Setting the 'AllUsers' option on Wix installer does not work

Question

I am using a WiX to install a service on test machine. But when I do that only the user who installed it on the machine is able to see in the 'Add/Remove Programs' control panel option. But I want to make it visible for every user on the machine.

I did some research and realized that I am not setting the AllUSERS property while creating the installer in the .wxs file.

So I updated my script with this line <Property Id="AllUSERS" Value="1"/> and created the installer. But still only the user who installed can see it in the Control Panel.

Here is my script to create the installer.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>

<Wix xmlns='http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi'>

<Product Name='Importer Service' Id='PUT-GUID-HERE' UpgradeCode='PUT-GUID-HERE'
Language='1033' Codepage='1252' Version='$(var.version)' Manufacturer='Test'>

<Package Id='*' Keywords='Installer' Description="Imports data"
   Manufacturer='Test' InstallerVersion='100' Languages='1033' Compressed='yes'
   SummaryCodepage='1252' />

 <Media Id='1' Cabinet='ImporterWebService.cab' EmbedCab='yes' 
        DiskPrompt="CD-ROM #1" />
<Property Id='DiskPrompt' Value="Importer Web Service 1.0 Installation [1]" />

<Property Id="WIXUI_INSTALLDIR" Value="INSTALLDIR" />
<Property Id="AllUSERS" Value="1"/>

<Directory Id='TARGETDIR' Name='SourceDir'>

  <Directory Id='ProgramFilesFolder' Name='PFiles'>
    <Directory Id='Test' Name='Test1'>
      <Directory Id='INSTALLDIR' Name='Importer Service'>

        <Component Id='MainExecutable' Guid='*'>
          <File Id='ImporterWindowsServiceEXE' 
                Name='Importer.WindowsService.exe' DiskId='1' 
                Source='Importer.WindowsService.exe' KeyPath='yes'>
          </File>

      <ServiceInstall
          Id="ImporterServiceInstaller"
          Type="ownProcess"
          Vital="yes"
          Name="Importer Service"
          DisplayName="Importer Service"
          Description="Imports data."
          Start="demand"
          Account="LocalSystem"
          ErrorControl="ignore"
          Interactive="no">
     </ServiceInstall>

        <ServiceControl Id="StartService" Stop="both" Remove="uninstall" 
                        Name="Importer Service" Wait="yes" />
        </Component>

        <Component Id='FileHelpersLibrary' Guid='*'>
          <File Id='FileHelpersDLL' Name='FileHelpers.dll' DiskId='1' 
                Source='FileHelpers.dll' KeyPath='yes' />
        </Component>           

        <Component Id='CodeSmithDataLibrary' Guid='*'>
          <File Id='CodeSmithDataDLL' Name='CodeSmith.Data.dll' DiskId='1' 
                Source='CodeSmith.Data.dll' KeyPath='yes' />
        </Component>          

      </Directory>
    </Directory>
  </Directory>

  <Directory Id="ProgramMenuFolder" Name="Programs">
    <Directory Id="ProgramMenuDir" Name="Importer Service">
      <Component Id="ProgramMenuDir" Guid="*">
        <RemoveFolder Id='ProgramMenuDir' On='uninstall' />
        <RegistryValue Root='HKCU' 
                       Key='Software\[Manufacturer]\[ProductName]' 
                       Type='string' Value='' KeyPath='yes' />
      </Component>
    </Directory>
  </Directory>

  <Directory Id="DesktopFolder" Name="Desktop" />
</Directory>

<Feature Id='Complete' Title='Importer Service' 
         Description='The complete package'
         Display='hidden' Level='1' ConfigurableDirectory='INSTALLDIR'>
  <ComponentRef Id='MainExecutable' />
  <ComponentRef Id='FileHelpersLibrary' /> 
  <ComponentRef Id='CodeSmithDataLibrary' />      
  <ComponentRef Id='ProgramMenuDir' />      
</Feature>

<UIRef Id="WixUI_InstallDir" />
<UIRef Id="WixUI_ErrorProgressText" />


 </Product>
 </Wix>

Could someone please look at the script and let me know what I am doing wrong.

Thanks.

WiX has a long history of making it increasingly easier to build Windows Installer packages. There are many fine tutorials and examples on the Internet but they often don't keep up with WiX's evolution. You can still learn from them but be sure to check the current documentation (including the XML schema, e.g., via IntelliSense) and run the WiXCop tool so that your work on new installers is up-to-date. — Tom Blodget, Jul 26 '13 at 13:22

score 24 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 26 '13 at 11:19

24

Instead of setting ALLUSERS explicitly, try setting the InstallScope of the Package element to perMachine. According to the documentation, this fact:

Set this value to declare that the package is a per-machine installation and requires elevated privileges to install. Sets the ALLUSERS property to 1.

So, it should do the required job under the hood.

answered Jul 26 '13 at 11:19

Yan Sklyarenko

31,557
24
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139

Any idea why setting `ALLUSERS` manually doesn't do the trick? – Cullub May 15 '18 at 14:50
2

This blog post might give you more idea:https://www.joyofsetup.com/2008/04/01/new-wix-feature-setting-package-installation-scope/ – Yan Sklyarenko May 16 '18 at 06:34

Setting the 'AllUsers' option on Wix installer does not work

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