c # setup

[douglas]

Can you tell me how to deploy the .net application to run on specific
workstations?

I have written a .net 2005 desktop application that writes out all the data
directly to excel spreadsheets 2003. I want to deplay this application to
various users.
When I deploy the application, I get an exe that i just paste to a desktop
and the application may run on each person's pc.

The problem with this installation is the following:

1. If I just delete the applicatiion from someone's desktop, it is gone.
2. The program is not listed in all the programs that can run on a pc.
The application is not listed in all the programs that can be 'removed' from
the certain
pc.
3. I need to make certain that the excel 2003 and pkware DOS version is
installed on that person's pc for the application to.

Thanks for telling me how to deploy this application!

 

[Peter Duniho]

[...]
1. If I just delete the applicatiion from someone's desktop, it is
gone.
2. The program is not listed in all the programs that can run on a pc.
The application is not listed in all the programs that can be 'removed'
from
the certain pc.
3. I need to make certain that the excel 2003 and pkware DOS version
is
installed on that person's pc for the application to.

The first two issues are easily addressed by created a simple Setup
project for your application.

The third is more complicated, and the problem is stated vaguely. By
"make certain" do you want to simply make installation of Excel and Pkware
a pre-requisite? Or are you intending that your own Setup program would
install those if not present? The former is much simpler than the latter
(I believe you can create a custom setup step where you run some code that
checks for their presence).

Unfortunately, I don't actually use the Setup features much myself so I
can't explain in detail how you'd go about the third step. But hopefully
that at least gets you pointed in the right direction, and maybe someone
else will have more explicit information.

Pete

 

[douglas]

"Peter Duniho":

Thank you for your quick response!

I have the following two questions to ask you:

1. You are saying that I should create a setup project instead of a
deployment project? These two projects are differenet from each other. Can
you point me to a url that I can follow the steps on how to use a setup
project?
2. You are correct I do want to setup a custom deployment that will make
certain that excel 2003 and pkware dos version is installed on a pc first. if
you have any suggestions on how to complete this task, just let me know!

Thanks!

[...]
1. If I just delete the applicatiion from someone's desktop, it is
gone.
2. The program is not listed in all the programs that can run on a pc.
The application is not listed in all the programs that can be 'removed'
from
the certain pc.
3. I need to make certain that the excel 2003 and pkware DOS version
is
installed on that person's pc for the application to.

The first two issues are easily addressed by created a simple Setup
project for your application.

The third is more complicated, and the problem is stated vaguely. By
"make certain" do you want to simply make installation of Excel and Pkware
a pre-requisite? Or are you intending that your own Setup program would
install those if not present? The former is much simpler than the latter
(I believe you can create a custom setup step where you run some code that
checks for their presence).

Unfortunately, I don't actually use the Setup features much myself so I
can't explain in detail how you'd go about the third step. But hopefully
that at least gets you pointed in the right direction, and maybe someone
else will have more explicit information.

Pete

 

[Peter Duniho]

[...]
1. You are saying that I should create a setup project instead of a
deployment project? These two projects are differenet from each other.
Can
you point me to a url that I can follow the steps on how to use a setup
project?

Can you be more specific? I'm not aware of a project type called a
"deployment" project. VS provides a "Setup and Deployment" project
category, but there's not a specific "deployment" project type that I know
of. You can deploy an application in a variety of ways: a CAB file,
merging module files, web setup, and regular setup.

From your comments so far, I would expect only the regular setup project
type to be relevant.

As far as "how to use"...my use of the setup project has always been very
simple. You create the project, add the required components (e.g. your
application, possibly some Start menu items, that sort of thing) and then
build the project.

2. You are correct I do want to setup a custom deployment that will
make
certain that excel 2003 and pkware dos version is installed on a pc
first. if
you have any suggestions on how to complete this task, just let me know!

Sorry...as I mentioned before, I actually use the various setup project
options very little. I've done very little customization of setup. I
know that there's a "launch conditions" section, but that may only allow
things that can be inspected via specific variables rather than providing
some custom conditional code. Instead, you may need to write some
application that looks for your required applications and which can abort
the setup if it doesn't find it. Even that, I'm afraid I don't have many
specific for.

That said, I did some quick Google searches, and there does appear to be a
good amount of information online on the topic. If you don't find someone
here who is more of an expert on setup projects, you might consider taking
advantage of the articles on the topic that exist online.

Pete