Removing file/folder under \AllUsers folder?

[alexzfirm]

What is the FolderID for following location (or any location under \All Users).

"C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\"


My tests show that [ProgramMenuFolder] points to the current user Start Menu... and I would like to remove some files under "All Users"

[alexzfirm]

any ideas? I really do not want to write custom DLL for simple file removal...

[Brett]

You still use [ProgramMenuFolder] but also set the property ALLUSERS to "1". See http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367559.aspx

[alexzfirm]

Hmmm... But if I do that - how do I remove files/shortcuts under current user? I need to remove few files under both branches - current user and all users... Is there a sequence where I can set this variable value, remove few links, then set it to a different value, remove few other links, etc? Is there a sample script/sample project of that scenario?

[Lorne]

Windows Installer has some standard folder properties for common locations, namely CommonAppDataFolder, CommonFilesFolder, and CommonFiles64Folder. However I don't know of any built-in way to differentiate between the all users and current user start menu locations, other than using ALLUSERS. (Which a user can override on the command line when they run the .msi btw.)

You might be able to use a folder search to locate the all users path and use a remove file action to remove it.

How did you install the shortcuts to both locations, btw? Were they created by the app itself? Or was it installed using a different installer technology (not MSI)?

[alexzfirm]

Originally Posted by Lorne

ALLUSERS. (Which a user can override on the command line when they run the .msi btw.)

What do you mean by "ALLUSERS" ? When I go to the File Operations \ Remove Files \ Folder list - there is no folder with name "ALLUSERS".

Originally Posted by Lorne

How did you install the shortcuts to both locations, btw? Were they created by the app itself? Or was it installed using a different installer technology (not MSI)?

These shortcuts were made by non-MSI technology

[Lorne]

ALLUSERS isn't a folder. It's a Windows Installer property. Setting it to 0, 1 or 2 is what controls whether the Windows Installer will install everything for the current user, or for all users. (Also referred to as "per-user" and "per-machine.")

There are many different ways to set it. You can add a property named ALLUSERS in project settings and set its value to 0, 1, or 2. You can use a custom action. You can use the UserProfile dialog to let the user set it. You can set it on the command line, e.g. msiexec /i setup.msi ALLUSERS=1.

As Brett already suggested, see:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367559.aspx

[alexzfirm]

Originally Posted by Lorne

ALLUSERS isn't a folder. It's a Windows Installer property. Setting it to 0, 1 or 2 is what controls whether the Windows Installer will install everything for the current user, or for all users. (Also referred to as "per-user" and "per-machine.")

As Brett already suggested, see:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367559.aspx

Ahh.... that ALLUSERS... That does not help me. I need access to the current user profile and all users profiles at the same time... Will have to write custom DLL then... Sad... I was trying to avoid that...