Tools and Concepts

The WiX toolset is tightly coupled with the Windows Installer technology. In order to fully utilize the features in WiX, you must be familiar with the Windows Installer concepts. This section assumes you have a working knowledge of the Windows Installer database format. For information on Windows Installer, see Useful Windows Installer Information.

WiX File Types

There is a set of tools that WiX offers to fulfill the needs of building Windows Installer-based packages. Each tool outputs a type of file that can be consumed as inputs of another tool. After processing through the appropriate tools, the final installer is produced.

To get familiar with the WiX file types, see File Types.

WiX Tools

Once you are familiar with the file types, see how the file types are produced by what WiX tools by visiting List of Tools. For a graphical view of the WiX tools and how they interact with each other, see WiX Toolset Diagram.

WiX Schema

The core WiX schema is a close mirror with the MSI tables. For helpful hints on how the WiX schema maps to MSI tables, see MSI Tables to WiX Schema.