Removing parent directories

tderouin · 20th February 2003, 20:58

Our current installation installs our product to something like:

C:\Program Files\CompanyName\ProductName

During the uninstall,

PHP Code:


			
  RMDir /R "$INSTDIR"

will only remove the ProductName folder, leaving an empty CompanyName folder.

Is there a smart way to remove the folder CompanyName? As far as I can tell there is no way to capture which directories are being created by the installer. Hardcoding

PHP Code:


			
  RMDir /R "$INSTDIR"

  RMDir /R "C:\\Program Files\\CompanyName"

isn't a viable solution, because the problem still exists for non-default installations that have subfolders (and this problem also exists for removing shortcuts).

Also, doing something like

PHP Code:


			
StrCpy $R0 $INSTDIR

loop:

      RMDir "$R0"

      IfErrors goto done

      StrCpy "$R0" "$R0\\.."

      goto loop

done:

isn't a (completely) viable solution because you might end up deleting an empty directory the installer didn't create, that the user doesn't want deleted.

Suggestions?

rainwater · 20th February 2003, 21:03

http://nsis.sourceforge.net/archive/...instances=0,11

kichik · 20th February 2003, 21:23

You can use GetParent from the useful functions appendix (or from the link rainwater posted), use it on $INSTDIR and if what comes out is $PROGRAMFILES\CompanyName then you can delete it. I suggest you don't use /r so whatever the user put in there will stay.

tderouin · 20th February 2003, 21:55

Right, but that is pretty much the same thing as the RMDIR $R0\.. option.

What I need to know is whether or not the parent was created by the installer, what would be usefull (a suggestion) is that NSIS somehow keeps track of the files/directories it created, so they can be removed during the uninstall. I'm certain this is how most installers/uninstallers handle it.

kichik · 20th February 2003, 22:03

That's not the same as $R0\.. because you check against $PROGRAMFILES\CompanyName. If you want to know exactly which directories were created you can make a little recursion that will take the directory path apart and try to create every directory from the smallest part to the largest and final part. Use the latest CVS version and IfErrors after you create the directory to know if it was created or not. Save that somewhere and delete it upon uninstallation.

tderouin · 20th February 2003, 22:06

Right, but comparing it against CompanyName won't work if the user has entered in anoter value for "CompanyName". Right?

That's a good suggestion about creating the directories manually. Thanks

20th February 2003, 20:58	#1
tderouin Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 79	Removing parent directories Our current installation installs our product to something like: C:\Program Files\CompanyName\ProductName During the uninstall, PHP Code: `RMDir /R "$INSTDIR"` will only remove the ProductName folder, leaving an empty CompanyName folder. Is there a smart way to remove the folder CompanyName? As far as I can tell there is no way to capture which directories are being created by the installer. Hardcoding PHP Code: `RMDir /R "$INSTDIR" RMDir /R "C:\\Program Files\\CompanyName"` isn't a viable solution, because the problem still exists for non-default installations that have subfolders (and this problem also exists for removing shortcuts). Also, doing something like PHP Code: `StrCpy $R0 $INSTDIR loop: RMDir "$R0" IfErrors goto done StrCpy "$R0" "$R0\\.." goto loop done:` isn't a (completely) viable solution because you might end up deleting an empty directory the installer didn't create, that the user doesn't want deleted. Suggestions?

20th February 2003, 21:23	#3
kichik M.I.A. [NSIS Dev, Mod] Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Israel Posts: 11,343	You can use GetParent from the useful functions appendix (or from the link rainwater posted), use it on $INSTDIR and if what comes out is $PROGRAMFILES\CompanyName then you can delete it. I suggest you don't use /r so whatever the user put in there will stay. NSIS FAQ \| NSIS Home Page \| Donate $ "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -- Confucius

20th February 2003, 22:03	#5
kichik M.I.A. [NSIS Dev, Mod] Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Israel Posts: 11,343	That's not the same as $R0\.. because you check against $PROGRAMFILES\CompanyName. If you want to know exactly which directories were created you can make a little recursion that will take the directory path apart and try to create every directory from the smallest part to the largest and final part. Use the latest CVS version and IfErrors after you create the directory to know if it was created or not. Save that somewhere and delete it upon uninstallation. NSIS FAQ \| NSIS Home Page \| Donate $ "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -- Confucius

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20th February 2003, 21:03	#2
rainwater Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Posts: 397	http://nsis.sourceforge.net/archive/...instances=0,11

20th February 2003, 21:55	#4
tderouin Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 79	Right, but that is pretty much the same thing as the RMDIR $R0\.. option. What I need to know is whether or not the parent was created by the installer, what would be usefull (a suggestion) is that NSIS somehow keeps track of the files/directories it created, so they can be removed during the uninstall. I'm certain this is how most installers/uninstallers handle it.

20th February 2003, 22:06	#6
tderouin Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 79	Right, but comparing it against CompanyName won't work if the user has entered in anoter value for "CompanyName". Right? That's a good suggestion about creating the directories manually. Thanks