ASP.NET web setup, custom actions, windows installer SDK

lyl209

Hi,
I am trying to create a web setup project for my asp.net 2.0 website
and I had some problems. It worked fine until I want to add some custom
actions into it. As some of you already knew, custom actions get fired
AFTER the real installation is done.

I want to do some things like
1) check if some required software is in position if not execute an
installer
2) backup some important files before installation
3) check if previous version exists, if so uninstall it

But I need the installer execute my code in some sequence but it just
can't!

So, my question is, how do I do this? I heard about Orca, is this gonna
help me? Or will Windows installer SDK help me here?

Thanks in advance.

May 19 '06 #1

Subscribe Reply

2867

Stefan Krueger [MVP]

In general, Windows Installer has many options for scheduling custom
actions, but Visual Studio doesn't expose them. So generally speaking a more
powerful authoring tool should help you. Orca is a very low level tool which
can do this but it's not very convenient, and you need to read the SDK to
make sure you understand what you are doing.
Recommended reading:
http://blogs.msdn.com/windows_instal...01/587990.aspx
List of MSI authoring tools (including freeware and open source):
http://www.installsite.org/go/msidev.htm

To check for some other software and exit if it's not there you can use the
LaunchCondition table. If you want to install the missing software
automatically you may be able to use a custom action (that depends on the
software you want to install) but it's better to use a prerequisite
installer tool. See http://www.msifaq.com/a/1036.htm

To backup existing files you can use the MoveFile table.

To detect and uninstall the previous version you can use the Upgrade table.
In Visual Studio there's an option "remove previous version" that you can
set to true.

--
Stefan Krueger
Microsoft Windows Installer MVP

Please post your questions in the newsgroup or vist one of these web sites:

Windows Installer FAQ
http://www.msifaq.com - http://www.msifaq.de

InstallSite - Resources for Setup Developers
http://www.installsite.org
http://www.installsite.de (GERMAN)
<ly****@gmail.c om> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:11******** *************@i 39g2000cwa.goog legroups.com...

Hi,
I am trying to create a web setup project for my asp.net 2.0 website
and I had some problems. It worked fine until I want to add some custom
actions into it. As some of you already knew, custom actions get fired
AFTER the real installation is done.

I want to do some things like
1) check if some required software is in position if not execute an
installer
2) backup some important files before installation
3) check if previous version exists, if so uninstall it

But I need the installer execute my code in some sequence but it just
can't!

So, my question is, how do I do this? I heard about Orca, is this gonna
help me? Or will Windows installer SDK help me here?

Thanks in advance.

May 22 '06 #2

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