Hi all !
So I am tasked with creating an installer that I can push to clients, I would love the installer to have the following features:
-Prompt the user to update if there is an update available
-Update a single exe and two folders that are packaged with the msi (the MSi has two cabinet files to go along with it) without changing other files as some are generated once the user runs one of our programs.
I've been dabbling with the trial version so far and love the way the installer looks and feels, and so far Is amazing, Im just not too sure how to go about the updater, its a little confusing reading the docs.
Thanks
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Re: Love the way the installer looks and feels
Hello and welcome to Advanced Installer forums,
First of all, thank you for giving Advanced Installer a try. I am glad you are pleased by our product.
Let's talk a little bit about updates, so we can better understand some terms.
There are 2 installation types that we can use to deliver the update:
1. Major Upgrade
2. Patch
A Major Upgrade installation package represents a standalone setup (MSI or EXE), “an improved version of the old self” and when applied, it replaces the previous version. It first uninstalls the previous version and then installs itself, bringing the application up to date.
This is how a major upgrade installation works:
Previous version (installed on the machine) --> launch major upgrade installation package --> previous version gets uninstalled from the machine --> major upgrade package is installed
One big advantage of the major upgrade is the fact that it can either be installed as an update or as a standalone installer (e.g. if no previous version is installed, the package will install successfully).
A patch package is an MSP file containing usually only the diffs (changes) between the previous and the updated version.
Here is how a patch works:
Previous version (installed on the machine) --> launch patch --> previous version gets updated (it is not removed from the machine)
However, if the previous version is not installed on the machine, the patch will fail. As explained above, the patch only contains the differences between two packages. For instance, let's say that you have 2 versions of your setup (setup1 and setup2). Setup1 contains 3 files in it, while setup2 contains 4 files in it (the 3 files from setup1 + another file). The patch installation package will only contain the 4th file (in the example above).
With that being said, for your second point, it seems that you could use our support for patches. For more information about this, please have a look on the following articles:
- Creating Patches
- Authoring a Windows Installer Patch
In what regards your first point, could you please let me know (from the tutorial), what exactly is not clear, so I can try to (hopefully) better explain it?
Looking forwad to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Catalin
First of all, thank you for giving Advanced Installer a try. I am glad you are pleased by our product.
Let's talk a little bit about updates, so we can better understand some terms.
There are 2 installation types that we can use to deliver the update:
1. Major Upgrade
2. Patch
A Major Upgrade installation package represents a standalone setup (MSI or EXE), “an improved version of the old self” and when applied, it replaces the previous version. It first uninstalls the previous version and then installs itself, bringing the application up to date.
This is how a major upgrade installation works:
Previous version (installed on the machine) --> launch major upgrade installation package --> previous version gets uninstalled from the machine --> major upgrade package is installed
One big advantage of the major upgrade is the fact that it can either be installed as an update or as a standalone installer (e.g. if no previous version is installed, the package will install successfully).
A patch package is an MSP file containing usually only the diffs (changes) between the previous and the updated version.
Here is how a patch works:
Previous version (installed on the machine) --> launch patch --> previous version gets updated (it is not removed from the machine)
However, if the previous version is not installed on the machine, the patch will fail. As explained above, the patch only contains the differences between two packages. For instance, let's say that you have 2 versions of your setup (setup1 and setup2). Setup1 contains 3 files in it, while setup2 contains 4 files in it (the 3 files from setup1 + another file). The patch installation package will only contain the 4th file (in the example above).
With that being said, for your second point, it seems that you could use our support for patches. For more information about this, please have a look on the following articles:
- Creating Patches
- Authoring a Windows Installer Patch
In what regards your first point, could you please let me know (from the tutorial), what exactly is not clear, so I can try to (hopefully) better explain it?
Looking forwad to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Catalin