How can I add an optional UI to WiX toolset

Question

I have already made a quiet installer (without the need to click any buttons but some progress bar is shown while installation is in progress) for a project deployment. This time I wish to add an optional graphical user interface.

By default, the installer should just run without clicking anything, when a parameter is given, let's say, the msiexec parameter: /qf, the installer would pop up an interface that can be interacted with.

I've already added the required UI dll to the project reference, but given msiexec /i C:\Setup.msi /qf, it doesn't work. How can I get it to work?

Answer 1

Just modify the WixUI_Minimal.wxs file:

• How to build a minimal WiX installer UI without a license page?
• WiX toolset WixUI_Minimal Dialog Set
• Customised UI's for WiX

Then use properties to condition the dialogs to show or hide as you launch the MSI via msiexec.exe.

Answer 2

Did you try the procedure described in this well known Wix tutorial?

At its simplest level, this means that you essentially just add this to the Wix source file and you get a default GUI:

<UIRef Id="WixUI_Minimal" />

You can also try the other "defaults":

• WixUI_Mondo (normal)
• WixUI_FeatureTree
• WixUI_InstallDir
• WixUI_Advanced

A search turned up a similar answer, and one talking about extending the default gui.