Multiple instances of an application in Add or Remove Programs
I have built a number of installation packages for different applications. The apps install correctly. However, when an upgrades is installed, it creates a new entry in Add or Remove Programs. Uninstallation then requires each instance to be individually uninstalled, and each such instance appears to be full size.
How do I tell the installation package to replace the original Add Programs instance rather than creating new ones?
No, I didn't as the help text seemed to indicate that I only need to update the Product Code to ensure that the latest version replaces the previous one.
The versions themselves are a bit of a mixed bag - they may be patches in effect, new features... (ie if the version is a.b.c then a or b may change but c always will). As a result, even with just half a dozen users, it is possible to have several versions in live use. The odd thing is that the user accesses the latest version of the app after installation, even with 2+ entries in the Add Programs list.
You do need to create an upgrade item in the Upgrade Paths view, as mentioned in the Major Upgrades help topic. Otherwise, Windows Installer doesn't know that the earlier versions of your product are connected to the newer versions (and it won't know that the earlier versions need to be uninstalled when the newer versions are installed).
