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Title
Replacing Files That Were Marked As Never Overwrite Causes It to be Overwritten

Summary

If a file is replaced manually post installation, even if the component was marked to never overwrite, the files will get replaced as per standard File Versioning rules during upgrade.

Synopsis

If a file is replaced manually post installation, even if the component was marked to never overwrite, the files will get replaced as per standard File Versioning rules during upgrade. This only occurs if the file was replaced manually. If the file is opened/edited post install, it does not get overwritten during an upgrade.

Discussion

Once the file is replaced by an arbitrary file that was not part of the install, the install will follow standard file versioning rules to determine whether to overwrite the existing files. If the case where a file actually gets overwritten by an external file post install needs to be supported, it would be best to create a custom action to back up pre-existing files before install and to copy the file back after the files are installed to ensure that the pre-existing file is preserved instead of relying on the Never Overwrite field.

Additional Information

For information regarding the Never Overwrite field of a component, please refer to the HelpNet article Component Settings

For information regarding the Windows Installer File Versioning Rules, please refer to the MSDN article:Default FIle Versioning Rules
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Replacing Files That Were Marked As Never Overwrite Causes It to be Overwritten