AddinWithoutAdmin - Helmut-Ortmann/EnterpriseArchitect_hoTools GitHub Wiki

Install Add-In without Admin privileges

Do you want to install your EA Add-Ins without admin privileges? This article shows you how to make a WIX installer which supports a non-admin installation of your EA Add-In. If you already have a WIX installer, you see how to make just a few changes to install your EA-Addin without admin rights.

There is also a mini Add-In Visual Studio Solution, hoAddinTemplate, to have a simple running example to start from.

You may also check:

All here described you can see in hoTools projects:

With WIX for creating your *.msi installer file you can make:

  • Simple non-admin installer, per-user installation
    • Modify your WIX installation with just a few modifications
    • No admin privileges required
    • No dialogue, just click and eberything runs almost invisible
  • GUI for per-user or per-machine installer, Single Package Authoring
    • Make your WIX Installation with GUI where you can choose
      • per-user or
      • per-machine

Example GUI

If you use GUI for per-user or per-machine installer, Single Package Authoring:

If you use Simple non-admin installer, per-user installation, you see nothing.

Background

A per-user installation doesn't need any admin privileges. If you want to install your EA Add-In as per-machine installation this is only possible with local admin privileges.

The Microsoft Installer, Single Package Authoring, can install per-user without admin privileges. No admin install needs some precautions:

  • Install in 'LocalAppDataFolder'
  • Register Add-In in 'HKMU'
  • Register the DLLs in 'HKCR'
  • Say the installer you want per-user with limited privileges
    • InstallScope='perUser'
    • InstallPrivileges='limited'

Make it easy

Here you find a lot of explanations. Usually you:

Installations

Per-user installation

The simplest way is to modify your running WIX installation to install per-user without admin privileges. Just click on the *.msi file, no dialogue and everything runs smoothly.

Have a look at the *.wxs files of AddinSimpleNoAdminSetup.

My organization is:

Say: per-user, no admin

In Product.wxs:

Say: Install in LocalAppDataFolder

In Directories.wxs:

Say: Installer must choose the right registry location

In Files.wxs

If you use the registration keys:

  • HKMU: Register your Add-In by EA
  • HKCR: Register your COM Objects, if you use Heat/Collect.bat Heat takes care of it

the installer will put the registry enters into the correct registry location, per-user or per-machine.

EA registration

COM DLL - registration

You have to register the COM-dlls with:

'<RegistryValue Root="HKCR"..'

If you use Heat to collect the registry information you don't have to change anything.

I put the collection of the COM-DLL registry information with Heat in a batch file:

Note

The first installation may need administration privileges because it has to deinstall the old installation.

Single Package Authoring

Choose during installation with a GUI whether you want to install per-user without admin rights or per-machine.

With WIX and the UI Advanced, you can make a Single Package Authoring. The principles and parts of the WIX implementation you find in WIX: GUI for per-user and per-machine installation.

The major steps are:

Installtion in Action

  • Customizable texts in WIX GUI via Localization.wxl
  • Install per-user without admin privileges
  • Install per-machine with admin privileges

Choose Advanced

Choose install kind

Building blocks

Embed WIX GUI

Usually you just have to link this file from Product.wxs.

See WixUI_Advanced.wxs (GUI definition)

Integrate GUI via Product.wxs

Make sure the following properties are set in Product.wxs, (defining the installation location):

  • <?define Manufacturer="ho" ?>
  • <?define ProductName="hoTools" ?>

results in installation folder:

  • ho\hoTools\

Integration of GUI:

COM Objects in Add-Ins

You need Microsoft COM Objects for:

  • The root of your Add-In
  • For every Window/Tab you want to integrate in EA

You have to register every COM object with your EA Add-In installer.

For all other dlls there is no need to register COM objects.

There are a lot of traps to fall into and I also fall into them. Usualy I copy an existing solution like AddInSimple or hoTools and change it. You find further information:

Identifying COM objects

A COM object is identified by its 'ProgId'. There are a lot of possibilities to do it. A suggestion is to use 'Namespace.ClassName'.

I explicitly specify the needed information like (see AddInSimple.cs):

// Make sure Project Properties for Release has the Entry: 'Register for COM interop'
// You may check registration with: https://community.sparxsystems.com/community-resources/772-ea-installation-inspector
[ComVisible(true)]
[ClassInterface(ClassInterfaceType.None)]
[Guid("58E7B70F-16C4-4538-A4E8-AF4EAC27519B")]
// ProgID is the same as the string to register for EA in 'Sparx Systems:EAAddins:AddInSimple:Default'
// In description: 'Namespace.ClassName'
// EA uses always the ProId.
[ProgId("AddInSimple.AddInSimpleClass")]
public sealed class AddInSimpleClass : EaAddInBase

Register COM objects

You can register your COM objects by:

Each approach has its own pro and cons. I use the solution with WIX Heat because I hope that Heat will abstract me from changes and I haven't to care about details.

Register with WIX Heat

Heat is a little program which makes a Component Entry for the WIX installation. It is part of WIX Toolset.

Steps:

Adapt the Heat collect batch file

I use the Heat Collect.bat to collect all COM object registration information. Each *.wxs file is the component definition to put in the Files.wxs file.

Remember: I put one COM object into one dll-file, one WIX '<..</Component> definition for each COM-object.

Insert the Component entry

Insert the collected Component entry from heat (*.wxs file).

  • From
  • To

Add a comment before the component entry like, update your dll-name of course:

<!--
  Update the following line with File Id=: 
  <File Id="filCA8A52E7876A339B3756985923353460" KeyPath="yes"  Name="hoToolsRoot.dll" Source="$(var.hoToolsRoot.TargetPath)" /> 
  by 
  Name="hoToolsRoot.dll" Source="$(var.hoToolsRoot.TargetPath)" />

  If you changed assembly version: '[assembly: AssemblyVersion("2.1.4")]' 
  Change all occurences of the version manually in this dll registration
-->

Adapt Component Entry

Usually you maintain the Assembly Version of your DLLs in the properties of your VS Code. This looks like:

// my DLL Assembly version, if COM Object don't forget to update version in registry of files.wxs
'[assembly: AssemblyVersion("2.1.4")]'

Because the Assembly version is part of the COM dll registration information you have to update the assembly version in the component definition of Files.wxs.

Tips

Check Installation

I use EA Installation Inspector V4 to check the installation. It ships with a valuable description.

Check installation with EA Installation Inspector V4

Visual Studio clean solution often helps!

Check installation witn EA Installation Inspector V2, error

In case of installation issues like can't load Add-In:

  • If you change an assembly version ('[assembly: AssemblyVersion("2.1.4")]') of a dll with a COM object of your Add-In (Root + every Window) you have to update the Component/File information (collect by WIX or simply update the version in the Component definition)
  • Use EA Installation Inspector

Visual Studio

References

www.hoModeler.de, hoTools, ReqIF, hoReverse, Scripts in Java, .NET

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