I have an application that I have built a .msi installer for throgh Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. I recently made some updates, including changing the version number and rebuilt the installer with these updates. The installer includes shortcuts on both the desktop and in the Start menu. Running the installer appears to work fine, and both of these shortcuts work. After restarting my computer I’ve found that the shortcuts are changed to have a Target type of Application (Installs on first use) and the Start In: field is changed to a location that doesn’t exist. Once this happens, every time you use that shortcut it tries to install the application again and fails.
I have also changed the name of the shortcut that the installer creates. This appears to work, and the shortcut still works after a restart. After the restart, though, the shortcut with the old name that doesn’t work also appears on the desktop and in the Start menu.
Does anyone have any ideas what I may have set up wrong, or what I need to change to get the shortcuts to be have properly?
I appear to have this issue resolved … even though I’m not sure if I understand what caused it or what solved it. In the end, I created a new Solution file and built the project from that new solution. I don’t understand why that would make a difference, and comparing the new and old solution files they changes don’t appear to be significant. After doing this, though, the installer build from this solution appears to be working correctly.
I should also note that I deleted the deployment project and created a new one. Doing this did not appear to have an affect on the issue, but the new deployment project was included with the new solution.