WiX Heat: Pre-build event fires too early on build server

Question

I'm harvesting a directory for my Visual Studio solution.

It works on my local system so far probably because the project build order is being respected.

When I run the installer on a build server it finds the right directory but it has not been created at the time of building the setup file. It throws a HEAT5052 error saying The directory 'a:\b\c' could not be found.

Is there any way to "wait" until or to execute the heat command after all project references are built?

Did you check whether the quoting of your directory is correct on the server? Any whitespace in your path perhaps? — mkko, Dec 15 '15 at 12:36
Yes but that wasn't the problem. Check my post below for the answer. — , Dec 15 '15 at 13:21
I have been encountering the same problem; I have been able to solve it by setting an explicit build order to make sure that the setup project is truly built last. (Right-click on the project in Visual Studio, select “Build dependencies->Project dependencies”, and in the “Dependencies” page of the dialog check all projects.) — Mike Rosoft, Jul 22 '19 at 11:29

score 20 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 15 '15 at 13:36

OK so I've spent hours to figure out how to fire Heat AFTER all references are resloved. I only found solutions for the <PreBuildEvent> and <PostBuildEvent> using the Heat command line and the BeforeBuild and AfterBuild targets.

So I found all kind of targets inside the wix2010.targets file located in my Program files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\Wix\ folder. It contains a target called AfterResolveReferences and it does exactly that. So here's my code I ended up with (in case someone is interested):

<Target Name="AfterResolveReferences">
    <HeatDirectory
        ToolPath="$(WixToolPath)"
        OutputFile="Product.Binaries.wxs"
        SuppressFragments="$(HarvestDirectorySuppressFragments)"
        Transforms="Filter.xslt"
        Directory="$(HarvestFolder)"
        DirectoryRefId="MY_FOLDER"
        ComponentGroupName="Binaries"
        GenerateGuidsNow="true"
        SuppressRootDirectory="true"
        SuppressRegistry="true"
        PreprocessorVariable="var.App.TargetDir">
    </HeatDirectory>
</Target>

Thank you for this. Would you happen to know how can I glue my hair back to my head after having torn it out trying to solve this? — John Hargrove, Aug 19 '19 at 19:02

datchung · Answer 2 · 2020-05-26T17:43:26.657

0

I had the same problem and it was solved by combining the accepted answer and this answer to ensure that my post build event, which was copying files, always runs:

<RunPostBuildEvent>Always</RunPostBuildEvent> 
<DisableFastUpToDateCheck>true</DisableFastUpToDateCheck>

Also, my build server was using the MSBuild command line, and I used this answer to locate my local MSBuild.exe so I could test my changes locally without having to push to the build server.

edited May 26 '20 at 17:43

answered May 26 '20 at 17:37

datchung

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Officially supported way to locate MSBuild (answer written by me): https://stackoverflow.com/a/53319707/70345 – Ian Kemp Nov 02 '20 at 14:30

WiX Heat: Pre-build event fires too early on build server

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