Released Setup have mistakenly have higher version like 1.6 current installer project have version 1.1 Need to upgrade 1.5 to 1.1

Question

We have release our project setup with incorrect Product version (1.6) which is higher than the current version i.e 1.1, Now the problem is whenever I am trying to upgrade from 1.6 to 1.1 it say latest version is already installed, Is there any way to give upgrade support without changing Product Version?

Answer 1

In order to get a clean upgrade experience, you need to either increase the ProductVersion, increase the ProductVersion and change the ProductCode, or change the ProductCode and UpgradeCode (and optionally change ProductVersion -- not necessarily an increase in this case). This third option seems to fit what you say you need.

However, it comes with caveats. For example, note that if you didn't plan for a changed UpgradeCode ahead of time, you'll be able to install an older version (pre-change) along side the new one. (Only in that order.) So it has to be worth the trade-off inherent with that risk. If your components are shared and able to remain identical and compatible, it may work out fine; it's worth testing various installation, uninstallation, and future upgrade scenarios with that in mind.

Without knowing how important the exact version numbers are to you, my personal opinion is you're better off not doing this. Instead sacrifice control over the version number in order to have simpler installation and servicing, and thus keep your QA matrix smaller.

Reference Microsoft's articles on the options and behavior, including Minor upgrades, Major upgrades, and Changing the Product Code. And here's the InstallShield take on Major vs. Minor Upgrades.