I added splash screen into bundle. On certain machines splash screen displays for ~3 seconds but on few machines it just flashes (less than a second) and launches the welcome screen.
<Bundle Name="MyApp"
Version="6.0.0.0"
Manufacturer="MyOrganisation"
UpgradeCode="eaf358e7-be06-48b9-a6d5-89d9b4da6932"
SplashScreenSourceFile="images/SplashOriginal.bmp"
IconSourceFile="images/logo.ico" >
I expect splash screen stays for few seconds on all machines but its not behaving the same way.
Rob Mensching: Here is the WiX creator Rob Mensching himself on the issue (WiX mailing list): http://windows-installer-xml-wix-toolset.687559.n2.nabble.com/Wix-3-6-Burn-SplashScreenSourceFile-Flashes-td6951793.html
Managed BA: I wouldn't really recommend a managed BA (bootstrapper application) for a
setup.exe. You get a dependency on the .NET framework that I don't like.
Short: The below turned into a speech: the gist of it: setup GUI is overrated. Focus on the application launch instead? For corporate deployment setup GUI is never seen or used - everything is silently deployed. Hence the futility of advance setup GUI?
Need-For-Speed: 1) Setups that are over before they have begun is a new problem in the age of NVMe disks and improved computer I/O and broadband Internet. I think this is one more reason to simplify the GUI in your setup. There are several other reasons: 2) licensing is an example (of what you should avoid in a setup), 3) GUI bugs is another, 4) the complicated debugging of setups as opposed to applications is important (complexities: conditioning, sequencing, impersonation, debugger connection, etc...), 5) and the fact that GUI is normally suppressed for corporate deployment (silent installation), and there are further reasons such as 6) limited GUI feature set, 7) testing is hard, localization is hard, etc...
Advice: I would just focus on getting files installed instead - for all these reasons and more. If you never get the application installed properly, the user can never use or test out your software for purchase. Expensive mistake. You can do a lot during your application launch - including showing the image you refer to for as long as you want with full control with use of normal debugging approaches for applications. I would do that instead of hacking your setup too much.
Online Help: You could open a web-page where this image of yours is prominent - from the setup or your application - and you can keep help material there for the user to check at their own pace. It can also be updated on the server and maintained. I always harass people with this suggestion :-) - and the reasons are many - especially that errors in help material can cause a lot of re-work to re-deploy a software when it is better to keep the content online for maintenance and to make the setup lean and mean.
All time C++ allusion:
#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
New Motto: Setups be lean and mean.