My problem is the following:
I have multiple applications that I want pack in one installer so when the user runs it, they will be installed automatically instead of installing or copying each single application.
I have a program that's already a setup file (.exe) and two .exe files which can be executed manually and do not need an installation. So what I want is:
Build an installer so when the user opens it - the .exe file of the setup program gets installed and the other applications which dont need to be installed will be copied somewhere in a path.
Whats the best solution?
I think you need a packaging programs to create an installation package, such as:
AdvancedInstaller
InstallShield
InstallAnyware
The first two of them have a freeware version. Maybe you can see if the required features are available in the freeware version.
I would suggest Advanced Installer (allows easy chaining of installs) if you have no significant deployment experience. Otherwise I would suggest Wix and its "Burn" feature (ability to chain installers in sequence). Please read the following answers for context:
What installation product to use? InstallShield, WiX, Wise, Advanced Installer, etc
Windows Installer and the creation of WiX
Wix to Install multiple Applications
Read this if you want to get going with Wix quickly
Related
Is there any way to compile the Nullsoft Installer Script (NSI) setup as a MSI package instead of an EXE?
Unfortunately, No.
NSIS lets you create scriptable, procedural installation packages. It's simple, easy to use and has a number of features not present in Windows Installer.
Windows Installer (MSI) creates database driven, transactional installation packages. When written properly a Windows Installer package is very robust, a file gets corrupted/deleted and it will be automatically reinstalled. Windows Installer is aware of UAC and only elevates when required, basically if you're creating software for the corporate market, you will need to provide an MSI.
Check out The Definitive Guide to Windows Installer for a good introduction to understanding MSI.
NSIS installers can be wrapped in MSI files using the MSI Wrapper. It is a small tool that I made for wrapping NSIS and Inno Setup installers. It uses WiX to compile the MSI but there is a GUI to help you instead of an XML file.
It was made because I needed a tool for creating MSI files based on traditional EXE installers. I needed support for uninstall and upgrades and only wanted the wrapped installers to show up once in the Add/Remove programs in the control panel.
I also wanted to be able to pass command line parameters to the wrapped installer when the MSI is installed.
If you want to use it or help me improve it, you can find it at http://www.exemsi.com.
I share the opinion that wrapping an executable installer in an MSI package is not the ideal solution. However, when you already have the exe it can make a lot of sense :-)
No (And there are no plans to support .MSI output), try WIX
I'm trying to put together an installer package that will install VS2010, SQL Server 2008 R2, and some other development tools into a single executable installer. The idea is to create something similar to XAMPP's installer that installs Apache, PHP, Perl, and MySQL in one convenient installer.
The installers for almost every program are .msi files. Are there any applications that can 'package' all the installers into a single executable? Barring that, what other solutions are there out there to perform something like this? I've looked into using a batch file with the /passive switch for each .msi so it does an unattended install, but I'd like to make it look like a GUI application if at all possible.
Many commercial setup authoring tools offer more or less support for this. You basically create an EXE or MSI installer which acts as a wrapper for existing third-party packages.
Usually these packages are added as prerequisites, but they can also be executed through custom actions.
You can find a list of setup tools here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_installation_software
Another solution is to create your own EXE wrapper which shows custom UI and handles the third-party packages.
Greetings!
I have a solution in VS2010 that defines 3-4 individual applications.
These 3-4 apps are individual (but related) components that I need to have individually installed on our production servers during deployment. I toyed with using WIX mondo to generate a multi-feature WIX installer, but found that it would be more beneficial to allow that these applications be able to be installed individually as well as via a single-source for all of them, preferably configurable to choose which to install during an installation.
I noticed that there is a WIX project type called "Bootstrapper Project" but I cannot find much documentation around it on the web, and do not know if it is a project type that will actually assist me in creating a deployment installation bootstrapper for my projects. (i.e. a setup.exe file that will install, one after the other, each project as either defined in the installer, or optionally selectable via the installer as it runs)...
what is the best method to do this within WIX, using pre-existing WIX installers for individual programs?
In Wix, the support to create a bootstrapper is through a tool called "Burn". Burn has been pushed out to v4.0 (or version 3.6). So that isn't much help.
You can use an open source tool like dotNetInstaller: http://dotnetinstaller.codeplex.com/
Here is an overview on how to create a setup installer that checks for the .NET Framework (which in and of itself is not very useful, but shows you how to work with dotNetInstaller):
http://www.lostechies.com/blogs/gabrielschenker/archive/2010/05/19/creating-a-bootstrapper-with-dotnetinstaller.aspx
Or you can follow the instructions here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms165429(v=VS.100).aspx
And use the Bootstrapper Manifest Generator here (although there appear to be 64-bit issues): http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/bmg
I'm evaluating a number of windows installer tools for our application. Some of them will create .MSI files, but some of them only create .EXEs.
I'm all for keeping up with the times, but should I make it a requirement of the app I choose that it be able to create a .MSI file? Is there any reason to require that over a simple installer .EXE?
Our software isn't intended for corporate deployment, so we don't need an MSI for that (for unattended installs etc). But if we're going to skip the MSI, I want to know what advantages I'd be missing out on.
Take a look at that other thread here: What's the prime advantage to having an MSI installation package?
If you really don't care about MSI features like unattended install or administrative install you can skip MSI. On the other hand skipping MSI doesn't seem to provide any advantage. Just use the installer tool you prefer.
Use Inno Setup :-)
I've experienced unresolvable dependency issues with msi installers in the past.
I am wondering about the need for an install wizard for my little Windows Forms application. No database access, just file access on a shared network drive.
I have seen times when an executable is sent in an email, copied to a desktop and used.
Other times when an 'install wizard' seems to be used to set up the application.
What dictates the need for this or not?
And if I want to use one - what needs to be added to my windows form app?
If your application is truly just an .exe file, it's probably okay to distribute it as-is without an installer. This might be preferable for more advanced users, because they won't have to worry about cleaning up a broken/unwanted install - they can just delete the file and be done with it.
On the other hand, most Windows users are used to working with installers, and having shortcuts automatically created on the desktop or Start->Programs. This is where an .msi can really help. Also, using an installer will usually put your application in the "Add or Remove Programs" control panel, which most people know how to use. Also, if your application is more than just a single .exe file (e.g. multiple .dlls and resource files), you'll probably want to use an .msi.
Creating an installer is easy, look at "Setup Projects" in Visual Studio.
An installer is almost always a good idea, because it can work out what dependencies your application has - which you may not even be aware of.
It also looks more professional and users will have more confidence in it.
There's an open source installer called NSIS that's pretty good, if you find the Visual Studio setup wizard too clunky, as I sometimes have.
Sometimes simply copying a file just isn't sufficient, this is when you need a setup program.
Checking if the correct version of .NET is installed
Installing C++ runtime dependencies
Creating a desktop shortcut
Setting up "default" configuration data
Adding exceptions to the Windows Firewall
Preventing installation on unsupported systems such as Windows 95/98/ME
etc, etc.
If your program is a stand-alone application with no dependencies and can run on a stock-standard install of Windows 95... then you don't need to worry about setup ;) But if your app has any external dependencies then you want to spend some time on setup.