InstallShield 2012 Express Edition User Guide - Knowledge Base ...

Chapter 17: Updating Applications
Working with Upgrades and QuickPatch Projects
relationships among the upgrades packaged within a family of patches. Consequently, applying patch 1
of a product after patch 2 has already been applied will register patch 1 without overwriting patch 2 files.
For versions of Windows Installer earlier than version 3.0, the patch sequence is ignored, and any smallupdate
patches are applied to the product in the order that they are provided to the target machine.
The patch sequencing functionality available with Windows Installer 3.0 and later simplifies the patch
creation process. The following sections show how.
Creating Patches to Be Applied with Versions of Windows Installer Earlier than 3.0
If you need to create your patches so that they can be applied to your product via versions of Windows
Installer earlier than 3.0, it is recommended that you avoid creating small updates. Small updates do not
change the product version; therefore, external programs, including installers for later versions of your
product, cannot distinguish a product with the small update applied from one without the small update.
For scenarios limited to versions of Windows Installer earlier than 3.0, you need to plan around such
limitations of the installer, thus targeting an increasing number of possible earlier product states. The
sample application lifecycle presented in the following table illustrates the resulting complexity.
Table 17-5: Sample Application Lifecycle for Patches Applied with Versions of Windows Installer Earlier than 3.0
Application Package Product Version Previous Setups Targeted by Package
1. Base installation 1.0 —
2. Minor upgrade 1.1 1.0
3. Minor upgrade 1.2 1.0, 1.1
4. Minor upgrade 1.3 1.0, 1.1, 1.2
5. Minor upgrade 1.4 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
6. Major upgrade 2.0 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4
Creating Patches to Be Applied with Windows Installer 3.0
With the patch sequencing functionality available with Windows Installer 3.0 and later, you can safely
use a small-update patch to deliver a discrete upgrade for several different versions of a product, even
though small updates do not change the product version. Unlike a small update, a minor upgrade
changes the product version. Minor upgrades also form the framework for the sequencing of smallupdates
patches. If a small update for version 1.1 of a product is applied to version 1.2, the installer
registers the small update on the target system and applies it as if it were encountered before the 1.2
minor upgrade was applied.
332 ISE-1800-UG01 InstallShield 2012 Express Edition User Guide