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c#asp.net-mvcwix.net-4.5wix3.9

How can I delete generated folders and files via Wix on uninstall?


After an installation, I have the following folder structure in the folder C:\Program Files (x86):

Folder Structure after install

The Path to the folder generated is: C:\Program Files (x86)\CompanyName\AppName\generated

The folder generated contains subfolders and files they will be created by the application during the runtime via C# code:

var lPathToDir = Path.Combine(lFileService.GetFilePath, pSamAccountName);

if (!Directory.Exists(lPathToDir))
{
    Directory.CreateDirectory(lPathToDir);
}

The variable lPathToDir could have the values:

C:\Program Files (x86)\CompanyName\AppName\generated\user1
// or
C:\Program Files (x86)\CompanyName\AppName\generated\user2

Then it looks like:

enter image description here

My Problem: After an uninstall, these subfolders user1, user2 will not be removed. I use the following Wix declaration:

<!-- Target installation folder -->
<Directory Id="ProgramFilesFolder" Name="$(var.ProgramFilesFolder)">
    <Directory Id="APPLICATIONFOLDER" Name="$(var.AppFolderName)">

      <Directory Id="BIN" Name="bin" />
      <Directory Id="HELP" Name="help" />
      <Directory Id="GENERATED" Name="generated" />

      <Component Id="RemoveAll" Guid="THE-GUID-HERE">
        <RemoveFile Id="RemoveAllFilesOnUninstall" Directory="APPLICATIONFOLDER" Name="*.*" On="uninstall" />
        <RemoveFolder Id="RemoveAllFoldersOnUninstall" Directory="APPLICATIONFOLDER" On="uninstall" />
        <util:RemoveFolderEx On="uninstall" Property="GENERATED" />
      </Component>

    </Directory>
</Directory>

After uninstall:

enter image description here

Why do these folders stay and how can I remove these generated folders from the installation folder? Perhaps do I need to set any permissions when I create these folders via C#?


Solution

  • Works now with RemoveFolderEx as suggested by Bob Arnson. But in addition to the declaration <util:RemoveFolderEx On="uninstall" Property="APPLICATIONFOLDER" /> there are also some registry declarations necessary:

    <!-- add this: -->
    <Property Id="APPLICATIONFOLDER">
      <RegistrySearch Key="SOFTWARE\$(var.Manufacturer)\$(var.AppName)" Root="HKLM" Type="raw" Id="APPLICATIONFOLDER_REGSEARCH" Name="Path" />
    </Property>
    

      <Directory Id="BIN" Name="bin" />
      <Directory Id="HELP" Name="help" />
      <Directory Id="GENERATED" Name="generated" />
    
      <Component Id="RemoveAll" Guid="THE-GUID-HERE">
        <RemoveFile Id="RemoveAllFilesOnUninstall" Directory="APPLICATIONFOLDER" Name="*.*" On="uninstall" />
        <RemoveFolder Id="RemoveAllFoldersOnUninstall" Directory="APPLICATIONFOLDER" On="uninstall" />
    
        <!-- add this: -->
        <RegistryValue Root="HKLM" Key="SOFTWARE\$(var.Manufacturer)\$(var.AppName)" Name="Path" Type="string" Value="[APPLICATIONFOLDER]" KeyPath="yes" />
    
        <util:RemoveFolderEx On="uninstall" Property="APPLICATIONFOLDER" />
      </Component>
    
    </Directory>