Pinned taskbar icon turns to default icon after update using msi file created by WiX

Question

I have a program that is built using a WiX project. When the application is installed the first time, I am able to pin it to the taskbar just fine. When an update is installed, the application still works, but the icon in the taskbar turns into the default icon (the file icon), not my program's icon.

While I go into the pinned icon's shortcut properties and click "Change Icon", it gives an error message stating the path can't be found. The path to the icon looks something like this:

"%SystemRoot%\installer{LONG GUID HERE}\ICON.EXE"

That long guid will change with each update release (and by update, I mean changing from version 4.5.5 to 4.5.6). The GUID corresponds to the Product ID in my Product element of the schema, which will never be the same, and updating doesn't update the icon path for icons pinned to the taskbar.

How do I get the icon pinned to the taskbar to update with future updates? Also, How can I set the icon path to point to the location of my executable, which is how other programs like Firefox set their icons? Is this available in WiX?

What kind of update are you installing? A major upgrade? You can't just install another MSI with a different product code because it will be a different product, and both will be installed - that's not really an update, it's two separate products that share some common files. — PhilDW
– PhilDW, Commented Jun 7, 2016 at 21:03
The installer effectively minor upgrades the software on the PC and does not create a new instance of the software. Everything works fine, except the pinned taskbar icon has the icon path that corresponds to previous version of my software (which is the GUID last generated, since I'm doing Product ID="*" in my WiX installer). If I could hardcode the icon path for pinned icons in my WiX installer project to the executable file, all would be okay with me. — bladematthewslp
– bladematthewslp, Commented Jun 8, 2016 at 23:42

bladematthewslp · Accepted Answer · 2016-06-17 05:37:53Z

0

By the way, I was able to solve this issue by removing the Icon element in my Product.wxs file:

answered Jun 17, 2016 at 5:37

bladematthewslp

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1 Comment

Dai Over a year ago

I'm experiencing the same issue, but I find it hard to believe removing the <Icon /> element fixed this. Can you provide any more details?

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