Creating an installer for updated WinForms app

Question

I released an app and I've implemented a user-requested feature and would like to release a new version. I'm not sure how this is typically done - is there some setting in the .NET setup project that I can use to tell it to just overwrite certain files if the application is already installed, or do I have to generate a patch somehow?

If you're going to suggest auto-updating, I agree that is a good idea, but the original version just checks the app web site to see if there is a new version and will direct the user to a download page for the updated version - it doesn't download and auto-update for you. Even if I add that to this version, I still need a friendly way to provide an update to my existing users.

Answer 1

I assume you mean the feature in Windows Installer that makes the user uninstall the "current version" before installing the "new"?

In the Installer Project properties, take a look at the properties of "ProductCode" and "UpgradeCode". These are Guids that define how the installer looks for previous versions.

To simply give the users an installer to install an updated version, increment the "Version" property/number and the installer should update the files on the file system without creating duplicate entries in start menu, add/remove programs, etc.

Answer 2

The ClickOnce publish model works well for small apps. In your project, just right click it go to properties and then click on the "Publish" tab.