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\->Windows Installer FAQ (the basics)->Resource Life Cycle->Always Overwrite Existing Resources

Always Overwrite Existing Resources

The main choices are:

  1. Subject to any file versioning rules when a component installs it will overwrite resources.

  2. A file resource normally follows various version rules to decide if it should be overwritten. The "RemoveFile" command or a custom action can be used to clear files/folders, for example to force an always overwrite behaviour.

  3. The "COMPANY.MMH" header will (by default) update the "REINSTALLMODE" property so that files are overwritten irrespective of "normal" versioning rules, if you do not want this then reconfigure this behaviour. A major Windows installer limitation is that you can't be more selective (at a component or file level).

  4. One or more custom actions to perform all the update and removal logic.


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Microsoft awarded me an MVP (Most Valuable Professional award) in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 for the Windows SDK (Windows Installer) area.