I am creating an installer for a WPF .NET 5.0 project using the 'Visual Studio Installer Projects' extension.
My output after building is an appName.msi file and a setup.exe file that installs prerequisites followed by the msi file.
Having two separate files is not an acceptable solution since the user will not be able to choose the correct file to click on.
How can I make a setup.exe file that includes the msi file (msi packed into the exe) with Visual Studio Installer Projects?
Or if there is any other solution that ends up with a single file for installation that would also be fine.
Related
I did the following steps to create a Windows Setup project:
Create a Windows Forms Application using Visual Studio
Install "Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Projects plugin"
Add a "Setup Project" to the solution
In the "Application Folder", add project output
(Steps 5 and 6 are optional)
By right clicking the Setup project and opening "Properties", select "Prerequisites"
Select "Download prerequisites from the same location as my application"
Build the solution.
After all these steps, I see many files (Setup.exe, Setup.msi, NETFX472 folder) in the Release folder. But I only want one simple self-contained setup file. So, users can run the setup file and install the application easily.
How can I make a simple and self-contained Setup file for my project?
I know it's possible, but I am looking for an easier and more efficient way to do it.
I know I can create another Windows Forms app called Setup which copies the project outputs to user's Program Files directory and copy the output files one-by-one. But I don't think that solution is elegant.
EDIT:
After more tries, I learned that Setup.exe is for installing dependencies (only .NET Framework 4.7.2 for my case) and then running Setup.msi. So, without Setup.msi file, Setup.exe is nothing and vice-versa.
Also, I want my program should work 100% offline (including setup). So, installer should include offline .NET Framework 4.7.2 installer.
What I don't want here is Setup.exe to only install dependencies. It should also install my program. So, it should do also whatever Setup.msi file does. Second thing I don't want is dependency installer as separate file (offline .NET Framework 4.7.2 installer in this case). It should also be embedded into Setup.exe.
I have a Windows service I created and have the Setup project for it as well. Within that setup project I do have the installation path configured in the properties.
[ProgramFilesFolder]Company123\ServicesMonitor
When I install the service through Visual Studio it works as intended, it installs to the correct place (C:\Program Files (x86)\Company123\ServicesMonitor). But when I install it using the Setup project's actual .exe or .msi found in the Setup project's release folder, it just installs the service to my root E:\ drive.
Does anyone know why this is? Thanks.
Don't go to projects release folder, go to Setup project release/debug folder and search for .exe or .msi file.
I am developing an excel add-in in c#.
I had created MSI package for installation using InstallShield limited edition.
During this package creation, I have to add files (.vsto and setup.exe) and "Application Files" folder from published folder in 3rd step (Application files) and in the last step of this process I choose to launch an application and gave the path to the setup.exe file.
I have to do the last step otherwise, it doesn't install as excel add-in and won't show in add-ins menu.
The real problem for me is I have to uninstall both "the MSI package" and "VSTO" but I want to make it single click uninstall. when the MSI package uninstalled, it will automatically uninstall the .vsto.
if we can do this uninstall process manually using some kind of c# scripting code will also helpful. How can I perform sequential uninstallation?
I have completed my program and would like to send that program in its compiled state to other pc's.
I understand that in the Debug folder there is the programName.exe file, which when I open it on the PC I created it with - it opens.
But if I send that .exe file to other pc's, it crashes or simply doesnt run!
Is there a way for others to see and use my program without installing visual studio?
I have asked this question before on another programming website with not much help, this is the link that they showed me, which i then followed:
http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/topic/58021-deploying-a-c%23-application-visual-studio-setup-project/#-application-visual-studio-setup-project/
The installer installs the program, but there is no files with it to open!
Other machines won't need to have Visual Studio installed - but they will need the appropriate version of .NET, depending on what you built against. If you target the "client" profile, the .NET distribution is fairly small.
You could build a setup project which kicks off the .NET framework installation if necessary, but it's likely to be quite a lot of work - in many cases it's probably simpler just to tell people what they need to install first, particularly if this is for personal use or friends/family.
There are most likely other DLLs that your project is dependent on that do not get copied over when only transporting that .exe file. You COULD just copy those over as well.
However, the best practice is to add a new Project under Setup for a Installer. It should detect those dependencies. Then the other users will just have to run the setup.exe that gets created (but you have to include the other folders and files that get generated). Open up the File System Editor tab of the Installer project. Then inside the Application Folder, I right click on "Primary output from [Main Project] (Active)", then select "Create Shortcut to ..." and drop the Shortcut into the Program Files and User Desktop folders on the left.
For something simple, the other DLLs should be fine.
Create the MSI Installer project for your application.
Copy your project output as input of MSI Installer.
.Exe is depends on .msi file, so when you click the .exe must verify the msi file existed in same directory.
Verify the .Net framework and Installation 3.0 before run the .exe or .Msi file.
The easiest approach would be:
1: Right click on your Solution Explorer and add a new project. The new project would be a Setup project, which would be under Other Projects -> Setup and Deployment -> Visual Studio installer and then choose Setup Project from the right side.
2: Add all your bin folder files to Application folder and then build your solution.
3: It will create a file with .msi extension. You can distribute that to anyone you want and they wouldn't need any VS.
I have made msi file of my project using setup and deployment option from visual studio.I want to add one exe file of mobile software in my setup folder and i want ,that mobile software exe should be run before my msi file from my setup folder.I don't know that how i give the path of that software exe and run from my setup folder.
I have used prerequisites option and also add file in my application folder while making setup,but i don't get any solution of my problem.
Please help me.
A prerequisite is the correct solution. Visual Studio setup projects do not support custom prerequisite creation. However, it can be done by manually generating the required manifests.
You can find the manifests structure here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms229223(VS.80).aspx
These manifests can be generated automatically with the Bootstrapper Manifest Generator tool.
After generating the package manifests, you can add all these files (including the package) in a separate folder in the Visual Studio prerequisites folder, for example:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A\Bootstrapper\Packages
You can then select the prerequisite in your setup project property pages.