Trigger self healing/Active Setup
Hi,
I´m going to create a MSI that creates 2 folders under [AppDataFolder] and copy a bunch of files under the last folder in the hierarcy.
My problem is that only the one installing the msi gets the folder and files copied. Since there are no shortcut to any program I thought I should try Active Setup. But the users in the near future in my company are going to be local users and not local administrators. Will Active Setup work then? To trigger a repair of the msi?
IF it will work there is still a problem, because I cant get the package to repair/self heal the files to the current user. So there must be something wrong with the package.
I use Install Shield 2010 and simply create the folder structure in the GUI of Install Shield and answer "yes" if I want to create a component. Then I put the files in the folder structure and put a keypath on one of the files. Something I´m missing?
Cheers
Agathorn
I´m going to create a MSI that creates 2 folders under [AppDataFolder] and copy a bunch of files under the last folder in the hierarcy.
My problem is that only the one installing the msi gets the folder and files copied. Since there are no shortcut to any program I thought I should try Active Setup. But the users in the near future in my company are going to be local users and not local administrators. Will Active Setup work then? To trigger a repair of the msi?
IF it will work there is still a problem, because I cant get the package to repair/self heal the files to the current user. So there must be something wrong with the package.
I use Install Shield 2010 and simply create the folder structure in the GUI of Install Shield and answer "yes" if I want to create a component. Then I put the files in the folder structure and put a keypath on one of the files. Something I´m missing?
Cheers
Agathorn
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Answers (8)
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Posted by:
anonymous_9363
13 years ago
- Current user files and/or registry settings which are installed by Active Setup CANNOT be self-healed.
- Active Setup will work for ANY user - vanilla or admin - who logs on to the system.
Take a look at John McFadyen's Windows Live blog on self-healing.
- Active Setup will work for ANY user - vanilla or admin - who logs on to the system.
Take a look at John McFadyen's Windows Live blog on self-healing.
Posted by:
stabish
13 years ago
You would need to stage those files first & then create an ActiveSetup to call a batch file or a vbscript to copy the folder in Users Appdata.
Posted by:
pjgeutjens
13 years ago
Since there are no shortcut to any program I thought I should try Active Setup. But the users in the near future in my company are going to be local users and not local administrators. Will Active Setup work then? To trigger a repair of the msi?
David,
first of all, for robust propagation of user settings, in my opinion self-healing triggered by advertisement is a much better option than Active Setup if it's an option for you. self-healing being an integral part of Windows Installer tech, Active Setup to me is Microsoft's Poor Man's Alternative.
you should keep in mind that advertised shortcuts are not the only way to trigger self-healing in an MSI. You can also advertise COM registration of DLLs and exe files, program associations and extensions. That being said, this is not something I have yet played with extensively, trying to actively trigger a self-heal that would take care of user settings, stemming from a non-shortcut advertisement. Key tables in this respect that come to mind for me are Class, Extension and ProgID, but might not be limited to this.
I hope some of the others here can input, and I for one will follow this topic, to learn [;)]
PJ
Posted by:
anonymous_9363
13 years ago
There's only one table you missed, Pieter - the Mime table. The rest of what you say is spot on.
Posted by:
Agathorn
13 years ago
I thought Active Setup was designed for self healing of user specific files etc that was hard to get into place because lack of advertised shortcuts just like in my case.
What do you use Active Setup for then?
What do you use Active Setup for then?
Posted by:
pjgeutjens
13 years ago
David,
there are many environments where self-healing is not possible, like Citrix or like the one I'm working in at the moment for example. We use a custom system for managing user shortcuts, and it doesn't do well with advertised shortcuts. In those cases Active Setup is an alternative. It can indeed perform the same task, but is much more limited than MSI self-healing, which guards your entire application's integrity, not just your user specific files and settings.
there are many environments where self-healing is not possible, like Citrix or like the one I'm working in at the moment for example. We use a custom system for managing user shortcuts, and it doesn't do well with advertised shortcuts. In those cases Active Setup is an alternative. It can indeed perform the same task, but is much more limited than MSI self-healing, which guards your entire application's integrity, not just your user specific files and settings.
Posted by:
anonymous_9363
13 years ago
Maybe this is a question of semantics, in that the user profile stuff is "kind of" self-healed but only once, when the user logs in. Self-healing, in fact, means that if a key path is missing, the Windows Installer engine will heal the feature containing the missing key path. If your user removes stuff which has been installed via AS, the engine - having had no involovement in the install - doesn't heal.
Posted by:
Colbey
13 years ago
Active setup could be used to trigger a repair of your msi once for each user as they logon. The repair will run with elevated rights. This would allow your msi to create the files and folder structures for each user on the machine when they logon, but you would not get the usual benefits of advertisement and self healing triggered by use of an advertised shortcut each time the application is launched.
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