c# - How to automatically update an application without ClickOnce?

Question

For the project I am working on, I am not allowed to use ClickOnce. My boss wants the program to look "real" (with an installer, etc).

I have installed Visual Studio 2012 Professional, and have been playing around with the InstallShield installer, and it definitely makes nice installers, but I can't figure out how to enable the application to "auto-update" (that is, when it starts up, checks to make sure that it is using the latest version).

I have been asked to make a tiny change to the code - switching an addition to a subtraction, and I don't really want people to have to uninstall the old version, and then have to reinstall the new version every time I make a small change like this.

How can I make the application check for updates, and install them? Or is this not possible (or not easy)?

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12787761/how-to-automatically-update-an-application-without-clickonce

Answer 1

There are a lot of questions already about this, so I will refer you to those.

One thing you want to make sure to prevent the need for uninstallation, is that you use the same upgrade code on every release, but change the product code. These values are located in the Installshield project properties.

Some references:

• Auto update .NET applications
• Auto-update library for .NET?
• Auto update for WinForms application
• Suggest a method for auto-updating my C# program
• Automatic update a Windows application