Creating Small Updates

InstallShield 2020

Project:This information applies to the following project types:

Basic MSI
InstallScript MSI

The steps for creating a small update are the same as the steps for creating a minor upgrade with one key exception: the product version should be changed for a minor upgrade, but not for a small update.

If you need to create your upgrades so that they can be applied to your product using versions of Windows Installer earlier than 3.0, it is recommended that you avoid creating small updates. Since small updates do not change the product version, external programs—including installers for later versions of your product—cannot distinguish a product with the small update applied from one without the small update.

Small updates are typically packaged as a patch, not as a full installation. If you are sure that the upgrades that you create will be applied to your product with version 3.0 or later of Windows Installer, you can take advantage of patch sequencing support and use small-update patches to update earlier versions of your product.

See Also