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I am trying to create an installation package for a WPF desktop application. I have installed the Visual Studio Installer and wanted to use the Setup Wizard. It only seems to create MSM or CAB installations. I really want an .msi or setup.exe as the output. Is that possible with the MS Visual Studio Installer or must I add a different tool?

PhilDW
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Intensivist
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2 Answers2

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You can indeed create MSI files with the Visual Studio Installer Project type in Visual Studio 2017, but the whole tool is not recommended due to a number of significant limitations.

If you insist on using this project type then you simply create a "Setup Project" like this and you should be able to compile MSI files.

Setup Project

I will try to send you to two previous answers with more details on alternatives:

All the tools listed above will do a good job of creating an MSI file.

Stein Åsmul
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You should use a Setup Project type, not the wizard. That will give you an IDE into a Windows Installer MSI build. Although this is old these projects haven't changed for years:

https://www.red-gate.com/simple-talk/dotnet/visual-studio/getting-started-with-setup-projects/

You really only need a setup.exe if your setup needs to install prerequisites, which it will do before installing the MSI file that's also created.

PhilDW
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