4 replies to this topic

[Scott Mayham]

Folks,

A very simple question - Can one DLL, set up as a Custom Action and streamed from the Binary Table, access and "call" a method in a second DLL also located in the Binary Table?

The scenarion is MSI > InstallUtilLib.dll > OurDll. The Installer and the CAs are all produced from VisualStudio 2010. InstallUtilLib handles the interfacing between MSI's COM view of the world, and our .NET DLL. It works fine, but VS only knows how to produce Deferred CAs, and while it puts InstallUtilLib in the Binary Table, OurDll is installed along with the rest of our App. To move the Ca to Immediate Mode (pre-file-deployment), OurDll would also need to be in the Binary Table.

Can I even do such a thing?

Regards,
ScottM

[Stefan Krueger]

While I'm not sure that what you want to do will work, if you want your custom action DLL to use another file from the Binary table you'd have to add a custom action that would stream the second file from the Binary table first. See sample "Streaming a File From the Binary Table" at http://www.installsi...s/en/msi/ca.htm

For those using InstallShield: you can simply put the file in the Support Files section. These files get extracted to the temp folder at the beginning of the setup.

[Scott Mayham]

Stefan,

Thanks for your answer, and it makes a great deal of sense. (And, yes, how I wish I could use my old InstallShield friend, SUPPORTDIR!)

I have a couple of followup questions:

Assuming that I overcome the sequencing issues you mention, and that the first DLL can find and use the second, I've not begun to address the fact that .NET DLLs are really Assemblies. Wouldn't I have to also provide all our DLL's Assembly "goo" (normally installed Deferred) in order for it to even be usable?

Is it possible that this is the very reason that VS-built CA DLLs are ever only set up to run Deferred, after all of the Assembly stuff has been attended to?

Thanks and Regards,
ScottM

[Stefan Krueger]

[Scott Mayham]

Stefan,