Use session Properties. They are populated from the Property table only at the beginning of each sequence (before your immediate CA runs) and can be read and written by immediate CAs.
The "[PropertyName]" syntax used in formatted fields of the database (such as some of the XmlConfig attributes and Condition element text) actually read session properties, not the Property table, so using those properties should be what you need. Remember to make your properties set in the UI sequence public and secure to be consumed in the execute sequence, because public secure property values will override the Property table values when the execute sequence starts. -----Original Message----- From: David Drake (Excell Data Corporation) [mailto:a-ddr...@microsoft.com] Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:22 AM To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [WiX-users] Passing data into and out of a Custom Action I am attempting to pass information in and out of a C# Custom Action, and am having a hell of a time with it. The problem I am attempting to solve is this: There is a system XML configuration file on my target system. The path to the file is always known. I need to look into this file and determine whether or not a specific element/attribute exists. If it does exist, I need to recover its value and pass it back into the installer for later use. If it does not exist, I need to return some sort of indication so that I write it using an util:XmlConfig action. The actual XML manipulations are the easy part. The problematic is passing the information in and out of the CA. I have found that if I use a Deferred custom action, I can take a value entered in via the UI (file path, Xpath statement, etc) and use it in my CA without issue. I have not been able to pass anything back to the installer though (whether or not the element exists). I have also found that if I use an immediate action, I then have access to the session object, which includes the Database object. Unfortunately, the Database object only includes what is in the database at the beginning of the install, and not what may have been modified during the UI Sequence. I have used a MessageBox within the CA to show me what value lies in the property when the CA executes, and extra UI Dialogs to examine the property after it has been modified. I am able to modify the property via the UI and have it visible to the later UI Dialogs. However, when I examine the property via the Database object in the CA, it always contains the default value, even if I pass something else in via the command line. The reason for using the CA in this case is because Wix does not have any ability to read files and react to the information found therein. Is there any way to accomplish my goal here in an elegant and reusable way? I wish it was as easy as creating some kind of parameterized call to a dll with some kind of expected return value that would show up in some property... If code samples of what I've done so far are needed, I can supply that. Thanks, David ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Let Crystal Reports handle the reporting - Free Crystal Reports 2008 30-Day trial. Simplify your report design, integration and deployment - and focus on what you do best, core application coding. Discover what's new with Crystal Reports now. http://p.sf.net/sfu/bobj-july _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Let Crystal Reports handle the reporting - Free Crystal Reports 2008 30-Day trial. Simplify your report design, integration and deployment - and focus on what you do best, core application coding. Discover what's new with Crystal Reports now. http://p.sf.net/sfu/bobj-july _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
