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How Do I Add Custom Dialogues to WiX Installers?

Last updated on October 1, 2022 @ 1:34 am

Adding custom dialogues to WiX installers can be a great way to improve the look and feel of your installation. There are a few different ways to do this, and each has its own benefits and drawbacks.

One way to add custom dialogues is to use the WiX CustomDialog element. This element allows you to specify the path to an image file that will be used as the background for your dialog, as well as the text that will be displayed on the dialog. This approach has the advantage of being very simple to implement, but it does have some drawbacks. First, you are limited to using only images that are stored on your local machine. Second, the text that you can display on the dialog is limited to a single line.

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PRO TIP: This article contains information about how to add custom dialogues to WiX installers. It is important to note that this process should only be attempted by experienced users, as it can be complicated and may result in flaws in the installer.

Another way to add custom dialogues is to use the WiX Burn Bootstrapper Application (BBA) project type.

This project type allows you to create a custom bootstrapper application that can be used to launch your installation. The BBA project type includes support for creating custom dialogs, and it also allows you to store your images and text in external files. This approach has the advantage of being much more flexible than using the CustomDialog element, but it does have some drawbacks. First, it is more complex to implement than using the CustomDialog element. Second, you must distribute your BBA project separately from your main installer project.

Which approach you should use depends on your specific needs. If you need to support multiple languages or if you need more than one line of text on your dialogs, then using the BBA project type is probably your best option. If you just need a simple way to add some customizations to your installation dialogs, then using the CustomDialog element might be a better choice.

In conclusion, there are a few different ways that you can add custom dialogues to WiX installers. Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks, so you will need to decide which one is best for your needs.

Drew Clemente

Drew Clemente

Devops & Sysadmin engineer. I basically build infrastructure online.