSI for a Python Application. R. (2013). The auto-guid Component/@Guid are safe. (2023). Create the future with Visual Studio 2022. N. (2012). WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML. Birmingham, UK: Packt Publishing.Rossant, C. (2013). Create a standalone Windows installer for your Python application. V. (2023). What is a WiX toolset. Toolset. (2023). The Most Powerful Set of Tools Available to Create Your Windows Installation Experience. N. (2023). Creating a Python Graphical User Interface Application with Tkinter. StepsThe article covered the basics of using the WiX toolset to create an MSI file for a Python application. The WiX toolset is one of the most powerful and promising toolsets to create Windows installers. We can customize dialogs, define custom actions, select installed features, build package bundles, and roll back the installation. In addition, we can use the WiX toolset to create installers for windows services, MS SQL server databases, and IIS websites. Some other free software products, such as Inno Setup, are also available for creating Windows installers. They have many excellent features, including desktop and start menu

We create a WiX setup project to wrap all contents in the “C:\temp\MSSQLTips_GUI_app” folder to an MSI file.We can use the WiX project created in Section 2.4, but we need to make some modifications. First, we change the folder names: Next, we change some attributes of the two Shortcut elements, as shown in the following code snippet. We must also add the following preprocessor variable to the project Properties page. Figure 11 illustrates the interface in which we configure this setting.ApplicationSourcePath=C:\temp\MSSQLTips_GUI_appThen, we change the Directory attribute of the HeatDirectory element in the last block of the project file. The Directory points to a folder location where we harvest files. We build the project to create an MSI file. Then, we can install the MSI on a machine without Python installed and run the Python application. This advantage allows us to distribute Python applications to various Windows users. It is a pleasure to make things applicable to others (Brooks, 1995). In addition, the build process updated the “MSSQLTipsDoc.wxs” file. Because the application has 1,656 Files and 86 Folders, the generated .wxs file is large. Finally, it is worth noting that we set the AutogenerateGuids attribute to True. The author of the WiX toolset, Rob Mensching, noted that the auto-GUID Components are safe (Mensching, 2013).SummaryPython developers may have a challenge in sharing their applications with non-technical users. Even though these users have a Windows operating system, their settings vary. Moreover, they may not get used to running an application through a command-line interface. Instead, we can create an MSI file that contains an executable and all the necessary modules. We then can give the MSI to users to install. Eventually, they can run a Python application with a shortcut in the start menu or desktop. This article explored how to create an MSI installer for a Python application.We started with a simple WiX setup project that built an MSI file to install several documents to a target machine. First, we briefly covered some WiX elements, such as Product, Package, Directory, File, Component, and ComponentGroup. Then, we used these elements to compose a