Update Install and Sample Files

[Hale-]

Hello.

I've been using your product for a couple of months now (daily) and I really like what it does for me. I used Installshield a few years ago and I found my startup and day-to-day operations better here.

I have one major suggestion and a couple of questions that I haven't found the answer to on your forum.

First the suggestion. I have a doctorate in education and 30 years experience with computer systems so I'm not really a beginner here. With that background I strongly suggest you spend some time with someone is not immersed in MSI and go over your help screens. Time after time I understand all of the words but the meaning doesn't get through. Other times the help simply repeats the items name. I also find critical information missing. Here is one example taken from the Organization Help.

Source Only
The component can only be run from source.
(Since I don't know what the source is describing, "source" as being the "source" doesn't help me much"

Optional
The component can run locally or from source.
(This doesn't help me either. I understand every word. I just don't understand the sentence.)

Transitive
Windows Installer reevaluates the statement from the Condition field after a reinstall.
(Nice words - not much information The Condition field is described as a Boolean expression, but we are never told what kinds for "variables" can be evaluated nor do we have the syntax for the evaluation.)

Please - this feature should be way up there in your priorities.

'nuf - I hope this comment helps.

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Now for the questions.

1. I have a large install (35 meg - hey it's large for an application that is basically a VBA macro). I want to be able to create an update that just changes the main executable. Most of our changes don't require a full update. In fact our update includes a number of template files that each customer will edit and I never want to overwrite these. The bottom line is that I'm not sure how a partial install on top of a full install changes things on the system. I can see the uninstall only referring to the one file I changed in the update install or the system not recognizing that a critical part had been deleted/corrupted and so we wouldn't see the MSI window pop up and ask for the install file. Can you describe how to safely work with a full install and an update install.

2. I have some example files I install. How do I mark these so that if the user erases them or renames them the system doesn't call for the install file and "restore" them?

Thanks and keep up the great work!!

hale@halepringle.com

[Cata]

Hi Hale,

Thanks for the great write-up. You are perfectly right about the Help files. Their quality could and should be much better. We are trying our best to improve them, but the Windows Installer technology is not easy to explain.

We try to explain our product's functionality, but where it comes to WI, currently one must read the MSDN, the Windows Installer SDK.

We will try to improve the situation in the future and we'll focus on to-the-point tutorials.

Your questions:

1. First of all, as a general idea, you should NOT modify installed files. Those should be just templates, from which the modifiable files are created.

Anyway, the solution for your issue, called Patches will be available in our next release (2.6). Until then, if you use Updates, you need a Custom Action which saves the file on install and copies it back on Commit.

2. Put them in a separate Feature, and the user can install/uninstall that feature as he sees fit. If he removes the file by hand - it will be repaired. Work with the system here, not against it.

All the best,
Cata