Is it possible to make a setup and deployment project in VB.net 2008, every site i have looked at on google says to just select it from the project list. It isnt in the project list for me to select.
Are these types of projects not available in the express version?
How can I make an installer, other than using one of the setup and deployment projects? (I know there is a publish button, but that doesn't make a proper installer and installs to the appdata folder which is not what i want it to do)
Any help is appreciated
You would need to use another program, such as innosetup (http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php), to create a setup.exe. Microsoft has to give you some reason to purchase their software.
Express editions do not have these project types. They support ClickOnce only, per this chart:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/zcbsd3cz(VS.80).aspx
This carries over to the 2008 versions as well.
Edit - Added
See here for using ClickOnce from an Express edition:
http://blogs.msdn.com/vbteam/archive/2008/10/02/looking-for-setup-and-deployment-project-templates.aspx
You could use Inno Setup
It pretty much will do what you need to create an installer package. Oh yeah, and it's free.
Related
I created a vb.net project and I used SQL Server Compact Edition as my database. Now I want to create an installer for it, for installing on different PCs.
Does it require to install Visual Studio on the client PC? How should I create installer which will include that database file?
Sorry for my bad English.
Please help.
Thank you in advance.
This msdn link shows how to do it:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa983326.aspx
There are 2 parts to it:
Deploy the database file. This can be done by setting the file to copy local always and updating your connection string to point to this.
Deploy the sqlserverce dll's. Follow the instructions in the msdn link which will copy the 7 dll's locally. This means you don't have to install sqlserverce on the individual pcs.
I have no idea/experience in VB programming. One of my client bought me his old project which need to be modified. He says it is written in Visual Basic and no idea which version.
So how can i carry ON to work with this project by identifying the version
And what other components do i require to do the programming and user interface.
I already have Visual studio 2010 with me. So can i do my work using this software or i have to go for anything else...
Any suggestions....?
Regards
ParshTest
You need to check the earlier VS version. If the project was developed in earlier version of VS, you can upgrade to VS 2010 easily but otherwise you need to get hands on specific VS version.
Similarly if the project have database functionality or crystal report or any other external dependencies, you need to check their versions. You need to install the components according to these versions. Specify your versions and i'll tell you what to use for further development.
Is it possible to use Wix with Express editions? I am interested in 2010/2012 versions. I know I can use candle and light from the command line, but I am interested in integration with IDE
The Express versions of VS does not allow to extend the VS with the necessary plug-ins. So you have to stay with the command line.
Alternatively to VS you could try WiXEdit.
Actually, if the goal is to have a free installer suite, WiX is perfectly happy installing into Visual Studio Shell Integrated, which is freely available. All features of WiX are available.
The only limitation is you have to open a different instance of Visual Studio in order to build your installer, but I haven't found this to be limiting in the slightest, and in fact I appreciate the separation of concerns.
Of course, another solution these days is to simply use VS Community Edition.
The scenario:
I have written a software application that includes an installer, that is to be used by Mr Layman to install the system on to a single computer.
The system is a simple C# winforms application with an SQL Express database. The target machine would be a standard installation of Windows XP with SQL Express and .NET 3.5 installed.
I am able to create the installer for the winforms app, that would check the version, create all the directories and copy over all the necessary executable's etc. I have also an SQL script that will create the database and populate it with the necessary data. However I do not know how to go about creating a stand alone installer for the database on the target machine.
I have an SQL script that will create the database etc, but how do I make the installer run this script? I've had a google and I don't really know what I'm looking for, can someone point me in the right direction please.
Thank you in advance.
Create a custom action in the installer project that will take your SQL script and run it against the database. Here's an MSDN link that covers the basics.
An installer which runs SQL scripts can be created in 2 ways:
The very hard way:
create an installation with custom dialogs which retrieve the SQL connection information
save that information somehow (in an MSI package you can use installer properties)
write a custom action which uses that information to connect to SQL Server and run your script
The easy way:
use a setup authoring tool which supports SQL scripts
If you want a free solution, I recommend WiX. It has a steep learning curve, but it does what you need.
I've used MS Visual Basic 2010 Express to build a very simple VB.Net Windows app. I need to check the code into our Team Foundation Server Source Control. Is there a TFS plug-in for VB Express? If not, do I need to check the code in manually?
You will have to do it manually as stated here .
Given my experience with TFS I would check the code in manually. Package it all up nicely and get one changeset for the lot.
TFS isn't supported in any of the express editions of Visual Studio. I'm not sure if TFS is integrated into Windows Explorer for manually updates and commits. Other with experience would need to comment.