Create an application setup in visual studio 2013

90
votes

I already have a project which is ready to build. Currently, I am using visual studio 2013.

But, I don't know how to create an MSI setup in visual studio 2013, but for visual studio 2010 there are plenty of tutorials out there discussing how to create a setup in visual studio 2010.

  • Does this mean I need to install visual studio 2010 in order to create an application setup for my project?

  • What is the easiest way to create an application setup in visual studio 2013?

7
c#visual-studio-2013installationwindows-installer
Try Windows Installer XML (WIX) it is extremely customizable and extensible, also you can integrate it with your CI builds. Application setup projects were removed in 2012 you can use the Installshield SE that was included at one point if you still need a quick and dirty installer. Using WIX in 2013 – Mgetz
VS 2012 and after there is no deployment project as in 2010 – kostas ch.
how about click once sir @Mgetz? and how do i use the click once? – Kaoru
@Kaoru I've never gotten Clickonce to work reliably in any version of VS so I won't be much help. But in theory it would work. – Mgetz
Clickonce has some rather strange peculiarities: You have to execute new versions of the same installation from the original installation directory for it to do an automatic update. Additionally it seems like you have to carry around the attached folder with the clickonce .exe. What I did was wrapping the Clickonce installation stuff inside a SFX archive with winrar, always executing it from the temp directory and essentially creating a "click even less than once installer". – ASA

7 Answers

131
votes

Microsoft has listened to the cry for supporting installers (MSI) in Visual Studio and release the Visual Studio Installer Projects Extension. You can now create installers in VS2013, download the extension here from the visualstudiogallery.

visual-studio-installer-projects-extension

10
votes

As of Visual Studio 2012, Microsoft no longer provides the built-in deployment package. If you wish to use this package, you will need to use VS2010.

In 2013 you have several options:

  • InstallShield
  • WiX
  • Roll your own

In my projects I create my own installers from scratch, which, since I do not use Windows Installer, have the advantage of being super fast, even on old machines.

3
votes

Visual Studio 2013 now supports setup projects. Microsoft have shipped a Visual Studio extension to produce setup projects.

Visual Studio Installer Projects Extension

2
votes

Microsoft recommends to use the "InstallShield Limited Edition for Visual Studio" as replacement for the discontinued "Deployment and Setup Project" - but it is not so nice and nobody else recommends to use it. But for simple setups, and if it is not a problem to relay on commercial third party products, you can use it.

The alternative is to use Windows Installer XML (WiX), but you have to do many things manually that did the Setup-Project by itself.

2
votes

Microsoft also release the Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Installer Projects Extension This is the same extension as the 2013 version but for Visual Studio 2015

1
votes

Apart from Install Shield and WiX, there is Inno Setup. Although I haven't tried it myself I have heard good things about it.

1
votes

I will tell , how i solved almost similar problem. I developed a application using VS 2013 and tried to create wizard for it failed to do. Later i installed premium VS and tried and failed.

at last i used "ClickOnce" and it worked fine.

So i believe here also , "CLICKONCE" would help you.