WebUpdate Uninstall questions

[linder]

Getting a couple of questions answered will save me a few hours of trial and
error testing so thanks in advance for any insight or assistance.

Application has already been installed on users computer and an uninstall
log (uninst.log) was created at the time of the initial install.

Now I want to do web updates and from time to time I may need to include a
"new" file that was not part of the original install. During the update
install could I "Open" the original log file instead of creating a new one?
If I have it open and the update installer writes to the opened file will
the items be appended to the file?

If I end up with duplicate entries in the uninstall log as a result of
existing files being replaced or patched and entries being written to the
log file, will the uninstall handle the duplicate entries gracefully or will
the uninstall crash?

Are there any other gotchas I haven't thought about?

Thanks again for any help.

Lee

[linder]

Lee,

It depends on your web update script.

Are you using a "temporary log" (%_SB_INSTALLDIR%\uninst_tmp.log) to handle
"rollbacks"?

By the way, I have the following in our SB51 "uninstall script" to remove
files that are not part of the original install:

If %_SB_RETURN% Equals "$IDYES$" Then
! --- Process uninstall queue ---
Process Uninstall Queue

Display Message Box "Delete all files and folders that are under
%_SB_I..." -- "Delete All Files and Folders?"
If %_SB_RETURN% Equals "$IDYES$" Then
Delete Tree "%_SB_INSTALLDIR%"
End
End

I'll give this some thoughts. Your solution makes sense, but I think it
will break "rollback capability".

Friedrich

--
Friedrich Linder
CEO, Lindersoft
www.lindersoft.com
1.954.252.3910

"point. click. ship" - that's SetupBuilder 5

[linder]

Hi Friedrich,

I thought of that. However, as I see it the only danger should be if I need
to roll back the update being installed at that time should there be a
failure of the update install. What I'm looking for is once the update
install is successful then any later attempt on the users part to uninstall
the
program needs to result in a complete removal of all traces of the program.
The user, while still in the "Trial" period of the application, could
install an update and then decide to remove the application all together.
Then I want everything removed.

Is there a way to write to two log files at the same time. For example,
"Create" a temporary log and write entries into it if an immediate roll
back is required and at the same time "Open" the original log file and
append the entries to it? Then when the install completes with no errors
delete the temporary log?

You offered another solution that might even be better. Using the "Delete
All Files and Folders" script would certainly accomplish what I want. I will
explore this a bit further but will need to figure out how to get the
revised
uninstaller into the hands of the existing users.

Oh well.... Ain't life fun?

Thanks for all your help Friedrich. I am still amazed every time I try to do
something in this product. The flexibility and options are mind boggling.

Lee

[linder]

Hi Lee,

Thank you for your kind words!!!

I'll have to give this some thoughts now. I think the uninstall .log
handling is "suboptimal". I'll see what we can do here...

Thanks again,
Friedrich

--
Friedrich Linder
CEO, Lindersoft
www.lindersoft.com
1.954.252.3910

"point. click. ship" - that's SetupBuilder 5