Uninstalling a Previous Product Version

InstallMate can detect the presence of a previous version of your product and uninstall it before installing the new version. This feature works regardless of the make and type of installer that was used to install the previous version and can be used during product upgrades.

If it finds a previous version of your application during the installation process, Setup offers to uninstall it before continuing. The check and the uninstallation are performed as custom Uninstall Product actions. By default, these are placed early in the MainInstall action sequence on the Actions project page, but you can put them anywhere you like.

Note: InstallMate does not compare the previous and new versions of your application before uninstalling. Instead, it displays the uninstall title of the previous version and leaves it up to the customer to decide whether or not the replace the previous version. This allows both upgrades and downgrades.

Uninstallation of a previous application version is also supported during silent (unattended) installs.

How to uninstall a previous product version

To uninstall a previous product version, if present on the customer's computer, act as follows.

  1. Select the InstallMate Actions project page in the navigation panel on the left.
  2. Select the MainInstall action sequence in the Action Sequences tree.
  3. Right-click on the MainInstall node and select New Action > Uninstall Product from the popup menu.
  4. Fill in the Uninstall Product attributes as required. Pay particular attention to the following:
    • Uninstall key must be set to the uninstaller registry key of the product that must be uninstalled. To uninstall the previous version of the current product, enter <UninstallKey> in this field.
    • Condition must be set to NOT Installed. This ensures that the uninstallation only takes place during the first installation of the new product and not each time the installer runs for a "Change" or "Repair" installation.

You can add further Uninstall Product actions for additional products, for example if your new product replaces several earlier ones.