Installer Identity

New-Installer defines the MSI package and runs the WiX build. These parameters are the ones you will usually set first.

• ProductName is required and appears in the installer and Add/Remove Programs.

• UpgradeCode is required. Generate it once for a product and keep it the same for every release of that product.

• Version defaults to 1.0. Increase it when shipping upgrades. Windows Installer blocks downgrades.

• ProductId defaults to *, which lets Windows Installer generate a new product code for the package.

• Manufacturer defaults to Ironman Software, LLC; set it to your organization for published installers.

• OutputDirectory is required and receives the MSI and WiX build artifacts.

• Platform defaults to x86 and accepts x86, x64, ia64, arm, intel, or intel64.

• Description, HelpLink, AboutLink, and AddRemoveProgramsIcon add installer metadata.

Generate an upgrade code once and store it in your build script or build configuration.

New-Guid

Do not call New-Guid inside the installer build for UpgradeCode after your first release. Changing the upgrade code makes Windows Installer treat the MSI as a different product.