patch generation for distribution of components (files) for specific customers
Is it possible to generate patches in a Basic MSI project, that will be used for the transfer of group of files to specific customers. These files have to be ignored later in the distribution of service packs. Is there a technique that may implement this feature?
Such an approach might be the generation of patches (either minor upgrades in MSI < 3.00 and small updates in MSI >= 3.0) and ignore the new components in the generation of the minor upgrades (service packs) or in the generation of patches that solve problems in files that were initially included in the installation. We have to keep the original version of file project before the addition of the customer specific files, and use this version for the generation of the minor upgrades.
I want to add two completely different directories to an installed program with two different patches (that I think that they are able to get installed in any order).
I have an .msm file and .msi file that uses the .msm file. I added a directory in the .msm file and I generated a small update patch without using default patch sequencing. The patch installed correctly. I restored the original .msm and .msi files and I added another directory in the .msm file and I generated a different small update patch without using default patch sequencing. The patch did not work.
If I install the original installer and I apply the same patches in different order, the result is the same. The first patch is installed correctly, the second is installed but the final state is not the one I want.
MSI Patches really only work well cumulatively; future updates should then include everything that all of its preceding patches would have. If you want side items, I would probably try either distributing them as a transform (questionable and hard to update), or as a separate (perhaps chained or suited) package.
