Add support for WiX Toolset Harvest Tool (Heat) HarvestProject element

[jeremy-visionaid]

Description

I would like to be able to havest the necessary project files for building a Microsoft Software Installer (MSI) using the WiX Toolset HarvestProject element

Public API Changes

The msbuild project should expose the BuiltProjectOutputGroup target

Intended Use-Case

To create an MSI without needing to individually specify all the required files, or harvest a directory which might contain unnecessary/unwanted files.

[jeremy-visionaid]

Also related/relevant to #10564

[rachelkang]

Hi, @jeremy-visionaid - did you try unpackaged? Also, can you attach a repro so we can better understand your use case?

[ghost]

Hi @jeremy-visionaid. We have added the "s/needs-info" label to this issue, which indicates that we have an open question for you before we can take further action. This issue will be closed automatically in 7 days if we do not hear back from you by then - please feel free to re-open it if you come back to this issue after that time.

[ghost]

Hi @jeremy-visionaid. We have added the "s/needs-repro" label to this issue, which indicates that we require steps and sample code to reproduce the issue before we can take further action. Please try to create a minimal sample project/solution or code samples which reproduce the issue, ideally as a GitHub repo that we can clone. See more details about creating repros here: https://github.com/dotnet/maui/blob/main/.github/repro.md

This issue will be closed automatically in 7 days if we do not hear back from you by then - please feel free to re-open it if you come back to this issue after that time.

[jeremy-visionaid]

@rachelkang This only applies to unpackaged anyway since the output is an MSI. My understanding is that BuiltProjectOutputGroup should be a common MSBuild target (i.e. from Microsoft.Common.CurrentVersion.targets), but WiX is current;y unable to find it when referencing a MAUI project:

error MSB4057: The target "BuiltProjectOutputGroup" does not exist in the project

This could actually just be a WiX bug, since HarvestProject looks a bit broken in v4.0.1 at the moment (other project types have different errors). Nonetheless, I feel like this kind of stuff should just work. In the meantime I'll go with HarvestDirectory and fix it up with XSLT. I'll add a repro if I get the chance.

[mattleibow]

This does sound more like a WIX issue than a MAUI issue. But this may also be because a maui app has multiple TFMs, so you may need to condition things to a specific TFM and not the top-level project.

Regardless, attaching a binlog will be helpful: https://github.com/xamarin/xamarin-macios/wiki/Diagnosis

[ghost]

Hi @jeremy-visionaid. We have added the "s/needs-info" label to this issue, which indicates that we have an open question for you before we can take further action. This issue will be closed automatically in 7 days if we do not hear back from you by then - please feel free to re-open it if you come back to this issue after that time.

[ghost]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has been marked as requiring author feedback but has not had any activity for 4 days. It will be closed if no further activity occurs within 3 days of this comment. If it is closed, feel free to comment when you are able to provide the additional information and we will re-investigate.

[ghost]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has been marked as requiring author feedback but has not had any activity for 4 days. It will be closed if no further activity occurs within 3 days of this comment. If it is closed, feel free to comment when you are able to provide the additional information and we will re-investigate.

[jeremy-visionaid]

@mattleibow I don't think this is a WiX problem. I haven't had time to go through it all properly, but intuitively it feels like more of an issue with MAUI not adhering to/implementing the ProjectReference protocol:
https://github.com/dotnet/msbuild/blob/main/documentation/ProjectReference-Protocol.md

To get a WiX build going at all, I needed to add a placeholder for the required targets since it appears that MAUI isn't providing it out of the box:

<Target Name="GetTargetPath" Returns="$(OutputPath)" />

I've got other issues to deal with at the moment (and have an acceptable workaround for the time being). I still intend to post a repro project when I get the chance.

[ghost]

Hello lovely human, thank you for your comment on this issue. Because this issue has been closed for a period of time, please strongly consider opening a new issue linking to this issue instead to ensure better visibility of your comment. Thank you!