diff:Driver alternatives

[avivanoff]

When using WixToolset.DifxApp Driver element, we get the following warning:

WIX1130: The Driver has been deprecated.

What are non-deprecated alternatives?

[BMurri]

The Microsoft docs say to use SetupApi. I don't know of any open source implementation of a WiX extension that implements this.

Contributions would certainly be welcome.

[barnson]

https://wixtoolset.org/docs/schema/difxapp/driver/

[oleg-shilo]

What exactly are you trying to say by providing this link to the documentation?
Did you see the mistake in the code I used? Inconsistency with that documentation?
Did the documentation describe the error the compiler generates?

I am not sure how to interpret your single-line response. :(

[BMurri]

Installs a driver. To use this element, you need to reference the WixDifxAppExtension extension and add the .wixlib appropriate for the target platform (difxapp_x86.wixlib or difxapp_x64.wixlib) to your project.

From the linked page. I'll bold it for emphasis.

To use this element, you need to reference the WixDifxAppExtension extension and add the .wixlib appropriate for the target platform (difxapp_x86.wixlib or difxapp_x64.wixlib) to your project.

[BMurri]

BTW, the warning and the error are unrelated.

[oleg-shilo]

Excellent. Thank you

For everyone who is to use reads this. The problem was the absence of the -lib argument:

wix build  -ext WixToolset.DifxApp.wixext -ext WixToolset.UI.wixext -lib %userprofile%\.wix\extensions\WixToolset.DifxApp.wixext\4.0.0\wixext4\difxapp_x64.wixlib" MyProduct.wxs  -o MyProduct.msi

[avivanoff]

I have another problem using WixToolset.DifxApp.wixext.

[oleg-shilo]

After the discussion in the #7625 thread WiX team member confirmed that currently there is an unresolved issue with the Driver element.

[robmen]

Only if you use the Driver extension in a .wixlib.

[oleg-shilo]

Rob, can you elaborate on "Only if ...".

From the link you provided, I take that the only way to use Driver elements is to add .wixlib:

To use this element, you need to reference the WixDifxAppExtension extension and add the .wixlib appropriate for the target platform (difxapp_x86.wixlib or difxapp_x64.wixlib) to your project.

Does your last post mean that it is possible to use Driver element without .wixlib?

[BMurri]

Rob, can you elaborate on "Only if ...".

...

Does your last post mean that it is possible to use Driver element without .wixlib?

There's "with" and there's "in". The build context matters.

There are no known issues (apart from the depreciation of DIFxApp) with using that element when building a package. If building using the wix tool, you might need to also include the extension's wixlib (when using msbuild the extension's wixlib is included by PackageReference).

There is a now known issue with using that element when building a wixlib. That's what Rob is calling out.

[oleg-shilo]

Thank you Blair,

Then I will finalize the findings of this thread. Basically what you said.

• When compiling/building wxs containing Driver element with wix.exe both WixToolset.DifxApp.wixext and difxapp_x??.wixlib need to be passed to the tool as command line args

• When compiling/building wxs containing Driver element with msbuild.exe (or Visual Studio) only WixToolset.DifxApp.wixext needs to be referenced.