Question about installer classes/custom actions during setup & deployment projects.

  • Thread starter Thread starter RMZ
  • Start date Start date
R

RMZ

By default a VS.NET 2005 generated setup and deployment MSI will
prompt the user to "remove or repair" if they attempt to run the MSI
after already installing the application.

I would like to change this behavior so that instead the user is
prompted to "remove or reinstall". Is this possible? Do I need to user
a custom action to perform this? My understanding is custom actions
execute at the end of the install process... If I were able to do this
with a custom action it seems I would be manually going to the
registry and removing the key so the installer could overwrite, that
process seems like a hack to me and I would like to do this the proper
way.

My client is persistent about the installer UI prompting for "remove
or reinstall".
 
By default a VS.NET 2005 generated setup and deployment MSI will
prompt the user to "remove or repair" if they attempt to run the MSI
after already installing the application.

I would like to change this behavior so that instead the user is
prompted to "remove or reinstall". Is this possible? Do I need to user
a custom action to perform this? My understanding is custom actions
execute at the end of the install process... If I were able to do this
with a custom action it seems I would be manually going to the
registry and removing the key so the installer could overwrite, that
process seems like a hack to me and I would like to do this the proper
way.

My client is persistent about the installer UI prompting for "remove
or reinstall".
Click to expand...

The answer to my question seems multi-part.

1. It seems that knowledge of the Windows Installer is illusive even
to MS people, no good documentation on the SDK and nominal support for
the VS.NET 2005 Setup & Depolyment tools

2. The VS.NET 2005 Setup & Deployment tools are intended to provide a
simple MSI builder solution with scalability through installer classes
that can be written in .NET languages. However, the Setup & Deployment
tool included with VS.NET has its limits and the desired functionality
is an example of such a limit. Ultimately, some aspects of this tool
are non-configurable and the the developer looking to go past these
limitations can either use unmanaged C++ to target the Windows
Installer API and create a custom (albeit much more code-intensive)
solution -or- purchase a more robust third-party tool (e.g.
InstallShield or WISE).
 
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