WiX remove LocalAppData (AppData\Local\my_app_folder) on uninstall

Question

I have a wix setup project which creates a ProgramMenu shortcut and a Desktop shortcut. I am able to remove these shortcuts by using RemoveFolder.

<!-- To remove Desktop shortcut -->
<RemoveFolder Id="RemoveDesktopFolder" Directory="DesktopFolder" On="uninstall"/>

<!-- To remove ProgramMenu shortcut-->
<RemoveFolder Id="CleanUpShortCut" Directory="ApplicationProgramsFolder" On="uninstall" />

However, on uninstall, I also want to be able to clear the current user's LocalAppData. More specifially, Users\CurrentUser\AppData\Local\my_application

So far, I have figured out that the RemoveFolder does not remove files recursively and that I would have to use util:RemoveFolderEx. This is how I have done it:

  <Directory Id="LocalAppDataFolder" Name="Local">
    <Directory Id="RemoveLocalData" Name="my_application">
      <Component Id="RemoveLocalAppData" Guid="PUT-GUID-HERE">
        <util:RemoveFolderEx On="uninstall" Property="RemoveLocalData"/>
        <RemoveFolder Id="RemoveLocalData" On="uninstall"/>
      </Component>
    </Directory>
  </Directory>

And I get this error:
ICE38: Component RemoveLocalAppData installs to user profile. It must use a registry key under HKCU as its KeyPath, not a file.

I figure I am not using RemoveFolderEx properly, but I do not know the right way in this case to clear my LocalAppData.

Note, I do not create the folder during installation. Instead, this [LocalAppData]\my_application is created post-installation at run-time by the application.

I have found a link that may be useful for this issue. Will update post if it solves my issue. https://pkisensee.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/windows-installer-removing-folders/ — Suhaib Ahmad, Nov 09 '17 at 10:01

Suhaib Ahmad · Accepted Answer · 2017-11-10T07:13:50.197

Finally managed to delete current user's LocalAppData(cache) with help from the following the link: https://pkisensee.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/windows-installer-removing-folders/

In order to successfully delete the application's LocalAppData folder, I would have to search the registry (using RegistrySearch) for the location of the application cache folder and store it in a Property.

<Property Id="CACHEFOLDER">
     <RegistrySearch Key="Software\CompanyName\AppName" Root="HKCU" Type="raw"
                     Id="CacheFolderRegSearch" Name="CachePath" />
</Property>

However, at the moment this registry entry does not exist, and the path would not be resolved. Hence during installation, I have to save the location of the LocalAppData cache folder in the registry, so that on uninstall, I can do a RegistrySearch and remove the cache folder recursively by util:RemoveFolderEx.

To do that, I set the RegistryValue in a component as such:

<Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">

    <!-- ... -->

    <!-- This is the name of the cache folder in LocalAppData -->
    <!-- In this case the cache folder is in \Users\CurrentUser\AppData\Local\MyAppCache -->
    <?define AppCacheFolder = "MyAppCache" ?>
    <Component Id="CacheCleanup" Guid="*">
         <RegistryValue Root="HKCU" Key="Software\CompanyName\AppName" Name="CachePath" 
                        Type="string" Value="[LocalAppData]$(var.AppCacheFolder)"                   
                        KeyPath="yes" />
         <util:RemoveFolderEx On="uninstall" Property="CACHEFOLDER"/>
    </Component>

    <!-- ... -->

</Directory>

Note that this is done within the TARGETDIR directory

And finally, need to register that component into a Feature

<Feature Id="MainApplication" Title="App Name" Level="1">
    <!-- Other Components -->
    <ComponentRef Id="CacheCleanup" />
</Feature>

Note that in WiX 3.11.1 I had to use [LocalAppDataFolder] instead of [LocalAppData] — bergmeister, Aug 02 '18 at 16:40
What if someone externally sets the "CachePath" registry value to "C:/" before the uninstaller is run? Will the uninstaller then go on to delete all files on the partition without warning? — puzzlepaint, Dec 02 '21 at 00:08
That's a brilliant question! It's been years since I've last worked on this, so I'm not entirely sure myself. Might need someone with better understanding/experience to answer that. All I can say is to make sure that the applicaiton's `CachePath` registry value is protected from modications? — Suhaib Ahmad, Dec 02 '21 at 09:44
It's late but it may help others, you can use [AppDataFolder] instead of LocalAppData to reach \Users\CurrentUser\AppData\\Roaming\ — Rajdip Khavad, Jul 13 '22 at 05:09

WiX remove LocalAppData (AppData\Local\my_app_folder) on uninstall

1 Answers1

Linked