WIX how to access source file from custom action

Question

I have a WIX install application and many source files:

...
<Directory Id="dirF21F1AE09DCD1D651EFCA4E6AD334FAC" Name="myservice">
<Component Id="cmp503CB14E95C2C333DCE9E73FC1BB2E9A" Guid="{29FDDCA4-E70D-41AA-B1C8-06AD9A07810D}">
    <File Id="fil2FE62A0172300DF74F1725E28B7FA003" KeyPath="yes" Source="$(var.SourcePath)\myservice\common_base.dll" />
</Component>
</Directory>
...

And this files are copied by a ref:

<ComponentGroupRef Id="InstallSources"/>

I need to access common_base.dll in custom action before copying files. I want to copy it to temp folder for some manipulation:

private static void CopyCommonDll(Session session)
{
    try
    {
        var dllPath = session["get path here"]; // or can I get dllPath the other way?

        session.InfoLog("Dll path: {0}", dllPath);

        var destPath = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), Path.GetFileName(dllPath));

        session.InfoLog("destPath dll path: {0}", dllPath);

        File.Copy(dllPath, destPath);

        session.InfoLog("file copied!");

        // some code here

        File.Delete(destPath);
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
        session.ErrorLog(e);
    }
}

How can I do this?

What does your custom action need to do on the target machine? Can it be done during the build of the msi? why not to deploy the file and than run the custom action? — Arkady Sitnitsky, Mar 07 '16 at 07:02
I found the solution: add embedded resource to project to access my dll in custom action — Anton23, Mar 07 '16 at 11:41
hmm, what is the goal of these manipulations? do you handle repair, rollback & uninstall sequences? — Alex Zharnasek, Mar 07 '16 at 11:59
It's hard to explain the whole picture, but I need to register my dll and run code in custom action which uses this dll. My CA runs far before the files are copied. — Anton23, Mar 07 '16 at 12:25

Anton23 · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-16T07:11:38.357

The solution is to add to Custom Action's Project as embedded resources a file you want to access during the installation in custom action. In custom action you can get it from the assembly resources.

var assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
var resourceName = "CustomActions.Resources.common_base.dll";

byte[] bytes = null;
using (Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName))
{
    if (stream != null)
    {
        session.InfoLog("dll found was in resources");

        bytes = new byte[(int)stream.Length];
        stream.Read(bytes, 0, (int)stream.Length);
    }
}

if (bytes != null)
{
    // save file here!
    File.WriteAllBytes(destPath, bytes);
}

that is nice and works. But: If your custom action is to be re-used in different installer projects with different source files it's no good. I am still looking for a way to access package files during installation when they are not yet installed. — Moritz Both, Jan 12 '22 at 15:05

WIX how to access source file from custom action

1 Answers1

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