Create program installer in Visual Studio 2005?

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+7 Q:

Create program installer in Visual Studio 2005?

I'm a web-guy stuck in "application world" in VS 2005. I created my windows forms program and want to give my end users the ability to install it (and some of it's resources) into a standard Program Files/App Directory location along with a start menu/desktop launcher.

The help files don't give any instructions (that I can find). This seems like such a trivial task to create an installer - but it's eluding me.

Any hints would be greatly appreciated!

+11 A:

You're looking for a "Setup Project" which should be under the "Other Project Types" -> "Setup and Deployment" category in the "New Project" dialog.

Aydsman 2008-09-22 02:54:09

+1 A:

Add a "Setup Project" project to your solution. New Project > Other Project Types > Setup and Deployment. You can then choose what is installed and where.

Ty 2008-09-22 02:54:32

The Setup Project is the way to go. If you're going to be deploying the installer from a web site, I recommend creating an MSI file as the project output (as opposed to a Setup.exe output). Most of my clients block the download of EXE files.

MusiGenesis 2008-09-22 03:02:17

+4 A:

Another option is Inno Setup, a third-party installer which is free, easy to use and excellent:

Inno Setup

MusiGenesis 2008-09-22 03:28:57

Great recommendation. Very solid product and support community. I used to use it quite often.

joseph.ferris 2008-12-21 00:34:46

+7 A:

I would suggest using something WiX (windows installer XML). Its the toolkit most products from codeplex or OOB code drops use, and its pretty easy to get the hang of.

There's also (in version 3) an IDE add-in called Votive to help make things 'easier'.

Personally I find using WiX more flexible then using the built in Visual Studio installer template, though your means might vary. Take a look at http://wix.sourceforge.net/ and there's also a great tutorial at http://www.tramontana.co.hu/wix/.

If it seems kind of hard to start off with, persevere - I did and now I find it perfect for what I need.

Matthew Savage 2008-09-22 04:10:09

I support this answer : WiX is way much powerful than VS Setup projects, and even more simpler to use.

Romain Verdier 2008-09-22 08:36:03

+1. WiX is awesome and way easier to work with than the setup projects.

Gabriel Isenberg 2008-12-20 23:12:36

I used WiX in 2005 to build an installer. I also found it hard at first but then I used the decompiler to reverse-engineer an existing MSI file that was "close enough" to what I wanted to build. I started off with the decompiled file as a template for my installer. Worked fine.

Robert Petermeier 2009-12-30 15:38:01

+1 A:

I'd like to add a quick start tutorial for the 'Setup Project' as a good place to start with building your own setup with VS: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/dotnet/Win_App_Setup_Project.aspx

zappan 2008-12-20 23:06:28

+1 A:

This video shows how to setup a Simple Installer using Visual Studio 2005

SwDevMan81 2009-06-26 03:25:25

To create installer in Inno Setup you need script file. If you don't know how to do that try http://www.actualinstaller.com

Markus 2009-10-24 16:09:29

The setup project builds 2 files. An exe and a msi. Can someone explain this a little??

Jesse Seger 2009-12-30 12:59:31

ansaurus

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Create program installer in Visual Studio 2005?

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