Instalation
-
Hey I'm trying to crate a installation CD for my application. Things I need to install from the CD - My application: It's constructed in a way that I only need all items in one folder, no registry enterys, so I only need the "Release" folder copyed to the hard-disk - .Net 1.1 - DirectX 8.0 or higher + A desktop shortcut How can I do this the easy way? Any examples? Thanks Thomas
-
Hey I'm trying to crate a installation CD for my application. Things I need to install from the CD - My application: It's constructed in a way that I only need all items in one folder, no registry enterys, so I only need the "Release" folder copyed to the hard-disk - .Net 1.1 - DirectX 8.0 or higher + A desktop shortcut How can I do this the easy way? Any examples? Thanks Thomas
-
Hey I'm trying to crate a installation CD for my application. Things I need to install from the CD - My application: It's constructed in a way that I only need all items in one folder, no registry enterys, so I only need the "Release" folder copyed to the hard-disk - .Net 1.1 - DirectX 8.0 or higher + A desktop shortcut How can I do this the easy way? Any examples? Thanks Thomas
You need a bootstrapper to do this (at least .NET). There are several examples of this on CodeProject, like Enhanced .NET Bootstrap Setup[^]. If you're using Managed DirectX 9.0b (DirectX for .NET - not just wrappers but written from the ground-up for .NET), you can nest the MSI installation into your MSI package, but VS.NET's Windows Installer project won't allow you do this. You need a professional package developer (like Wise for Windows Installer[^]) or hack it into the MSI package after compiling it using a tool like Orca (available in the Windows Installer SDK from http://msdn.microsoft.com/platformsdk[^]). If you need to install DirectX, you can bootstrap that as well, or include the redist executable as a custom action to be executed at a certain point in your installation. Again, VS.NET's Windows Installer project won't let you do this since it's UI is very limited. There are instructions for boostrapping this setup on the DirectX web site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx[^].
Microsoft MVP, Visual C# My Articles
-
In Visual Studio, create a new project. Select a type of Setup and Deployment Projects. Then pick Setup Project or use the Setup Wizard. It's pretty self explanatory.
That won't even begin to help him. The .NET Framework installation must be bootstrapped. The merge module include in the setup is only there so that BCL assemblies won't be automatically added as local assemblies, nor should any install install them into the GAC (which, if .NET isn't installed prior to the Windows Installer MSI package being installed, there won't even be a GAC). It will not install the .NET Framework. This is also documented in the Visual Studio product documentation. Additionally, while separate installations can be added as custom actions to be executed as a specific time, it is difficult to say the least to do this with VS.NET's very limited Windows Installer project. Either bootstrapping the DirectX installation (if it needs to be installed) or including it as a separate installation to be executed asynchronously with the main MSI package (typically after installation, without waiting for an execution return) needs to be done. VS.NET's Windows Installer project is hardly an option. If it is used, more work is required to bootstrap the additional installations needed (especially the .NET Framework).
Microsoft MVP, Visual C# My Articles