Current Wise User looking for something else...

[tguettner]

Good afternoon.

I am a current Wise user and I am having very little success in getting it to work how I would like it to work. I will briefly explain what I would like to accomplish. I would like to know if this product can do it and still be understandable.

The current product I am trying to package is an asp Web Site which uses a .NET Web Service along with Crystal Reports and the Crystal Reports Runtime. The application is currently installed at several customer sites using the traditional Copy and Paste installation method. We did use a Visual Studio created msi to package the web service.

What I need to do is :

1. Run some SQL Scripts to update the customers database with new fields, new data for menu options and reports. Wise can do this and it seem to work OK. I would like to be able to default the username and password as well as the server in a dialog. However, I would like for the user to be able to change them if the Sys Admin has selected to change them from the standard set. I would also like to be able to select more than one database from a custom list if the customer has more than one database that might need to be updated with the same set of scripts.

2. Copy the new asp and rpt files and replace the old ones. This should be a very simple process in my opinion but seems to be where WISE or Windows installer falls on its face. These files are not versioned files they are straight up text files that need to be overwritten. I don't want to version them I want to overwrite them!

3. I will also need the ability to install the webservice using an embedded msi packaged by Visual Studio .NET. We have in the past overwritten the asmx file with no problems but we think we need to install it.

I have had some limited success using a REINSTALLMODE property set to omus but I don't feel 100% about this option. I have also experimented with some out side scripts deleting the files but this code would have to be maintained on a per file basis.

We would also like to use the IA to create a "HotFix" installation for a much larger application of the same architecture. All we would be packaging would be the changed files and possible database scripts.

I am sorry for being so long winded. Your answers will be GREATLY appreciated.

Taylor

[sinan]

Taylor

The short answer to all of your questions is yes. Some hints on how to get started:

1) Use custom dialog editor to make dialog that prompts for fields, run scripts using the SQL plug-ins

2) Very easy - you can force overwrites by pre-deleting the files before kicking the main install

3) Also very easy to do using the (Un)Install MSI Setup plug-in, also captures setup progress and displays as an integral part of your installation

I'd encourage you to dive right in and get back with more specific questions as you build your install.

Sinan