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It seems like it's still not possible to build .vdproj on a build-server without having Visual Studio installed. However, using Wix seems to be a lot more complicated.

Are there any other options to do the following task:

  • Visual Studio 2010 Solution with multiple projects (.csproj)
  • Many loose content files (not inside assemblies)
  • Installer must be built on Build-server without Visual Studio on it (devenv.exe / devenv.com)
  • Installer must create Registry keys
  • Installer must associate file extensions with installed product
  • Installer must support upgrades (version upgrades)
  • Installer should be able to register COM components
  • Installer should be able to pre-JIT assemblies

My goal is:

  • Effort to maintain installer is low
    • Minimal changes if new project (assembly) is added to solution
    • Ideal: no changes if new content files are added to any of the projects

Maybe I just did not get the point with Wix, but including project output (like in .vdproj) seems very complicated.

Any suggestions very much appreciated!

wkada
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  • I use Wix, but it's definitely not "low effort". Powerful, but it's a new language, a new dialect you need to learn. – Cheeso Dec 22 '10 at 22:31

2 Answers2

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OK I decided to go with Wix. Found out that using Votive it's possible to include project output like in .vdproj (Binaries, Content, Symbols and even Source Code).

If I run into more complicated situations where this isn't sufficient, I could fall back to some kind of harvester (Heat, Paraffin).

See some more Links in comments below (too little reputation to post more than 1 link in this post).

wkada
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  • Link for Paraffin: http://www.wintellect.com/CS/blogs/jrobbins/archive/2010/08/31/zen-of-paraffin.aspx – wkada Jan 13 '11 at 08:13
  • An article from a German magazine about Wix and MSBuild covering some common scenarios: http://www.dotnetpro.de/articles/freearticles/pdf/2010-10-MSBuild.pdf – wkada Jan 13 '11 at 08:14
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Check out InstallShield 2010 Limited Edition ( Free for Visual Studio 2010 users ). It has pretty much all the functionality that VDPROJ ( being retired btw ) has and supports silent builds. You can get one license for your dev box and one license for your build machine pretty easily.

Christopher Painter
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