We supply upgrades as zip files.
One of the files included in the Zip file is TeamViewerQS_en.exe, which we supply as a purchased, branded component, that lives in our application's Programs Folder.
The unzipping is done by calling PKZIPC.exe programmatically from a VB.NET class which starts up PKZIPC.exe as a new process with suitable arguments.
At a small minority of our 25 or so customers, the upgrade works perfectly apart from the copy of the TeamViewer component - the application's EXE and all its DLLs are replaced correctly, but the TeamViewer executable is missing. The only difference I can see is that the application EXE and DLLs were part of the original .MSI install.
It works fine in most environments, so it's not as if we've inadvertently omitted the component from the ZIP (which I've checked several times!)
Is there a Windows setting somewhere that would somehow prevent the TeamViewer executable being copied in?
The failure also occurs, if the logged in user is a local admin.
Related
My VStudio is 2019 Community, the application is an old VB Windows/Forms app being brought forward from .Net-3.5-ish to .Net-5.
Under .Net-4.8 or earlier, using the namespace System.Deployment.Application, one could access ApplicationDeployment.DataDirectory to locate that artificially-generated directory in \Users\Username\AppData\Local\Apps\2.0\... that a 1-click installation would create and populate with data files from the Project Build/Publish.
Under .Net-5, I believe that particular set of functions has been taken out - yet the ClickOnce installer still places Data files there. How do I programmatically locate that directory? The Application Path can be located from System.AppContext.BaseDirectory, but that doesn't help in locating the data.
This app, an old bit of VB code, has a large number of application data files that need to be installed along with the code. As there are more than 40 of them, we've kept them in their own \Data directory, which is included in the Project, is under Git control to keep their versions aligned with their code...
In an uninstalled app, we could keep this \Data directory adjacent to the executable, and find it easily at runtime: but with a ClickOnce installed app, that falls apart. In the Publish configuration, all the data files are identified, with Group=Required, Publish Status=DataFile.
Can I either:
Easily configure the 1-click installer to place our \Data directory and its contents into one of the standard \Local\Appname or \Roaming\Appname directories that seem to also get created, but left empty? Those can easily be located at runtime.
Easily construct at runtime the path to that obscure data directory that 1-click normally creates and uses for data?
Cheers, and Thanks! Bob
I have a VB.NET executable that I distribute via a ZIP file (along with other supporting files). When the ZIP is downloaded my instructions call for the file properties to be checked and un-blocked if needed. This really only applies to the executable in it, it is just easier to have the user un-block the ZIP file.
A large part of the time this instruction is not followed and I have to work with them to get it taken care of. There is another executable in the ZIP that copies files to where they belong and does some other work.
Can this application check if the main executable is blocked? If so, can it unblock it programmatically?
I'm creating a WIX installer for a C# application.
In the application I use System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings[Setting1] to get settings.
My question is, where must I place the program.exe.config file on the machine in order for it to work?
I can't place it with the program in ProgramFiles directory, since those files are read-only.
I tried:
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.PerUserRoamingAndLocal);
config.AppSettings.Settings[Config1].Value = "Value1";
config.Save();
Unfortunately I don't know where it's looking.
Thanks your replies, Trevy
It should be in the same folder of the program.exe. Use wix to copy both program.exe and program.exe.config to the required folder.
If you need to edit the configuration file during the installation you will need to do it using a custom action in wix. Make sure you pass the file path to the custom action and write the code to read the configurations in that file and edit.
The problem isn't that the files there are readonly - the problem is that you are trying to update files in the Program Files folder with your config.Save, and you can't do that if you are a limited user, and you are always limited (even if you are admin) unless you elevate. The short answer is that:
If your app routinely updates files in restricted areas then it probably needs elevation, so give it an elevation manifest.
If however you require you app to be used by limited users and allow them to update that config file then don't install to Program Files. Choose User Appdata folder, for example. Windows is probably using your config file during program startup, so you can't separate it from the exe.
When I was creating an installer for my app, I found I couldn’t save my settings.
The reason is because the Program Files repository, from a practical point of view, is read-only (Applications should never run with elevated permissions). When installing a program, the only time we modify the MyApp.exe.config file is at installation/upgrade/repair time.
The config file has many sections. One of them is userSettings. This is where we store any data we need to modify during the lifetime of the application. When run for the first time, Windows creates a hidden file in the user’s AppData folder. That is why we can save user settings, even though the config file is in the same directory as the MyApp.exe
So the answer is, if we run into permission errors when trying to save our settings it means we are writing our settings to the wrong section of the config file. We need to place it in the userSettings section and nowhere else.
For convenience, Visual Studios has a settings editor (the settings tab of the properties page). It allows you to create strongly typed user and application settings. The generated class lets you save user settings, but not application settings for the above reasons.
I haven an installer which must run with elevated admin rights if UAC is enabled. This works fine. When I upgrade the app (using the MajorUpgrade element) the app gets uninstalled and reinstalled correcly.
During runtime the app attempts to change some files in the program files folder which places copies them items in the users virtualstore. These do not get removed during uninstall.
During the upgrade/reinstall process, is there a correct way to delete the application file copies, for all users, in the VirtualStore?
Files placed into a virtual store are, by definition of who wrote them and when, per-user data files. Such files typically should not be removed during uninstallation. If the files in question are not actually per-user data files, the application that caused them to be written should be fixed to write to a proper location, update them in a controlled fashion, or even not write them at all.
I have added a config file (myapp.exe.config) that is deployed to the device after installation. But the problem is that this file gets read-only attribute. I have tried adding some stuff in the setup project in "codeINSTALL_EXIT" function. On emulator it works ... it removes the read only attribute, while when installing on the phone the attribute stays.
SetFileAttributes(szPathConfig, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL)
Any ideas?
It's not completely clear from your question how the file is getting deployed (though I think from a CAb only). Things to check/know:
If you install via CAB, but then deploy from Studio (i.e. Debug) the file will get overwritten and the file studio pushes may well be read-only, especially if your SCC mechanism locks local files that aren't checked out (like VSS does).
When you build a CAB file, the file attributes get inherited from the source, meaning that if the file is read-only on the PC when you create the CAB, it will be read-only coming out of the CAB. One woudl think that the EXIT of the installer would be late enough to alter the attributes, but I've never tested it. Following your current path, you might check that the attributes before setting and also check to see if the Set call is actually succeeding. Personally I'd just make sure all files were read/write enabled before building the CAB to avoid the whole problem in the first place.