If an action is built-in, it is usually better to use it because it has been tested in all scenarios (install, upgrade, repair, removal, patching, patch removal, replace one feature with another one, etc.) than it is to replicate the built-in action's action in your own custom action (where all that testing becomes much more expensive).
I suspect the problem with your attempt is that it was not a deferred action. Immediate actions are never part of the elevated script. RemoveFile and RemoveFolder both take wildcards (they translate into rows in the Windows Installer's "RemoveFile" table). The easiest wildcard is to set @Name to "*". If the file removal eliminates all files in that folder, the folder is automatically removed (even if you only use the RemoveFile element). If you know how many folders that the installer doesn't "know about" you could enumerate them into properties that you pass to the RemoveFile element's "Property" attribute. If there is no way of knowing, or if it is a complex tree, use Bob's "Semi-Custom Actions" technique (http://www.joyofsetup.com/2007/07/01/semi-custom-actions/) to populate the RemoveFile table with additional rows at runtime (if you set them right, just run it all the time and it will do its thing just when it should). Then you don't have to be testing a deferred custom action (with all the grief that entails). -----Original Message----- From: Harvey, John Ctr USAF Warfighter's Edge [mailto:john.har...@wedge.hpc.mil] Sent: Friday, February 19, 2010 1:40 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Deleting non-installed files on uninstall RemoveFile does work and it is allowed. Why is this? Is there something RemoveFile is doing that I can emulate? Or is there a way to have RemoveFolder work with a non-empty folder? John Harvey -----Original Message----- From: Harvey, John Ctr USAF Warfighter's Edge [mailto:john.har...@wedge.hpc.mil] Sent: Friday, February 19, 2010 2:07 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Deleting non-installed files on uninstall Impersonate="no" does not seem to work ("yes" doesn't do it either). I am not using RemoveFile/RemoveFolder because I took a more bazooka approach. I couldn't find a wildcard for RemoveFolder and I thought my custom action could get rid of folders that the installer didn't know about. John Harvey -----Original Message----- From: Wilson, Phil [mailto:phil.wil...@invensys.com] Sent: Friday, February 19, 2010 12:00 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Deleting non-installed files on uninstall What's the impersonation setting for the custom action? And there is a RemoveFile element in WiX that will do this kind of thing without you writing code. Phil Wilson -----Original Message----- From: Harvey, John Ctr USAF Warfighter's Edge [mailto:john.har...@wedge.hpc.mil] Sent: Friday, February 19, 2010 10:06 AM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: [WiX-users] Deleting non-installed files on uninstall I have a requirement that for an uninstall, all files for the product are removed. Not only do I need to delete files installed by my installer, but I need to delete any other file that may have showed up while the product was being used. So, I have a custom action that deletes remaining files after the uninstall removes files. On Vista, I have problems with deleting files from the Program Files folder. During the install I get the UAC dialog where I click Allow. In the log, I get an access denied message.: System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path 'app.config' is denied. at System.IO.Directory.DeleteHelper(String fullPath, String userPath, Boolean recursive) at System.IO.Directory.Delete(String fullPath, String userPath, Boolean recursive) at Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem.DeleteDirectoryInternal(String directory, DeleteDirectoryOption onDirectoryNotEmpty, UIOptionInternal showUI, RecycleOption recycle, UICancelOption onUserCancel) at Microsoft.VisualBasic.MyServices.FileSystemProxy.DeleteDirectory(String directory, DeleteDirectoryOption onDirectoryNotEmpty) at WEdge.Client.Setup.CA.InstallSequenceCustomActions.RemoveFolder(String folderToRemove, Session session) The custom action is VB and is using the following: My.Computer.FileSystem.DeleteDirectory(folderToRemove, FileIO.DeleteDirectoryOption.DeleteAllContents) If I start a CMD prompt using Run As Administrator and then run the uninstall from the command line, it works. However, I can't find a way to use Run As for the control panel or Programs and Features. Any suggestions? John Harvey ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Download Intel® Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users *** Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including any associated or attached files, is intended solely for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. This e-mail is confidential and may well also be legally privileged. If you have received it in error, you are on notice of its status. 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See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Download Intel® Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download Intel® Parallel Studio Eval Try the new software tools for yourself. Speed compiling, find bugs proactively, and fine-tune applications for parallel performance. See why Intel Parallel Studio got high marks during beta. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-sw-dev _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
