ElijahZAwesome
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:41 pm

Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:47 am

So I have been trying out Advanced Installer, and it's very nice for what i've been trying to do. But one thing thats stopping me is how upgrading/patching works. I'm trying to make a small installer that installs a completely barebones version of my application, then an updater would grab everything else and install it. I want an update of my application to simply replace any applicable files, but keep all the old files. The application is very large (9 GB), so because of CAB and EXE limits I cannot just repackage the application. The closest I've gotten is splitting the applications folders into parts to keep each update under 2 GB (the CAB size limit and near the EXE size limit) but upgrading will uninstall the original version before or after installation, which is not what I want. And Patching Rules say that I can only replace files, not add new ones or delete old ones. Anyone know what I can do? Sorry if that was a bit hard to understand.

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:32 pm

Hi and welcome to our forums.

Thank you for your interest in Advanced Installer.

Indeed, a major upgrade always uninstall the old version and then install the new version. So the only option for you is to create a patch which allow you to replace or add new files, but not to remove the existing files.

If you have other questions, just let me know.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
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ElijahZAwesome
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:41 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:47 pm

I can't make a patch, unfortunately. The application is too big to be patched because of the 2GB CAB size limit, and I can't split up the patches into multiple parts because that's removing files, which breaks the patch rules.

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Thu Dec 06, 2018 3:16 pm

Hi,

You can create more features in your project so that all the features will have a size lower than 2 GB, then select the "One CAB archive per feature" option in the "Builds" page. In this case no CAB will exceed 2GB and a patch can be created.

You can see a discussion about packaging large applications on the "Maximum File Size" thread.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
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ElijahZAwesome
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:41 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Thu Dec 06, 2018 3:44 pm

I didn't know that was an option... Thank you, ill look into that. But can you still embed the multiple CABs into the MSI? (so that it can be downloaded with the updater)

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Fri Dec 07, 2018 10:28 am

Hi,

When multiple CABs are created, I'm afraid that they cannot be embedded in the MSI and the updater will not work in that case. The only option that works in this case is to create a "Web installer" package. In this case, the updater will download and launch the web installer, the web installer will download and launch the MSI package and the MSI package will download its CAB files.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
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ElijahZAwesome
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:41 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Fri Dec 07, 2018 2:16 pm

Woah, ok...

How do I go about having the MSI download the CAB files? I didn't even know that was possible...

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:48 pm

Hi,

As I mentioned above, if you use a web installer, the MSI and the CAB files will be downloaded automatically. However, if you want to install an MSI that downloads its CAB files you can proceed as described in the "Downloading an Installation from the Internet" article.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
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ElijahZAwesome
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:41 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:16 pm

I hate to keep asking questions, but how does the MSI know where to download the CAB files? Do I have to make a specific type of MSI? Or just a normal MSI with resources next to it? I'm looking through the AI tutorials and docs and it doesn't really detail how it really works.

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:27 pm

Hi,

I don't mind answering your questions. You only need a normal MSI package with resources next to it which should be placed at the same path on your server. For more details please read the "A URL-Based Windows Installer Installation Example" article.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
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ElijahZAwesome
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:41 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Wed Dec 12, 2018 3:18 pm

I've run into another problem

I've been trying to create a web installer using my server, but my server has a maximum file size limit that's smaller than 2 GB. To fix this, I tried using .htaccess to redirect the server URL to a direct google drive link (https://sites.google.com/site/gdocs2direct/), but when I try it, the bootstrapper says "downloading <mymsi>.msi" for a very short time, then closes and never comes back.

Is this not possible? Or is there a better way?

ElijahZAwesome
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:41 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Wed Dec 12, 2018 3:27 pm

The installer also does not work if I host the MSI itself on my server (with the cabs still on GDrive)

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Adding files but not uninstalling through update?

Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:06 pm

Hi,

I'm afraid that it is not possible to have the resources on different servers. They must be placed on the same server and at the same location. Only the name of the file itself should differ in the URL.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
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