User deletes file from install and triggers automatic reinstall of .net application

Question

In short I'm after a setting in a .net installer project that turns off automatic reinstall if the installed files are deleted.

I've built a c#.net application using VS2005. After install on the client machine the user has complained that if they delete a file contained within the installation the reinstaller kicks in. The reinstaller overwrites the application.exe.config file which is frustrating. We're allowing the user to modify this file but a reinstall causes a loss of their customisation.

Regards AndyB

Answer 1

I think it would be best practice to allow user customisations in a separate user.config file in the user area of the file system. Your app can then check whether the user has overridden the setting from app.config and to use that setting instead.