scar-chat7/installer

Windows Installer Build Instructions

Prerequisites

1. WiX Toolset - Download and install from https://wixtoolset.org/

   • WiX 3.x or WiX 4.x
   • Add WiX bin directory to PATH

2. Built Binaries - Build the Release configuration:

   cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
   cmake --build build --config Release
   

3. Dependencies - Ensure all DLL dependencies are available:

   • Qt6 runtime DLLs
   • OpenSSL DLLs
   • FFmpeg DLLs
   • Boost DLLs (if dynamically linked)

Building the Installer

Step 1: Update installer.wxs

Replace all PUT-GUID-HERE placeholders with actual GUIDs. Generate GUIDs using PowerShell:

[guid]::NewGuid()

Or use online GUID generators.

Step 2: Update Paths

Edit build_installer.ps1 and update the following paths to match your system:

$BuildDir = "..\build\Release"          # Your build output directory
$Qt6Dir = "C:\Qt\6.x.x\msvc2022_64"     # Qt6 installation
$OpenSSLDir = "C:\OpenSSL-Win64"        # OpenSSL installation
$FFmpegDir = "C:\ffmpeg"                # FFmpeg installation

Step 3: Run Build Script

cd installer
.\build_installer.ps1

This will create Scar Chat.msi in the installer directory.

Manual Build

If you prefer to build manually:

cd installer

# Compile
candle.exe installer.wxs ^
    -dBuildDir=..\build\Release ^
    -dQt6Dir=C:\Qt\6.x.x\msvc2022_64 ^
    -dOpenSSLDir=C:\OpenSSL-Win64 ^
    -dFFmpegDir=C:\ffmpeg ^
    -dSourceDir=.. ^
    -ext WixUIExtension

# Link
light.exe installer.wixobj ^
    -ext WixUIExtension ^
    -out "Scar Chat.msi"

Installer Features

The MSI installer includes:

• Main executable (scarchat.exe)
• All required Qt6 DLLs
• OpenSSL libraries
• FFmpeg libraries for video/screen capture
• Start Menu shortcut
• Standard install/uninstall functionality
• Per-machine installation

Customization

Add Application Icon

1. Create an .ico file for the application
2. Uncomment the Icon section in installer.wxs:

   <Icon Id="AppIcon" SourceFile="$(var.SourceDir)\app_icon.ico" />
   <Property Id="ARPPRODUCTICON" Value="AppIcon" />
   

Additional Files

To include additional files, add new <Component> elements in the ProductComponents group:

<Component Id="MyFile" Guid="YOUR-GUID-HERE">
    <File Id="MyFileId" Source="$(var.SourceDir)\myfile.txt" />
</Component>

Troubleshooting

Missing DLLs

If the installed application fails to run due to missing DLLs:

1. Use Dependency Walker or similar tool to identify missing DLLs
2. Add them to the installer.wxs Components section
3. Rebuild the MSI

Qt Plugins

If Qt plugins are needed (e.g., platforms, imageformats), add them:

<Directory Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Name="Scar Chat">
    <Directory Id="PlatformsFolder" Name="platforms" />
</Directory>

<Component Id="QtPlatformsPlugin" Directory="PlatformsFolder" Guid="YOUR-GUID">
    <File Source="$(var.Qt6Dir)\plugins\platforms\qwindows.dll" />
</Component>

Version Updates

To create a new version:

1. Update the Version attribute in the <Product> element
2. Keep the same UpgradeCode to allow upgrades
3. Rebuild the MSI

The MajorUpgrade element will automatically handle uninstalling old versions.