You wrote: "It is a "simple" desktop app that installs into program files (x86); with the only catch being that there is a cache directory and a data directory that are global to all users of the application, so currently that are placed as subdirectories below the installed directory, and the security is adjusted so that the user has write access to those two directories."
If an application must share data between multiple users, it should use CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA or FOLDERID_ProgramData to find its data (this CSIDL value is available starting in WinME and Win2000, the FOLDERID value is available starting with Vista/2008). This has been documented for over a decade now. There is NO VALID REASON for anyone to be creating cache and private folders in the application installation directory, and VERY FEW programs should ever need to alter security on either files/directories or registry keys. The corresponding Windows Installer property/directory is CommonAppDataFolder (and it works all the way back to the same obsolete OS versions). Your client's "simple" program is broken on so many levels with regards to separation of program code/data, vulnerability to infection, creating security holes, etc., and is one of the reasons that third party code causes Windows to gain a reputation as unstable. -----Original Message----- From: David Watson [mailto:dwat...@sdl.com] Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 6:31 AM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Convert AllUsers Install to PerUser Hi, Its worth reading the details surrounding installation context http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd765197(v=VS.85).aspx. It would appear that your cache and data folders would be the problem in their current location as they would be private to each user on W7/2k8r2. Dave -----Original Message----- From: John Bergman [mailto:john.berg...@xpedienttechnologies.com] Sent: 15 October 2010 00:20 To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Convert AllUsers Install to PerUser <Multiple Responses concatenated into one> The application, itself is able to run as a restricted user; currently we have a boot-strapper that installs several other things, such as the .NET framework, among other things... the client agrees that they will push them to the various computers as required prior to any deployment so we are talking about just the MSI portion of an install. It is a "simple" desktop app that installs into program files (x86); with the only catch being that there is a cache directory and a data directory that are global to all users of the application, so currently that are placed as subdirectories below the installed directory, and the security is adjusted so that the user has write access to those two directories. It as standard procedure that an administrator bless the package. I understand, when I make this type of change, there will need to be an uninstall of the previous all-users version of the application, this is acceptable in this specific case. I will query them about using group policy to deploy this, however, some of the users are not directly connected, and hence might not be governed by group policy. Thanks, John -----Original Message----- From: Christopher Painter [mailto:chr...@deploymentengineering.com] Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 2:34 PM To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. Subject: Re: [WiX-users] Convert AllUsers Install to PerUser Would your client consider it acceptable if an administrator had to "bless" the package ( publish / advertise ) and that a standard user could then actually install it? Changing an application from all-users to per-user isn't always as simple as it sounds. Install the .NET framework? Create a service? Configure a website? Forget about it. Perhaps that's not a problem for you though. Christopher Painter, Author of Deployment Engineering Blog Have a hot tip, know a secret or read a really good thread that deserves attention? E-Mail Me ----- Original Message ---- From: John Bergman <john.berg...@xpedienttechnologies.com> To: General discussion for Windows Installer XML toolset. <wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net> Sent: Thu, October 14, 2010 12:32:43 PM Subject: [WiX-users] Convert AllUsers Install to PerUser Does anyone have any experience as to how to do this? Currently, we install as an all-users piece of software; mostly because I wanted to make the software available to anyone who logs in. We are required to install without the installer UI, so that seemed like the easiest route to take. The problem we are facing now is that you must be an administrator to install, and the client has decided that this limitation is unacceptable. I would appreciate any pointers to material or ideas as to how to adjust what I have as far as the WiX Installer Markup; as usual, I am more than happy to post a description of where I end up so that others can benefit. Thanks, John ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Beautiful is writing same markup. Internet Explorer 9 supports standards for HTML5, CSS3, SVG 1.1, ECMAScript5, and DOM L2 & L3. Spend less time writing and rewriting code and more time creating great experiences on the web. Be a part of the beta today. http://p.sf.net/sfu/beautyoftheweb _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Beautiful is writing same markup. Internet Explorer 9 supports standards for HTML5, CSS3, SVG 1.1, ECMAScript5, and DOM L2 & L3. 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