Hello
I'm absolutely stuck here creating a functional setup. Our needs are, I think, a little bit special.
I need an installer that can install multiple versions of our software side by side on one client.
But also we need the ability to install multiple instances of the same version on the same client.
Therefor it's possible that there are for example two installations of version 15.0.0, one installation of version 15.1.0 and two installations of version 16.0.0 on the same machine.
So I set the option "Allow side by side installs of different product versions".
Also I set the option "Generate instances at installation time".
During our tests of the setup I found the following behaviors (I hope my explanations are understandable):
1.) If I run the same exact setup multiple times, I can successfully install multiple instances.
2.) Now I compile the setup again without any version changes (I changed only the background image for the setup dialogs).
In this case the setup seems to be working, the dialog where I can choose to install a new instance pops up and the setup also takes the desired instance name. But as soon as I click on "Install" on the dialog "VerifyReadyDlg" the "ProgressDlg" dialog is shown and a message pops up saying "An other version of this product is already installed. Installation of this version cannot continue. To configure or remove the existing version of this product, use Add/Remove Programs on the Control Panel."
If I confirm this message the setup hangs and has to be killed using task manager.
3.) Now I compile the setup again and change the third diggit of the version (e.g. from 15.0.0 to 15.0.1) and choose "Patch".
The behavior in this case is exactly the same as in section 2. The same message pops up as soon as the installation begins.
4.) Finally I compile the setup again after I changed the version again (from 15.0.1 to 15.0.2) and choose "Major Upgrade".
Now the dialog for choosing to install a new instance pops up but the setup ignores the choosen instance name and installs the software as if it were the first installation.
I can change the installation folder but the entry in Add/Remove programs shows the default product name. Also my shortcuts are created in the default instance folder and overwrite the already existing ones.
How can I achieve my goal? I think I'm doing something wrong here but I can't figure out what.
Do I have to change the version of the setup differently?
I hope you can help me!
Best regards
Stefan