Hi. I am just learning the ropes of the Advanced Installer and I have a question. I am installing multiple applications that share a file, and they access the file in the same place. The problem is that when I un-install any of the applications the file is deleted and the other applications fail. I do not want multiple copies of the file. I am sure AI can handle this but I have not figured it out yet. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
Paul
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Re: Shared File
Hi Paul,
For what you need you can try making sure that:
- the file is installed in the same location by all packages which use it
- the component of the file (in the Organization page) uses the same GUID and the same name in all packages
This way, Windows Installer will see the component as shared between packages and it will use a reference count for it. Installing a package with the shared component will increase the reference count and uninstalling one will decrease the reference count. The component is removed when the reference count reaches 0 (the last package which contains the shared component is uninstalled).
Regards,
Cosmin
For what you need you can try making sure that:
- the file is installed in the same location by all packages which use it
- the component of the file (in the Organization page) uses the same GUID and the same name in all packages
This way, Windows Installer will see the component as shared between packages and it will use a reference count for it. Installing a package with the shared component will increase the reference count and uninstalling one will decrease the reference count. The component is removed when the reference count reaches 0 (the last package which contains the shared component is uninstalled).
Regards,
Cosmin