How to automate Visual Studio Installer?

[wgcs]

Has anybody figured out a way to automate building a release based on the Windows Installer?

The VFP Setup Wizard was easy enough to create a wzsetup.ini file for, then call, and all you had to do was click "Next" a bunch of times,

but I can't find an obvious way to programmatically create a standard build for our products using the Visual Studio Installer.

It doesn't even seem capable of being pointed to a directory with the idea: "Take all the files in this directory". Once you build the installation once, you have to add any new files individually to the release.

 

[Mike Gagnon]

This link might help:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnfoxgen/html/vfpvsit.asp

Mike Gagnon

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ184-2483 first

 

[wgcs]

I already read that whole document... it walks you through the whole interactive process of building a release.

Six Months later, after our app has gone through more mutations, enhancements, etc, and requires a handful new files, it would be practically impossible to create another installer definition with matching settings.

Using the same installer definition, One never knows (without going through each file listed) if it contains all 250 files that it should... maybe someone added a report and forgot to put it in the installer...

For the past 15 years we have made a RELEASE.PRG file for each of our products which Builds the .EXE, gathers together all the files that go with a particular release, assembles the Installation instructions, and calls the installer-builder to finish the work.

We could change now and manually load the installer-builder (Okay, Release.prg could ShellExec), and manually check that it contains all the newest files, and manually click "build".

When our product version changes, we can manually load the installer-builder, and manually change the version number.


And when I forget to, we simply release an installation with the wrong version / missing files. I'd prefer to be able to have Release.prg orchestrate the WHOLE THING.

 

[Mike Gagnon]

wgcs

For the past 15 years we have made a RELEASE.PRG file for each of our products which Builds the .EXE, gathers together all the files that go with a particular release, assembles the Installation instructions, and calls the installer-builder to finish the work.

Sounds like you are not about to change either. So why ask about Visual Studio Installer anyway?
Mike Gagnon

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ184-2483 first

 

[wgcs]

Because VFP6 Setup Wizard's SETUP.EXE is a 16 Bit application and our customers don't know how to change the Windows Compatibility Layers to get it to run in Windows XP.

 

[wgcs]

(Sorry for the rant... you can imagine the frustration....)

 

[Mike Gagnon]

wgcs

There are other options. Wise Installer allows scripting, so does InstallShield Professional, Setup Factory from Indigo Rose etc.. Mike Gagnon

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ184-2483 first

 

[wgcs]

Thanks, Mike. We'll have to see if it's worth the $500 or so for IS pro, and look into the others.