Do I create a new IS project for each application version?
- Yes.
Should I name my project with the intended version? e.g. MyApp 1.1.msi
- Yes
Once I have created and deployed an app with IS do I require that projects files to build a patch for the upate (recently I did several save-as of the project under different names. I'm not sure if this affects GUIDs???)
- You don't absolutely need them because a patch is just the difference between two MSI files. If you have several different versions of an app in MSI format you could directly create a patch for them.
In practice though, you want to plan your upgrade strategy when you first build the MSI. You can have an MSI which installs perfectly but which shows flaws when it comes to upgrading. For instance, a patch might ask for source. So you should keep the ISM projects and if any changes are required modify the project then rebuild the MSI.
When you do a save as there are checkboxes at the bottom of the window which specify whether a new product code/product name should be generated. You'll see what I mean.
What do I need to know when I build my first IS project to make it easy to patch it later?
All versions of your install package should have the same build format, ie compressed, uncompressed. Some people say that uncompressed packages make patching more reliable.
Take a look at the MSI FAQ (
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/community/centers/management/msi_faq.mspx) and the patching section in particular.
Before you deploy the first release make sure you test your upgrade scenarios so you can modify the base project if necessary.
Decide whether minor or major upgrades are going to be best for you.
