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I am using Visual & Installer with Visual Studio to build installations with Inno Setup.

I have setup my output folder in my script like this:

[Setup]
OutputBaseFilename=MeetSchedAssistSetup
OutputDir={#InnoPath}\Output_v6

As you can see, I have specified the output folder to be Output_v6. I have also configured it like this in the Visual & Installer Properties window:

Visual & Installer properties window

Yet, when building the installer I still get a empty Output folder too:

File Explorer view

How can i prevent this Output folder from being created?

Andrew Truckle
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1 Answers1

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The Output folder is created automatically by Visual Studio during compilation as VS expects the result of the project (.exe file) to be located there.

At this moment it is hardcoded: the output folder must be Output and the OutputBaseFilename must match the project name (in Solution explorer). Both cannot contain spaces.

If all these criteria are met then hitting the Start (F5 by default) launches the project. This a reason why folder is created automatically - the users want to have this option to run the setup with F5.

Explanation: because Visual Studio does not parse the Inno Setup script and VS must somehow know where to search for output and how it is named.

The Property dialog you posted is related to Inno Setup, but Visual Studio itself cannot read the values from it and use them in MSBuild process.

This folder is created every time (even if you delete it), so the best option is to add it to ignore list as currently it is not possible to disable its creation.

VS 2019 with V&I

Slappy
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  • Thank you. It is frustrating that there is this breakdown between the two. Since whatever values are in the script file will take precedence won't they? Either way, I have renamed my project to match the output file name and changed the folder to Output. – Andrew Truckle Jun 22 '20 at 11:26