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I have an existing large WiX install that has already been released. I need to create a small install for just a couple of files that have changed. I have created a patch (.MSP file) in WiX for these few files using the "PatchCreation" element. When the patch is run, it presents the user with a "Reinstall/Repair/Remove" dialog. If the user selects repair, the patch does exactly what it is supposed to. My problem here is that I don't want the patch to say "repair," or to give the user these options. I just want it to install over the few files I have, more or less like a regular install. What can I do to fix this?

user761749
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MSI implements patches as repairs. In WiX v3.5, the WixUI dialog library has dialogs that are displayed when installing patches.

Bob Arnson
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I have found a more flexible way to work around this, thanks to some help I found here. If you start MSIExec with command-line options (for example, "msiexec /p [patch file] REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=omus"), you can get the install to start up without the "Repair" option coming up. You can also use the IExpress tool (which is shipped with Windows, and can be brought up in a command-prompt) to create a wrapper/bootstrapper that will start the MSP file from MSIExec. Thanks very much to the answers I received. I would not have figured this out without your help.

user761749
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I partially agree with Bob. Patches in WiX are applied through a repair, but Windows Installer does support a standalone patch installation. Other setup authoring tools can create them.

Regarding the WiX patch, I recommend using a custom bootstrapper which applies the patch automatically.

cosmin
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  • Is there any way to turn off or modify this "feature" in WiX so that it will work as a standalone patch? – user761749 May 20 '11 at 12:44
  • Patches are repairs, full stop. If you're talking about the UI that's shown, then until WiX v3.5, the default UI was the "resume" dialog, which showed that it was a repair. In WiX v3.5, we added detection to show a special "patching" dialog instead. – Bob Arnson May 20 '11 at 14:27