WiX - not executing custom action during update

Question

I have two custom actions (immediate and deferrend). I would like to skipping actions during upgrade.

I tried:

 <Product Id="*" Name="$(var.ProductName)" Language="1033" Version="$(var.Version)" 
          Manufacturer="$(var.Manufacturer)" UpgradeCode="{GUID}">

    <MajorUpgrade DowngradeErrorMessage="Newer version is already installed." />

<Custom Action='CAa' After='InstallInitialize'>NOT Installed AND NOT PATCH</Custom>

and:

<Custom Action='CAa' After='InstallInitialize'>NOT Installed AND NOT UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE</Custom>

Currently, actions starts during the update.

Answer 1

When you're doing a major upgrade with WiX MajorUpgrade the WIX_UPGRADE_DETECTED is set - see:

http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/xsd/wix/majorupgrade.html

so that is what you use in the upgrade install to detect that there is an older product installed. In other words it means that the new incoming install has detected an older version that is being upgraded.

UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE is not the one to use. This property is set in the old product being upgraded and uninstalled so it knows the difference between being uninstalled and being upgraded, as the docs here say:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372380(v=vs.85).aspx

"An application determines whether it is being removed by an upgrade or the Add or Remove Programs by checking UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE."

Its value is the ProductCode of the incoming upgrade that is causing it to be removed.