InstallShield How to Upgrade

Overview

InstallShield LE allows you to create software deployment packages in Visual Studio. This article describes how to setup your project so that it can upgrade previous versions to your current version.

Steps

• Open your .NET project, go to project properties and change the 'Assembly version'.
• Go to the 'Solutions Explorer' and expand 'Setup' and click 'General Information'.
  
• Change the 'Product Version' to match the 'Assembly version' you set earlier.
  
• Create a new 'Product Code', by generating a new GUID. This can be done by clicking the {..} at the end of the 'Product Code' field.
  
• In the 'Solution Explorer' open 'Upgrade Paths' and Edit or Create a new upgrade entry.
  
• Set 'Include Min Version' = Yes
  
• Set 'Max Version' to match the 'Assembly version' you set earlier.
  
• Set 'Include Max Version' = yes
  
• Build your project.
  

Allow Re-Install/Overwrite of existing version

On the Upgrade Paths" tab, remove the IsPreventDowngrade component. This should allow you to Overwrite your existing version with the existing version. Handy when testing. When you're ready, just right click 'Upgrade Paths' and select 'Prevent Downgrades'.

References

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6447404/configuring-installshield-le-to-remove-previous-versions-built-using-visual-stud

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12337860/update-an-existing-installation-using-installshield-le