Question

I use WyUpdate to automatically deliver program updates so my customers are always running the latest version. However one problem with this approach is that the MSI installer (created with WiX 3.5) is not invoked during updates and thus the version numbers in Add/Remove Programs are not incremented.

My question is if there is some safe way to programmatically bump the displayed version ?(WyUpdate has the ability to execute custom code and change registry values during updates).

Answer 1

Simply change the “DisplayVersion” value to the latest version.

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\YourAppName

Also, to save time, in wyBuild you can use the %version% variable and every new version you create will use correct version (instead of having to type it each time you release a new version).

Regarding what Yan said…

BUT I don’t think it is a good idea. Modifying the registry keys you don’t owe, and injecting your own logic into the Windows Installer might lead to unexpected consequences. I would personally never do this. Sooner or later, it will shoot…

This is plain wrong. Editing a registry value isn’t changing the installer logic. It isn’t dangerous at all. The end-user can still repair the original installation (reverting the registry and all the files back to the original version) and they can run the uninstaller and it will remove the registry and files (despite them being changed).

If don’t want the “msi repair” to revert to the original installation (rather than to the updated version of your app) then you’ll want to deliver an *.msp or *.msi to your users and execute it as part of your update.

Short answer: editing registry is neither evil nor unsafe, as long as you understand what’s what.