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reddragon105
Level 3

Permanent Component Files Being Removed on Uninstall

I've got a basic MSI project that contains some files that I want to be installed permanently - i.e. left behind even when the program is uninstalled.

These files happen to be fonts, so I've set up the project to install them to the Fonts folder by going to Files and Folders, right-clicking on Destination Computer, going to Show Predefined Folder and selecting [FontsFolder] and putting all the required font files in there. This works absolutely fine for the purposes of installing the fonts - any fonts not already on the system are usable after installation of the project.

I want the fonts to still be available to other programs after this one is uninstalled. I have tried doing this by going to Components, selecting the component that contains the fonts, and changing the 'Permanent' property to 'Yes'.

However this does not work - after uninstalling the project, the fonts are no longer accessible. The files have been removed from the Fonts folder even though they're in a 'permanent' component. I have tested this with other files of various types installed into other folders and they all remain after the project has been uninstalled. So it seems that it's only with fonts installed into the font folder that it's not working.

Any advice? Is there something I'm missing, something else I have to do to ensure files are installed permanently? One of the required fonts for my program is Arial, so I've got it to install that, even though just about every computer will already have it, just in case, so the fact that the font files are being removed on uninstall is a big issue as it means the user will lose Arial.
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reddragon105
Level 3

Bump - any help with this? I have made several more unsuccessful attempts since my last post, building some new projects from scratch with the sole aim of testing font installations, and have tried various different methods with various different font files.

Looking at the help topic here -
http://helpnet.flexerasoftware.com/installshield16helplib/FontsToFontFolder.htm

It says -
To install a font file to the Windows Fonts folder, do either of the following:
In the Files and Folders view, place the font file in the Destination computer’s folders pane’s Fonts Folder folder, which is a subfolder of the Windows folder.
In the Components view, place the font file in a component whose Destination property is set to .


I have tried both of those methods (which basically amount to the same thing). In each case the fonts are successfully installed with the program (although, whereas some are available immediately, some are not available/do not appear in the Fonts folder until after a restart - I'm not sure why this is but I'd like to fix it if possible because it threw me slightly as I thought some fonts were just not being installed for a while, and otherwise this project does not require a restart after installation), however they are still being upon uninstallation, even though their Components are being marked as 'Permanent'.
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