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Add an uninstall start menu item to your .NET deployment project

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21 Aug 2005CPOL 265.9K   77   54
The simple way to add an uninstall menu item to your .NET deployment project

Introduction

It's super easy to add this to your deployment project.

  1. Select your deployment project and go to the file system editor, user programs menu.
  2. Add an additional shortcut to your primary output project and name it Uninstall Application.
  3. Set the Arguments property to /u=[ProductCode].
  4. Add the following code to your project's Main() sub or startup form's New() sub just before the call to InitializeComponent().
    VB
    Dim arguments As String() = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()
    Dim argument As String
    For Each argument In arguments
        If argument.Split("=")(0).ToLower = "/u" Then
            Dim guid As String = argument.Split("=")(1)
            Dim path As String = _
               Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.System)
            Dim si As New ProcessStartInfo(path & _
                      "\msiexec.exe", "/i " & guid)
            Process.Start(si)
            Close()
            Application.Exit()
            End
        End If
    Next

That's is! The Deployment project will replace [ProductCode] in the Arguments property with the actual installer project's ProductCode GUID value. Your program will see the /u={Actual ProductCode} argument and pass it to msiexec.exe before exiting.

The installer is run in repair/remove mode for your application. The user is allowed to select repair or remove, and continue. If you want the product to remove only, replace the "/i " with "/x ".

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Systems Engineer Mark J Means Consulting
United States United States
I have been a software consultant since 1985 working on everything from the Commodore VIC-20 & RadioShack CoCo games to 8051 Embedded USB Microcontrollers to Windows Vista database applications. I have written over a half million lines of code since 2004. Please see my DataConnectionDialog control at http://mjmeans.com/dcd.aspx.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionThanks Pin
Kashif Alvi25-Jun-13 11:02
Kashif Alvi25-Jun-13 11:02 
QuestionWorked but getting an error in some machines Pin
Vaidehi P16-May-11 20:21
Vaidehi P16-May-11 20:21 
AnswerRe: Worked but getting an error in some machines Pin
mjmeans17-May-11 11:00
mjmeans17-May-11 11:00 
GeneralVerifying The Link... [modified] Pin
jp2code15-Sep-10 12:04
professionaljp2code15-Sep-10 12:04 
GeneralCondensed C# Code Pin
Geo24227-May-10 13:01
Geo24227-May-10 13:01 
GeneralRe: Condensed C# Code Pin
satheesh.palanisamy28-Sep-12 3:10
satheesh.palanisamy28-Sep-12 3:10 
GeneralCode in C# Pin
Nitin S3-Dec-09 15:53
professionalNitin S3-Dec-09 15:53 
QuestionWhere should I put these codes? Pin
qiux4-Sep-09 0:51
qiux4-Sep-09 0:51 
AnswerRe: Where should I put these codes? Pin
mjmeans5-Sep-09 23:01
mjmeans5-Sep-09 23:01 
QuestionHow to Show Product Name while confirming the Unistallation? Pin
Upendra Jagdale19-Aug-09 20:45
professionalUpendra Jagdale19-Aug-09 20:45 
AnswerRe: How to Show Product Name while confirming the Unistallation? Pin
mjmeans20-Aug-09 7:22
mjmeans20-Aug-09 7:22 
AnswerRe: How to Show Product Name while confirming the Unistallation? Pin
stratokazik17-Aug-10 19:45
stratokazik17-Aug-10 19:45 
GeneralThank you Pin
Sintre8-Jun-09 11:14
Sintre8-Jun-09 11:14 
GeneralOne Problem [modified] Pin
thirstyDev26-Nov-08 18:43
thirstyDev26-Nov-08 18:43 
GeneralRe: One Problem Pin
mjmeans27-Nov-08 7:37
mjmeans27-Nov-08 7:37 
GeneralRe: One Problem Pin
thirstyDev27-Nov-08 17:46
thirstyDev27-Nov-08 17:46 
GeneralEven easier solution PinPopular
Vyacheslav Trubarov3-Nov-07 14:28
Vyacheslav Trubarov3-Nov-07 14:28 
NewsRe: Even easier solution Pin
Bilal Haider13-Mar-08 8:46
professionalBilal Haider13-Mar-08 8:46 
GeneralNo Code Solution VS2005 Pin
code@controlbox.co.uk9-Aug-07 5:52
code@controlbox.co.uk9-Aug-07 5:52 
You don't need to write code to parse the parameters and call msiexec...

1) n the Setup Project, View File System, and add a Special Folder - System Folder.

2) Into this folder Add a file. Browse for msiexec.exe from your local System32 folder and add it to the installation project. Override default properties of this file as follows... Condition:=Not Installed (make sure you put 'Not Installed' exactly like that, same case and everything), Permanent:=True, System:=True, Transitive:=True, Vital:=False.

3) Create a new Folder under the 'Users Program Menu' where you want the uninstall option to go.

4) Create a new shortcut in this new folder, and point it's at the msiexec.exe file in the System Folder as the target. Rename the shortcut to 'Uninstall MyApplication'.
Set the Arguments property to /x{space}[ProductCode].

5) Build the project, ignore warning about the fact that msiexec should be excluded, DONT exclude it or the setup project wont build.

The 'Not Installed' condition and Permananet:=True ensure that the msiexec.exe is only placed into the system folder as part of the install IF it doesn't aready exist, and it is not removed on an uninstall - therefore it;s pretty safe to ignore that warning and just go for it.




--------
SlapHead


GeneralRe: No Code Solution VS2005 Pin
mjmeans9-Aug-07 7:26
mjmeans9-Aug-07 7:26 
GeneralRe: No Code Solution VS2005 Pin
cedear19-May-08 5:50
cedear19-May-08 5:50 
GeneralRe: No Code Solution VS2005 Pin
nnans29-Oct-08 0:07
nnans29-Oct-08 0:07 
GeneralRe: No Code Solution VS2005 Pin
mjmeans29-Oct-08 6:16
mjmeans29-Oct-08 6:16 
GeneralRe: No Code Solution VS2005 Pin
nnans29-Oct-08 17:07
nnans29-Oct-08 17:07 
GeneralRe: No Code Solution VS2005 Pin
mjmeans30-Oct-08 2:08
mjmeans30-Oct-08 2:08 

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