InstallShield到WIX

Question

I have an .MSI that was created using InstallShield 2008. and now I need to use WIX to create a patch. Is this possible using WIX directly or do I need to convert my Installshield .ism source to a WIX project

Answer 1

You can create patches using the WiX toolset as long as you have the base MSI and the updated MSI. See http://blogs.msdn.com/pmarcu/archive/2008/05/30/Patching-something-you-didnt-build-with-WiX-using-WiX-.aspx for more information.

Answer 2

Provided your Installshield MSI is a standard MSI and not an MSI with custom dialog boxes (generally referred to as an Installscript MSI), it should be possible to create the update with WIX. That's not to say this will be easy. You would need to match up all component GUIDs and preferably keep the directory table structure identical among other things. Could be serious trouble.

If you still want to try this I would decompile the Installshield MSI with dark.exe, eliminate unnecessary sections such as the Installshield GUI dialogs (unless you have custom logic in your dialogs) and in general try to simplify things as much as possible. Wix has ways to insert the necessary "default elements" of an MSI (such as the GUI) if you omit code for it in your WIX source file and include defaults.

All in all I wouldn't recommend this unless you have prior WIX and Installshield experience. I have both, and I think it would take me a fair time to complete this successfully, but it all depends on the complexity of the setup itself.