Wix installer custom action works with msiexec /i MyProgramm.msi /l*v thelog.txt but not with normal msi execution

Question

I wrote a simple function to test custom actions. I simply unzip a file to the directory.

The custom action is executed correct if I execute the msi with

msiexec /i MyProgramm.msi /l*v thelog.txt

But if I simply execute the msi with double click to install, the custom action is not executed

<Binary Id="CustomActions" SourceFile="$(var.CustomAction1.TargetDir)\$(var.CustomAction1.TargetName).CA.dll" />

        <CustomAction Id="UnzipFiles" BinaryKey="CustomActions" DllEntry="CustomAction1" Execute='immediate' Impersonate='no' Return="check"/>

        <InstallExecuteSequence>
            <Custom Action="UnzipFiles" After="InstallFinalize"></Custom>
        </InstallExecuteSequence>

This is using WiX 3.

Answer 1

Launch Condition : It is common to use a launch condition to check for admin rights when invoking an MSI installation:

<Condition Message="Administrator rights are required to install [ProductName].">
  <![CDATA[Privileged]]>
</Condition>

After injecting the above in your WiX source, you can test by invoking the install from a non-privileged cmd.exe window or by launching the MSI interactively whilst logged in as a standard user.

Silent Installation : For a properly silent installation there will be no interactive error message, but the condition message will show up in the MSI log file and the system's event log.

Invoke silent installation:

msiexec.exe /i MySetup.msi /qn

Custom Actions : Custom actions are known to cause all kinds of deployment problems. Here is a long tirade on the subject: Why is it a good idea to limit the use of custom actions in my WiX / MSI setups?

---

Limited User Setups : A digression. It is possible to make an MSI that can install for a user without admin rights. This is not recommended, but possible if you adhere to a number of restrictions within the package. Here is a sample: https://github.com/glytzhkof/WiXPerUserSample (not extensively tested). Notice the Package element and the two attributes: InstallScope and InstallPrivileges .

• Why does installer fail after removing elevated privilege requirement?
• How can I create a windows installer MSI that does not require admin access using setup project?

Answer 2

Ok I had following problem.

I opened my command line as administrator.

So if I executed

msiexec /i MyProgramm.msi /l*v thelog.txt

I had more rights.

By opening up the command line normal, the log file showed me my problems with my action

Execute='deferred' Impersonate='no'