Wix - how to override UpgradeCode when installing an MSI file

Question

I am writing a WIX installer with 2 requirements:

implement an upgrade rules (which I did successfully with <MajorUpgrade> or <Upgrade> table
keep a way to force installation of an old version in parallel of the current one (so do not upgrade).

Problem comes from the second requirement: if all versions of the app have the same UpgradeCode, the system will remove the old one (with the same UpgradeCode) avec install the new one.

So is it possible to upgrade old version (by default) and also let the user to force a parallel install ? One solution I have is to change the UpgradeCode when installing the MSI. In this case 2 versions will be completly independant, that's what I would like.

But I did not find a way to specify another UpgradeCode at installation stage. I tried msiexec /i app.msi UpgradeCode="{60C200E9-E317-4a67-9CC1-7BF156DEF4FD}", but according to the logs it gets properly the UpgradeCode property but still use the GUID specify when building the MSI.

Any idea how to force an UpgradeCode when installing a MSI ?

For info, my Wix file is composed like this:

<?define ProductUpgradeCode = "32318521-631C-4064-88C6-4A54FAA3B383"?>
[...]
<Product Name='App' Id='*' UpgradeCode='$(var.ProductUpgradeCode)'
Language='1033' Codepage='1252' Version='1.0.0' Manufacturer='App inc'>
[...]
<MajorUpgrade AllowDowngrades="yes" Schedule="afterInstallInitialize" />

Edit - Solution, based on Ciprian's answer:

First, define an ALLOWUPGRADE property with default value to Yes:

<Property Id="ALLOWUPGRADE" Value="Yes" />

Then, condition the action in <InstallExecuteSequence>, so it only uninstall older versions if ALLOWUPGRADE=Yes:

<RemoveExistingProducts After="InstallFinalize">ALLOWUPGRADE="Yes"</RemoveExistingProducts>

And, even better, add a dialog asking the user if he wants to upgrade or make a parallel installation. A button ParallelInstallBtn will change property value to No. This dialog will be called after FindRelatedProducts if an older version is detected by a UpgradeVersion section:

<UI>
  <Dialog Id="InstallDlg" Width="370" Height="270" Title="[ProductName] Setup" NoMinimize="yes">
    [...]
    <Control Id="ParallelInstallBtn" Type="PushButton" X="280" Y="243" Width="80" Height="17" Default="no" Text="&amp;Parallel Install">
      <Publish Property="ALLOWUPGRADE" Value="No">1</Publish>
      <Publish Event="EndDialog" Value="Return">1</Publish>
    </Control>
  </Dialog>
  <InstallUISequence>
    <Show Dialog="InstallDlg" After="FindRelatedProducts">OLDERVERSIONBEINGUPGRADED</Show>
  </InstallUISequence>
</UI>

You should post the solution as an answer and accept it (it's encouraged!) rather than edit it into your question. — Izzy

Ciprian Ciprian · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-10T05:44:50

You can do this by conditioning the RemoveExistingProducts action.

 <InstallExecuteSequence> 
      <RemoveExistingProducts After="InstallFinalize">ALLOWUPGRADE="Yes"</RemoveExistingProducts> 
 </InstallExecuteSequence>

By default the value of ALLOWUPGRADE property would be "Yes". When you don't wat the upgrade to be performed change it.

Wix - how to override UpgradeCode when installing an MSI file

1 Answers