How to make shortcuts and add an icon through wix toolset

Question

I got tired while dealing with installshield errors and limitations, so I searched for a better alternative to get stuck with wix toolset v3.8

I read that it is very good to make setup files , I tried it to make a setup for my win forms application , after searching and reading , I wrote and modified its code :

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi">
<Product Id="*" Name="Fb Messages Stealer v1.0" Language="1033" 
         Version="1.0.0.0" Manufacturer="Karam Najjar" 
         UpgradeCode="GUID-HERE">
    <Package Id="*" InstallerVersion="200" Compressed="yes" 
                 InstallScope="perMachine" />

    <MajorUpgrade DowngradeErrorMessage="Newer version already installed." />
    <MediaTemplate EmbedCab="yes" />

    <Feature Id="ProductFeature" 
             Title="Fb Messages Stealer v1.0" Level="1">
         <ComponentGroupRef Id="ProductComponents" />

     </Feature>
</Product>

<Fragment>

<Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
  <Directory Id="ProgramFilesFolder">
    <Directory Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Name="Fb Messages Stealer v1.0" />
  </Directory>
</Directory>

</Fragment>

<Fragment>
  <ComponentGroup Id="ProductComponents" Directory="INSTALLFOLDER">
   <Component Guid="*" >
     <File Source="$(var.FbMessagesStealer.TargetPath)" KeyPath="yes"></File>
   </Component>
  </ComponentGroup>
</Fragment>

It works and make a setup file ,, but I want to make a shortcut in desktop and in start menu in addition to adding an icon to it . I searched a lot in the internet and tried many codes , can any one help me , I need to finish making a setup as early as I can , thanx in advance.

One more tip: [**Many attributes in Wix are now optional**](http://stackoverflow.com/a/24769965/129130). This "**noise removal**" can make your source files **significantly shorter** and **easier to read**, and arguably **less error prone** and **easier to keep up to date** (changes in the linker and compiler propagate). Highly recommended. — Stein Åsmul, Sep 20 '14 at 17:44

Stein Åsmul · Accepted Answer · 2022-08-24T18:59:22.753

Stick with Wix, it provides a lot more flexibility and once you get going it will be easier.

Perhaps try this well known Wix tutorial.
And also the actual Wix toolset documentation's how-to section.
And this ad-hoc link heavy answer with WiX resources.

Finally, and this is the best advice for a tinkerer: I use dark.exe (part of the Wix toolkit) to decompile MSI files compiled by Installshield and other tools. This means you can use Installshield to create an MSI with bells and whistles, and then decompile it to a wxs file and you can then copy and paste the relevant Wix code sections from the decompiled WXS to your main WXS. This works very fast and is better than any tutorial.

Other answers dealing more with the actual xml code:

How to make shortcuts and add an icon through wix toolset

1 Answers1