WiX Installer: using xslt with heat.exe to update attributes

Question

I am trying to create a WiX installer for a Windows service, and I have read that I need to set the KeyPath to “no” for all my files, with the exception of the .exe in my Wi

Answer 1

I won't answer your original question. :)

I have read that I nned to set the keyPath to “no” for all my files, with the exception of the .exe

I think you were mislead. In reality the ServiceInstall table has a column Component_, and according to MSDN:

to install this service using the InstallService table, the KeyPath for this component must be the executable file for the service.

It doesn't mean the non-exe files in other components should have @KeyPath='no'. It just says that the EXE file of the service should reside in a separate component and must be the key path of it.

The key path is a very important concept of the MSI technology. You can read more about it here, see the description of the KeyPath column.

Now, if we get back to your original question - no, you don't have to tweak the heat output the way you mentioned. It will generate the WiX authoring you need by default.