Installer and Automatic Update Question

[TCook]

Hey All,

I have been asked to create an installer that would check to see if the
source Office app was running prior to installing new components.

In the same vein, I have also been asked to provide functionality that would
check components to see if the user had the latest updates.

The above said, what installer tools would you recommend (i.e. Wise,
InstallShield, etc.)?

How would you handle the automatic update (i.e. webservices, the new
'ClickOnce' functionality under .Net, etc.)?

Thanks & Regards,

TC

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hey All,

I have been asked to create an installer that would check to see if the
source Office app was running prior to installing new components.

In the same vein, I have also been asked to provide functionality that would
check components to see if the user had the latest updates.

The above said, what installer tools would you recommend (i.e. Wise,
InstallShield, etc.)?

How would you handle the automatic update (i.e. webservices, the new
'ClickOnce' functionality under .Net, etc.)?

It'd be a good idea to mention which Office and Windows versions you need to
support, as that may affect the advice you get.

Also, which Office apps are you targeting? The answer to that will probably
affect how you go about checking to see if they're running. I can't claim any
expertise in this but have followed enough threads here to know that it'll
matter.

 

[TCook]

Hey Steve,

As for versions, I would say Office 2000 and later.

As for apps (Word, Excel, PPT and Outlook), if there are differences in the
way it may be detected if they're running from an installer, I would be
interested in knowing these differences and how to handle them and which
installer(s) would be best for which Office Suite apps.

Thanks,

Todd