Distributing a small application with minimum package size.

[TimMcNaughton]

I have a smallish VB6 project that makes into a 70K exe. I'd like to distribute it to a bunch of people who don't have VB6 installed. When I run the "distribution wizard" I get a package over 7MB in size! This is ludicrous.
Am I missing something? How does one keep distro packages down to a reasonable size?
Alternately, should I use an approach to enable users to run my program in a browser? How do I do this? Do I convert the entire thing into an ActiveX control?
Thanks,
Tim McNaughton

 

[Niv3k]

Well, you have to keep in mind that your users will probably need to have at least one .dll included with your package: msvbvm60.dll, the VB runtimes. Then any other references in your project will also get added with the wizard, and any other .OCX's (ActiveX controls, or Components) will be added also.

You could go through the support directory and see what files are being added and see which ones you can eliminate, though only remove a file from the ditribution if you know for a fact you can live without it.

You might also create two distibutions, the large 7 mb one that you release under the name of Project Run Times, and one 70k distribution that is just Project Program.

Hope that helps you a little,
Kevin

 

[TimMcNaughton]

Thanks for the quick reply. Msvbvm60.dll is only 1.3MB. When I deselected components I wasn't using - the file became smaller - now the whole zip package is about 1.6MB.

Isn't that generous of Microsoft to go ahead and include files that aren't a necessary part of the distribution in a default build? Good ol' Bill...
Tim