add an unmanaged dll to vb app deployment
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I have VbNet2005 desktop application that also needs to deploy a dll created in C++. How do I add the dll to the VB deployment project so that it gets installed at the same time? Thanks.
If the DLL is a standard "C" style DLL that does not require registration (as opposed to a COM DLL) simply add it to your setup development project as a file and set the install folder to the application directory, or the WinSys folder. If the DLL is a COM DLL then it presumably is already referenced by your NET project and the wizard should add it to the setup automatically. In this case you also need the Primary Interop Assembly (PIA) for the C++ DLL. Again, the setup wizard usually, but not always, adds everything else you need to register a COM DLL referenced by a NET project. In either case, you must also pay attention to any additional dependency DLLs your C++ DLL may require. You can use the Dependency Walker utility to determine dependency DLLs. If these are all standard system DLLs you should not have to add any dependencies on Win2K or higher systems. Finally, be certain to test your setup on a "clean" machine - i.e. one with a fresh OS install, but no development tools. Setups generally always "work" when tested on a dev machine, but may easily fail on a "field" target machine.
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If the DLL is a standard "C" style DLL that does not require registration (as opposed to a COM DLL) simply add it to your setup development project as a file and set the install folder to the application directory, or the WinSys folder. If the DLL is a COM DLL then it presumably is already referenced by your NET project and the wizard should add it to the setup automatically. In this case you also need the Primary Interop Assembly (PIA) for the C++ DLL. Again, the setup wizard usually, but not always, adds everything else you need to register a COM DLL referenced by a NET project. In either case, you must also pay attention to any additional dependency DLLs your C++ DLL may require. You can use the Dependency Walker utility to determine dependency DLLs. If these are all standard system DLLs you should not have to add any dependencies on Win2K or higher systems. Finally, be certain to test your setup on a "clean" machine - i.e. one with a fresh OS install, but no development tools. Setups generally always "work" when tested on a dev machine, but may easily fail on a "field" target machine.