Installshield, uninstalling a program that does not delete all folders

Question

I am using Installshield 2010. I did a basic setup of MSI and I had a problem with uninstall.

Removing does not delete all folders.

After a full installation, after that I will uninstall only to find that there is still a way.

for example, C: \ ProgramFiles \ CompanyName \ Account \ User_1234.xml still remains, while everything else has disappeared.

The User_1234.xml file is created by the application, and this file is usually not in the installation process. Therefore, it makes sense why this file may have problems associated with its removal (installation side).

At the same time, I would think that it would be deleted due to the fact that it is in the "CompanyName" folder.

Can I specify to get rid of everything inside and including the "CompanyName" folder?

Thanks for any ideas, -btg

Answer 1

You have a couple of problems, and first I will address the obvious. Yes, the default behavior of Windows Installer is not to delete user data. These may be files not installed by the installer or files that have been changed since the installer changed them. To force the installer to delete them, you must authorize the RemoveFiles table to teach it how to delete files.

Delete file table (Windows Installer)

Now I will address a less obvious problem. You should not expect your application to write to ProgramFiles at runtime. I don't know what your software does, but you should seriously consider this aspect of your application design.