Distribute WPF app with WIX and .net Framework

Question

I need to distribute my WPF application. I am using WIX for building the Setup.exe.

But I also need to ensure that the .net framework 4.0 is first installed on the user's PC. I have downloaded dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe but how do I create a WIX installation that will contain MyApp.Msi and the .net framework redistribution file?

What I really want is to have just 1 Setup.exe that contains and runs both installs(my.msi and the .exe) in order.

Can this be done with WIX? Is there a better solution?

Answer 1

A setup bootstrapper is the file that could install the .NET framework. You can read about the WiX bootstrapper here. If you want the final output to be one .EXE file, you can pack the bootstrapper and the .MSI file into a new .EXE file using IExpress. IExpress is included in your Windows installation.

With WiX + IExpress you can create an installation package contained in one .EXE file.

Answer 2

You can use the WiX bootstrapper technology (referred to as Burn) to create a single bootstrapper to install .NET and your .msi. Burn will enable you to embed the .NET redistributable and your .msi into a single setup.exe as well.