visual studio installer does not delete all file in uninstall - visual-studio

Question

I am using visual studio installer.
but when uninstalling - from add remove program it does not delete all files but leaves the folder with some files, how can I cause the uninstall delete all files?

Answer 1

The installer only removes the files it installed. The files created the post installation are not removed. You must create a custom action to perform the cleanup.

Answer 2

To clean up after your software (delete some custom or user generated files), you should create a Custom Action and add it to the Uninstall section of your installer.
A custom action can be a Class Library that inherits from the System.Configuration.Install.Installer class.
Here's a sample implementation of the Uninstaller Custom Action:
[RunInstaller(true)]
public partial class CustomUninstaller : System.Configuration.Install.Installer
{
public CustomUninstaller()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public override void Uninstall(IDictionary savedState)
{
if (savedState != null)
{
base.Uninstall(savedState);
}
string targetDir = #"C:\Your\Installation\Path";
string tempDir = Path.Combine(targetDir, "temp");
try
{
// delete temp files (you can as well delete all files: "*.*")
foreach (FileInfo f in new DirectoryInfo(targetDir).GetFiles("*.tmp"))
{
f.Delete();
}
// delete entire temp folder
if (Directory.Exists(tempDir))
{
Directory.Delete(tempDir, true);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// TODO: Handle exceptions here
}
}
}