I'm creating an installer for a Windows desktop app, which has a dependency on another product that requires .NET 3.5
When installing this on Windows 10, .NET 3.5 is included and has to be enabled in Add/Remove Windows Features. I don't think it is valid to install a downloadable version of .NET 3.5 on Windows 10 (correct me if I'm wrong!).
So, is there a way to get WiX to enable the .NET 3.5 "feature" rather than downloading and installing it?
Not sure whether this is the correct way but you can try a custom action with the following command
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3
You can get a list of all available features by dism /online /get-features if you want to try other windows features.
WiX Samples: Some potentially helpful links in general:
- WiX Quick Start Suggestions (with sample links).
- https://helgeklein.com/blog/2014/09/real-world-example-wix-msi-application-installer/
Alternative Tools: Maybe keep in mind that commercial tools have features that are easier to use to get your product out there quickly. WiX is great though.
Prerequisites: I would suggest you add a LaunchCondition to the package to abort installation if the .NET framework is not there. You can bundle the .NET framework with your application, but I really do not recommend that: Outdated prerequisites in packages.
LaunchCondition: The concept of LaunchConditions checks for a certain condition to be true before installation is allowed to continue:
Quick, inline sample:
<Condition Message="The .NET Framework 2.0 must be installed">
Installed OR NETFRAMEWORK20
</Condition>
WiX and .NET Framework: Some built-in measures to detect the .NET framwork.
Link:
