Version in MSI filename
Strangely, the properties of MSI files don't show what product version they're for, which is a nice thing to be able to see at a glance. It's also a nice thing to not have to make a new directory for each archived installer of a product. In short, let's have Wix rename its output files to include the product version.
This tip can be nicely combined with Installer version = file version, version in product name. There's other methods out there, but this one's simple and doesn't involve editing the .wixproj file.
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Download the script and put it in a directory somewhere in your solution, for this example I'll put it in a 'Scripts' subdirectory.
The script consists of a .bat and .vbs file. The .bat file takes an MSI file as its command-line parameter, calls the .vbs file to query that MSI's database for the version number, and then renames the file. It renames using themovecommand to be able to force overwrites. -
First, set the proper output name in the Wix project options; I like to use the 'Install [name]' format:
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Next, add the rename script to the post-build options:
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Done! The build output will now say
1> "E:\SetupProject1\\scripts\renamemsi.bat" "E:\SetupProject1\SetupProject1\bin\Release\Install MyProduct.msi" 1> Renaming to "E:\SetupProject1\SetupProject1\bin\Release\Install MyProduct 1.0.0.0.msi" 1> 1 file(s) moved.
And in the output directory:
Modified: Jan 21 2012