Automated install not really installing

Jonathan De Carvalho · May 1, 2023, 1:52 PM

Hello Everyone

I have had a little but quite inconvenient issue for a certain time now.
We use puppet to push the updates of notepad++ to our system (basically, we do a “npp.8.5.2.Installer.x64.exe /S”). In some cases (for me in all cases but I can’t prove it) if someone is using notepad++ at that time in that machine, the install goes correctly, in programs and features notepad++ is updated to the correct version, but in reality, it it still in the previous version (I know it because we push manually plugins and an imcompatible new plugin proved it to me).
We have ha that for all the previous updates already (and since I use npp to update the files that define the version used, I have it all the time I update)

Is this a bug?
Is there a way to avoid this? (a CLI parameter in the installer that does not install if someone is using notepad++?)
a way to go around it?

The issue is that the only way to fix this that I found was uninstalling/re-installing the software

All help is appreciated

Debug:info
Notepad++ v8.4.8 (64-bit)
Build time : Dec 24 2022 - 19:40:27
Path : C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line :
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
Cloud Config : OFF
OS Name : Windows Server 2016 Standard (64-bit)
OS Version : 1607
OS Build : 14393.5648
Current ANSI codepage : 1252
Plugins :
ComparePlugin (2.0.2)
mimeTools (2.9)
NppConverter (4.5)
NppExport (0.4)

PeterJones · May 1, 2023, 3:01 PM

@Jonathan-De-Carvalho ,

I have no experience with remote installation, but I wouldn’t expect it to magically change Notepad++ over to the updated version while it’s actively running… and I’d actually be surprised if it could write the new notepad++.exe if the user were actively running the old notepad++.exe at the time.

Could you do something like TASKKILL /IM notepad++.exe to forcefully kill the user’s Notepad++ instance? (if so, you might want to also send some message to the user before doing so, warning them that it’s about to happen, giving them a 30 sec pause so they can save their work before your taskkill, or similar.)