Installing 3rd party applications through Windows Application

Question

I have a requirement which has some operation to be performed before installing an application and some operation to be performed after the installation of the same application. I am thinking of implementing this through Windows Forms (C#). I do not have much experience in designing windows forms application as my experiences are more on designing web applications. Can you guys guide me how can I achieve the above?

In short my workflow is -> (some operation)-> install the software (3rd party) -> (some operation) (How can I find an application installation is done?)

Thanks.

Answer 1

Some open source stuff I like http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Main_Page

Or you can follow this. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/19x10e5c(v=vs.100).aspx Install Shield might do the trick or

Answer 2

You can do this by creating an Install class, and then overriding the OnBeforeInstall and OnAfterInstall events. Check this: Extending Visual Studio Setup Project

Answer 3

Thanks guys for your answers. Based on the links that you have shared, I later came to know that I don't need an installer but just need that application to be called in Process (System.Diagnostics). I created a Windows application for this and is working how I expected.