Asp Forum - How to remove the setup file recovery from a .net 2003 setup proje

Spaz

6/22/2006 6:16:00 PM

Hello,
I am working with .net 2003 and setting up a 'setup project' for my
solution. I can build a setup package fine. My problem is that I do not want
the installer to re-evaluate the installation each time the installed
application Icon is launched. The install package is part of a setup image
for our workstations and once the workstations are deployed, they will no
longer have access to the original install package. (Making a local copy and
installing from there is not an option)
Researching this led me to the following. There is a 'Condition'
property that can be set at the file level in the properties for each file.
The condition is to be set to 'not reinstall' along with 'Transitive'
property to 'True'. This has to be done at a file by file instance. A severe
limitation to this is that when I create a icon link (shortcut) in the 'Setup
Project' the link properties do not have a 'Condition' value that can be set.
So the above work around fails to work for links. The link (shortcut) was
added to the project by the 'Add New Shortcut' option. Using the 'Primary
Output' of my solution as the target.
As an attempted workaround, I tried to create a link (shortcut) through
windows and then add the .lnk file to the project. Unfortunately the studio
imports the actual target .exe of the link and not the link itself. So I'm
kinda at a loss now.

Any suggestions???

Thanks
Eric

3 Answers

Phil Wilson

6/24/2006 7:11:00 PM

Repair is a built-in feature of MSI setups and there are a number of things
that can cause it to to kick in, shortcuts being one of them. What would you
do if the user suspects that the product is broken and goes to Add/Remove
Programs and clicks Repair? Or one of the other repair points kicks in?

Rule 31:
http://blogs.msdn.com/windows_installer_team/archive/2006/05/24/6...

This too I suspect: http://ablog.apress.com/?p=86...
--
Phil Wilson
[Microsoft MVP-Windows Installer]
Definitive Guide to Windows Installer
http://apress.com/book/bookDisplay.ht...

"Spaz" <Spaz@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3C52376D-B010-4056-ABDD-BF2E2EFCD7D9@microsoft.com...
> Hello,
> I am working with .net 2003 and setting up a 'setup project' for my
> solution. I can build a setup package fine. My problem is that I do not
> want
> the installer to re-evaluate the installation each time the installed
> application Icon is launched. The install package is part of a setup image
> for our workstations and once the workstations are deployed, they will no
> longer have access to the original install package. (Making a local copy
> and
> installing from there is not an option)
> Researching this led me to the following. There is a 'Condition'
> property that can be set at the file level in the properties for each
> file.
> The condition is to be set to 'not reinstall' along with 'Transitive'
> property to 'True'. This has to be done at a file by file instance. A
> severe
> limitation to this is that when I create a icon link (shortcut) in the
> 'Setup
> Project' the link properties do not have a 'Condition' value that can be
> set.
> So the above work around fails to work for links. The link (shortcut) was
> added to the project by the 'Add New Shortcut' option. Using the 'Primary
> Output' of my solution as the target.
> As an attempted workaround, I tried to create a link (shortcut) through
> windows and then add the .lnk file to the project. Unfortunately the
> studio
> imports the actual target .exe of the link and not the link itself. So I'm
> kinda at a loss now.
>
> Any suggestions???
>
> Thanks
> Eric
>

Spaz

6/26/2006 2:48:00 PM

To answer your questions a bit:
In our environment, the end user does not have the permission to add or
remove programs. That is a Security design I have no control over in our
shop. So the only time a 'Repair' can be run is when a IT staff member logs
into that machine. The repair option is a feature that is liked, but only
through the Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. The problem I am coming
across is that the when the user clicks on the application link that I had
the installer add to the Program Manager Group and/or the Desktop, the
windows installer opens up and validates all the files. Just like a repair
process. So the issues I run into are:
- This is not a mechanism we want to happen when a user launches an
application
- The original setup package will not be available to the end user
- If the user decides to delete the desktop icon and only wants to launch it
via the program group, the installer's auto repair process re-inserts the
icon back onto the desktop.

Based on the link you sent me I did find the answers I was looking for in
the http://ablog.apress.com/?p=86... link

.....then they find that it repairs itself if they remove files, so now they
want to stop this happening, despite the fact that this is a basic feature of
Windows Installer ....

.....features of MSI (like the self-repair) that are important when designing
a setup...

And lastly
....Evaluate whether Visual Studio setups (and MSI setups) meet your
requirements...

Which based on the 2 link you advised me to look over, I don't think the MSI
package is best for us. It was chosen by the power that may be here because
it is an included part of the studio and would not have to get other product
licenses.

I Thank you for your input, it was very helpful.

Eric T.

Phil Wilson

6/27/2006 5:18:00 AM

You might be able to get away with editing the MSI file after you've built
it, using Orca, go to the Property table and add a new row, value
DISABLEADVTSHORTCUTS (that's case sensitive) with a value of 1. That should
prevent shortcut activation of repair, but there are other actions that will
cause it to kick in.
--
Phil Wilson
[Microsoft MVP-Windows Installer]

"Spaz" <Spaz@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:207A7DDC-800F-4B40-98BD-EE6708C7A0D9@microsoft.com...
> To answer your questions a bit:
> In our environment, the end user does not have the permission to add or
> remove programs. That is a Security design I have no control over in our
> shop. So the only time a 'Repair' can be run is when a IT staff member
> logs
> into that machine. The repair option is a feature that is liked, but only
> through the Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. The problem I am coming
> across is that the when the user clicks on the application link that I had
> the installer add to the Program Manager Group and/or the Desktop, the
> windows installer opens up and validates all the files. Just like a repair
> process. So the issues I run into are:
> - This is not a mechanism we want to happen when a user launches an
> application
> - The original setup package will not be available to the end user
> - If the user decides to delete the desktop icon and only wants to launch
> it
> via the program group, the installer's auto repair process re-inserts the
> icon back onto the desktop.
>
> Based on the link you sent me I did find the answers I was looking for in
> the http://ablog.apress.com/?p=86... link
>
> ....then they find that it repairs itself if they remove files, so now
> they
> want to stop this happening, despite the fact that this is a basic feature
> of
> Windows Installer ....
>
> ....features of MSI (like the self-repair) that are important when
> designing
> a setup...
>
> And lastly
> ...Evaluate whether Visual Studio setups (and MSI setups) meet your
> requirements...
>
> Which based on the 2 link you advised me to look over, I don't think the
> MSI
> package is best for us. It was chosen by the power that may be here
> because
> it is an included part of the studio and would not have to get other
> product
> licenses.
>
> I Thank you for your input, it was very helpful.
>
> Eric T.
>

microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.setup

How to remove the setup file recovery from a .net 2003 setup proje

Spaz

Phil Wilson

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Phil Wilson

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