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Re: Web update issues

Our current update included the deletion of over 1400 files (mostly unused textures that we purged from source control). I decided that manually entering delete file or delete folder blocks for all of them is too much work and came up with a workaround.

I get a list of files from a directory diff, saving the list to a text file "delete.txt". Each file is listed as e.g. ".\data\textures\faketexture.bmp". The diff tool lists files with the diff root as '.' automatically. On subsequent updates I will append the new list at the end of this file, so users upgrading from v.1 to v.3 don't miss the files deleted in v.2.

I created a batch file containing:

@echo off

for /f "delims=" %%i in (delete.txt) do (

del "%%~fi" 2>nul

rd "%%~dpi" 2>nul

)

This batch file iterates through the files listed in delete.txt, deleting each and attempting to remove the subdirectory if the deletion emptied it.

"delims=" replaces the default delimiter set (space and tab) with an empty set. This ensures that each line is treated as a single whole entry. Without this, the batch can't delete a file containing a space.

"%%~fi" expands each entry to a fully qualified path, enclosed in quotes. "%%~dpi" expands each entry to a drive letter and path with no file name, enclosed in quotes. The quotes are important in case the user has installed to a path with spaces in, which is likely.

2>nul throws away all error output, so the user doesn't see "Could not find foo" for files that don't exist or "The directory is not empty" if the file was not the last in the directory.

In my SetupBuilder script, I added

Install File "C:\Installer\delete.bat" to %_SB_INSTALLDIR%\delete.bat
Install File "C:\Installer\delete.txt" to %_SB_INSTALLDIR%\delete.txt
Run Program %_SB_INSTALLDIR%\delete.bat (Always Install) (Wait)
Delete Local Files "%_SB_INSTALLDIR%\delete.bat"
Delete Local Files "%_SB_INSTALLDIR%\delete.txt"

The Run Program entry has 'Hide Window' checked, and 'Default Directory' set to "%_SB_INSTALLDIR%". The default directory ensures that when delete.bat runs, its current directory corresponds to the root of the files in delete.txt

I placed these lines in the [ Install Files ] section, before the Install File *.* line. In this way, if a file gets deleted and later re-added, it will end up being downloaded again, but is ensured to end up in the final installation.

Re: Web update issues

Right now I wish I could import a script from a plain text file. I have a plain text list of files to delete. It would be a simple matter to write a script to convert that list into a list of SetupBuilder script commands. Copy & pasting each of hundreds of file names into the script editor is a huge pain!

Re: Web update issues

Tim,

Thanks so much for your kind words.

We'll brainstorm on how to improve this update scenario.

Re: Web update issues

Welcome to the club We evaluated 8 installation systems, but SetupBuilder beats them all. (Macrovision) InstallShield 11.5 or (Altiris) Wise - nightmare products of the year. Don't want to mention the other tools here. They don't come close to what SetupBuilder can do.

Andrew McKay

Re: Web update issues

What do you think would be the best solution? We are always looking for good ideas to improve the SetupBuilder 5 product.

It seems to me that the only way to accomplish this is to create a list of files when the product is installed. When the user runs an upgrade, compare this list to the list of files in the upgrade, and delete any that are missing in the upgrade. This method ensures that no files are orphaned, but will not remove anything generated by the program during runtime (e.g. documents, saved games, configuration files). I believe Wise has this capability -- if you select the right options, it will assign a GUID to each file and store these in the registry.

I want to thank you also for your time. Your quick response to my questions was a major factor influencing our decision to purchase a SetupBuilder license. I evaluated 6 installer builders and SetupBuilder came out on top owing to ease of use, flexibility, features, and your involvement on these forums. And speed -- compiling our product in SetupBuilder takes 20 minutes where Wise took hours.

Re: Web update issues

Originally Posted by timbojones

If you add file deletion to AutoUpdate, we will consider the 2-project method. I'm still concerned about the case where version 2 adds some files and version 3 deletes them. If a user with version 2 applies the AutoUpdate that was generated using version 1 and 3, those files will be orphaned. This is of course better than the situation now where all deleted files get orphaned.

Ideally, file deletion would be taken care of automatically using a single installation project. Does SetupBuilder not store a list of installed files?

I checked with the other installation systems and I think they also do not have a solution available to this update scenario.

What do you think would be the best solution? We are always looking for good ideas to improve the SetupBuilder 5 product.

Thank you for your time.

Re: Web update issues

Originally Posted by timbojones

What is the best place in the install sequence to put the Delete File commands? My best guess is in the Install Files section, before the Install File commands. Seems like this ordering implies a side effect: any mistakenly deleted files will be replaced. Is that true?

Tim,

You can place it wherever you want, but I would suggest to place it in the Modify System section.

Re: Web update issues

What is the best place in the install sequence to put the Delete File commands? My best guess is in the Install Files section, before the Install File commands. Seems like this ordering implies a side effect: any mistakenly deleted files will be replaced. Is that true?

Originally Posted by timbojones

I'm still concerned about the case where version 2 adds some files and version 3 deletes them. If a user with version 2 applies the AutoUpdate that was generated using version 1 and 3, those files will be orphaned.

Ideally, file deletion would be taken care of automatically using a single installation project. Does SetupBuilder not store a list of installed files?

There has not yet been any discussion of this issue; I am eager to hear your thoughts.

Re: Web update issues

How would I enable Web Update in the full install to refer to the update installer?

My confusion here came because we really want the full installer to be a web install as well. 1.5GB of compressed data does not translate well to a single-file download.

The answer I was looking for is: Both the full installer and the update must have the same [EXENAME]. They should both refer to the same update location. But they should be accessed using two different URLs.

I think that for now we'll do the simplest thing, maintaining a single installation project and adding Delete File commands manually as necessary.

If you add file deletion to AutoUpdate, we will consider the 2-project method. I'm still concerned about the case where version 2 adds some files and version 3 deletes them. If a user with version 2 applies the AutoUpdate that was generated using version 1 and 3, those files will be orphaned. This is of course better than the situation now where all deleted files get orphaned.

Ideally, file deletion would be taken care of automatically using a single installation project. Does SetupBuilder not store a list of installed files?

Re: Web update issues

Tim,

You only have to configure the iDeploy Web Update client (see "Using Web Update in Your Installation" online help or PDF manual topic). This gives your software the ability to check a specified location on the Internet for updates.

Yes, we run Auto Update using the first (in our case the Gold version) vs. the latest revision.

Thanks,