Publish a Package

Publishing a package makes it available for tenants to install. It also makes it possible for the publisher (you) to automatically upgrade local Package Subscribers, using the Deploy option.

The Publish Package option is enabled by your Service Provider. The default single sign-on setting on on-premises installation is Off. The default single sign-on setting on the cloud is On. (Contact Support to make changes.)

Publishing a Package

Publishing a package creates a zip file that can be deployed to installers in one of several ways.

To publish a package:

1. Follow the instructions to Create a Package, then Add items to the Package.
2. Optionally, click [Edit] to make changes to an existing package before publishing.
3. Fill in the package settings below.
4. Click [Publish] to begin the publishing process.

Publishing a Delta Package

A delta package is one that contains only those elements which have changed--that is, the differences, or "delta", from the original version of the package. So if the original version of the package contained an entire application, the "delta" (update) package might contain a single object.

To publish a delta package:

1. Follow the instructions to Create a Package, then Add items to the Package.
2. Fill in the package settings below.
3. Click [Publish] to begin the publishing process.

   Often, that is all you need to do to generate a delta package.

   Each item in the package has a GUID, so the equivalent item in the target system is automatically updated when the package is installed.

   At times, though, you need the additional behaviors that result from using the Overwrite Previous Package option.

   That option updates a couple of object aspects that are normally left alone, and it causes items deleted from the source system to be deleted from the target system.

4. When package-overwrite behavior is needed, publish the package a second time, without changing it.
   The overwrite option now appears.
5. Choose the Overwrite Previous Package option to get those behaviors.

Learn more: Package Items#How Package Items are Applied

Package Settings

Basic Information

• Name - Name of the package
• Version - Version number of the package.

  The value can be set to whatever you like.

  The default value is an auto-incrementing dot-version:

  • If the current Package version is "1", the default will be "1.1".
  • If the current version is "1.1", the default will be "1.2", and so on
  • After publication, the value is displayed as the version number in the Package object.
    (The Package object stores version numbers and notes for the last five versions.)

• Version Notes - Notes about the package.

  Version notes appear in the package's Revision Details.

  They are also shown to installers, when they are doing a direct online install--for example, from the Community Marketplace.

  The notes are not included in the archive, so they are not shown when installing from a file.

  (The notes should be copied to the email or web page that includes the file, along with any other information the installer needs to know.)

Installation Options

This section appears when the Overwrite Previous Package option has been enabled by the Service Provider.

• Merge with Previous Version

  Make additions to installed package items, and add new package items.

• Overwrite Previous Version

  Delete installed package items that have been dropped from the package,
  make additions to previously installed items, and add new items.