Resolving Simultaneous Installer Issues in Visual Studio Setup

Описание: Learn how to effectively manage installer conflicts in Visual Studio 2019. This guide will help you set up your project correctly to run installers sequentially.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/68985278/ asked by the user 'Jeandre Pretørius' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/11642777/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/69070602/ provided by the user 'Jeandre Pretørius' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/11642777/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Resolving Simultaneous Installer Issues in Visual Studio Setup

Running multiple installers at the same time can lead to frustrating blocks as Windows doesn't allow it. If you’re in a situation where you're trying to run a project that triggers a .msi installer, such as DigitalPersona, while installing the main application, you may encounter issues where one installer interrupts the other. In this guide, we will explore a real-world problem and how to address it in a step-by-step manner.

Background on the Problem

You are working in Visual Studio 2019 with a solution that includes both VB.NET and C# projects. One of these projects, InstallDigitalPersona, is designed to execute the DigitalPersona installer as part of its installation process. Here are the main points about the situation:

The DigitalPersona installer used to run smoothly at the end of the main program’s installation.

An employee who previously worked on the installation setup made adjustments that caused the DigitalPersona installer to run at the same time as the main installer, leading to conflicts.

You would like to revert to the previous behavior without changing the framework or switching to a different installer software.

Solution Steps

Here’s how to effectively manage the situation and ensure that your main installer and DigitalPersona installer run sequentially. In my case, these steps worked well:

Step 1: Create a Batch File

To manage the DigitalPersona installation effectively, we can create a batch file that will determine which version of the installer to run based on the architecture of the operating system.

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This script checks if the system is 64-bit or 32-bit and then runs the appropriate installer version.

The /wait parameter ensures that the installation must complete before moving on.

Step 2: Add the Batch File to Your Setup Project

After creating your batch file, you need to integrate it into your setup project:

Add the batch file as a custom action in your installation project.

Place it under the Custom Actions section for the Commit phase, as well as under the Install phase. This way, it will execute at the correct point in the workflow.

Step 3: Update Version Numbers

Finally, to ensure everything works seamlessly, update the version numbers in both your main and setup projects, then perform a Build:

Consistent version numbers help in avoiding confusion and potential runtime conflicts.

Make sure to test the installation sequence after making these changes.

Conclusion

By following the steps above, you should be able to resolve the issue of simultaneous installer executions while maintaining the use of Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Projects. This solution allows for a smoother user experience during installation, keeping the separate installer as a secondary process that will not conflict with your main application setup.

Feel free to adapt these strategies to fit your specific setup needs and don’t hesitate to reach out if you encounter any issues!