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Stop installation of Reader 9.3 if already installed

simpsonehh
Registered: Mar 22 2010
Posts: 2

Hi,
I have the ACW v9 and created the packages for Reader 9.3 and deployed it silently. works great but if the reader 9.3 is already installed, the client receives the installation wizard screens with the option to remove.
is there a way i can set in the ACW to abort/stop the install if 9.3 is already installed. i do not want the client to receive any pop up screens.
this will help prevent many help desk calls and visiting the workstation is not a solution at this time.

Thanks in advance.

My Product Information:
Reader 9.3, Windows
dthanna
ExpertTeam
Registered: Sep 28 2005
Posts: 248
Simpsonehh;

Not that I am aware of in the manner you are speaking of. Sound's like a bug in the installer logic in that it should just skip the installation if already installed.

The way we handle this by not performing an in-place upgrade - ever. We first remove the old version, perform any cleanup needed then install the new one. Regardless of Reader or Acrobat.

We have found by taking this extra step, and using The Customization Wizard to help out with much of this, we reduce our support incidents greatly.

Now, if you want to determine which version is installed, it's a bit convoluted, but the registry keys you want are:

Acrobat:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\9.0\Installer
Name: VersionMax
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: the Major version number

and

Name: VersionMin
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: The Minor version number

So, for 9.3.1, you have for VersionMax: 0x00090003 and VersionMin: 0x00010000

Yes, those are the decimal version numbers written directly in HEX. The decimal numbers are, 589827 and 65536, respectively.

The same mechanism is used for Reader, just follow the bouncing path in the registry.

I hope this helps.

Thanks.

-Doug

Douglas Hanna is a member of the Production Print Technology team at Aon.
www.aonhewitt.com