Wix Custom Action - session empty and error on deferred action

Question

I am using Wix 3.11.1 with VS2017 Extension. I set a property from a control on a custom Dialogue and then try to execute an immediate custom action. When I try to read the session, it is always empty.

As recommended I changed my action to differed execution and used an immediate action to set my property. When I run my installer I get the error: "DEBUG: Error 2896: Executing action [ActionName] failed."

In CustomDialog.wxs

<Control Id="ConnId" Type="Edit" X="60" Y="110"  Height="17" Width="300" Property="CONN"/>

<Control Id="installButton" Type="PushButton" Text="Continue" Height="15" Width="60" X="240" Y="260">
      <Publish Event="DoAction" Value="RegistrationInfoCustomAction">1</Publish>
      <Publish Event="EndDialog" Value="Return">1</Publish>
    </Control>

<Fragment>
<Binary Id="CustomActionBinary" SourceFile="..\..\CustomActions\bin\Debug\CustomActions.CA.dll"/>
<CustomAction Id="SetPropertyForShowProperty" Property="RegistrationInfoCustomAction" Execute="immediate" Value="[CONN]" Return="check" />
<CustomAction Id="RegistrationInfoCustomAction" BinaryKey="CustomActionBinary" DllEntry="SaveUserInfo" Execute="deferred" Return="check" HideTarget="no"/>
</Fragment>

In Product.wxs

<InstallExecuteSequence>
<Custom Action="SetPropertyForShowProperty" After="InstallInitialize"/>
<Custom Action="RegistrationInfoCustomAction" Before="InstallFinalize"/>
</InstallExecuteSequence>

In CustomActions.cs

[CustomAction]
    public static ActionResult SaveUserInfo(Session session)
    {
        Debugger.Launch();
        CustomActionData data = session.CustomActionData;

        session.Log("Begin SaveUserInfo");
        var connectionString = data["CONN"];
        session.Log($"content: {connectionString}");

        session.Log("End SaveUserInfo");
        return ActionResult.Success;
    }

The custom action works when it contains only logging statements but adding any other code make it fail. Also, the session is always empty.

In Installer Log:

MSI (c) (88:34) [16:30:21:255]: Invoking remote custom action. DLL: C:\Users\Andre\AppData\Local\Temp\MSIF1A3.tmp, Entrypoint: SaveUserInfo

MSI (c) (88:F8) [16:30:21:256]: Cloaking enabled.

MSI (c) (88:F8) [16:30:21:256]: Attempting to enable all disabled privileges before calling Install on Server

MSI (c) (88:F8) [16:30:21:256]: Connected to service for CA interface.

Action ended 16:30:41: RegistrationInfoCustomAction. Return value 3.

DEBUG: Error 2896: Executing action RegistrationInfoCustomAction failed.

The installer has encountered an unexpected error installing this package. This may indicate a problem with this package. The error code is 2896. The arguments are: RegistrationInfoCustomAction, , Action ended 16:30:41: SetupDialog. Return value 3. MSI (c) (88:8C) [16:30:41:911]: Doing action: FatalError

Acker

Answer 1

Similar Answers: I want to add some linkes to previous answers on the topic of deferred mode custom actions. There are links to github-samples in these answers - including one sample which uses the DTF class CustomActionData to easily send properties to deferred mode (once you are properly set up):

• How to hide the value of customactiondata in logs of MSI?

• Pass ConnectionString to Custom Action in WiX Installer (escape semicolon)

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UPDATE: It is late, I didn't see this on first sight, but only immediate mode custom actions can be run from the setup GUI. Make a new, immediate mode custom action to set a value to your PUBLIC property CONN, and then set the value of CONN via a type 51 custom action to be assigned to the Id of the deferred mode custom action - as described below.

---

SecureCustomProperties: Add the property you specify to SecureCustomProperties by setting the Secure="yes" attribute:

<Property Id="MYPROPERTY" Secure="yes">Send this text to deferred mode</Property>

---

Name Match: the property name you assign the value to must match the deferred mode custom action Id. Looks OK in your source.

More Technical: the Property attribute's value of the type 51 action must be identical to the Id of the custom action that is consuming CustomActionData:

<!-- Declare property with value -->
<Property Id="MYPROPERTY" Secure="yes">Send this text to deferred mode</Property>

<!-- Type 51 CA: Send value of MYPROPERTY to the deferred mode CA named MyAction -->
<CustomAction Id="MyAction.SetProperty" Return="check" Property="MyAction" Value="[MYPROPERTY]" />

<!-- The deferred mode custom action -->
<CustomAction Id="MyAction" Return="check" Execute="deferred" BinaryKey="CAs" DllEntry="MyAction" />

<!-- ... -->

<!-- Inserting the CAs in sequence -->
<InstallExecuteSequence>
    <Custom Action="MyAction.SetProperty" After="InstallInitialize" />
    <Custom Action="MyAction" Before="InstallFinalize" />
</InstallExecuteSequence>

Here are some resources:

• How to pass CustomActionData to a CustomAction using WiX?
• https://www.firegiant.com/wix/tutorial/events-and-actions/at-a-later-stage/
• How to access installer properties from deferred custom actions
• Accessing or Setting Windows Installer Properties Through Deferred, Commit, and Rollback Custom Actions
• Getting CustomActionData in deferred custom action

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Just for debugging reference. And you can use: string data = session["CustomActionData"];

---

Tell you what, let me slide in the code to test using VBScript so you can use message boxes. Should not be necessary, just in case you have a debugging issue:

VBScript "Simple.vbs" (save as file):

MsgBox Session.Property("CustomActionData")

WiX markup change:

<Binary Id='Simple.vbs' SourceFile='Simple.vbs' />
<CustomAction Id="MyAction" Return="check" Execute="deferred" BinaryKey="Simple.vbs" VBScriptCall='' />

Just in case that is easier. Recommend you use VBScript for debugging only. I like VBScript to get a "heartbeat" when I want to eliminate all other error sources.

Painstaking

Thank you, that did it? I was missing my declared property and I still had my button action (Event="DoAction") firing on menu press "Continue". I removed the action because I no longer need to trigger my deferred action as it is triggered by my InstallExecuteSequence. – Acker

Glad it worked. The answer got a little bit unstructured since I discovered new stuff along the way. – Antisepticize

Can I do that if i need to run custom action Before="AppSearch". Because on Microsoft page write "Deferred execution custom actions must come after InstallInitialize and come before InstallFinalize in the action sequence.". And when I do it in this way I steel have error 2762. But I need erly run my custom action with Execute="deferred". – Psychodiagnostics

An immediate mode custom action can basically run at any time, but it can not run elevated (unless you launch the whole setup elevated from an elevated command prompt) and they run with user-context impersonation (as opposed to deferred custom actions that run as the system account). – Antisepticize