Update My Installs

[jp2msft]

I have a project I have created and a "Setup and Deployment" project that
supports it. The Application installed, but whenever changes are required, my
users are forced to go into the "Add/Remove Programs" applet to uninstall my
application before they can install the update.

In the Deployment Project, I have "DetectNewerInstalledVersion" set to True
and "RemovePreviousVersions" set to True, but the setup does not do this
whenever I send out an update.

In my Deployment Project, there is a section on PostBuildEvent and
PreBuildEvent, but I have not found anything that uses these properties to
handle removing of existing versions before installing newer ones. Is this
what I need to modify to ensure that my applications update correctly? If so,
where can I find information on how to use the Macro Editor that pulls up
whenever I try to modify it?

Do I need a new Version number with every minor update?

 

[Ben Voigt [C++ MVP]]

I have a project I have created and a "Setup and Deployment" project
that supports it. The Application installed, but whenever changes are
required, my users are forced to go into the "Add/Remove Programs"
applet to uninstall my application before they can install the update.

In the Deployment Project, I have "DetectNewerInstalledVersion" set
to True and "RemovePreviousVersions" set to True, but the setup does
not do this whenever I send out an update.

In my Deployment Project, there is a section on PostBuildEvent and
PreBuildEvent, but I have not found anything that uses these
properties to handle removing of existing versions before installing
newer ones. Is this what I need to modify to ensure that my
applications update correctly? If so, where can I find information on
how to use the Macro Editor that pulls up whenever I try to modify it?

Custom build events happen on your computer, not the customer's.

Do I need a new Version number with every minor update?

If you are expecting the setup project to see an update as a newer version,
then yes.

 

[Phil Wilson]

This is a little old (VS 2003) but still accurate:
http://www.simple-talk.com/dotnet/visual-studio/updates-to-setup-projects/