WiX Toolset: File extensions registering asking for feature install on different user

Question

I am having trouble with my WiX installation in that I am registering a file extension but because you have to tie every component to a feature, I can't get the feature to install to "All Users"?

Specifically what is happening is I install the MSI under an admin account. The MSI is not located in a shared location that is accessible by all users. The extension appears to register for the other users however when other users click on the file (with the newly registered extension) to open it, it tries to look for the original MSI first to install a feature. If the MSI is found it will open the installed application like normal, otherwise it errors. For the admin account that installed the MSI, it does not ask to install the feature from the MSI (even if I delete the MSI before clicking on a file with that extension)

I have set the installlevel of all the features to "1" and set the TypicalDefault to "install" and InstallDefault to "local". The package is also set to install at the machine level.

Is there something else that needs to be set?

Christopher Painter · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-23 13:35:06Z

1

See if this helps: Troubleshooting unwanted self-repairs using the Event Viewer

Basically you need to understand why the repair is happening (which component key path ) and then remediate it. Alternatively you could wrap your MSI with a EXE (WiX Burn) and cache the MSI in a location that users can access if the repair is truly needed.

answered Jun 23, 2014 at 13:35

Christopher Painter

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copystart Over a year ago

This seemed to be the problem, thanks! The real issue of why it was not recognizing the keyPath to the file is still a mystery (as the shortcuts to the application file worked) but I changed the keyPath to a registry value for the extensions and that seemed to do the trick.

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