we are currently developing an application using Visual Studio 10 in C#.
After creating the setup project (Wizard) and building it we come up with two files: respectively msi and exe.
In synthesis I've read that the .exe file is a "wrap file" since it wraps the .msi file and basically after checking for the prerequisites it runs the .msi file. What we want is to deploy the application in a single file that both checks for prerequisites (we expecially need to install sql server compact 4.0, but it works just fine if we run the exe file) and installs them if they aren't available and installs the application itself as well (with the files included in the msi), because it makes it easier to distribute and more "user friendly".
Do you know any simple solution to achieve that?
Thank you guys in advance for the reply.
The most simple solution would be using a selfextracting .exe tool. IEXPRESS.exe is already included in Windows. There are of course some with more features.
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I just made my first C# application in Visual Studio 2012 and I want to export it in some way so other people could use it in they computers (including computers without Visual Studio 2012). How can I do it? I'm new at C# and I couldn't find anything that I could understand. Can someone explain or indicate some site with a good (and maybe didactic) explanation on how it works? I have only made C/C++ programs by now, and they I just needed the .exe file, but, based on what I could find, I need something else to send a C# program to others to use.
Sory for the bad English and thanks for those who help.
Right-click the project in VS 2012, and choose Publish... from the context menu. Publishing to a file lets you create an installer:
Choose a location in the file system to which you would like to save the installer
Click [Finish]
Wait for the publishing operation to complete
A Setup.exe installer file will be created at the location that you have selected in the first step of the publish wizard. Share the installer with the people to whom you would like to give your application.
After building your project, you will find an EXE file in bin\(Debug or Release)
Check also the .net framework that it is required in order for c# apps to run. You can find what framework your app is build in projext properties. If the target computer has an old os (XP) maybe the .net framework needs also to be installed
You need any computer that wants to run it to be windows, and running the correct version of the .net framework. If it's a program that's created with VS2012, that'll be .net 2.0 to 4.5.2. After that, you need to find the location of your program, and you can just copy the debug folder that you are currently running from, and your program will work.
I am having a issue regarding my deployment of my software in Visual Studio 2012. First of all I am not able to install the "InstallShield Limited Edition" through VS12 so I am currently testing out Advanced Installer instead.
Mys issue comes due to the fact that in my program I am fetching a .pdf file and modifying it and later on showing them to the user. These PDF:s is in the programs resources folder but does not follow with the installer, so my application crashes since it cannot find this. The same is for my .chm file (help file)?
My customer is using XP and when I try to publish the software directly from VS12 it works on my computer, Windows 8, but not on his computer. The application won't even start for him.
So how can I deploy my pdfs to the installer file, or why is this not accomplished already?
It seems that the PDF and CHM files are not imported automatically in the project. What type of project have you created in VS?
To add those files in the setup use the "Edit in Advanced Installer" button from the Advanced Installer VS extension and go to Files and Folders page. There you should add the two files in the desired folder and save the project.
I have this problem. I want to build an installer for my c# solution, that will be placed in a folder with other installation folders and files that are needed to be copied to the installed folder. So that is easy, I just copy them to the folder I create using the folder structure I want.
Now, I want also to install another program and run a .exe file I've created to unzip some files for me. For that I need to copy 2 .exe files and 2 dlls (for the exes) to the folder to which I am installing and create 2 custom actions that will use them. That I've managed to do.
After that I want to delete those 4 extra files, as the user does not need them and shouldn't even be aware they are there. How to do so? I couldn't find a way in the built in setup project preferences + I do not know how to make a custom installer class.
A bonus question, is how to make the other installer (one of the .exe files is just a plain installer) install quietly to any path? I do not want the user to see an installer pop out of my program installer.
Thanks!
Some commercial setup authoring tools support temporary files. They are extracted when the installation starts and automatically removed when the installation ends. They are never registered with Windows Installer.
You can find a list of setup tools here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_installation_software
Regarding the prerequisite, it depends on its setup package. You can install it silently only if it supports this through its command line.
Don't. You will get a ton of problems with Windows Installer trying to automatically repair your applications and such things. You might be able to solve the problem with a more advanced installer creator, such as WiX.
Here I have successfully create setup using visual studio 3.5. On Debug folder in application I found (*.exe and *.msi file).
When I have take both file in same folder then it's work fine. But when I have take only (*.exe) file then it doesn't work.
I need to run (.exe) setup with out using (.msi) file. I required to send only *.exe to client.
Is there any way to wrap both file in to single file.
Thanks In advance :)
You have it the wrong way around! The MSI is the important but, the .exe is just a bootstrapper that calls the MSI. If anything you could just distribute the MSI.
See What does the EXE do in the Visual Studio setup project output?
It should be possible to create a bootstrapper that includes the actual MSI as an embedded resource, however I'm not sure how you can do this using Visual Studio.
If I were you I would either just distribute the MSI on its own with the instructions that users must have the .Net framework installed in order for the application to run, or combine up the two in a self-extracting zip (or similar).
http://hmne.sourceforge.net/
here you can find the HMsoft NISeditor, this program works as follows:
Run program
Choose setupname
add all .DLL and .exe files of your project
create the setup
My app needs to open an Access mdb file and an xml file (which are stored in bin\Release) to read and write data. The question is, if I am to publish it, how should I include them so that the setup file will install them into the same folder that the exe will run from (Local Settings\Apps\2.0(...))?
I already tried adding them to the project but then they ended up in the next folder to the one containing the exe.
Alternatively:
If I can't with vc# express, is there another way to do this (through a 3rd party software maybe)?
Thanks :)
http://wix.sourceforge.net/
WiX - Windows Installer XML is an OS tool you can use to build an installer you can tell it where to put each file and create folders, etc.
Visual Studio Standard Edition and up also include a built-in designer for creating installation files that can do what you're asking for. If you want to stick with Express, WiX is probably the better choice, though.
Try using InnoSetup. Its great for Access application installers .